My concern is it's much worse this year. Last summer I'd only hear it in the garage at work. Doing the 1/2 shift up the ramps. As it's gotten warmer this year I can hear it all the time in every gear. It's going to be 90 on Friday think I'll stop by Herb Chambers to let them hear it.

I want Nissan to admit there is a problem and detune these cars. My 03 5AT sedan did not ping at all. I'd rather have a little less horsepower and no pinging.

 

Just a thought has anyone tried an octane boost product to see if it makes any difference? I tried different brands of gas (dealer suggestion) and it didn't make any difference. Not that I expected that to work.

 

I'll call the service manager up at the dealer in Hanover and ask him straight out if we can get these engines "detuned" to prevent the engine knock. If he says he can't do anything without the factories say-so, then I'm finally pursuing Lemon Law. Of course they would probably need the assistance of the factory to remap the engine, but you get my meaning. Even if the Lemon Law route bombs, it might get someone's attention at Nissan that (some) people are not happy with these engines. I don't like giving up and if all else fails I know at least I gave it a good shot.

To anyone with knowledge about custom chips, does a custom chip in essence "remap" the engine parameters including the fuel/air mixture? Our engines are running lean, would/could a custom chip "fix" this? I'm somewhat of a newb at this.

Thanks

 

Alderran, I did try some octane boost when I first bought the vehicle as suggested by the dealer tech...but only on one tank of gas. It did nothing whatsoever.

 

How long do you keep cars? The knock is bad for longevity.

For me I don't think it matters other than I don't like the sound because I usually only keep cars a few years.

I know 35K isn't the most expensive car on the planet, but I think it should be above the level where I have to listen to knocking and have warped rotors at less than 5k miles. Not to mention that the transmission isn't so hot.

 

Please keep us up to date. If the Infiniti dealer in Hanover is able to fix your problem I'll swing down to get them to take a look at my car.

 

I was doing a googe for G35 engine knock and came across this


http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/autos/octane.shtm
"Is knocking harmful?
Occasional light knocking or pinging won't harm your engine, and doesn't indicate a need for higher octane. But don't ignore severe knocking. A heavy or persistent knock can lead to engine damage."

If a consumer protection agency says light pinging is not harmful I don't think you'll get anywhere with the lemon law, but hopefully Nissan will do the right thing and address the problem. Because this is my second Infiniti, but it certainly will be my last if this isn't resolved.

 

Figures hottest day of the year bring the car in and it won't ping while I have a service manager in the car. Maybe it likes Hess gas because I had filled it up earlier in the day.

 

Alderran, the service manager for the dealer I'm taking the car to had left the company, so I am dealing with his replacement. He ordered an air flow sensor (I believe it's called that) and he wants to give that a try this coming Wednesday, so we'll see. I told him about this forum and that other people have seen similar issues, but he still wants to go through the motions...I can understand his position.

Coming home from work I was stuck in stop-n-go traffic. The engine was pinging like a b@stard since it was 90 degrees out. Was this the first time you have gone to Hess and used their gas? I find it hard to believe Hess would be better than say Mobil. I have used them all and the engine still pinged. The only time I really didn't detect the pinging was during the coldest days in the Winter. Makes sense when you think about it.

I am not a lawyer so I don't know if what the Consumer Protection Agency says means it's the final word on things, but I will let you know how I make out.

 

Yours might be worse than mine. I didn't hear it at all from Oct - April. I only started hearing it again when the temperature gets above 60 or so. For instance during the week I never hear it in the morning, but always in the afternoon.

Do you notice that it will be bad then get better and then bad all in the course of the same trip? That was the case on Friday. It just didn't ping much while the service rep was in the car. It did, but not loud enough that he couldn't pretend not to hear it. Kept pointing out transmission sounds and trying to say it's the transmission. But after he got out and I was driving home it got worse again. Especially when I was in stop and go traffic on the highway.

And I'm sure it's not my imagination. My brother who used to be a mechanic noticed the sound and I hadn't mentioned it to him at all.

If the dealership in Hanover is able to resolve this please let us know.

 

Any updates on this? I guess I'll have to sell my car in the winter so that when I trade it in they won't notice the pinging

Even though I like the way it looks and drives this is definitely my last Infiniti/Nissan. Thing knocks/pings like a 1984 Plymouth Horizon

 

Hey alderran, while I have been focusing on engine ping all this time, it was really a side-effect of the real problem - bad rings. I always get my oil changed on the designated interval, however I must admit I stopped checking my oil after the first few months of owning the car (not wise). Well, after reading that people are also complaining about excessive engine oil loss I started to check it again, and noticed it was down a few quarts when it was time to bring it in for another change (approx. 3700 mi) which is absolutely ridiculous for any car except old clunkers.

So I initiated an oil consumption test via the dealer and they confirmed I have a burner and requested a new engine from Nissan. It's been about 2 months since the request. I am also reading that there is a backlog of these new engines (no surprise) so I am willing to wait so long as I get the new engine.

I would recommend that you check your oil in-between oil changes (some dealers don't tell you that your burning oil!)

If you are burning oil, then request that the dealer perform an Oil Consumption test. You will have to have this performed approx 3 times (depends on dealer). It's important that you have them do this to get it on record because it gives you some ammo if you have to "strong-arm" them to do the right thing later.

After lying to all of us about octane ratings and now finding out that it was indeed a defective component (rings) they lost any brand-loyalty that I or my friends might have shown.

As a form of poetic justice, when I was walking to my car at the dealership, an older gentleman caught my attention and walked over to me. He asked what I thought of my vehicle and if I liked it. I proceeded to educate him on what Nissan was doing to it's customers. His eyes widened in surprise. I only hope that I cost them a sale.

Regards

 

The only update I have (I’m the OP)…..is that it is still pinging. Unlike what is mentioned in some other posts, I could consistently get mine to ping if the engine was quite hot, regardless of outside temperature. So I would drive to the dealership with the A/C on and running it up in the gears. The dealer was willing to look into it each time I complained, but since everything continued to show "in spec", there was not a lot they could (or would) do. The service manager wasn’t worried about the ping when lugging the engine (under 2K RPM in a tall gear), but he perked up when it continued through the rev range, even past 5K at times. On any of the visits it was returned with “no problem found”.

Per MG35Coupe, I will now check my oil levels in an effort to go down a new solution path. But since I hope to get into an automatic transmission in the next year (major commute change), I am no longer putting much effort into correcting the problem.

 

shaigh, I hear ya. I know it can be frustrating, but may I suggest that if your car is burning oil have them perform the oil consumption test and get a new engine. If you plan on trading in the car, that's one thing, but if you want to sell it privately then having a new engine in it might be a selling point.

Here's what I mean, for people who want to buy these cars (used) might not know about the engine problem thats prevalent in many G35/350Zs. You make this a point that you have a newer engine that has the flaws/defects fixed. Makes the buyer think twice about where to buy their car from.

Ignore my sentiment above if all you want to do is dump the car in a trade-in and go with something else. For many people it's understandable because it is a hassle that many of them should not have to go through.

Regards

 

I have a 2005 g35 sedan with no mods and I'm experiencing the same pinging described in this thread. I was wondering if bythabay had any updates? Did you ever take your G to the Z-garage in San Jose for the ecu tune? If I can't fix this pinging I'll have to ditch the G. Can't stand having a defective engine.