2002 Infiniti Q45 from North America - Comments

Mr. Mark C. McNabb

Vice President

General Manager, Infiniti Division.

Dear Mark.

In addition to completing the survey you recently sent me I feel it necessary to send you a personal letter describing my complete dissatisfaction in my 2002 Q45 as well as the overall service problems I have had with Pinnacle Infiniti.

Let me first say that my service representative Johnny Gumpf and the other service staff at Pinnacle have been extremely courteous and professional at all times. However, after six service trips in addition to required scheduled maintenance I have reached my limits of toleration for the ongoing problems.

After having leased two luxury vehicles prior to this (both Mercedes) I have come to realize that either Infiniti produces an extremely poor quality vehicle or I have been sold a “lemon”. When I leased this vehicle I was sold on the luxury, mechanical, and technology features as well as the promise of “top quality” service. For the amount of money that I am paying for this lease I surely expected much more in all categories. I can honestly say that I have never been more disappointed in my eight years of leasing luxury vehicles.

As CEO of a Company based in Newport Beach California I commute on occasion by car and specifically leased this vehicle with that in mind.

I have yet to use the vehicle for this purpose because it has either been in the shop or I have not felt confident that it is reliable enough to make the trip.

I leased the vehicle in late July and within 30 days had it in two times for maintenance that included a complete rebuild of the air conditioning system.

I have since had it in for numerous repairs and service of various accessory items only some of which have been fixed. Most recently I have had four separate appointments to fix a problem with a power steering line that has still not been fixed. I will be taking it in again this week to try and have the problem resolved; although I have no confidence that this will be accomplished. In fact the problem has steadily increased since the first attempt to fix it back in September.

At this point I must insist that the existing problems be resolved immediately or I want this vehicle replaced. In addition to this I want some form of guarantee for the future service of this vehicle. I refuse to drive it under the current conditions, it is new and I still have 2 ½ years left on this lease. This problem is costing me time, money, and most of all it is aggravating.

If Infiniti or the Pinnacle dealership is unable or unwilling to resolve this within a reasonable amount of time I will be forced to seek other remedies.

Your car is obviously a lemon because I have a 2002 Q45 with 9000 miles and the car is amazing, responsive, powerful, comfortable and best of all HIGH QUALITY!!!

I have two Q45's and have enjoyed every minute spent in either my 93 or 2000.That being said, maybe you should get on line to see what specifically constitutes as a lemon.. So many repairs for the same problem does in my book.

Boy, Mr. McNabb must swim in these letters!

The problem here is obviously not the car, but unexperienced technicians who work on the car. If you have to go in multiple times for 1 problem...HELLO!!! How many solutions can there possibly be for one problem??? What these people should do is go to sites like these to make damn sure that they will not have to do this and leave space for better reviews.

My car is a dream. I have a 2000 q45t anniversary edition. I have absolutely no quarries with the car except there is a great deal of road steer with my 19" low profile tires.

GREAT car. FAST, and it's like sitting on your couch at home it's so comfortable. Most value for the money in luxury class, hands down.

"road steer?"

I just bought a used 2002 Q45 (50K) 3 weeks ago and took it to a trip to Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego and returned to Phoenix. Prior to the trip I had it checked by Superstition Springs infiniti and obtained the repair history of the car. The car have had very few repairs (all done under warranty) and I only needed to have the rotors turned. The car was a pleasure to drive and we did not encounter any problems. I also own a 99 q45 that has 101K and it's still running flawlessly (one of the reasons to get another Q45).

Unfortunately, I believe that you did get a lemon. I've read many user comments at carpoint.com and most have been positive. There are a few isolated cases where owners have encountered numerous and serious problems.

Hope you do get your issues resolved.

I have owned an '02 Q45 for over one year and have driven it many miles. The car has been perfect so far and a pleasure to drive. It looks like you got a lemon and I am sorry to hear you've had so many problems. I highly recommend the Q. It is one fine machine for the money.

Blow mold out of the air vents? I have two Q45s, including a '94 I've owned for 10 years and have never experienced or heard that one. Please check your rumor source my friend.

My 1994 is the most reliable car I've owned with neither a squeak or rattle after 120,000 miles. It is much more solidly built than my wife's 93 lexus GS300 (in the Lexus trim has peeled, molding torn, valve cover leaked, etc. Not the Q). And my 2002, which I bought used off lease, is also rock solid - (except for the fact that Infiniti under-engineered the brakes - but that's another story).

Nissan makes a good car and in my experience the Q is the best-made car around.

I have purchased my 2002 q45 a month ago. being an infiniti lover this was my only choice of a new change. I have owned a 1992 q45 and a 1995 j30t previously. all were beautiful and reliable automobiles. only problem I have had with my new q is the rear screen. it was made a little cheap and doesn't go up all the way. other than that I have been enjoying burning most every luxury vehicle on the road. for anyone that wants a nice used luxury vehicle without the $50-$60k premium a pre-owned infiniti q45 is the way to go. very reliable and most bang for the buck. compared to the european luxury vehicles you will be saving a fortune with maintanence and parts in the future. go with reliability and luxury own an infiniti.

P.s.

To the guy that says every infiniti will blow mold out of the a/c I think you are just one dirty guy stop passing gas inside the car with the a/c running, maybe that will fix the problem. 99.99% of infiniti owners have never faced that problem. you are the 0.01% to this exception.

I have an 02 Q45 and love it. Have had Acura, Cadillac and Lexus; they were all nice but the Q45 and Acura are best.

The only drawbacks are the brakes and the handling in snow; real wheel drive doesn't do well.

Great car, love it, will get a used FX next and keep the Q45. It has 146,350 and runs like a top. Hope to get 300,000 out of it in the next 8 years. Wish me luck.

Hello all, I've read all your comments and I keep reading issues with the brakes. Can someone please elaborate. I would like to purchase the 2002 q45. Thanks.

My 2003 Q45, which I bought new but did not drive much (now has 30,000 miles) is losing or burning oil. Engine needs replacement, says my independent mechanic, who is very trustworthy. Out of warranty, of course. He said he heard there were lots of problems with Q45 engines (as well as M 45) from the latest model. Anybody with similar problem?

I bought a 1997 Q45 new, drove it until 267,000 miles with great satisfaction... wish I could say the same of the 2003.

Mike in Glendale, CA.

I purchase a 2002 Q45 "Premier Edition", 5 months ago from a Infiniti dealer. The car had less than 9,500 miles per year. Babied maintenance records. Clean car fax. Show room condition.. This car is flawless!!!

However, the bad news comes... The service engine soon light/screen came on showing a malfunction. I brought the car to a different Infiniti dealer and they said it was a sensor banking problem. So, the dealer changed the sensors, thinking this was the problem... Wrong!!!... at $570.00 dollars.

Then I am told it is one of two things. The timing tension or the VTC sprocket, one of the two, the dealer is not sure which one... at a cost of... are you ready... $4,500 dollars... WHAT!??!? My thoughts exactly...

I approached the dealer I bought this car from, regarding this issue and... naturally they said everything check out in our "Extensive" inspection... And there is nothing they would do except get me a 10% discount... HUH!?? Needless to say I am not a happy first time Infiniti owner. I am taking my car to a independent shop for a second opinion and price... If this is the going price then I will be trading this car in...

Out of all of the Luxury vehicles I have owned, this is by far the most expensive.