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Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60, 61-75, 76-87
To start off with I think I may have come across a previously damaged car. I'm not sure if that explains it...
Engine noises, rocking & whining until it warms up good.
A/C out.
Electrical cat and mouse.
Early rust EVERYWHERE.
Front suspension is quick to go soft.
The trunk is way too small.
I fear I may have bought a lemon.
Have heard great things from other people...
But the gas mileage was also atrocious, the car wants to be driven fast and gas prices are on the rise...
I own an Infiniti J30, I have close to 90000 miles on it and its going strong (I make a lot of trips in it from St. Louis to Toronto or further in all kinds of weather-its never let me down!). For engine noises (I.e. rocking and whining) you should have an Infiniti dealership change the spark plugs and reset the idle (approximately $150 US). It makes a huge difference! If it doesn't, than it's conceivable that the engine suffered damage from a broken timing belt (these things MUST be changed between 60000 and 65000 miles, otherwise when they break, they cause engine damage and put other things such as other belts and chains out of alignment leading to rocking and whining till warm up). As for a soft front suspension, J30's depending on where the car was initially bought and driven, I.e.in a State where salt or other chemicals are used in the winter, are known to have the silicone seals in the torsion bar erode causing a silicone leak and leading to a soft suspension. Replacement can be done at a cheaper price than the Infiniti dealer at virtually any suspension shop.
Good luck!
This is a great car, I have a 150,000 miles on my J30. Sounds real good.
You should take your car to the Infiniti dealer. You might have a problem with timing belt tensioner, because you have a hydraulic tensioner which tightens up when it gets warm or hot.
I love my 95 J30t. Bought it 4/01 with 64K on it and have put 13K on it already. So far it has been trouble free. As you can tell I do a fair amount of driving. I love to drive this car. A long business trip is a perfect excuse to drive this beauty.
I have heard that suspension and exhaust components are a bit pricey on this car, but I'll cross those bridges as I come to them. There are also good Infiniti sites with tips etc. Love this car!
I own a 93 j30. It has around 90K miles and runs great. The only problem that I have experienced is electrical problems. First my radio display went, now I am running in total darkness. The car is great, but I cannot figure out the problem with the lights... it is not a fuse and the repair shop I went to said that it must be the "central computer". I am not sure if that is shop-talk for 'I don't know' or what the deal is... all I know is it is an expensive repair.
The problem with the dash lights out is the dimmer switch. You can tap it hard to get it to work again. A more permanent solution it to take it out and spray it with contact cleaner or replace it. Common problem on the J30.
I own a J30 1996 with 50 thousand kilometers (West coast Canada). I love it. A pesky problem is that with the automatic climate control "on" the engine idles rough at around 900 rpm. The dealer in Victoria has gone out of his way to solve the problem, but to no avail. I can live with it, but would appreciate suggestions.
Joaquin.
It's now March 2004 and the Oct.31st 2002 post about the dimmer switch has saved me from spending $110 on a new one. Thanks! I've had my J30 almost 2 years (128,000 miles then) and after putting on almost 40,000 more it's still a champ. Best car I've ever owned.
I"m having problems with the dimmer switch also. My dash lights don't work at all. It's been like that for several months now. It's kind of funny because I'm used to driving in the dark now! Well, occasionally I flip on the light to make sure I'm not speeding! Ha! So, how do I fix the dimmer switch problem again? I don't think I totally understand the advice.
Yes, I will have to agree on the fact that J30t's have quite a number of electrical problems. When I flip on my headlights at night, the dash lights go out as well as the AC/heat display. My radio, CD player, and cassette player no longer work. I had some headlight problems when I had initially bought it, but I believe it was from a previous front end collision of the car.
My car is a salvaged/rebuilt vehicle x2, but it still runs smooth. I love it!!! I'm probably going to drive it until it can't run anymore! Too bad that they don't make J30's anymore...
I bought a J30 about 3 years ago, it had 80,000 miles on it an was dealer serviced. The transmission was replaced under warranty just before I bought it. There was always a stumble at low speeds between shifting. We lived with it, the exhaust manifold cracked and I replaced it with a used one. The car now has a low speed stumble and has a hard time staying in over-drive on the highway. It seems to be jumping in and out of OD. If I get on the gas the stumble goes away, but as you let off the car can't make up it's mind if it should lock in or not. This sometimes causes a vibration effect coming from the rear, sometimes not. Suggestions???
Can someone shed a little light (ha ha) on how to replace and/or clean the dimmer switch? Do you just unscrew the one panel (two screws underneath, either side of steering column) and pull off to access the switch, or is it more involved? If I can just clean this thing off and get my dash lights back, it will be great! Thanks!
kd
I am about to buy a 1993 J30. It has 218,000 miles on it. The dash light doesn't work, passanger window does not go down and the driver side mirror is cracked. What do you think?
SFC Retired U.S.Army.
I have an Infiniti J30 and my dash lights were out. I puchased a dimmer switch from a junk yard. It was the remedy to the problem. All the lights work now.
How do you replace/remove the dimmer switch on a 94 infiniti j30?
To remove the dimmer switch, unscrew two screws that are on the bottom of the panel that the dimmer switch and cruise control buttons are on. Lower your steering wheel and then lift up from the bottom of the plastic panel and it should come right off. Disconnect the cruise control as well as the dimmer switch so you free it to get access to the back of this panel. Then unscrew the 3 screws to the dimmer switch and you can take it apart carefully and spray it with contact spray or get an entirely new dimmer switch. You can connect the dimmer switch to the connector and test it before you put everything else back together. If you sprayed and it still doesn't work, then perhaps you need a new one.
Great car, I love it. Thanks for the advice on the dimmer switch, it really helped me out. I bought a new one from the dealer, and it works perfect now. I was sick of driving in darkness, lol.