Hey Man.. SIgn me up!!!! I'm all for some kinda suit against Infiniti.. I paid too much da** money to have my f*king brakes go out at 18,000 miles.. I took my car to my trusty mechanic..cause the dealer wanted 1200 for front and back pads & rotors.Plus I didn't beleive the dealer!..My guy did everything for 653.00..He got REAL angry with Infiniti because they fed him the same bull crap line about high performance brakes...he was able to find out that Infiniti realizes they had crappy pads and they came up with some new ones..They wanted him to mail back my old ones for testing!!! So there is a real problem!! I think Infiniti just hasn't worked out a solution!

 

I don't think there's a problem, I just think Infiniti's average consumer is not willing to deal with the penalty of short brake life for better braking performance. They've supplied the wrong brake pads for the demographic of the majority of their buyers, if you will. All these complaints about brake and tire life are lurking on BMW 3-series boards, as well.

Personally, I'll keep my short stopping distance. It's safer that way. [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

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

 

This has come up numerous times on FA- most performance cars like Vettes, Porsches, BMW, Audi, etc DON"T have anywhere near this replacement cycle unless you track the car or autox. I've had an M3, RX7TT and a number of other performance cars so I can speak form experience.

My local dealer in Houston confirmed the short life and said Infiniti was covering the replacements under warranty but not doing it now. Owners are getting pi$$ed off. I've not had this yet but if true I plan on seeing the zone rep and giving him an earfull. By the way, BMW covers brakes for 4 years 50K miles, even on M3 and they sure do stop well. Performance brakes my a$$, overloaded poor quality is more like it. If you've had the issue, don't sue-bitch to zone reps and follow with letters to Infiniti execs, car mags to get attention. Rumor has it that R&T had to replace brakes at 15k, be interesting to see what they and Infiniti have to say.

 

Does BMW "turn" your rotors for you with a service?

03.5 Sedan/B. Silver/Prem/Winter/Aero/Tint/Rims
69 Chevelle Hard Top BB/4.11's/Posi

 

Performance BS is right - ever poster on this board who takes his car on a track with any straigtaway speed has destroyed rear pads in a matter of laps. That's just crap for a performance excuse.

And the problem you can point to when fighting them will be the rotors not the pads. Sounds like by the time you know the pads are worn via the indicator, it's too late the rotors are done. I don't mind buying pads but give me break with the rotors needing replaced at 15k cuz the brakes grated on them.

 

Now, I will definately agree that the rotors should last much, much longer than 15k mi.

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

 

Im becoming obcessed with looking at pad thickness to avoid the rotor nightmares...My 03.5 seems to be wearing brakes ok..maybe pads are diff for me that 03?

 

BMW brakes last long enough they generally don't turn but instead replace rotors. And yes, they're covered under maintanence for 4 yrs -50k. If you add in a brake job/rotors, service for G35 vs 330i, cost of the two cars draws very close.

Love my G but if this is true about the brakewear issues in general, and not isolated or driver related, I'll second guess getting it instead of the Bimmer.In the meantime, scream your butts off at Infiniti for the cost and it's impact on resale when word gets around !!

 

You peaked my curiosity so I just went onto BMW's website and built my 330 Sedan. I picked the same options that I have on my G35 and it came out to a sticker of 42K. The sticker on my G35 was 34K... so how is that very close... A couple of brake jobs isn't going to make it that close

 

The normal BMW 4 year/50K maintenance plan does not cover consumables, like brakes and rotors. It is for scheduled maintenance only - roughly every 7500 miles. They do offer an extra cost "full maintenance" option, but adding in the cost of that wouldn't help your argument.
In my experience with BMW's, that brakes last about 25K miles and BMW insists on replacing rotors with every pad replacement - so it gets very expensive.

 

GSG, do some homework and look again http://www.bmwusa.com/ , it started this year as standard, including wiperblades. You must have been tracking your car if the brakes lasted only 25k. Through 3 of em including a 328 and an M3 with really aggressive driving, 30K was the worst with several drivers schools and high speed events and replacement cost was less than I'm hearing for a G.

Alderan, they're not close to begin with but factor in brake jobs ( seen $400 to $1200K) at about 15K plus service costs and gas mileage , resale value and whoops. Don't get me wrong, I love my G but Infiniti needs to be more responsive if the brake problem is extensive as it appears it may be and how dealers react. I also worry about resale if the car gets a rep, brakes, 6MT.

<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by jcv on 07/16/03 07:53 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

jcv: I stand corrected. BMW has changed the coverage. My car was a '98 and at that time brakes were not included. Maybe enough people complained about the brakes; so now they cover it. Maybe we can get Infiniti to get the hint!!

As far as mileage, it depends on a lot of factors. I do a lot of driving in hilly areas, so it can decrease mileage. But 25-30K is the max I have gotten on the fronts but maybe longer on the backs - I have had 2 BMW's- a 540 and 525 - with similar results.

The concern I have about the G35 brakes is that the excuse that they are wearing out fast because they are "performance brakes" is questionable. In a few of the car magazine tests they have mentioned the brakes experience fade after a few hard stops and others on this board have reported the brakes useless after a few runs on the track. So it sounds like they wear out fast and are not performance brakes either! Something is wrong!!

Has anyone on this board had other Infiniti cars? What was the brake situation on those? I have a friend that had one of the original Q45's from the early 90's and he reports he had to buy brake pads in bulk and keep them in his garage for frequent pad replacements!!!!!!

 

Are these G35 brake problems only an issue with the automatics?

I know the brake pad/rotor life on the BMWs are much, much worse for the automatics than the manuals.

 

No one has really ever stated how they drive....aggressive driving (heavy braking) will obviously wear them out faster. The pads will not double the life of your rotors by any means, but most OEM pads aren't really all that great.

My suggestion: don't brake so aggressively. My 99 Acura Integra GS-R, a performance coupe, has 60,000 miles and is still on the original brakes. Why? Because Honda/Acura puts good discs on there?

No. A disc is a disc, regardless of who makes it (Nissin in the Integra's case...not Nissan). I drive fairly conservatively in that car (when it comes to braking).

You're probably driving aggressively and braking late. Braking late eats up rotors and increases your chance of getting into an accident. Try to slow down a bit and see what happens. I'd be willing to bet your brake life will improve.

And a word on class-action lawsuits...the only person(s) who really benefit from those are the lawyers. Even if you did file a case and win, I doubt you'd get much. Maybe they'd discount your next new set of brakes, but don't expect to get big money.

One final thing...engine braking is not a smart move to extend brake life. For manual transmissions, this puts a lot of wear and tear on the clutch and pressure plate. For automatic transmissions, it decreases the life of the torque converter/fluid coupling. I only use engine braking when I'm going down a hill.

Dan Parmelee
2003 Infiniti G35 Sedan
1999 Acura Integra GS-R coupe
2001 Infiniti I30t<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by TheG35Guy on 07/20/03 05:59 PM.</EM></FONT></P>