1994 Infiniti Q45 from North America - Comments

The transmission has been replaced 2 times, once at 48,000 miles, and once at 65,000 miles. Replacements were factory rebuilt units. ($3,500 each)

The front suspension alignment arms have silicone bushings which rupture every 30,000 miles. ($300 each)

Fuel injectors ($280 each) had to be replaced at 70,000 miles.

Wiring harness is made up of solid strand wires. There have been numerous breaks in the harness which have had to be repaired. In one case, the brake lights quit working. In another case, the mass air flow meter electrical ground broke.

Interior finishings have deteriorated badly. Leather covering on the steering wheel has peeled off in places. Carpets have yellowed and rear package shelf fabric is badly faded. (The car is always garaged.)

Replacing the plastic shift lock cover (about 1/4 x 1/2 inch in size) on the transmission panel requires the purchase of the entire cover at $500.

This car is comfortable to drive and handles well.

The cabin is small and there are no cup holders.

The car is poorly constructed and requires enormous amounts of very expensive maintenance to keep it operating.

This person must abuse cars considering other comments and the one I have.

If you looked a bit harder, you'd see there are several other reviews that think this is a bad car. But when vanity takes the front seat over more...um, important aspects of an automobile, like safety and reliability, you usually DON'T get what you pay for. Compared to its competition, this car does not excel in any area. It's not more reliable, safer, cheaper to fix, or any other important aspect over it's competition. If you want a vehicle that is simply a status symbol and nothing more, cars like the q45 are great. Personally, I'd rather go with something a bit uglier, but safer, much more reliable, cheaper to buy, cheaper to maintain, and less trendy like a Volvo. And yes, Volvos typically ARE cheaper to fix compared to their competition, yet more reliable. Looks are only skin deep!

This person may well not be very educated in the care of the Q45. Maintained, it is ultra-reliable (check JD Powers for the Infiniti brand rating ove the last few years). Neglected or abused, it quickly becomes very expensive to repair. Hence, when buying used, one must carefully peruse the service records and have it checked by a qualified senior Infiniti tech.

Volvos may be cheaper to maintain or not, but they are nowhere in the same league in performance, reliability or build precision.

I have a '94 Q45, with 152,000 miles. EVERYTHING is original, except the passenger window motor, the tires, and the brake pads. The interior is just like new. I Love the car, and it has better reliability than my old Honda Accord did. I plan on putting another 200,000 miles on it, but first, I am going to replace the struts.

Give this link a try: http://www.nissaninfiniticlub.net.

You will find HUNDREDS of satisfied owners there, possibly one to take yours off your hands.

I'm currently sitting at 150,000 miles with my 1994 Q45 and still love driving it each day. My Q45 is one of the first cars made in this batch (actually made in 4/93, sold to me in 5/93) and has had a few minor problems, all addressed by Infiniti, usually at their expense and always done well. The car shows some wear, but nothing close to what I've seen other cars look like at 150k. I will say that my car has *always* been serviced at the dealer, on time, which may be why I have experienced so few problems with it, unlike the above poster. The only real issue I'm having now is that the transmission is very slow to engage first thing in the morning when it is cold out, but to this day, the car has never left me stranded. Infiniti does admit that some of the transmissions in these Q45s were not beefy enough for the strength of the engine and weight of the car, causing premature failure. Of course, the driver's right foot is a major contributing factor to how fast the tranny will fail in this case.

Infiniti's service is a huge reason why my next car will be an Infiniti when it's time to get rid of my other car, a Mercedes. Mercedes service & dealerships vary drastically depending on who owns the dealership, whereas there is a visible consistency between Infiniti dealers & service departments.

I only have two complaints:

1) I think replacement parts are definitely overpriced, BUT the service I get from any Infiniti dealer I've been to (and I've been to several depending on where I'm living) has been superior.

2) They don't make this car anymore! If they made this exact car (maybe updated mechanicals/electronics), I'd buy one tomorrow. Very understated elegance which doesn't scream "carjack me!" or "I just received a huge inheritance from a rich uncle" like other luxury cars tend to do. People still come up to me and ask me what kind of car it is... to which I smile and say "Nissan". Even though the car is now over 10 years old, 150k miles, I still smile every time I drive it. I often hear coworkers talking about wanting new cars or wanting their "dream car"... My Q-ship might be 10 years old, but it still is my dream car and I have no desire for a new car.

I'm 21 and in college, and even on my limited budget (I don't even have a job, I live off of $100 dollars a month from my grandma) I can afford the basic upkeep of this car, I have had it a little over a year and it is just reaching 100,000 miles. I have no complaints other than the stupid location for the cupholders (under armrest console up front?) and I have had a problem with window regulators going out (both front and rear driver side). The window regulators were $90 each to fix and I did it myself, the first time took around 2 hours, the second time 25 min or so cause I knew what I was doing. The car has been great otherwise, good power, great looks and makes everyone who drives it jealous. I really have nothing bad to say about these cars and I would recommend it to anyone. People do need to realize however, that any car can be a lemon, whether it's an Infiniti, Volvo, Lexus or Ford and a lot of it depends on HOW you drive it. Not all cars are made to have the crap run out of them on a daily basis, this isn't NASCAR, the car isn't rebuilt after every drive in it. Remember that and you should be just fine.

I have 1991 Q45T that I bought in Japan (US Specs.) I had to do a lot of replacement of parts. The original engine was pretty misused luckily my best friend owns a dealer ship were I bought the car from. Once I changed the engine (93), transmission and suspension (24,000 miles) it has been running like a champ. Too bad the US carries very little aftermarket parts and few mechanics that understand the core of Japanese cars. Most people drive there cars and only repair them when it is too late. I recommend short oil changes (I use Castro Synthetic and Fram oil filters and changing the transmission oil once year or less the engines get pretty hot). If you have the active suspensions look for leaks, once they start be prepared to change the shocks. Parts are over priced I guess they feel if you can afford to buy you can afford to drive. This car is a canvas that you can do a lot with it. But you pay for what you get. I don't recommend a Q45 with over 80,000 to anyone who is not ready to pay for repairs. Be careful in buying used parts sometime you don't know how old they really are. Use only rebuilt parts with a good warranty and a good mechanic to install them. I'm hooked and will buy the new body style when I return to the US.

I've completely forgotten that the car doesn't have cupholders. The cupholders that it does have are in a VERY stupid location. I use the armrest EVERYDAY and I refuse to NOT USE IT because my cups have to go there. It just makes me drink my Starbucks Coffee faster ;-) hmm, maybe that's a good thing!