Hi all,

Please ignore my username, I thought it was funny 3 years ago when I registered!!

New to the M35x, but not new to Infiniti. Wifey had a 97 Q45t for 7 years with little issue. Great car and she still loves it, but living in eastern Canada got the best of the car (rust issues underneath)!! Anyhow, we recently picked up a 2006 M35X for her. Car seemed great for the first couple of weeks (other than that rare driver's seat issue), then yesterday while driving home all hell broke loose. She said that pretty much all the dash lights came on or were flashing. The turn signals, radio and AC system were not working and there transmission would shift really hard when put into gear or driven slowly.

We had the car flat bedded to the nissan dealer (no local infiniti dealer here). They said the car would not even start when they got it there last night. I know you may not be able to fix/diagnose my problem, but wondering if someone may have had similar issues? Usually I would try to diagnose the issue first before taking to a shop, but my car was also in the shop yesterday and I could not get to her car.

My first thought was bad/loose battery connection or ground since it affected so many systems. The dealer mentioned a wheel speed sensor, but why would that stop her signal lights from working? Anyhow, any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hi, just a quick update. Dealer said it was a loose connector. I'm thinking it was near the battery as the previous owner said the battery was just changed (looks pretty tight in there). Unfortunately, the dealer was already closed when we picked up the car and I couldn't get more details. Anyhow, the problem was fixed... for about 15 minutes! I got to see what my wife was experiencing first hand. Warning dash lights would come on the go off, then others would come on and go off, the electric engine fan would spin up to speed and then shut off, the gear indicator on the dash would disappear and reappear, the dash would be bright and then dark... all this was happening randomly. The car seemed possessed! Anyhow, the car is at the dealer again. Must be more wrong than just a loose connector. Broken wire or bad ground, possibly. Wish I had the time to do the work myself. Dealer labour rate is rediculous!!

On a side note, does anyone know if 17" or 18" maxima rims will fit this car? I am looking for winter rims and these seem to be plentiful around here. M35 rims, not so much! Thanks!

I have read that in some cases the fix was to replace the battery. Good time to check the alternator too.

I've been on the forum since i got the M and never read anything like this... It definitely sounds like you have a problem that is not specific to our cars. Your first thought was the battery, mine would be the main ECU as the battery would not affect the way the car shifts. See what it is and PLEASE make sure you post the results after you have a talk with the dealer. Good luck! P.S: Maybe it wouldn't hurt to give a call to the used car dealer that sold you the car and make sure that the car was not flooded or been in an accident (front en specifically). What does your Vehicle ownership documents say?! : Brand NONE or Rebuilt?!

Hi, I agree that this appears to be a one off issue likely related to the previous replacement of the battery, either broken wire, loose ground, etc. The car was bought private sale with a car proof report. No issues. I have been working on my own vehicles since I was 13 (not yesterday), but they are getting pretty complex these days. You almost need a electrical engineering/computer science degree to figure them out!

Most modern cars will have issues when you have low voltage, i.e. eratic electrical problems. Most systems use a reference voltage or just don't work with anything less than 12 volts. If voltage is not what is suppose to be the computer/ecu will have a hard time. The transmission shifts are controlled by the computer, so if it is getting eratic wheel speeds and throttle inputs due to voltage fluctuations I assume you can get shifting issues.

My worst problem with the car is getting seat time without the wifey with me!! It is definitely faster than my old 528i. I need to get it to my favorite twisty road to have some fun!!

Hi,

just an update on this in case anyone else has the same issue.

It was raining hard and the headlights were on in the car, but the car was parked in the driveway and the engine and headlights were switch off. I went to unhook the battery and the battery compartment was half full of water. It turned out that the drain under the battery was plugged and when it rained hard the battery compartment would fill with water. Of course this led to all sorts of electrical issues. Funny, 3 trips to the dealership and they couldn't figure it out!

Cheers.

Wow. I would have never though the compartment would fill with water since it is a covered compartment. The dealer or even myself would never think to check the compartment for drainage unless water was present at the time we looked. Thank you for posting the outcome. Now we all have another 'thing' to check when the car acts up.

Ya, I'm not sure how the water got in there. Probably due to the fact we have a lot of trees around our driveway. These "things" are getting to be too much to remember!! lol

You mean the issue had remained unresolved since 2012?

lol, no. I just hadn't been back to the forum since I fixed the problem. Latest issue was a blown front drive shaft and the tranny oil pan rusting through.

Oh, yeah! And the drivers door lock that stopped working while the door was locked shut (corroded spring pivot in the lock mechanism) and the one everyone knows... I had to pull the drivers seat out to weld the frame. Other than that, all good!! ;-)

Hi all,
The crazy electrical problem on the 2006 M35x is definitely not a "one off". I had the exact same problem last summer, limped to a dealer who claimed it was a battery issue and replaced the battery. No faults to be found on their diagnostics check. Car worked ok for 7 months, and problem has come back. I had battery checked at a battery shop- it is all good, but car electronic warnings, dashboard flashing and jerky shifting are there. I managed to limp the car to the Nissan dealer where it is now awaiting diagnosis. It's been very wet here in Oregon lately so I suspect the issue with the water pooling in the battery compartment is there. I will call to speak with mechanic as soon as they open on Monday. Will let you all know how this plays out.

It's got a bad IPDM/ER. It's behind the battery.

Edit; in non car person terms that's the intelligent power distribution module (engine room). It controls all the functions your describing, and I was going to post and ask if you'd recently driven through a big puddle when I read the battery compartment was full of water. There's a drain in the battery compartment that must be clogged in your car.

Get the water out of there, disconnect the battery, and let the module dry out. Chances are its toast, but ONE time I worked on a car that was ok after drying the module out. It's worth a shot, it's expensive.

stoopid wrote:Please ignore my username, I thought it was funny 3 years ago when I registered!!

We can change it if you would like to do so?

Z

Hi all,
Yep- it was water in the battery compartment (aka hidden swimming pool). I had indeed driven through a big puddle not long ago + car wash. I called the dealer service department before they started work on the car and told them what to look for. Luckily, they were able to pull the IPDM/ER out and get it all dried out overnight. The also removed all the debris which had clogged the drain. Everything works now- including the heating system which had stopped working during idling at a stop. Total for the fix was about $230. I was told that a replacement IPDM would have set me back $800, so I consider myself lucky on this one. I will be checking that battery drain every fall from now on. Thanks for the tips and comments!

can you guys take a picture and load it up here for future reference? Thanks

cruzad3r wrote:can you guys take a picture and load it up here for future reference? Thanks

A picture of what? If you remove your battery cover, that's the compartment he's referring to.

really - water can pool up in there? DAM!

i thought it was something else. thanks for the clarification.

no picture needed now - wait maybe i'll just post one for reference anyway LOL

Had a similar crazy issue last year, I got a remote starter installed on my 07 M35, the genius guy pass the siren wire for the alarm system from the engine bay to the computer and didn't seal or close the cab back!!! water leak to the computer and the car stalled completely few months later, the computer corroded, the dealer thought that he'd fixed it but after few more months I found some papers wet in the passenger seat floor mat it was all wet, I took the car directly to him, he thought the leak from the sunroof, he put water on the sun roof and it goes directly to behind the glove box!!!! I felt terrible awful so bad, he said get rid of the remoter starter I can't fix it it's a headache, and the remote starter jerk said ((your car is messed up maaaaaan))!!!!!! I'd to deal with this by myself even though I barely have a screw driver!!! I cut the wires, pass them through the factory wires tube, re connect them, seal the cap with silicon and finish with under coat spray...

Note to all owners what i suggest is to drill a large decent hole through the battery cradle so this doesnt become a issue for you in the future