Just some questions from a first time Infiniti owner! We recently purchased an 08' G35X with 37K miles from CarMax. Decided to take out the extended warranty to cover the vehicle to 100,000 miles or (5) years. From what I've been told these are pretty reliable cars. I did notice that one catalytic converter has already been replaced. Other than that I can't seem to find anything else that has been performed aside from new rotors/pads. I did change the oil already to a Mobil 1 filter with Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5W-30. Is there anything else I should do maintenance wise to stay ahead of the game? Are there any other common issues such as trans or engine problems?

Starting to regret taking out the extended warranty however the car is 10 years old albeit with only 37K on the odometer.

Thanks!

 

The warranty will almost certainly pay for itself, the car may have lowiles but it's still a 10 year old car so don't pet that fool you. I would start by changing EVERY fluid in the vehicle, age deterioration is a real thing.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://owners.infinitiusa.com/content/manualsandguides/M/2008/2008_I_SMG.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwih4LXFje3aAhVr5IMKHep5Dx MQFjABegQICBAB&usg=AOvVaw075vBTrs1xb4-rc8-1Os3B

 

That was my next step to look for that in the manual! She drives like a dream so far. I will definitely get the coolant flushed, transmission flushed, and put fresh oil in the transfer case and diff. The belts look fine no cracks or dry rot so they may have been replaced already. I wonder if I could get the service records from the dealer this car was originally bought from and serviced at by the previous owner.

 

Ohhh jeez I can't believe I forgot the MOST IMPORTANT thing to check on a vehicle like that.

CHECK THE DATE ON THE TIRES!!!!!

You might actually have 10 year old rubber on that thing and it WILL NOT WORK when you need it most. The chemical composition of the rubber decays over time and it might LOOK like there is plenty of tread but the tread is designed to remove water from the surface and has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with how well the tire grips the road.

No exaggeration, your stopping distance could be increased by up to 50% and your skidpad could be half, you won't know these things until you try to slam the brakes or make an evasive maneuver and quickly realize the tires won't grip the road...

I also do strongly recommend you find a nice quiet road and do a few brake checks to get a feel for how the car stops, also a large empty parking lot and do some hard cornering in both wet and dry conditions. Also just so you know the ABS system does a self-test every time you start the car and hit 10mph for the first time that drive, it makes a wierd buzzing/grinding sound from the engine compartment so don't freak out.

 

Thanks for the info! It has a set of Michelin Pilot Sports on it now with maybe 60% tread left. I will check the date codes.

 

Only thing I could ad, flush, and bleed brakes.....

 

I would keep the warranty. IF something did happen you will be very grateful that you had it. 10yr old car that haven't been driven in a while will most likely have rubber issues. A car that sits a long time the rubber is not getting lub from the oil therefore it will dry and crack. I forget the name of my problem but it's not major yet. but the oil leak on the engine and from what the dealers says it's pretty common the job will cost 6k to fix if your not covered. a Thousand dollars for 3 year warranty is well worth it in the future because cars in the long run will always break down.

 

Oil cooler gasket leak ?

 

Probably the P0011/P0021 cam actuator leak on the HR motor. $6k for a dealership repair sounds about right, $1500 for an independent shop.

 

Just picked up the G35X today from CarMax after having them perform some repairs under warranty. They did the following.

-Replaced upper radiator hose/clamp now there is no more coolant smell or crust around the area.
-Removed rear calipers, cleaned, greased pins, shimmed pads now there is no more brake squeel. Before they would squeal bad but it disappeared when you pressed the brake pedal.
-Replaced Y-Pipe as there was a hole in it causing a shitty sound/exhaust leak.
-Replaced the entire moon roof with a new one from infiniti as under high pressure water such as a carwash it would seap/leak ever so slightly.

The car is now complete and I can't find a single thing wrong with it. I did take it on the highway at night with no traffic and I was disappointed that it is limited to 130MPH. Is there anyway to remove or raise that limiter? What will these cars pull to unlimited? Would a performance tune be worth anything? Will the dealership be able to see if the car is tuned if there is any warranty work that is needed in future?

Thanks for all the info!

 

The non-AWD models will go upwards of 155+ and even there, it's governed to that speed. Hell, it doesn't even shift from 4th to 5th until 132 mph ! The AWD are limited to ~130. My guess is Infiniti did that for a pretty good reason....

130 on a public road ? Oh, but it was at night and no traffic. Smart !

 

I like private airports, usually if you just go in and tell them you want to use their strip for a few minutes they're pretty cool about it. Or they tell you to come back during a less busy time or in the evening.

Even a short strip you can easily peg the speedometer and still have a ton of room to decel without using the brakes.