Interesting.

I wouldn't want to disable that safety feature, but I think they should address the ease of overriding it. My last car, an Accord, had the same feature, but it was extremely easy to shove the key into the slot. I have not figured out how to get anything into the slot on my G35. It's good to know that a screwdriver will do the trick. My car hasn't wigged out in the fashion you describe.

Did they repair your brake switch?

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

OK, so you had the car towed in, the service department identified a defective switch and indicated that other vehicles had had the problem. I assume that you arranged to have the switch replaced and the problem was solved.

If that was the case, then what is the big deal here? The car was in a failsafe mode and it should have been repaired at no cost to you. Yes it was an inconvenience, and an unexpected disappointment, but why in the world would this be a reason to decide to trade in your car?

 

Sorry to hear about you problem gknesek. I have not read about this issue happening to anyone else on this board. I guess ill keep a screw driver handy..

BTW: Do you have a 2003 or 2003.5? Sedan?

..pestilence..

 

2003 or 2003.5 what does that mean? Is that some sort of upgrade I need. I'll have to check with the dealer and get back to you on that one. The car is still in the shop which I think is where it is going to stay. I knew I should have have bought a Mercedes my friends tell me that they don't need to carry a screwdriver around with them to start it. Back in highschool I had a 70 Chevy Nova that I had to sometimes use a screwdriver to help start it because the ignition switch was broken when someone tried to steal it. But I didn't figure I would need one for an Infiniti.

Oh well live and learn.

 

I agree it is frustrating if it really is a common problem (I'll be asking my dealer next time I'm by there).

But before you "regret" your decision too much, get on other forums. I have found that every car has a common problem that the small group of fanatics that make up forums complain about. That's ok, but just remember that unhappy customers are much more vocal than happy customers, so don't assume that Infiniti is alone on problems that plague some number of their cars. And if you think Mercedes or BMW are immune, consider the rash of engine failures on the M3 - many of which BMW refused to pay for!

 

Oh my God ... you have the lemon. DEMAND your money back now!!! How the hell can Infiniti/Nissan make a car with a faulty Brake Switch... (I am kidding) It is not like it causes the brakes to fail ... it is the switch that allows you to put it in gear. Annoyance ... YES, but it does not deserve a run for the hills response.

It does not sound like a serious problem ... un-like a V-6 Honda's Accords, Oddyssey, TL etc. transmissions locking up at any time/speed/place. All Honda did on that one is expand the warranty to 10 years. So ... count your blessings you do not have to worry about coming to an un-expected stop while being followed by a semi driving at highway speeds...

 

bknesek:

There was a minor model up grade, hence the initial model referred to as 2003 and the upgrade as 2003.5. With the upgrade, a few initial bugs were addressed, and we're naturally wondering whether this could be one of them.

If this was the only issue with your car, I would categorize it as fairly minor; what has probably incensed you to react so intensely negative is the embarassment you experienced with your client. If there are no other major failures, I would not get rid of the G just yet, cool down first then make your decision.

Your G is still at the dealer? Please let us know how Infiniti is addressing this issue.

Every car has flaws, e.g. Honda is probably #1 in reliability worldwide, so I bought a 2002 TL in Oct 2001, but by June 2002, 19000 miles, my tranny failed. Shortly thereafter the brake rotors warped, and 2 weeks later, the throttle body had to be replaced. To make matters worse, Acura would not admit to the transmission problem at first, but then issued a press release in August that "there's a higher than normal failure rate in transmissions on the TL, CL, V6 Accords, Odysseys, and Preludes...." a 1.6% failure rate which I believe to be low-balled since transmissions are continuing to fail on these vehicles today.

Naturally I lost faith in Acura, not because of the failure itself, but because they would not disclose why the problem is occuring. I took a $4K loss to get my G. Acura's instructions to the dealer is simply to remove and replace with a reman unit. Dealers were not allowed to open the tranny casing, so up to this day, there's been no official word as to the cause. And trannies have failed not just once, but 2 and 3 times, even after they said the problems (unidentified) were addressed. Just last week a coworker of mine had 3 tranny failures in the space of 6 days! (looking into lemon laws right now). The tranny warranty is extended 7ys/100K miles, from date of new vehicle purchase, not tranny replacement date.

I have another friend who purchased an ML320 last year, and he keeps saying he should have bought the QX4 instead. Lots of problems, his ML is always at the dealer.

Hopefully this is a one time occurence for you, if it hasn't been, let us know what other problems you've had. We do appreciate you letting us know about your experience, and we will be asking our dealers about this issue. Most likely, the greater the feedback from owners, the more likely will Infiniti address this officially, rather than under the radar.


chinee
'03 Infiniti G35, Desert Platinum
'02 Toyota Sequoia, Silver Sky Metallic

 

Never heard of this problem, not on g35driver, FA, or 6MT.
While it is a problem for you, I can't see why you have to warn others that this is a common problem based on the Manager's word. There are over 500 G35 owners on all three of these forums, and if you do a search you will not see one with the same problem you listed. The only thing that comes close is "shifter was hard to shift" and this was on an incline.

I think you got unlucky and got a bad G35. I had mine for almost a year (6days to go) and have not seen problem.

The G35 isn't perfect, but which car out there is problem free ?
Plank down 70k and you can get a 745i with a list of standard problems.

Each car company puts out bad cars, but the percentage of putting out bad cars are higher in some makes.

Sorry you got a bad one.

 

I know that Nissan makes a good car I’ve owned 2 Maxima’s and had not a bit of problems, changed the oil, routine maintenance etc. 100K etc on each one. But with all the cars that I’ve owned in my life, this is the only one that I have gotten in a first name basis with the service manager. I’ve had radio problems, noise problems, miscellaneous recalls notices. For a car that has less than 6,000 miles it has been in the shop way too much. I guess it’s just too much to ask that they make it a bit easier to disengage the gear shifter.

I’m just trying to warn everyone to carry a small very thin bladed screwdriver the kind that the service guys carry around in their front pockets, put it in you front console like I’m going to do. Just don’t know how I’m going to explain it to the future person I’m going to sell it to. Good luck to all I hope you have better luck with your vehicles.

 

Hi,

I think that once the problem is fixed, you will have very little to complain about. I had a Mercedes C320, a 1999 that was the worst car I ever owned. The engine failure rate was so bad they had to extend the warranty to 150,000 miles. These cars are machines and machines go bad once in a while, some more than others. Good luck to you.

 

Hi,

I think that once the problem is fixed, you will have very little to complain about. I had a Mercedes C230, a 1999 that was the worst car I ever owned. The engine failure rate was so bad they had to extend the warranty to 150,000 miles. These cars are machines and machines go bad once in a while, some more than others. Good luck to you.

 

I had this lock one before, re-insert the key solved it, it never happened again so far. talking about the Mercedes, Ironically,
the recent Consumer Report car issue lists black dots (less realiable) across almost all the MB car including S class, it's hard to believe that cars cost so much and so unrealiable.

Silver/Graphite/Premium/Sports/Winter

 

whats even worse is that these cars are selling

amg 11,500 slaes this year, which is a record.

 

The more features a car has, the more problems that are likely to happen. Want a trouble free car then look at a toyota 2x2 truck with no options

Every car I've owned (which has been 6) has had some sort of problem. Everything from blown head gasket (brand new toyota 4x4) to faulty o2 sensors (honda prelude). I don't know of anybody who has owned a car with absolutly no problems (be minor or major).

My sister had to replace her AC unit in her Honda Civic 4 times. My newphew had to have his Accord's transmission replaced after it blew up (after only 12,000 miles). I heard of another guy on here who had his G35 tranny fry after he just bought the car and pulled out of the Infiniti dealership.

I've heard of major problems with the BMW 7 series electrical systems. They had to do a major recall awhile back.

One thing to keep in mind, if you want to try and limit yor hassles with cars, never buy the first production year, always wait until its 3rd production year before buying it. Usally by then they have worked out all the bugs.

The ironic thing is, 10 to 1 after you sell your car, the guy who buys it will probably drive it for the next 100,000 miles without a hiccup.

 

Good point Dan, I probably should have waited until they get all the bugs out of the first production year. I'll know better next time. I've owned about 12 different cars and trucks in my life, chevy, dodge, toyota, etc. trucks and cars, and this one has been in the shop the most, for the fewest miles.