Owners have filed 250 complaints on the Infiniti QX50, covering 2014–2025. The system named most often is Engine (64 reports). Worst years by volume: 2019, 2021, 2020; cleanest: 2025, 2014, 2015. 10 reports describe a crash, 6 a fire. On average the car was 4.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Infiniti QX50
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 250 QX50 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine 64 Read
The contact owns a 2019 Infiniti QX50. While the contact's son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine seized with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated there was smoke and fire coming from the engine compartment. In addition, the smell of burning oil and smoke was inside the vehicle.…
There are 2 check engine codes that came up as an issue for my vehicle, out of the blue: P0720 and P0500. I reached out to my mechanic and he couldn't fix it. So my plan was to take it to the dealership at the end of this month; however, while driving the vehicle back from my sister's house, the bottom of the car…
The engine blew up on the expressway. And this has happened for many other qx50 drivers
Engine And Engine Cooling 42 Read
The contact owns a 2022 Infiniti QX50. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V437000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the vehicle was sluggish while driving and made an abnormal sound while accelerating. The…
The contact owns a 2021 Infiniti QX50. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment, prompting the contact to discontinue driving the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a…
The contact owns a 2021 Infiniti QX50. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V437000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The check…
Electrical System 30 Read
A fire spontaneously ignited while the vehicle was turned off and parked in the owner's garage. The fire apparently started in the vehicle's infotainment system. The fire melted all electrical components of the infotainment system and spread throughout the vehicle to the driver and front passenger seats and the front…
This is the 3rd instance of my car rolling backwards down the driveway. Both the first and second instances of uncontrolled rolling happened in 2016. Only the second instance was caught on camera. I shared the video with Infiniti and was instructed to bring the car in for an inspection. I went in for the inspection in…
The system falsely beeps and displays collision alerts even when no vehicles or objects are present. The system has also initiated braking on the highway with no obstacle present, which is a major safety concern for me and for other drivers. Conversely, when an actual vehicle approached too closely, the system failed…
Power Train 26 Read
The contact owned a 2021 Infiniti QX50. The contact stated that while driving at 25 MPH, he collided with another vehicle on the rear driver's side of the vehicle. As a result, the vehicle was thrust off the roadway, coming to a complete stop after colliding with a pole, and the front passenger side wheel disconnected…
On June 16, 2026, a 2021 Infiniti QX50 experienced a safety-related malfunction while being driven at approximately 15–20 mph. The vehicle suddenly jerked, lost power response, displayed multiple warning lights, showed a “System Fault – See Owner’s Manual” message, and became unresponsive/difficult to control. The…
So after my initial report about my engine catching fire on the highway, I received an invoice for $5,000 for a used engine with 80k miles on it; plus another $2800 for the service fee. I already put down about $3900 for the engine repair. The mechanic sent me pictures of the engine with the holes on it that caused…
Service Brakes 10 Read
12/12/2017 - driving on a county side street east bound, had just left a 20 mph school zone and accelerated slightly. Applied brakes very hard at app 40 mph when car 100 ft. Ahead stopped suddenly. The vehicle did not slow down much at all and a crash resulted, causing damage to both vehicles. Air bags deployed. The…
The contact owns a 2022 Infiniti QX50. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the navigation system became inoperable and inadvertently powered off independently. The contact also stated that the backup prevention camera became inoperable, and she backed into another vehicle. The ABS…
Picked up the car on 5/25, on 6/4 sitting at a red light, forward collision warning and lane assist malfunctions showed up on dashboard. Called Faulkner willow grove where my company leased the car, the set up an appt on 6/17. The next day, 6/18 both malfunctions came back, I called and said I don't have time out of…
Forward Collision Avoidance 10 Read
The contact owns a 2023 Infiniti QX50. The contact stated while driving 28-29 MPH at nighttime, she noticed an animal in the roadway and decelerated. The contact stated that while the vehicle was approximately 2 ft. Away from the animal, the vehicle made a loud sound, and the hood popped up and partially covered the…
While driving on a clear day with no traffic in front of me or debris on the road at approximately 45 mph, a master warning light appeared on my dash with an accompanying warning signal and simultaneously the emergency braking system engaged and brought my vehicle to a sudden stop. As quickly as it started, the…
Equipped with ProPILOT Assist and Intelligent Cruise Control inclusive of Lane Keep assist, traffic sign recognition, and Direct Adaptive Steering. Vehicle has just under 60,000 miles and still under warranty When in ProPILOT Assist/Intelligent Cruise Control, when hands leave the steering wheel, car failed to give a…
Vehicle Speed Control 9 Read
While driving, the vehicle will decline in acceleration and you can not increase acceleration. When turning the vehicle off, the car will proceed at a slow pace. Infiniti dealer told me that I needed to let the car warm up for 30 minutes. The engine makes noise as if the vehicle is in neutral. At times, once taking…
There is something wrong with either the acceleration, electrical or throttle. While parking the vehicle and applying the breaks, the vehicle speed forward at high speed and would not stop even with applying the breaks. It crashed me and my daughter into a brick building at high speed. The witness said he had never…
1. Collision warning sensor activated while driving in the #1 lane( closest to the cement highway dividers) and aggresively braked and slowed while diving at 77 mph. Not safe!! 2. Even thou I purposely turn the radio "off" when exiting my car, upon entering my car after a short duration of time, the radio turns "on"…
Air Bags 7 Read
On December 24, 2024 I was in a car accident where my car did make impact twice after spinning out of control due to black ice. The first impact occurred hitting a car then the final impact occurred when the car was flung into the metal barricade after spinning. The air bags did NOT deploy during this accident and I…
As I was entering the freeway, the car was hit by an object which came flying at the vehicle from the adjacent lane. The impact of the object hitting the front bumper of the vehicle caused the hood "airbags" (pedestrian actuator system) to deploy. With the deployment of the hood airbag the hood opened from the back…
Safely concerned for passenger as airbag will not activate, light stays illuminated. Front driver seat frame seems loose or broken, seat rocks forward and backwards. Engine exhibiting sluggish and loss of power especially at lower speeds
QX50 years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Unknown Or Other,engine,fuel/propulsion System | — | — | |
| 2024 | Electrical System,exterior Lighting,forward Collision Avoidance | — | 1 | |
| 2023 | Forward Collision Avoidance | — | — | |
| 2022 | Air Bags | 1 | 1 | |
| 2021 | Electrical System,engine | 2 | — | |
| 2020 | Electrical System,back Over Prevention | — | — | |
| 2019 | Air Bags,seats,engine | 2 | 1 | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 3 | 3 | |
| 2015 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2014 | Fuel System, Other,electrical System,fuel/propulsion System | 1 | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 105 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.4 |
| Worst single series | 11 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.2 years |
A model average of 2.4 hides a worst series at 11. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the QX50?
By complaint volume, 2019, 2021, 2020 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which QX50 years are the cleanest?
2025, 2014, 2015 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Infiniti QX50 have?
250 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2014–2025. Of those, 10 describe a crash and 6 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.