Anyone with a G35 Coupe with 18” wheels needs to read this…..

You hear about this kind of thing happening to others, but you never think it will happen to you. I took my car to my dealer and dropped it off for the 7500 mile service. I didn’t ask what was included, and thought that since they were an Infiniti dealer, they should know what they are doing.

It turns out that Infiniti has their dealers “balance” the tires at 7500 miles. I say this in quotes because it seems like just some extra labor to spin the wheels and charge $85 for an oil change. After hearing that my car was ready for pick up I received another call on my way to the dealership saying that their balancing machine had done some damage to the finish of the wheels and they had someone coming to repair them. I don’t recall the rest of the drive to the dealership, but I do recall everything I saw had a shade of red to it.

The tool jockeys had removed my wheels, clamped them (improperly) to a machine, and then spun them at a high rate of speed causing the clamps to dig into each and every spoke about 2” out from the center hub on only the rear wheels which have a deeper inset. I was very mad but I held my temper and told them to get it fixed, but I’d better not be able to tell any difference in the repair from the original finish. My salesman came out and said I would be satisfied or I would get new wheels. This was okay, but didn’t make me feel better, because just six hours earlier I DIDN’T NEED NEW WHEELS!

Anyway, I just picked up the car, and it looked like someone had spray painted the wheel around the hub. The color is right, but the texture is rough, and the reflection of the light difference is obvious. They said they will order the new wheels today. It will be interesting to see how long it takes. And then I have this nagging question in my mind about how they plan to mount my tires to the new wheels and balance them without damage, when they couldn’t even balance tires that didn’t need balancing.

Anyway, don’t let this happen to you!

 

thanks!

 

Which dealer was this?

Coupe CB/Willow/5AT/Prem/Perf Tire & Wheel/Splashguards/Alum Pedals

 

Thtz a weak dealer... Makes me distrust the service. Wht was the dealer?

 

Please let us know who this dealer is. Never let anyone touch your car unless there is something wrong that needs to be fixed. Always specify what you want done and never assume the dealer knows best.

Sorry for your headache.

 

Please let us know who this dealer is. Never let anyone touch your car unless there is something wrong that needs to be fixed. Always specify what you want done and never assume the dealer knows best.

Sorry for your headache.

 

I hope that you will all understand that I’m not ready to trash the dealer just yet. So far, all indications are that my ultimate satisfaction is paramount. I understand that mistakes happen, but had I known that they would be balancing the wheels as a part of the standard 7500 mile service, I would have instructed them not to, since I have not had any reason to suspect there was a problem with wheel balance.

My advice to all coupe owners is this:

Only let the dealer do what needs to be done, and don’t let them fix what is not broken. If a dealer has to run a balance on your wheels, be sure that they have done it before without incident, and tell them that you are aware of some problems with mounting the rear wheels to the balancing machines and causing damage.

This will be an expensive lesson for my dealer. Not only have they paid someone to fix the wheels, but now they have to buy new wheels and have the tires mounted and balanced properly.

 

I'm supposed to be having my dealer intall the XM kit on the 6 of October. When I asked them some questions about the procedure, they said they've done it on an FX, but not on a G-35. I'm worried about my car being the guinea pig. Only cause I know they have to deal with the seal around the rear window. I hope I don't get a leak or something.

 

I agree with Elussive, name names, or don't bother us, no offense intended. I applaud your dealer for standing behind their work (or poor work) and that speaks well for them. But for the rest of us, knowing which dealer it is can prevent a lot of heartache. And that's why I post mine.

With almost 17K miles on my 6mt coupe, I hesitated having the tires broken down and rotated (they were starting to rumble from uneven wear). But Chris at Passport Infin in Alexandria, VA assured me they knew how to do it right. David did it right! And the Svce Mgr walked out to inspect my wheels with me PRIOR to driving the car in. He personally saw that there was not a single flaw on the wheels, not a scratch, ding, nick, thin paint, etc.

Let's remember one thing, Jay, you say it's an expensive lesson to your dealer, but a really good machine with all the bells to do the job right is really a helluva lot more than even a new set of wheels. Most wheels that I've seen are all messed up so a few extra dings or scrapes would be unnoticeable. Not to me and not to you, but most people wouldn't even know where the extra scrapes came from. let alone who did it other than themselves.

Indeed, your advice may be very good to all of us to check and double check with the service dept. that

a) they know what to do re wheel rotation on a coupe and
b) they have the proper equipment to do the job right.

Word to the wise not just on 7500 mile checkup, or even wheel breakdown and rotation, but on servicing in general!

BONDg35c