G35 Brake Amended Warranty-MUST READ!!
Lauraa_000
01-13-2005, 12:38 PM
OK here's the story, I just got off the phone with Infiniti North America (not a dealership).
First of all, I call 4 Infiniti dealerships in AL, MS, LA, and TN. When speaking with the service managers from these dealerships, I received conflicting information. Common sense tells you when you hear conflicting information from people that regurally engage in this work... then someone is lying!
2 of the dealerships say that the replacement brakes are "upgrades". The other two dealships say that they have no way of knowing (Infiniti gives them the parts and they do the work).
So I have been on the phone with Infiniti North America since Monday.
The Infiniti North America specialist I spoke with today tells me: This car is a performance car (suspension, engine, & brakes). Infiniti tried to mirror the European cars. Because of this, the brakes wear quicker than your standard sedan. After he gave this spill, I again asked "Are the replacement brakes the same as orginal equipment??" He says YES. He is sending me a letter regarding our conversation.
Under the warranty program, the dealership is required to turn your rotors (resuface) two times before giving you new rotors. Just happens in my case that will be the exact time that this 36,000 mile warranty goes out. So I get to pay for new rotors out of my pocket.
My Mercedes brakes lasted LONGER than what I'm seeing on the G35. And all of my 13,000 miles on my 2004 sedan are highway miles. And that is SAD!!
In a nut shell, no one explain this to the consumer when purchasing the car. We did not buy a sports car (porsche, bmw, etc)....we purchased a SEDAN. Infiniti has known about this issue....and knew about it when designing the cars.
My brake problem is just one of many. It had to be enough for class action suits and for Infiniti to release a brake program/warranty.
Promise you this, I'll NEVER but another Infiniti. And my 6 month old G35...will probably be up for sale. Good Luck everyone!!!
First of all, I call 4 Infiniti dealerships in AL, MS, LA, and TN. When speaking with the service managers from these dealerships, I received conflicting information. Common sense tells you when you hear conflicting information from people that regurally engage in this work... then someone is lying!
2 of the dealerships say that the replacement brakes are "upgrades". The other two dealships say that they have no way of knowing (Infiniti gives them the parts and they do the work).
So I have been on the phone with Infiniti North America since Monday.
The Infiniti North America specialist I spoke with today tells me: This car is a performance car (suspension, engine, & brakes). Infiniti tried to mirror the European cars. Because of this, the brakes wear quicker than your standard sedan. After he gave this spill, I again asked "Are the replacement brakes the same as orginal equipment??" He says YES. He is sending me a letter regarding our conversation.
Under the warranty program, the dealership is required to turn your rotors (resuface) two times before giving you new rotors. Just happens in my case that will be the exact time that this 36,000 mile warranty goes out. So I get to pay for new rotors out of my pocket.
My Mercedes brakes lasted LONGER than what I'm seeing on the G35. And all of my 13,000 miles on my 2004 sedan are highway miles. And that is SAD!!
In a nut shell, no one explain this to the consumer when purchasing the car. We did not buy a sports car (porsche, bmw, etc)....we purchased a SEDAN. Infiniti has known about this issue....and knew about it when designing the cars.
My brake problem is just one of many. It had to be enough for class action suits and for Infiniti to release a brake program/warranty.
Promise you this, I'll NEVER but another Infiniti. And my 6 month old G35...will probably be up for sale. Good Luck everyone!!!
G35XAndTrailBlazer
01-13-2005, 08:58 PM
ok Laura, its not a SEDAN! God dangit if you disrepect this car by calling it a SEDAN! it is a SPORTS Sedan. Dont like to drive hard, by a taurus!
BTW: i looked at the specs, and this smokes the BMW in just about every event.
There is just somthing wrong with your car and brakes.
Just sell it and get a Taurus.
Then you dont have to deal with Lawsuits, and all this crap, because frankley, the rest of us dont care! We drive our G35s to the limits! And they seem to be working just fine. Go drive yurs 60 into a corner and maybe your car will like you more. Then it will start working properly and you will be on your way.
Sorry if its completley off-topic. kinda crabby. ITS NOT A SEDAN! ok, its a sedan, but its a SPORTS sedan.
Sorry for ranting, please continue.
i really have nothing against you. But dont buy a car that is a sports car, and drive it like a grandma, and expect it to like you.
See the car in my sig? drive it like that and it will keep you safe.
BTW: i looked at the specs, and this smokes the BMW in just about every event.
There is just somthing wrong with your car and brakes.
Just sell it and get a Taurus.
Then you dont have to deal with Lawsuits, and all this crap, because frankley, the rest of us dont care! We drive our G35s to the limits! And they seem to be working just fine. Go drive yurs 60 into a corner and maybe your car will like you more. Then it will start working properly and you will be on your way.
Sorry if its completley off-topic. kinda crabby. ITS NOT A SEDAN! ok, its a sedan, but its a SPORTS sedan.
Sorry for ranting, please continue.
i really have nothing against you. But dont buy a car that is a sports car, and drive it like a grandma, and expect it to like you.
See the car in my sig? drive it like that and it will keep you safe.
Lauraa_000
01-14-2005, 11:18 AM
Great reponse!!!! And how old are you? Just thought I would ask.
As your family is G35 owner, I thought you might want to know what I found out regarding brakes. Esp since it seems like everyone has been told something different. Plus its not just my car.
PS I won't be purchasing a Taurus - Thanks for the suggestion though!
Hoenstly, I just wish everyone good luck when it comes your G35. It is a nice car with lots of +'s other cars do not have (esp for the $$). However I personally am not intrested in a needy car every 13,000 to 15,000 miles.
As your family is G35 owner, I thought you might want to know what I found out regarding brakes. Esp since it seems like everyone has been told something different. Plus its not just my car.
PS I won't be purchasing a Taurus - Thanks for the suggestion though!
Hoenstly, I just wish everyone good luck when it comes your G35. It is a nice car with lots of +'s other cars do not have (esp for the $$). However I personally am not intrested in a needy car every 13,000 to 15,000 miles.
G35XAndTrailBlazer
01-14-2005, 05:09 PM
ok, sorry. Maybe we do care. Ya just inflamed me by calling it a Sedan. A taurus is a sedan. This is a SPORT Sedan.
Honestly, why did you buy the car? Just want somthing luxurious? get a Mercedes C230 then. Good little luxury cars for about the same price. But have no power. And since you dont drive your car like its meant to be driven, you dont have to worry about having a car with 260 horsepower V6 with a 0-60 in abnout 6 or 7 seconds. have fun ^_^
Cheers, happy new year, G35X and Trailblazer
Honestly, why did you buy the car? Just want somthing luxurious? get a Mercedes C230 then. Good little luxury cars for about the same price. But have no power. And since you dont drive your car like its meant to be driven, you dont have to worry about having a car with 260 horsepower V6 with a 0-60 in abnout 6 or 7 seconds. have fun ^_^
Cheers, happy new year, G35X and Trailblazer
dholly
01-21-2005, 03:48 PM
Yikes Lauraa, a FOURTH 'brake warranty' thread?! It's much easier to find and follow related info in a single thread.
While reading your comments, a few thoughts came to mind:
"First of all, I call 4 Infiniti dealerships in AL, MS, LA, and TN. When speaking with the service managers from these dealerships, I received conflicting information. Common sense tells you when you hear conflicting information from people that regurally engage in this work... then someone is lying!"
I am not going to speculate on whether anyone was lying to you or not, however, I am NOT surprised you heard conflicting information. IMO, very likely a result of you speaking to the WRONG PERSON. What makes you think that a Service Manager would be aware of something as technical as brake pad composition or a change thereof? That certainly isn't their job. If anyone at a dealership might be in the know about that it would likely be someone from the parts dept. These type of specific questions really should be directed at the manager of the parts dept. The same goes for the Infiniti of North America "specialist". Customer Service reps at auto mfgrs are not versed in such minutiae, they are there in a much broader sense of job description, and rarely can you expect to find anyone who could specialize in such knowlege.
"Under the warranty program, the dealership is required to turn your rotors (resuface) two times before giving you new rotors. Just happens in my case that will be the exact time that this 36,000 mile warranty goes out. So I get to pay for new rotors out of my pocket."
I call B.S. on that one. Rotor replacement necessity is determined by a minimum thickness standard, not an absolute number of resurfacings. If a sufficient amount of material is removed in the first turning to provide a true surface while maintaining the minimum thickness standard, great. However, if an attempt is made to turn the rotors a second time and so much material would need to be removed in order to return the rotor to true that it violates the minimum thickness standard, you WILL get new rotors. Heck, if you have scored your rotors badly enough, they may be unable to turn them even once!
"In a nut shell, no one explain this to the consumer when purchasing the car. We did not buy a sports car (porsche, bmw, etc)....we purchased a SEDAN. Infiniti has known about this issue....and knew about it when designing the cars."
There IS a HUGE difference between 'sedan' and 'sport sedan'. When you were considering your G35 sedan purchase, did performance EVER factor into your decision? It seems silly to suggest that if all one wanted was 4-door funcionality, they would be drawn to this car over a myriad of others. If ANYONE attempts to say performance was never an issue in either evaluating or purchasing a G35 sedan, well, I think their nose is gonna grow like Pinnocio. And what possible proof do you or anyone else have that Infiniti "knew about it when designing the cars"? It is simply ludicrous to think that any major product manufacturer would knowingly and willingly do such a thing over more than two full model years. Not to mention, if they knew of a '03-'04 brake system defect, don't you think Infiniti would have taken every effort to radically modify the total design of the '05 system rather than just change pad composition? Do you really think they just thumbed their nose at a known and potential liability issue? Yes?
"My brake problem is just one of many. It had to be enough for class action suits and for Infiniti to release a brake program/warranty."
'Many' is a relative term. Infiniti, in their decision to amend the brake warranty, is attempting to satisfy the relatively few owners who either have, or think they have, a brake wear issue that meets their (the owner's) definition of excessive. Relative to the total number of G35 sedans and coupes, the numbers just aren't significant enough to consider it a wholesale, across the board defect. And, just because someone files a proposed class action suit calling excessive wear (however that eventually gets defined) a "defect", it does not guaranty the class action has merit or that the defendant is possibly liable for anything at all. First, there must be determined beyond any doubt that a specifically identifiable DEFECT occurs in all '03-'04 sedans and coupes (interestingly, the suit does not exclude Brembo-equipped coupes). Second, there must be determined beyond any doubt that a specifically identifiable DAMAGES occur in all '03-'04 sedan and coupe aftermarket resales.
Of course, you are free to join a class action and even become lead plaintifif if you feel strongly enough about it. While that strikes me as an uphill battle, if you do, good luck. The contact info is below. Oh, and just ignore that AOL email address, I'm sure it's a highly reputable and qualified Firm leading the charge.
Law Offices of Howard A. Gutman,
1259 Route 46, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054
(973) 257-9400, E-mail Howian@aol.com
Fax (973)257-9128
"Promise you this, I'll NEVER but another Infiniti. And my 6 month old G35...will probably be up for sale."
Selling your 6-month old sport sedan because it MIGHT need a set of $100 pads every 15k mi. sounds a bit radical, doesn't it? Yes it would certainly solve your concerns and remove any doubt, but it might be more economically feasible to give the fix a chance first. Frankly, it sounds as if you have simply convinced yourself of the worst case scenario. You never did answer the question of exactly what your brake inspection showed, or what service or replacement parts your dealer provided. What did your dealer do? I personally don't see the downside in giving the Infiniti fix a try, or at least waiting to hear the experience of others who rack up the miles more quickly than I to see how the new pads/rotor combo wears. With all due respect, you don't know with any certainty that new pads and rotors won't help solve your problems until you run the life cycle of the replacement parts.
While reading your comments, a few thoughts came to mind:
"First of all, I call 4 Infiniti dealerships in AL, MS, LA, and TN. When speaking with the service managers from these dealerships, I received conflicting information. Common sense tells you when you hear conflicting information from people that regurally engage in this work... then someone is lying!"
I am not going to speculate on whether anyone was lying to you or not, however, I am NOT surprised you heard conflicting information. IMO, very likely a result of you speaking to the WRONG PERSON. What makes you think that a Service Manager would be aware of something as technical as brake pad composition or a change thereof? That certainly isn't their job. If anyone at a dealership might be in the know about that it would likely be someone from the parts dept. These type of specific questions really should be directed at the manager of the parts dept. The same goes for the Infiniti of North America "specialist". Customer Service reps at auto mfgrs are not versed in such minutiae, they are there in a much broader sense of job description, and rarely can you expect to find anyone who could specialize in such knowlege.
"Under the warranty program, the dealership is required to turn your rotors (resuface) two times before giving you new rotors. Just happens in my case that will be the exact time that this 36,000 mile warranty goes out. So I get to pay for new rotors out of my pocket."
I call B.S. on that one. Rotor replacement necessity is determined by a minimum thickness standard, not an absolute number of resurfacings. If a sufficient amount of material is removed in the first turning to provide a true surface while maintaining the minimum thickness standard, great. However, if an attempt is made to turn the rotors a second time and so much material would need to be removed in order to return the rotor to true that it violates the minimum thickness standard, you WILL get new rotors. Heck, if you have scored your rotors badly enough, they may be unable to turn them even once!
"In a nut shell, no one explain this to the consumer when purchasing the car. We did not buy a sports car (porsche, bmw, etc)....we purchased a SEDAN. Infiniti has known about this issue....and knew about it when designing the cars."
There IS a HUGE difference between 'sedan' and 'sport sedan'. When you were considering your G35 sedan purchase, did performance EVER factor into your decision? It seems silly to suggest that if all one wanted was 4-door funcionality, they would be drawn to this car over a myriad of others. If ANYONE attempts to say performance was never an issue in either evaluating or purchasing a G35 sedan, well, I think their nose is gonna grow like Pinnocio. And what possible proof do you or anyone else have that Infiniti "knew about it when designing the cars"? It is simply ludicrous to think that any major product manufacturer would knowingly and willingly do such a thing over more than two full model years. Not to mention, if they knew of a '03-'04 brake system defect, don't you think Infiniti would have taken every effort to radically modify the total design of the '05 system rather than just change pad composition? Do you really think they just thumbed their nose at a known and potential liability issue? Yes?
"My brake problem is just one of many. It had to be enough for class action suits and for Infiniti to release a brake program/warranty."
'Many' is a relative term. Infiniti, in their decision to amend the brake warranty, is attempting to satisfy the relatively few owners who either have, or think they have, a brake wear issue that meets their (the owner's) definition of excessive. Relative to the total number of G35 sedans and coupes, the numbers just aren't significant enough to consider it a wholesale, across the board defect. And, just because someone files a proposed class action suit calling excessive wear (however that eventually gets defined) a "defect", it does not guaranty the class action has merit or that the defendant is possibly liable for anything at all. First, there must be determined beyond any doubt that a specifically identifiable DEFECT occurs in all '03-'04 sedans and coupes (interestingly, the suit does not exclude Brembo-equipped coupes). Second, there must be determined beyond any doubt that a specifically identifiable DAMAGES occur in all '03-'04 sedan and coupe aftermarket resales.
Of course, you are free to join a class action and even become lead plaintifif if you feel strongly enough about it. While that strikes me as an uphill battle, if you do, good luck. The contact info is below. Oh, and just ignore that AOL email address, I'm sure it's a highly reputable and qualified Firm leading the charge.
Law Offices of Howard A. Gutman,
1259 Route 46, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054
(973) 257-9400, E-mail Howian@aol.com
Fax (973)257-9128
"Promise you this, I'll NEVER but another Infiniti. And my 6 month old G35...will probably be up for sale."
Selling your 6-month old sport sedan because it MIGHT need a set of $100 pads every 15k mi. sounds a bit radical, doesn't it? Yes it would certainly solve your concerns and remove any doubt, but it might be more economically feasible to give the fix a chance first. Frankly, it sounds as if you have simply convinced yourself of the worst case scenario. You never did answer the question of exactly what your brake inspection showed, or what service or replacement parts your dealer provided. What did your dealer do? I personally don't see the downside in giving the Infiniti fix a try, or at least waiting to hear the experience of others who rack up the miles more quickly than I to see how the new pads/rotor combo wears. With all due respect, you don't know with any certainty that new pads and rotors won't help solve your problems until you run the life cycle of the replacement parts.
G35XAndTrailBlazer
01-21-2005, 06:21 PM
lol me and dholly are runnin on the same track.
Performance did matter when we were purchasing our SPORT sedans.
Performance did matter when we were purchasing our SPORT sedans.
Automotive Network, Inc., Copyright ©2025