Broken Outside Lens on EX35 Front AVM Camera

[dbisko]

My front AVM camera on my EX35 still works but the outside glass/lens on it has cracked. Is it possible to get a replacement lens/glass kit for it and to replace it? If so, does anyone know where and what type I would need. Infinity parts does not carry anything like this (they only offer the "very expensive" entire camera).

PS: I saw lens/glass kits briefly mentioned/referenced in one other post on quality issues with the rear backup view camera but it did not have much detailed information.

[EXceptional]

I've always wondered if putting that thick 3M film over the Lense would interfere with it's operation.

We don't use the AVM very often... I use it, for long drives only.

Welcome to the Forum... and hopefully someone can help you out.

[txgcoupe]

We don't use the AVM very often... I use it, for long drives only.

Just exactly what do you mean?

How does that relate to a cracked front camera?

John

[dbisko]

I guess it would be the same as a cracked front camera except that the camera still works (i.e. it still produces an image although it is out-of-focus since the outside lens is now gone).

[EXceptional]

Ok... Wrong Camera... My bad.

[dbisko]

Oh..Or was it my fault? Does AVM refer to the 4 cameras on the vehicle that assist with parking, etc?

[audtatious]

If under warranty Infiniti will replace it. Take it to the dealer.

Welcome to NICO

[aft981]

I had the same thing. I'm not sure they will replace it under warranty, and to be honest, I wouldn't expect them to. I don't think its a warranty issue, it's more wear and tear related. It probably cracked after a stone bounced up off the road and chipped it, which you can't really blame Infiniti for.

I was quoted over $600 from the dealer to have it replaced, I can't remember the exact amount, I have a post on here from last year regarding it. I found one on ebay for much cheaper, and was going to have someone install it, but still haven't. I made the purchase originally because the crack seemed really bad on mine, water had gotten in and the whole thing had fogged up, rendering it completely useless. However, it seems to have cleared up since then, and I can still use it, all be it with a crack running down the middle of it. It doesn't look to be a simple job to replace it myself either, and the dealer still wanted a couple hundred dollars to install the one I bought.

[InfinitiEric]

It is covered under warranty, no questions there.

[aft981]

I think there is still a question there - yes, the warranty would cover a defective unit, but why should it cover one that is damaged due to a stone bouncing off the road at high speed and chipping it?

In the same way the standard warranty doesn't cover stone chips on the hood or bumper, nor would the standard warranty cover a cracked headlamp if a rock fell off a truck infront of you on the hwy and landed on your car.

[InfinitiEric]

The warranty manual specifies which parts are to be considered wear and tear items and hence not covered under Basic or Elite warranties; the Front AVM system is not listed therein.

[aft981]

I still have to respectfully completely disagree - a crack in the front camera (of which I am 99% confident was probably caused by a stone or some other road debris bouncing up and hitting it at high speed), should absolutely not be covered by a manufacturers warranty. How on earth could you possibly justify that? I reiterate my previous point, if you were behind a truck on a hwy and a large rock fell off it and hit your headlamps, cracking them, would you honestly expect Infiniti to replace your headlamp unit free of charge? How is it possibly their fault? How about cracks in windshields, do you expect free replacements when they get cracked? Do you expect Infiniti to touch up your bodywork every few months and remove any small paint chips caused by stones?

A warranty manual cannot cover every single eventuality, and nor can it be expected to, a degree of common sense is expected.

[InfinitiEric]

Not sure how clear I can be, but again, it is covered — reference again the warranty manual pictured above. An Infiniti Dealership can process a claim against that part with any symptom code (wether manufacture defect or road hazard) and still receive full compensation for the technician's repair time and part(s) needed. This is per Infiniti's Warranty Claims Manual and my real-world experience internally within various Infiniti Service Departments. Feel free to try the situation out and report back if you'd like.

I will mention that the only stipulation in my prior statement is if the service advisor or manager at your Infiniti Dealership has a personal hatred against you or your family and instead chooses individually to charge you for the part and repair hours and create a 100% profit margin toward the Dealership's capital. This behavior, however, is expressly forbidden in Infiniti Corporate policy with regards service department management — unless the Infiniti Dealership is on credit hold or a Corporate Vehicle is in question.

And actually, to your must-be amazement, cracked headlight assemblies are fully covered under Infiniti's Basic and (if purchased) Elite Extended warranties. Not only is this coverage for the headlights also outlined in Infiniti's warranty manual as is the EX35's Front AVM Camera Lens but I, in addition to hundreds of others whose testimonials have surely managed to make their way to a post on this forum, have successfully had cracked headlamps replaced under warranty coverage.

Moreover, a specific service bulletin was released in prior years that disallows the windshield glass from being covered under any warranty policy with Infiniti, else be it that cracked windshields would be covered. Chips, dents, and other defections in body paint (excluding orange peel and those resulted by factory incident) are explicitly excluded from coverage under the warranty manual and cited as non-coverable wear items, thus they too would not be covered. Both those situations are utterly incomparable due to extraneous circumstances that outlay their service in comparison to those that outlay (or, rather, those that don't outlay) the EX35's Front AVM Camera Lens.

[aft981]

Mine was NOT covered. I was told it is NOT covered. I didn't argue because it doesn't make sense for it to be covered. I was quoted around $600 or whatever it was to have it replaced. I also have the elite extended warranty. Either way, under basic or elite, it was not a replacement the dealer would cover.

[InfinitiEric]

Mine was NOT covered. I was told it is NOT covered. I didn't argue because it doesn't make sense for it to be covered. I was quoted around $600 or whatever it was to have it replaced. I also have the elite extended warranty. Either way, under basic or elite, it was not a replacement the dealer would cover.

I would love to know the name of your Infiniti Dealership so that I can submit an internal report against their service department technicians. Those employees will be reprimanded and you should receive a refund for the cost of repair if you went through with payment. PM me with the dealership's name if you'd prefer.

[ex35teagan]

I also have a broken front AVM lens and expected it to be covered by warranty but the Infiniti told me last week that it was not. He explained it is road damage and went on to also say just like headlight damage or windshield it would not be covered. I believe that this is a defect in the part manufacture or inherent in the design and/or material selection. I was told "sorry you feel that way" but "I-service manager- think it is road damage and is not covered by warranty" When I asked the cost he said $750 installed, $650 for the part. I told him he had to be kidding, $650? This is a 7 month old $40,000 car, and you are telling me it is going to coast me $650 for another similar quality part?

I noticed the problem one morning after a cold spell in early spring but waited until my 2nd service call to discuss it.
This post history leads me to believe that it is in fact at least a design flaw. There is no other damage except the shattered lens. What is the probability that "something" could hit this one spot hard enough within common sense reasoning that it would shatter and leave no other damage. Now, this post lists 3 lens. The Infiniti designers placed this camera in the front of the vehicle and I would hope they discussed failure modes and for a $650 item do not expect it to fail often, more like almost never.

I will show the service manager this blog and see how far I get, I am in the New England area, if he refuses is there another Infinity dealer service manager i can have him call to confirm this should be a warranty replacement?

Thanks

[EXceptional]

Let us know how you do...

[EXceptional]

I found this today >>> http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/08-09-10 ... ccessories

[HilJai]

My front camera lens is broken too! My camera also still works but blurry because of the big crack on the lens. Mine will not be covered by warranty as well due to high mileage even if it warranty normally covers stone chip damage. Anyone know how I can just replace the lens and not the whole camera? Thanks.

[shnur]

Hi, I just got a 2012 EX35 and have the same camera problem... I see no scratches from a stone that the dealer service guy says probably hit the camera right in the bulls-eye... or that someone vandalized my new car... (highly unlikely, why would they not scratch the car with a key or some other more damaging and visible damage).
Of course they said it was not covered by Warranty either.

Has anyone had any luck getting this covered. It seems like this happens quite often on the EX35, I wonder if it's a defect that they are trying to hide? There were 3 very hot (35-37C) days when this has happened so I thought maybe it craced because of the heat but they said that's not it for sure... I am still not convinced though.

[qxinfinity]

The glass lens on the front camera of our 2012 QX56 is broken. There is no other damage surrounding the lens so we can't determine if the cause was road debris, deliberate vandalism or some type of weather change. The dealer is convinced that it is road debris (not sure how he came to this conclusion) and will not cover it with the warranty. I was quoted a price of $715 for a replacement camera plus additional labor charges to fix it. No one in their right mind would spend that amount of money to replace something that can be so easily damaged. When I asked about alternatives to correcting this problem he has absolutely no ideas. I know there are used cameras on ebay and other sites offered for around $200 and swapping out the cameras appears to be a relatively easy repair. Was just wondering a few things:

1) Is this a common occurance? If it is, it just may be a warranty parts defect in that Infinity is using a brittle lens for the front AVM camera that can't withstand normal road debris and a used OEM part will break just as easily.

2) Is there a way to just buy the camera from the original parts supplier? I have noticed several other cameras on the market at a cost of less than $30 (which is probably closer to Infinity's cost) but those cameras have different connectors and I want to be sure that it operates correctly with the 360 deg. view system.

Any help you can provide is much appreciated.

[mekkio]

Yet another 2012 EX35 owner with a cracked front camera lens here! I plan to email the dealership and really do hope to have it covered under warranty. I really appreciate InfinitiEric's information but it seems that most dealers don't see things his way - any advice?

[SteveTheTech]

I am joining this old thread because I disagree with the information in here, and I really want everyone here to have the most accurate information possible.
I have been working at an Infiniti dealer for almost 10 years now and have never seen rock debris or any type of broken glass covered by warranty. This is an insurance claim more than it would be a warranty. Warranty covers manufacturers defects not road debris.... end of story.

The screen shot provided in 2011 by InfinitiEric does show a labor op code for replacement of a camera but that does not mean the item is or should be covered. There is a labor op code for almost every single part on the car, these are often used with insurance labor times, times shared with services like Mitchell and AllData and other non warranty services and other similar services.

I read through the warranty manual for a newer EX, hoping there was something in there that would make this an easier pill to swollow for owners of vehicles with broken Around View Monitor cameras.
https://owners.infinitiusa.com/iowners/ ... ooklet.pdf

The only way I can envision a cracked lens being covered is incorrectly filling the claim as a failure other than a broken lens. If the service personal lie on their paperwork they may get this item covered initially but I would bet a coffee that almost every front facing camera is recalled for individual item inspection by Infiniti. This happens with every single headlight or fog light I have ever replaced. They do know what they are looking for in these cases and will often back charge the dealer for the entire warranty claim. Enough of those and the dealership gets audited, which is something we all try to avoid at all costs.

By the logic applied by InfinitiEric a broken fog light glass should be covered.... which it really is not. This is not specific to Infiniti but is standard in all warranty books I have seen. The service bulletin I think he referenced regarding cracked windshields lays out specific inspection guidelines and protocols to follow for the few that do not seat properly and require in warranty replacement, it is rare but happens.

I would love for everyone here to get a free camera... but in the real world that does not seem like a problem created by a manufacturers defect. You can contact Infiniti Consumer Affairs if you have any doubts on the diagnosis your dealership has made in this case. In many cases they will perform an investigation of your issue.

Just some food for thought....
The dealership makes a small profit off of all items sold, be it customer pay, or warranty. Would they not want to give you a $500+ camera if they could?

Best of luck to you all.

[jmann]

Here's a used one on ebay for $50:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Infiniti-Ex35-o ... 1617319%26