Infiniti '08 G35x reliability issues?? | FerrariChat

Infiniti '08 G35x reliability issues??

Discussion in 'General Automotive Discussion' started by E60 M5, Nov 22, 2009.

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  1. E60 M5

    E60 M5 Moderator
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    Jan 2, 2006
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    Robert
    Hey gang!

    Looking at the G35x loaded as a daily driver and looks like a well built car. Took one for a long, half day, test drive and really enjoyed the car. Wondering have any of you that own the car had issues??

    The car has a 4yr/6ok mile bumper to bumper warranty. If I buy a "certified" car from a Infiniti dealer they give an additional 3yr or up to 100k mile warranty. The pricing between "certified" and none is roughly $2500, not sure its worth it to get "certified". Any thoughts or experiences with Infiniti that should change my mind??

    Thanks guys for the 411!! Did a search and found a couple of threads, but none on reliability.

    The car reminded me a lot of the BMW's in terms of handling and driver feedback. The Lexus was just to soft. The BMW 530 compared to the G35x is roughly $6-7k more and I am not sure what for, and I am a BMW fan.
     
  2. DIGMAN52

    DIGMAN52 F1 Rookie
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Jan 30, 2004
    3,999
    Dallas Texas
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    Philip C
    We have had a M35 and 2 G-35's in the family the last 4 years, and have had no issues with any of them. Really peppy, and good sound, but not great around town mileage with that 300hp. They have been great cars for us.
     
  3. technom3

    technom3 F1 World Champ
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    Mar 29, 2007
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    The G is a 3 series fighter as opposed to a 5 series fighter.

    Anywho, I wouldn't much worry about the reliability. That engine has bas been in the nissan product line for probably close to 10 years now. Starting in the frontier and xterra and then the 350z g35 so on and so forth... its kind of the Nissan small block chevy motor.. the only thing I would concern myself with is really the awd system including the front axels... other than that id say its pretty solid. also, that 4500 bucks spent on the certified car.. if you sell it privately will retain some of its value vs one that isn't certified. but if you plan on selling it in 40k miles.... there really isn't a point in paying for it at all... if you are driving it into the ground or selling it well past its original factory warranty, i would definitely consider it
     
  4. ztunelover

    ztunelover Formula Junior

    Oct 1, 2009
    641
    Calgary, AB
    Full Name:
    Krish
    What technom said. The Nissan vq engine is basically in all types of Nissans and Infinitis so I wouldn't worry about it crapping out unless it faced serious abuse.

    The awd system is really solid. You can switch between awd and rwd, so in snowy situations you can use the awd and otherwise rwd. You need to confirm with others, but a friend of mine had a first gen g35x. And he reported better gas mileage in rwd mode. And as for the system reliability, unless you are modding it to make more power the system shouldn't break. If you are it will.

    Not sure if the g35x came in manual, but depending on how you drive you can pull decent gas mileage out of it.

    P.S. The Infiniti M class is the 5 series rival the G35 is competing with the 3 series.
     
  5. BMW.SauberF1Team

    BMW.SauberF1Team F1 World Champ

    Dec 4, 2004
    14,244
    #5 BMW.SauberF1Team, Nov 22, 2009
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2009
    My father has an '08 G35X with the auto trans. Great car and hasn't given him any problems (I think he has 20k miles on it now). The GPS navigation is pretty good as well and has the touchscreen feature. It drives pretty well in the snow (the 3-4 times they get it in Maryland ;) ). I think he's averaged about 20mpg for city/hwy combined.

    Edit: Longest drive I've done with it was from Maryland to Atlantic City. Pretty comfortable on long trips. Has the Bluetooth that worked without problems (T-mobile BlackBerry user here). I like it.
     
  6. E60 M5

    E60 M5 Moderator
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    Thanks guys for the info so far. Is the M35 really bigger than the G35?? I need to check that one, I thought it was same body, just bigger engine.

    Yea, I plan on keeping it for a while. The wife has a 8 mile round trip commute and she will use the car mostly. For all the car comes with I am surprised it is so over looked and under priced!
     
  7. BMW.SauberF1Team

    BMW.SauberF1Team F1 World Champ

    Dec 4, 2004
    14,244
    The only thing my dad wishes the car had was more trunk space even though he only needs to carry a gym bag in it, lol. Keep in mind his previous car was an E38 740iL, which can hold like four bodies in the trunk! :) Not fair to hold the G35 to those expectations. ;)
     
  8. SSNISTR

    SSNISTR F1 Veteran

    Feb 13, 2004
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    SFL
    #8 SSNISTR, Nov 22, 2009
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2009
    I have a G35 S in the stable. Sedan, manual, RWD. Just rolled 25K not one issue. Wife and I love the car.
     
  9. ztunelover

    ztunelover Formula Junior

    Oct 1, 2009
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    Calgary, AB
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    Krish
    The M class is bigger put them side by side and you will see. There are two M class cars. The M35 an the M45. The M35 uses the same engine as the G35 and I do believe there is the X variant for the 35 don't know about the 45. But that car seriously wakes up with the 4.5 v8. With the 3.5 it feels a bit stressed to pull hard. Or maybe its because I rode in the 45 before.
     
  10. Craigy

    Craigy Formula 3

    Mar 19, 2006
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    Craigy
    In my '05 G35, I've had airbag lights come on a couple times, CD player stopped working, and some trim pieces got funky. All repaired/replaced under warranty. No other problems though.

    If you were worried about the 4wd system, I think the powertrain warranty is considerably longer than the bumper-to-bumper warranty (I want to say 5 years and 70,000 miles). So you may already be covered fairly well.
     
  11. E60 M5

    E60 M5 Moderator
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    I have noticed the "S" is about $2k less than the "X" version, however, I want all wheel drive.

    Keep in mind I used to drive the E39 M5 and the E60 M5, so it takes a lot to impress with a 4 door in my world. I must say the G35 does that well enough and I will purchase one here in the next few weeks. The 2010 should be released here at the new year and should drive prices down a bit on the '08 and that is what I am targeting. Nice on at the local GMC dealer fully loaded, all bells and whistles, '08 G35x 24k miles and asking $27.9k for it, very aggressively priced. I think its gonna pay to wait one more month. Thoughts?

    Thanks for all the comments on the reliability, don't know much about the brand. Except that Nissan = Infiniti.
     
  12. BMW.SauberF1Team

    BMW.SauberF1Team F1 World Champ

    Dec 4, 2004
    14,244
    Hmm...I was giving it some more thought and remembered a few instances when I punched the throttle and there not being much going on. What I mean by that is that the revs jump, but the car doesn't accelerate (automatic trans). Once you back off, it starts to go. In the tiptronic mode, that doesn't happen. Maybe you should try that in your test drive (full throttle at some point).
     
  13. rdefabri

    rdefabri Three Time F1 World Champ

    Jun 4, 2008
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    The VQ engine is nearly bulletproof...most all Datsun / Nissan engines have been dating back to the Prince / Nissan "L" series motors.

    I was strongly considering purchase of a Gen I G35 sedan, first new, then a used one in the past few years. I was alarmed at the reports of poor quality. Can't speak for the Gen II (current model), I am hoping they improved...damn fine looking / performing car.
     
  14. SSNISTR

    SSNISTR F1 Veteran

    Feb 13, 2004
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    I live in FL so had no need for the AWD and the added weight that goes with it. I usually try to buy RWD cars. My friend in NY has a X and loves it. They do sit a little higher I have noticed. If you found the car you want, and you like the price I wouldn't take the chance of waiting a month. I lost a perfect Corvette last month trying the same thing....
     
  15. E60 M5

    E60 M5 Moderator
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    Yea, it is the car "I" want, however, the mrs. would like a lighter interior, this car is black.

    Thanks for all the comments. I think its going to be a really good buy and hopefully prove to be highly reliable.
     
  16. E60 M5

    E60 M5 Moderator
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    Just to bring closure to this thread, I will give the final update.

    We bought a 2010 Nissan Altima in stead of the G35x. Bottom line, pretty much the same car, minus all wheel drive, altima, front wheel. Same engine 3.5 sv and all the bells and whistles the same and I was able to save about $6k. Killer deals out there to be made, thats for sure.
     
  17. SSNISTR

    SSNISTR F1 Veteran

    Feb 13, 2004
    8,046
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    Good luck with the car. But FYI, the cars are totally different platforms.
     
  18. Bad Chariot

    Bad Chariot Formula Junior

    Dec 6, 2003
    262
    Reading, MA
    Full Name:
    Michael

    I was shopping for a G35X this past spring, the awful gas mileage rating steered me towards a Subaru Legacy but when I was looking around I found www.g35driver.com to be an excellent messageboard.

    Another member stated that you can change the car from RWD to AWD, from my readings that is not correct. The car can be set up for a 25/75 ratio split for normal driving or a 50/50 split for snow. Regardless for the winter, snow tires were recommended. If I didn't drive 19k miles a year then I would have looked closer at the G35x but it was hard to pass up an AWD car, that runs on reg gas, AND still gets 28-29mpg for my commute.

    The other car I really liked but was out of my $$ reach was the Acura RL. The car comes loaded, gets close to 30mpg highway and is AWD. I am avid golfer so the amount of bags I can fit in the trunk is key and the RL looked like it could hold 4 bags. The G35x was 2 cart bags/3 stand bags at most.
     
  19. VTChris

    VTChris F1 World Champ

    Aug 21, 2005
    13,259
    Hi Robert,

    We have 2 G35's in the family
    1 sedan (06) 1 coupe (06)
    70k miles on sedan
    40k on coupe
    No issues on either. Scheduled maintenance and oil changes done.
    Drives nice, comfortable.
    I drive 100 miles a day and I get about 400 miles a tank
    I am happy with it.

    I too knew nothing about them other than they are a Nissan.
    Was tired of BMW and MBZ and their drama.

    Infiniti is a good car

    Hope that helps,
    Happy Holidays :)
     
  20. ddemuro

    ddemuro Formula 3

    Nov 16, 2006
    2,129
    San Diego
    Full Name:
    Doug
    While the vehicles share superficial similarities, they are not similar. The engine is different - the Altima uses the VQ35DE engine, which was used on the '03-'06 G35, while the '07-'08 G35 uses an updated version of that engine which Nissan calls the VQ35HR. Additionally, while the Altima shares its platform with the Murano and Maxima and is manufactured in the U.S., the G35 is made in Japan and shares its platform with the Infiniti FX and EX and Nissan Z. Of course, both are fine cars; congratulations on the purchase. :)
     

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