Did a quick search and couldn’t find anything that quite matched this. Been driving an ’03 G35 Sedan for about a year and a half now. Love the car, had no issues, that is, until this past week.

I was driving to work and lost my ability to brake. Approaching the intersection everything was ok and I was able to brake normally. Speed was approx 50 km/h (sorry, not sure what that is in mph). Just before coming to a stop, something happened and I realized I was no longer braking. The pedal didn’t appear to move, stuck where it was, and it felt as though ABS came on a few times. I wasn’t able to stop before lightly bumping the car in front of me. I felt a small jolt forward just at the end, before I hit the car in front of me.

It all happened so fast I didn’t think to use the emergency brake, or check gauges/RPM, anything like that. What threw me or took me longer to register what was happening was probably the fact I started braking ok and didn’t fully realize what was happening until it was too late.

I wondered if anyone else has experienced this issue? If so, please, share what the conditions were at the time it happened, and, what the resolution was. This happened to me on dry roads, at low speed.

I had my vehicle towed to my dealer for a complete inspection of the braking system this past Friday. They were not able to find a single fault. There is no information in the cars computer that would indicate failure of any individual component/system. Brake pads are at 50%, front/rear.

I’m at a loss as to what to do now. I’ll take the car to an independent brake shop for a second opinion, and I plan on contacting Infiniti Customer Service, but aside from that, I’m not sure how else to proceed.

It’s certainly not a comforting feeling driving a car who’s brakes failed and there is no apparent reason for the failure.

I’d welcome any feedback/information/suggestions you guys may have. And I’d be very interested in hearing from anyone who’s had the same issue or something similar—anything regarding brakes/braking, that may lend itself to help explain my experience.

Cheers.

 

wow... been driving the car for four yrs. no brake failure.. but i've had a bbk for the past yr or so.... been on and off bbks..

haven't heard of any other drivers that had brake failure either.. hmmmm..

wierd

Ed Lin

 

bubble? bleed as a precaution?

 

Very strange and alarming as well. Definitely get that second opnion.

G/L

 

Is your 2003 still under warrenty? Time to get rid of the stinky OEM brakes! I'm planning on a ArizonaZCar Wilwood BBK on the fronts.

 

rcdash, could have been. My dealer didn't seem at all interested in doing any precautionary measures outside of the standard brake check; pads/rotors/fluid levels and a quick test drive.

cato, some confusion over the warranty. I have an extended warranty on the vehicle that I thought was still in effect, however, after asking them about my issue as pertaining to the warranty, sounded like I wouldn't be covered. I must dig it up and read the fine print.

I'd love to get rid of the brakes, but honestly, at this present time, I want to get rid of the car. How is one supposed to feel comfortable driving a car that had a failure such as mine.

Chatted with a friend of mine who's much more car savvy than myself and his opinion on what may have happened is vacuum related. Matching my experience of how I felt the brake pedal stick where it was and not move ties in with the type of behavior one might expect if the vacuum fails, there by making you lose your power assist. You should still be able to stop the vehicle, only it would be very difficult, requiring lots of additional force. And, such a failure would not register in the cars computer, plus, when the vacuum comes back, your brakes work normally again--just like mine do now.

I asked my dealer about the possibility of this and they discounted it on the spot. They did not seem at all interested in even trying to look at the vacuum, replace it, or any other component.

Essentially, I feel left out to dry on this issue. I'm not happy.

 

Well, I would rest assured that no one here has ever reported any such occurance. The G35 brakes are pretty good at doing what they are supposed to do, stop the car. They don't last very long, but that is another story. Rather than get rid of the car, I'm planning on making the brakes much better than OEM... Front BBK upgrade! She is going to be gracing my garage for quite a while in the future.

 

I am a little less concerned about the brake issue and more concerned about the dealer's ambivalence to your story.. of course I guess they could be thinking that you're looking for an out as to why you bumped that car- but I don't like it still.

If it is a vacuum issue, new rotors/pads etc won't help. Hmmm. I've got an 03G as well- never had any issues w/ the brakes. Good luck and keep updating the post!

 

My friend checked out my car. He’s not convinced it was the vacuum, he looked at the line and we played a bit in his driveway, it all checks out ok.

I wrote a letter to the Prez of Infiniti. Explained my situation and the less than satisfactory service/treatment I’ve received thus far on the issue.

I questioned their apparent lack of concern for my safety, the safety of my passengers, and the safety of all the other innocent motorists and pedestrians I will encounter on a daily basis since the dealer released the vehicle –as is- with a known undiagnosed fault.

I questioned the integrity of the mission statement presented on their website, as my recent experience with them as a company is not consistent with the statement, as written.

I asked for the Presidents assistance in resolving my issue, including identification of the root cause of failure.

Just received a phone call from a member of the customer support team, on behalf of the Prez. Same guy I spoke with earlier, when I was unhappy with the service at the dealer.

Got the same run around. Unbelievable. Or maybe at this point after everything that’s transpired, it is believable. I was hoping for something better.

Time to work on plan B.