Hello everyone. First post...I'm currently in the market for a G35 Sedan.

I had my eye on a 2004 G35x +NAVI w/ 85k miles. Went for a test drive today and the car just fell on its face.

I turned out of the dealership parking lot and the throttle pedal was just about worthless. The engine would SLIGHTLY load up when I pushed the gas, but not enough to do anything. The car would only move at idle speed, and the following lights came on:

SLIP
VDC Off
Service Engine Soon

Plus the navigation system started flashing and saying "Engine Malfunction" or something along those lines.

We pulled over, turned the car off, started it back up, and away we went. VDC and SLIP lights were out, but SES stayed lit. At this point I'd decided I did not want this car, but was still going to drive it for a bit and see how that AWD handles

So we continue and while moving along at about 40MPH it happened again. All those lights came on, Navigation started reporting a malfunction, and the throttle pedal did basically nothing. The salesman and my daughter could not tell the difference between when I was pressing the pedal and when I wasn't, but I could detect a SLIGHT load up.

Pulled off the road (after almost getting run over by the traffic behind me), restarted the car, and went straight back to the dealer and turned the car back in.

My gut is telling me that the computer was noticing something wrong, and was putting the engine into limp mode to protect itself, but I can't be sure of this.

I've driven a few G35s and this was the first time this happened, but it does have me concerned.

Is this something to do with the AWD system, or is it a problem related to all Nissan 3.5 powered cars?

The manager of the dealership was embarrassed and promised to find out what was wrong and let me know, to see if I'm still interested. I'm probably soured on that car unless the deal is super, but I told him to let me know, but I only told him that because I want to know what the problem was.

I'm a Classic Mustang owner/hobbyist, and know from experience that the forums often have some true geniuses on them, and I'm hoping that some of those geniuses here will let me know what the problem was, and if this is something I should expect as a possibility on any G35.

Thank you,

Steven

 

Well yea something is going wrong, so the engine went into limp mode.

Could be a sensor to a mechanical problem. You will prob never find out the truth as they will want to sell it to you. IMO skip this car.

 

Thanks, that's pretty much what I'm thinking.

Now the issue I'm trying to cope with is, do I still want a G35, or any Infiniti/Nissan, for that matter?

I'm trying not to let this one bad thing turn me off to an entire brand of car, but to have one die in such a dangerous way (what if it died out trying to turn left against heavy traffic?) has really made me wonder if I'll trust the car.

I'm not trying to bash this brand...I am actually looking for someone to talk me into why I shouldn't dump the G35, as I have wanted one since they first came out in 2003, and am finally at a place where I can buy one.

Thanks.

 

Probably is no big deal. Could be as something as simple as a bad crank angle sensor, putting the car into limp mode. That's a $45-50 fix. When they read what code the car threw it'll tell you exactly what is wrong. Call the dealer and ask what was/is wrong.

 

This could happen to any car. Jut because this one car went into limp mode doesn't mean all G35s have a problem like this. Obviously there is something wrong with this one particular car, especially it having over 80,000 miles on it. With that many miles I'm sure something is to go wrong and it also depends on the previous owner whether they took care of the car.


It's like me saying I test drove a 06 mustang convertable and the top didn't want to go down because the motor failed. So I'm not going to buy a mustang because this means all of them fail !

 

I guess the deal is that I've never felt a car do that before and it was *SO* disconcerting. My 99 camry has thrown all sorts of codes while I've had it, and I've fixed plenty of things on it, but never had it hang me out to dry in moving traffic while all of Atlanta tries to run me over.

Does the car *ALWAYS* do this when anything goes wrong, or only when it might ruin the engine to not do this?

As I keep looking around online I'm starting to see this seems to be something a lot of modern cars do. I've just never had it happen to me. It was spooky, for sure.

And it sucks, because that was a good deal on that car! AWD w/Navi, asking 12.

 

I get what you're saying. By the same token, if you drove one and, say, the steering wheel locked at full turn and wouldn't unwind, or the brakes started pulsing anytime you tried to stop, I think you'd probably be looking online to see if that's a common problem, or just a random bug that you ran into. Currently 33% of the G35's I've driven have been broken

I came here because I want to hear as much as I can from those who know these cars best!

All I'm doing is my research. I buy a car very rarely, and take it seriously.

As for 80K miles? My Camry was barely broken in at 80k. I hope that's nearing End of Life for this car! I've seen so many G35s for sale with 150+ on the clock that I just assumed that 80k was still reliable. My hope is to take the car to 200k, just like I did my camry. If I'm being unreasonable, I guess now would be a good time to ask.

Thanks all for the input!

 

Mine did that 2x since I've owned it, But steering and brakes still worked for me. Get an 05 or newer if you can

 

I completely understand what you are saying, now for your answer.

Is this a common problem will all Infinitis? No, I have yet to experience anything like that on my 05 nearing 80k.

Can the car last over 150k? Yes easily, as long as taken care of (see below)

Of course this car can last you up to 150k but to say there isnt going to be a single problem up to 80k or past that is unreasonable. It all depends on the maintenance of the car.


Any other things to look at or suggestions? Do not but this G35 you test drove! No matter what the dealer says!




Also get a coupe


I would

 

I would too...except I'm a family man

 

I'm sorry, I realize my point above wasn't clear enough. The car didn't do that, the only thing it did was dump the engine and flash the lights.

My point about the steering or brakes messing up was that if anything "dangerous" happened on any test-drive, it's only natural to research what happened.

The steering and brakes were always fine on the G35.

Are the 2005+ cars that much better? There's a definite price jump going from 04 to 05...and I am a cost conscious dude. Not tight...By that I mean I'll pay more for a better car, and I'll pay to properly maintain a car...but I don't like paying more for flash, if that makes sense.

 

05 was a refresh model thus is has some improvement and fixes

 

I bet it was just a Cam Phase sensor going out. Not uncommon. Even still, I wouldn't consider the vehicle unless the dealer is willing to warranty. Look at service records, etc

I have 163K miles on my G as of right now....running strong and hard

 

i bed it was the throttle position sensor. the same thing happens when a sprint booster pops off.

 

TPS would be the Throttle Body going bad. Thats a very likely option there too.