Hi everyone,

New to this forum and trying to research the heck out of my potential next car. I know a lot of folks will tell me to look at a newer G35, but I have a reason for looking at the 03/04's. I've located one with about 90K on the ticker for less than $10K. I can do most of the work myself, so when it comes to things like compression/radius arms or brakes, it shouldn't be a problem. Of course things like the Bose stereo can also be done, but I kinda like the stock look.

Most forums have folks posting problems, so you never really get the other side of the coin where there are posts stating "no problems!" My question is how many of you have an 03/04 with the same stock Bose unit? Are the odds of getting a faulty unit like 1 in 10? 1 in 5? 1 in 2 (gasp!)?

I also realized from the search results that I'd want to check plug #6 (and possibly #1) for oil leaks in the valve cover in addition to the condition of the compression/radius arm bushings. Beyond that and normal plastic creaks, it seems like the G35 is a solid car.

If anyone can suggest anything else beyond the front suspension and plugs I'd certainly appreciate it! I've done some searching and have found those to be the primary things that G35 owners are concerned with.

Thanks for your input!

- Al

 

i have an 04 and im not having the problems that everyone else has. although i dont know how soon or late it happens either. i only have 60k. i dont know how long it usually takes for it to crap out

 

I think it affects mostly '03's from what, i've seen on the forums.

However, my '06 did it once, and it never did it again after that. Very strange

 

I have an '04 with almost 90k on it and I actually got mine replaced thru warranty at about 65k miles. Got it replaced due to my mp3 CD's skipping but other than that I've had no other problems.

 

So I guess it's not like every other unit needs replacing. Thanks for your responses so far. I'm going to take another look at this '03 again in the next couple days.

- Al

 

I have an 04 and i swear every time i start my car it takes my cd player a good 20 minutes for it to fully work without skipping cds. I cant wait to go d.d.

 

^ wow that sucks i have o4 and my oem battery drained once. it was kinda random so i blamed the bose but i replaced the battery with an optima red top and its been fine since

 

Are there any "signs" of a failing radio/HVAC unit besides the sudden misbehavior of system? Any combination of buttons I can press that would make it apparent?

- Al

 

I have an 03 with 113,000 and I've had problems with it twice. 1st was the classic problem everyone has where the cd player messes up and it drains the battery. Car was doing it when I got it at 99,000. My solution was to take it apart and remove the cd changer entirely. Put back together, it works fine (minus cd)
2nd problem happened just the other day. All lights went out on A/C and Radio. I had already read on here that some people have this happen they just hit the thing and it fixes it. So light tap... nothing... slightly harder... works.

I think when it comes to these units, they all fail sooner or later, I've just seen it happen too many times. I've even read about them failing again after being replaced under warranty.

At the same time, I wouldn't let this deter you from buying a G35 at all. Every car has some stupid little flaw, and I would waaaaaaaaaaaaay rather that flaw be a crappy radio than something important (like drivetrain related)
So if it doesn't work, you can probably gut the cd player and fix it. If it does work, then good for you! (however the stock sound is kinda blah)

 

Had that problem on mine, had it replaced on my dime. Since you're getting the car cheap, just budget for a nice DD replacement.

 

04 with 78K miles, no problems with the Bose or the climate control....

 

Mine is a 03.5 w/ 76,400 miles, and I'm on my 2nd stock Bose unit (1st one was replaced under warranty due to a faulty circuit board). Only issue is that CD slot #4 cannot accept a CD, all the other slots work and play fine.

 

Thanks all. I'm going to stop by again to get the VIN and run a CarFax and AutoCheck on it.

- Al

 

Happened on my 05, HU was replaced several times under warranty for various problems..all in the past 8 months

 

I got an 03.5 with 72k kms. So far no issue with the Bose/HVAC... Lol like there HAS to be some who never had an issue!