Hi Everyone,

I've been lurking on the forums for a long time, and would just like to bring some attention to some issues I have with my 2006 G35 Coupe. I bought this car used about a year and 1/2 ago (oct 09), when it was at 24,000 miles. The car was in excellent condition and was routinely serviced, according to maintenance records.

I apologize in advance for this long rant.

Fast forward to end of 2010, Dec 30. While I was driving up the 101 heading into SF, I got stuck in a major traffic jam, just as I was entering the city. It was stop and go traffic for about 20 mins, then I noticed white smoke or steam coming out of my car. It started to escalate really fast and within a minute,a ton of white clouds were puffing out of my hood, I looked at my temp gauge and the needle was all the way past H, near the max. I quickly parked my car on a small shoulder and turned off the engine, called AAA and it was towed to the nearest mechanic. It was already past 5pm, so the shop took a look at it the next day.

The independent mechanic pressure tested the cooling system and found a leaking radiator as well as thermostat failure due to the overheating. Since it was the day before new years eve, practically all the shops were closed for the holidays, and friends were all out of town. I decided to get the radiator, thermostat and rad. cap replaced, as I didn't want to be stuck home alone over the holidays Fixed at that shop for about $750 total.

The problems didn't go away. Over the course of the next few months, the G35 kept overheating in traffic, never while cruising or driving on the highway. Driving around SF just 15 mins at night, stopping at traffic lights, in 55 degree weather would cause the temperature to move up the gauge, up to the 80% mark. I took it back to the independent mechanic and they took a look.

They said the "Power Control Center" wasn't suppling enough voltage to the radiator fans, and said I needed it replaced. I didn't think this was the exact issue. So over the following weeks I tried observing them myself, stopping now and then, and checking out the fans. They were either spinning very slowly, or not spinning at all.

So after reading some reviews on dealerships in the Bay Area, I decided to take the drive down to Beshoff in SJ. I have to say, the customer service was top notch. Joey the CSR took in my car for inspection, and a day later said "The fans are not working". He told me there was an extension on the warranty on the fans, which leads me to believe some of the fans were maybe defective, and not working according to the stated lifetime/routine use. Since there was an extended warranty, I was able to get the fans repaired, courtesy of Infiniti.

I called the 1-800 Infiniti number, to see if they if they were able to help me through some reimbursement of the radiator fix earlier. I thought I had a case for the defective fans, causing a leak in the radiator. I sent in the documents and they reviewed my case, and today they called me saying they could not help me with anything, so I am a little disappointed that a car with low miles (about 33k right now) would have things such as a radiator breaking down.

I'm not an expert, but I would love to hear some of your thoughts, and knowledge about my case. How long do radiators last? Was I correct to assume the defective fans may have lead to a leaking radiator?

Thanks, if you are still reading this.

TL, DR: radiator leaked, defective fans may have caused it. infiniti extended warranty on fans, but won't reimburse me for radiator.

 

Though the radiator is built to withstand a lot of heat it's possible that the fans not working caused the temperature to rise so high that the radiator expanded past it's limit. That happens a lot of times with hoses and clamps. Though i think this is unlikely. Also next time your in an overheating situation put your cabin air to the highest temperature and blast it. Keep the heat away from your engine.