Infiniti Q45 — Recalls, Reliability, Specs & VIN Decoder

Battery was recalled by mfr., which effects the abs system, causing when applying brakes to crab and go into skid and lose control impact 12:00 speed 25 mph.*ak

The car was parked after driving the car for approx 1.5 miles and after about 15 20 minutes restauarant attendant inquired who owns that car? And informed that there is smoke coming out of the car. 911 was called for fire dept help. Fire fighters extinquished the fire.*ak

While driving vehicle, heard popping sounds from rear, smelled smoke and engine shut down. Vehicle filled with smoke by time stopped vehicle. Electrical fire burned area between trunk and back seat, around gas tank on passenger side.*ak

Vehicle fire due to electrical malfunctioning.

Vehicle was parked for seven hours and suddenly self ignited. Fire department determined the fire as an equipment malfunction within the battery area underneath the hood. *ak

Tl* - the contact stated that she had purchased 1992 infinity q45 on 02/2006 ,and on 12/21/06 the contact's vehicle was involved in a crash. The contact stated that the vehicle steering was difficult to handle. The contact stated that she has had problems with the transmission leaking. The dealership that sold her the transmission, and engine had to replace them, , and t the vehicle needed several other repairs as well. The dealership sold her the vehicle that was not safe. The contact stated that on numerous occasions she was not able to remove the key from the ignition. *ak

Factory installed bose radio sound system, right rear speaker amplifier started to smoke & burn. The incident started by a static sound,black smoke,fire,within 3 minutes. Radio static for 3 minutes as if an electrical storm was approching. Incident progressed to fire. F.d.of ny called. Driver escaped. Gas tank located behind rear seat, similar to the pinto which caused many fires and explosions in the past. Complaint by nhtsa lists " condition could result in smoke or flame and possibly the speaker catching fire" campaign #98v284000 nissan of north america called me to say the onus of responsibility was not theres', before bose investigation was concluded. Bose is still in the process of investigating the problem. The determination of what cause the failure is still under investigation as of june 24th. A childs safety seat installed properly would place the child in harms way or worse, due to a design flaw. Ie.gas tank behind rear seat,wires resting on tank. Nhtsa id 98v28400 recall #. Units affected 28,970 nothing was done to correct the failure. Nissan said they are not responsible odi 10124338 replaced circuit board recalled didn't correct the problem. Nothing has been replaced or repaired as of 6/24/2005

While driving vehicle, smelled smoke and pulled vehicle over, at that time driver discovered that there was a fire in the engine. Fire department stated that the fire was electrical. The vehicle was totalled. *ak

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 infiniti q45. While the vehicle was parked, the contact attempted to start the vehicle; however, the key would not turn in the ignition. She called aaa to get the vehicle to start. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for service, but no failures were found at that time. The current mileage was 28,000 and failure mileage was 17,000. Updated 01/02/08. *lj updated 12/12/07 *tr

I was driving and dashboard lights came on, then vehicle cut off on the highway. I assumed it was a bad alternator, but it was a defective crank sensor. *tr

Vehicle was parked in parking lot, an half hour later vehicle rolled into a brick wall. Car was locked and in the park position and was on flat ground.*ak

Tl* - the contact stated that she had purchased 1992 infinity q45 on 02/2006 ,and on 12/21/06 the contact's vehicle was involved in a crash. The contact stated that the vehicle steering was difficult to handle. The contact stated that she has had problems with the transmission leaking. The dealership that sold her the transmission, and engine had to replace them, , and t the vehicle needed several other repairs as well. The dealership sold her the vehicle that was not safe. The contact stated that on numerous occasions she was not able to remove the key from the ignition. *ak

The circuit board for crank position sensor and cam position sensor have improper solder joints. This has caused the service engine light to come on, the engine may not start, power reduces, engine stalls at a traffic light or while in motion, on a city street or highway or while making a turn. This is also a common problem with the 2002 infiniti m45, q45; 2003 infiniti i35, m45; 2003 nissan altima, maxima, murano, sentra. There are 11 consumer complaints, 3 investigations and 33 service bulletins regarding this issue with the 2003 q45. Infiniti/nissan recall # 03v455000

1 - there is up to a two second delay when quick acceleration is required. At times it feels as if the engine completely stalled. 2 - the vehicle often will not downshift to slow the vehicle on a hill. I could be in 5th gear at around only 1800 rpm, and when i downshift twice, it will not go to 3rd. I often have to downshift up to 6 times for it to respond and switch to third. I need to take my eyes off the road to constantly check if i'm in the gear i select. 3 - the parking/emergency break will not hold the fully loaded vehicle on a hill. If the transmission in park fails, the vehicle will roll. All issues are considered to be normal by the manufacturer. They corrected the problem on their new 2005 version and refuse to do so on my vehicle.

Transmission would shift hard while shifting from first to second gear, and vehicle would vibrate uncontrollably. Driver took the vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic could not duplicate the problem. Also, vehicle was operating as designed. *ak

This is a lemon which now threatens public safety. Infiniti doesn't seem to care

Extreme problems with fuel systems and/or transmission.... Trans just serviced in october of 2003. *jb

Manufacturer issued a recall regarding the filtration and cooling performance for the automatic transmission, recall states that an external filter and cooler would be installed and the transmission would be inspected, vehicle is experiencing problems and consumer is being refused recall. *slc

We were on east-bay freeway, center lane, going 65 mph, no power...we were fortunate it was christmas morning and not much traffic...

Took vehicle to nissan dealership...first replacement transmission installed was faulty so they then had to re-order another new transmission to install...our vehicle was not returned until 1/12/00. *ak

No deployment of airbag during collision, front of vehicle was damaged enough to give airbag warning for deployment, however there were multiple injuries. *yc

While driving at approximately 35 mph the owner hit a vehicle on the front right side. Upon impact, the air bags failed to deploy. The driver and passenger sustained injuries, but did not seek immediate medical attention. *ak *sc *jb the impact was so great that it pushed back the frame rail one inch. The consumer is questioning whether or not the vehicle even has air bags and wants nissan to inspect the vehicle. *nm

A vehicle made an illegal u-turn in front of my vehicle and i struck him in the left rear, causing him to do a complete 180 degree turn, the force was in my center front. The airbags on neather side of my vehicle deployed ,adding to the injuries of both passenger and driver. At this time the combined cost is in excess of 4000 dollars and climing. Is there a history of this failure? If so please advise me of what corrective steps need to be taken, and any other information which might be helpful. My fax # 816 671 0092. *ak

Was in a crash and the driver's side air bag didn't deploy, driver was injured, had on the cruse control . *ak

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 infiniti q45. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, another vehicle crashed into her passenger side. The air bags did not deploy and the front driver's seat twisted toward the driver's door during the crash. The contact suffered injuries and was taken to the hospital. The vehicle was towed to the contact's home. The failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 117,000.

While driving at 35 mph the vehicle collided into another vehicle. The dual airbags did not deploy. The driver sustained spinal injuries and the passenger sustained chest and back injuries. The vehicle was considered total loss. Please provide additional information. *jb

Front seat passenger - 5'9" sitting all the way back with seat belt on. Lifted left arm up just before front end crash impact and suffered a bad fracture requiring surgery and pin placement to left distal radius (forearm bone near wrist on thumb side). 1998 infinity q45. *nlm

The vehicle was hit from behind and then propelled into a guard rail and the airbag did not deploy.please describe. *ak

Upon impact, during frontal crash, at approx. 35mph, 12:00 on front bumper, hitting a gaurd rail, pass. Airbag deployed with such force it shattered windshield.

Consumer was in an accident, hit from the front, the driver's side air bag didn't deploy. Please describe .*ak

Tl* - the contact stated that she had purchased 1992 infinity q45 on 02/2006 ,and on 12/21/06 the contact's vehicle was involved in a crash. The contact stated that the vehicle steering was difficult to handle. The contact stated that she has had problems with the transmission leaking. The dealership that sold her the transmission, and engine had to replace them, , and t the vehicle needed several other repairs as well. The dealership sold her the vehicle that was not safe. The contact stated that on numerous occasions she was not able to remove the key from the ignition. *ak

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 infiniti q45. While driving various speeds, the engine stalled without warning and all power was lost. After several attempts, the vehicle was able to restart. The failure recurred randomly. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000. Updated 11/29/16*lj the consumer has since traded the vehicle. Updated 12/06/16.*jb

In march 2008 my 2002 infiniti q45 would not start, had it towed from fayetteville, nc to infiniti dealer in raleigh, nc. They r/r starter assy to resolve issue at no charge, old part not available. On 5/15/08 my car would not start, had it towed from fayetteville to infiniti dealer in raleigh. They r/r starter assy to resolve issue at no charge, old part not available. On 7/26/08 car would not start again. Had it towed from fayetteville to infiniti dealer in raleigh. They said motor burned out due to ignition switch malfunction & r/r starter assy & ignition switch to resolve & charged $1,205.54. I asked about recall i found on nhtsa website regarding engine & engine cooling because it stated this could cause a no start condition. They did not acknowledge this recall and that's why they charged me. I would like some assistance in determining if this recall is causing my car to periodically not start. This seems to occur every 2 months. *tr

Recall was never properly taken care of. *tr

1 - there is up to a two second delay when quick acceleration is required. At times it feels as if the engine completely stalled. 2 - the vehicle often will not downshift to slow the vehicle on a hill. I could be in 5th gear at around only 1800 rpm, and when i downshift twice, it will not go to 3rd. I often have to downshift up to 6 times for it to respond and switch to third. I need to take my eyes off the road to constantly check if i'm in the gear i select. 3 - the parking/emergency break will not hold the fully loaded vehicle on a hill. If the transmission in park fails, the vehicle will roll. All issues are considered to be normal by the manufacturer. They corrected the problem on their new 2005 version and refuse to do so on my vehicle.

The consumer was informed by the infinity csr that based on their records, the crank position sensor weld recall 03v455000 wasn't performed. Prior to contacting the manufacturer, the consumer had taken the vehicle to the dealership to have the recall brepairsperformed and was told when they picked the vehicle that the recall was done.*ak

Consumer and the dealership noticed that engine was consuming 2 and a half quarts of oil every 4400 miles. Also, vehicle had brake rotors problems. *ak when the second oil consumption test was done for 33000 miles the vehicle used one and a half quarts of oil. Heavy blue smoke emits from the exhaust pipe during initial start up. *nm

Tl* the contact owns a 1998 infiniti q45. The contact indicated that the service engine sensor illuminated and there was a loss of power. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled on several occasions. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop who was not able to replicate or diagnose the failure. The contact was not included in recall nhtsa campaign id number: 03v455000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

Sometime after i purchasing the above vehicle in november, 2001, the engine would fail to start without recharging the battery. After recharging, the vehicle would exhibit no malfunction and operate normally for extended periods of time. This condition would reoccur infrequently, and has since manifested itself by showing no charging from the alternator. Infiniti identified this problem with a recall begun on 03/15/2002, as a defective diode damaged in manufacture. This action is identified as nhtsa action # pe02034. At no time was i notified by infiniti of this recall, and the symptoms of malfunction i have experienced are clearly a result of a defective alternator/diode. I contacted infiniti on 11/08/2011 and they denied me any assistance. I request your assistance in requiring infiniti to correct this malfunction which would have been avoided had infiniti notified me during the recall period. My ownership of the vehicle was a matter of public record and could have easily been obtained. *tr

This is a lemon which now threatens public safety. Infiniti doesn't seem to care

Left front strut spring broke while in traffic, sending broken spring end into tire ripping the entire sidewall of the tire out. Blowout caused loss of steering while in the process sent vehicle into oncoming traffic. *tr

When driving vehicle on uneven pavement vehicle will loose its stability, shoulder bump, vehicle loss vehicle stability impact 11:00 position speed 65 mph. Tt

Vehicle vibrates starting at 50mph up to 80mph. Dealer replaced tires twice plus alloy wheels replaced. Infinity mechanic admits total vibration but mfg. Rep states auto made to ride that way. *tr

Vehicle vibrates at speeds starting at 50 mph through 80 mph. Vibration can be felt throughout cabin. *la

Car vibrates during 50 - 80 mph. *ak

When auto reaches speed of 60 mph thru 79 mph there is a vibration throughout car. *ak

Gear shift vibrated above 30 mph. Yh

The vehicle has continually experienced severe vibration in the front end suspension while driving 40 to 60 mph, the tires have been replaced due to uneven severe wear of the inside of tires (no make/model of tire provided), one tire blew out due to vibration problems. Consumer replaced two sets of tires in 39000 miles. *mjs

Vehicle hydroplaned three times causing loss of control and near accident due to design flaw.

While in motion, after constant freeway driving a harsh grinding noise appears in the front left suspension area. A rasping, grinding meal on metal noise happens in various degrees of loudness. The dealer has been unable to replicate the noise. *jg

While backing out slowly car suddenly accelerated, causing damages and injury.*ak *jb

When the consumer placed the vehicle in the reverse gear the vehicle accelerated suddenly and caused an accident. *ak *cb *nlm

When driving coming to a stop car accelerate caused an accident . Tt

When cruise control is set, and the need to pass or speed up is required, if you press the gas pedal to the floor the car takes off and *then stops responding and drops back to set cruise control speed while you are still flooring it. It bucks back and forth. I spoke to several owners on a infiniti owners site and theres performs the same. Its dangerous if the need to speed up occurs. This is a problem in the coding of the parameters in the ecu and could be deadly with unexpected performance. This happened on i40 in knoxville tennessee in heavy traffic. This condition can be repeated back to back multiple times.

Dt:the consumers vehicle has a cruise control that has a chip that if a car gets too close to it slows down. When driving on the highway and somebody cuts the consumer off it feels like someone stepped on the brake due to an abrupt drop in speed. Contacted manufacturer, they said can't separate them because it only shuts down cruise control or it goes into the icc. The dealership says they had many complaints, but manufacturer says it is not a problem. *ak *jb

The consumer believes that the laser controlled cruise control could be a potential safety issue to an unwary driver. *nm the system does not work in the rain or when driving into the sun at sunset. The system activates the brakes while passing other vehicle and there is no audible acknowledgemet when the system slow down for a slower vehicle. *nm

The circuit board for crank position sensor and cam position sensor have improper solder joints. This has caused the service engine light to come on, the engine may not start, power reduces, engine stalls at a traffic light or while in motion, on a city street or highway or while making a turn. This is also a common problem with the 2002 infiniti m45, q45; 2003 infiniti i35, m45; 2003 nissan altima, maxima, murano, sentra. There are 11 consumer complaints, 3 investigations and 33 service bulletins regarding this issue with the 2003 q45. Infiniti/nissan recall # 03v455000

Was on the highway takings grandkids home and the car just cut off right in the middle of a busy highway. It took several tries to get it to start again but it stayed on only long though for me to get it on the shoulder. We could have been in a serious wreck. It is only by the grace of god and functional hazard lights that we and other vehicles weren't injured. We had to be towed because we were too far from an exit to risk trying to drive it any further! *tr

1 - there is up to a two second delay when quick acceleration is required. At times it feels as if the engine completely stalled. 2 - the vehicle often will not downshift to slow the vehicle on a hill. I could be in 5th gear at around only 1800 rpm, and when i downshift twice, it will not go to 3rd. I often have to downshift up to 6 times for it to respond and switch to third. I need to take my eyes off the road to constantly check if i'm in the gear i select. 3 - the parking/emergency break will not hold the fully loaded vehicle on a hill. If the transmission in park fails, the vehicle will roll. All issues are considered to be normal by the manufacturer. They corrected the problem on their new 2005 version and refuse to do so on my vehicle.

Consumer stated that the gas pedal would not engage readily, when pressing the gas pedal from a stopped position, the vehicle would not move, then more force would be used on the gas pedal and vehicle would lurch forward, the dealer cleaned the throttle chamber. *slc

The brakes in this vehicle malfunctioned and by such caused a very serious accident. The dealer, nissan of the eastside in bellevue wa was supposed to fix said brakes as i noted that they were not operating correctly in my test drive of the vehicle and i wrote the contract subject to the brakes being fixed. When they didn't fix the brakes they were committing fraud and also in breech of contract.. They did not fix the brakes as agreed. Infiniti of fife then supposedly did said brake work. A few days later the car is in an accident due to brake failure. Come to find out, both dealerships are owned by the same people thus making collusion to hide this safety issue a very easy road to travel. The car is now currently offered for sale again at infiniti of fife this time and the accident isn't disclosed, in fact the car is said to have a clean carfax history. This constitutes fraud. I have not as yet been compensated for my loss. My insurance paid to fix this vehicle which the nissan dealer promptly repo-ed (5 minutes after i paid to get it out of the shop) when i refused to pay full retail due to the aforementioned issues. The dealership owners and all involved should be brought up on felony reckless endangerment charges as well as fraud charges. I do expect to be compensated for this as well as does my insurance company, which paid over $10,000 to fix this death trap of a car. I hope you can help as i am in dire need of assistance. *tr

Abs brake system failed, pedal fades and vehicle keeps rolling, resulting in accident, airbags did not deploy.

Brake pedal went to the floor due to faulty anti lock braking system. Tt

2004 infiniti q45 lemon this automobile has an in-service date of 12-17-04, purchased by me on 02-08-08 at 26,670 miles with 10 months remaining on the time warranty that's expired. It was returned to major infiniti on 09-29-10 with 42,171 miles ^0,000 warranty) and an inoperative driver's seat (no rear/forward function) fixed in an unsafe position for me and impossible for my wife - (7) inches shorter. After diagnosis, major informed me the repair cost would be $1300 and that infiniti refused any warranty responsibility. I called nissan consumer affairs and spoke to emily who gave me a file # [xxx] and told me a regional specialist would call within two days, next day, september 30, i called nca again and talked to [xxx], regional specialist. She told me i couldn't have an answer on nca covering the seat problem until monday 10-4-10. October 1, i authorized ordering of the seat adjuster assembly as i had no option since our other car would be unavailable after monday. [xxx] called october 4 and said nissan would do nothing toward a warranty repair. My complaint: first, an inoperative driver's seat should qualify as a safety-related defect. My wife and i drive with a 9 inch height differential and with an inoperative seat - as it was - she couldn't drive without perching on the very front edge. Without a seat belt. I had no option but to repair this seat or abandon any notion of driving out of town. If we drove out of cell phone coverage and i became unable to drive, as in an emergency, my wife would be compelled to drive us without the security of adequate seating and seat restraints. Second, and another reason my complaint, this car has a history of electrical problems: cd @ 28395; cruise control @ 32442; battery@35193; headlight ballast and lamp @ 37694. Unrelated brake replacement @ 36396. A driver's seat should qualify as safety-related. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).*tr

Bought 2003 q 45 in spring 2007, still under warranty. June 2009 at 79,000 miles the engine was replaced (under warranty). 6/30/09, 80,081 miles car problem with no acceleration and service engine and cruise control light coming on. Problem didn't reoccur until june 2012 when engine suddenly cut off while driving. Would restart in neutral but in a week or so it did it again on the interstate at about 55. Fortunately was in right lane and could get to emergency lane before someone ran into me. Car restarted. Continued like this until 6/29/12 when repaired, only it continued to stop and the cruise control/traction lights would come on and car would suddenly stop and then surge forward. 8/11/12 serviced for same problem. 8/14/12 same thing, car stopped then surged, then the engine cut off and lost steering/brakes. Infiniti service again, this time installing new electronic control module ($ 1600). The dealer kept this car for several days and a mechanic drove it until it happened several times. The mechanic or someone at infiniti dealer told me it was a "death trap" and it is. A few weeks later going around a roundabout, the engine turned off and lost steering. Put in neutral and restarted. Couple of months later, engine turned off while driving. Friday june 7, 2013 i pulled onto busy highway, drove a mile and engine suddenly stopped. Before i could get in neutral to restart, a dump truck nearly rear-ended me. Got it restarted, then the cruise control light came on, car stopped again and then surged forward. I have contacted infiniti and internet searched. There were many infinitis with this problem in the years 2002-2003, though roswell infiniti said there were no recalls for this problem on any infiniti yesterday. This is a very dangerous situation, and infiniti acts like they know nothing about this problem. *tr

Consumer and the dealership noticed that engine was consuming 2 and a half quarts of oil every 4400 miles. Also, vehicle had brake rotors problems. *ak when the second oil consumption test was done for 33000 miles the vehicle used one and a half quarts of oil. Heavy blue smoke emits from the exhaust pipe during initial start up. *nm

My 2000 infinity q-45 with 37,000 miles of usage suddenly and without warning completely locked up while under power in the outside lane while on a busy six lane street and would not move. The vehicle we later learned by the dealer had suffered a rear wheel brake and axle complete breakdown and failure. The dealer service department said that we must have driven the car with the emergency brake engaged to cause the axle, brake linings and drums to over heat and fatigue. The car required a significant number of new replacement parts in the acel/brake assembly area that required $2,158.64 in parts and the total bill was $3,113.70. While no one was injured in this event, it was only because the incident occurred on a surface street a low speed as opposed to an interstate highway. My concern is that we, the drivers of the vehicle that was purchased new, are retired and monitor our vehicles closely. There is a "indicator light" that should come on automatically while driving or attempting to drive with the emergency brake partially or fully engaged. This never happened. I tested this light since the repairs and it is functional at this time. I would like to know if others with a infinity q-45 might have had a similar experience as our vehicle was not knowingly driven with the emergency brake engaged. *jb

Brake system fails to adequately stop vehicle. Lso, vehicle will intermittently surge while brakes are being applied. Dealership has examined vehicle, but cannot find a remedy for the problem. *ak consumer feels this could be related to brake booster failure. *jb

Tl* the contact owns a 1997 infiniti q45. While driving approximately 75 mph, the brake pedal was depressed and failed to respond. An unknown warning light illuminated. The vehicle stopped after the vehicle was placed into the neutral position. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 162,915.

Vehicle has defective brake pads. While driving and pressing the brake pedal, it goes down metal to metal. There was no warning/indicator light. Speed limit is at normal or below, when going down hill the vehicle is in second gear, dealer contacted dealer, and states that the pads are sufficient for the vehicle. *ak

While driving fuel line disconnected from the fuel tank . This caused the vehicle to stall. Consumer managed to pull over, and had vehicle towed. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak

I am not able to fill my gas tank via a standard fuel station pump. I have to manually insert a funnel to fill my gas tank which takes about 30 minutes to perform. *tr

The fuel injectors just keep going bad, even doing all scheduled maintence work on time and using only the instructed premium fuel from either amoco or mobile. I just don't understand it. *ak

Filler cap will not seal, causing fuel to blowout through the filler neck. Dealer has inspected vehicle.*ak

This is a lemon which now threatens public safety. Infiniti doesn't seem to care

I have discussed this with another q45 owner who has had this similar prblem. All his fuel injection assembly's have been replaced. Some more than once. The cost to replace is around $480-500 including labor. *ak

The vehicle was bought under the certified pre-owned infiniti program, in 1st 15 months of ownership the car has been in the shop 15 times, 8 times for one thing alone. The car has is not safe as it stalls at times entering or accelerating into the flow of traffic, leaving you half in and half out of, say an intersection. Infiniti wants to buy the car back but at a less than reasonable price, thereby being able too resell this car at a profit to some poor consumer. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Concerned about the possibility of an accident wwhich could result as a result of the sudden lost of power which coccurs when a fuel injection fails.

Extreme problems with fuel systems and/or transmission.... Trans just serviced in october of 2003. *jb

The car while driving just started leaking gas, with family in the car. The steering column is defective. *jb