The latest Nissan/Infiniti magazine listed the Stanza wagon as one of the ugliest nissans ever made......the J30 won the ugliest Infiniti ever produced.

The F50's oil consumption problem is unacceptable. My Q45 burns oil too...so now I have to make a habit of checking my oil every 1,500 miles. I initially used synthetic oil but switched to conventional because it was a complete waste of money and didn't benefit the engine any. The many quality issues that Infiniti's are plauged with is without a doubt unacceptable.

I'm missing the point. I assume you know where Nissan corporate offices are located and how to get their with your attorney. All the executives live in subdivisons surrounding the Nashville area.

Calling customer service in India is not even a start in process.

Here are a few names, google and find them and home addresses, search for emails, etc.http://www.nissannews.com/bios.do?mid=1 ... nt...d=147

It appears that Nissan has 615-725 -1000 thru 9999 start dialing.

Start here:Infiniti Product Public Relations group Kyle Bazemore Senior Manager Office: 615-725-3210 E-mail: [email protected]

Bringing this back I was actually thinking about buying my wife a Q45 for my birthday. Did you have any problems with the shortblock?

Unfortunately, it still burns oil. Not as bad as before, but still unacceptable.Used to blow oil smoke on cold starts on conventional oil with the new short block, but since I switched to Mobil one, I can smell it but not see it. The car uses about a quart every 2,500 miles. The dealer is in the process of doing an oil consumption test again. I'll post what happens when I take it back in again, which will be soon.

Aw, geez! Goodbye Infiniti. Maybe everyone else too?

That's the burning question... where the hell can you go and be any better off? Toyota with Chinese sticky accelerators... forget the big three with two out of three being managed out of DC... Honda/Acura? Korean - at least if you're getting a disposable car, you're paying a disposable car price with them?

Sadly, I think we're getting to a point where you have to buy new, get the 100K warranty and assume that the vehicle will be a fully depreciated and depleted asset when the warranty expires.

Heath

I've been thinking about getting new M35 or M45, but will buy new Hyundai Genesis 4.6.

99q45t_vl wrote:I've been thinking about getting new M35 or M45, but will buy new Hyundai Genesis 4.6.

You could do a lot worse. With a 5L direct injection and a sport tuned suspension, they would get my money for sure, or at least very serious consideration.

The 4.6L Tau engine they used was named among Ward’s 10 Best Engines. The power, the ability to use regular gas, and the fuel economy brought that Tau engine to the top. What's interesting, there's no engine from Nissan on the list. http://wardsauto.com/reports/2...91221/

Yep, and with 5L and DI it will be even more powerful and probably just as efficient.

Shocks and springs and wheels and tires could fix the suspension if appropriate choices exist.
Modified by maxnix at 9:43 AM 2/4/2010

What is interesting is my 1984 300ZX burns no oil, my 97' Q burns no oil and my 05' X-Terra burns no oil. The wifes 99' Sentra burns about a quart in 3k or 3 months.

I always took pride in the fact that my Nissans burned nothing. I think my next ride will end up being in LS 460........but that is a ways off, I roll most of the miles on my X-Terra now anyways and it runs great on Amsoil which I use on all 3 of my cars, the wife runs on dino juice as I only plan to keep that for another 1-2 years.

I have lost alot of faith in Nissan, they have not been the same since the French got involved.

99q45t_vl wrote:What's interesting, there's no engine from Nissan on the list. http://wardsauto.com/reports/2...91221/

That's because Nissan has overextended the VQ. It was fantastic as a sub-6000 rpm torque producer. But when the sports car guys started whining, Nissan traded torque for a higher redline and higher horsepower. That's when the complaints about NVH began. The motor just isn't as smooth above 6k as it was when it was when it was making gobs of torque down in the 2-4k range.

The VHR engines have done a lot to enhance the VQ's high-RPM manners but it just isn't possible to get the same excellent behavior out of the motor when it's being strung out that much. Maybe it's time for a replacement?

As I recently purchased an 02 Q45 with 47k, this thread has peaked my interest. I bought the vehicle after verifying it was a one owner and was serviced by Infiniti since new.

Oil consumption occurs either by leakage to the external environment or into the conbustion process. The latter occurs usually passing the piston rings or the valve guides.

From Infiniti's response, it would appear that the piston rings are the culprit here. Specifically, the oil wiper ring. Before reading this thread I would have suspected the valve guides since the engine was the first with titanium valves.

I have noticed that break-in intervals (as noted by mileage improvement) on my Fords have been extending over the last 20 years. In fact my 2008 Mustang took over 25K before it finally seated in. This extended break-in seems to have occurred with Ford's switch to semi-synthetic oil. I've monitored this because I refuse to use full synthetic oil before the rings finally seat.

My son is a BMW believer and often bragged about BMW using only synthetic oil. This leads me to wonder if the F50 problem is a break-in/oil problem or a design problem?

I would find it hard to believe that Nissan would suddenly forget how to prep a cylinder bore for break-in. If a material or design change in the wiper ring were the cause, I would assume this problem would have been identified and eliminated over time. A new engine design may be subject to cylinder scoring/piston slap, but again this is the kind of problem that Japanese "continuous improvement methods" would have caught and resolved. If there was a serious wear problem on the cylinder wall, I would assume it would be easily visible with a bore scope. Thus, I would expect experienced mechanics would have made this widely known by now.

Does anyone know what the initial oil used in these engines was? And was there any specific recommendations on the use of full synthetic oils? I would assume that most early maintenance was performed by the dealerships. Was there any guidance from Infiniti to the dealers regarding oils?

The car I purchased had no signs of oil burning in the exhaust. Other than monitoring oil levels, is there anything else I should look out for?

djwarner, note my post wherein I stated:

For the record, compression testing on the original defective motor revealed the following results (in psi):#1-230, #2-230, #3-165, #4-225, #5-190, #6-195, #7-220, #8-230.

Clearly, the oil rings were not the culprit. While I bought the car used with 24k miles, knowing the PO was a woman who only drove it in the city, I still observed my usual break-in process, accelerating hard and keeping revs low for the first 2,000 miles, gradually increasing accelleration and rev limits. I used conventional oil throughout this process. I only changed to Mobil 1 after I was satisfied I had at least started the ring seating process.

After the new short block was installed, I again broke the motor in, using my usual break-in process, using nothing but conventional oil. Oil consumption was high from the start, and never improved. After 5k miles, I switched to Mobil 1 again. Oil consumption remains excessive.

Personally, I suspect it is the much thinner compression rings used by Infiniti to reduce internal friction and improve fuel mileage. That so many VQ engines consumer far more oil than the VH did is testament that either the compression rings are far to thin for the job, or Infiniti is not using good cylinder wall treatment on new motors, possibly both. Since my car is an '05, that gave Infiniti 4 years to isolate and fix the problem, which many 3rd generation Q45s share. Note also that my '05 has considerably worse fuel mileage than my '94. Ironic that in trying to improve fuel efficiency, Infiniti not only made it worse, but ruined the extremely low oil consumption exhibited by most Q45s with VH motors.

The car runs well, and while not as smooth as my '94, is still reasonably smooth. I can live with the lower fuel economy, but the oil consumption is something I don't care to deal with. Not sure what the cure is, but I intend to at least try to pursue it. As much as I enjoy driving this car, I'm afraid I can't recommend any of the newer Q45ws with the VQ motor. One thing I can say is that I miss my '94, even though it had reached a point where it was going to be expensive to keep a 13 year old car that needed a lot of work.

I suggest you keep a close eye on your oil consumption on your '02. You may be one of the lucky ones that don't experience the same problems I have, but I wouldn't bank on it. I wish you better luck than I have had with my '05.

Yes, I did note your compression numbers. Per the factory manual, Standard pressure is 191 psi and the minimum allowed is 164 psi. Additionally, the max difference between any two cylinders allowed is 14 psi. The manual says that if a few cylinders are low, to squirt a little oil in the spark plug hole and retest. If the compression comes back up, the oil rings may be worn and may need to be replaced, else the problem is with the valves.

Cylinders have multiple rings, the lower rings are intended to stop gas blow by into the crankcase. These rings rely on oil to help them seal. The top ring is for oil lost control. Its job is to wipe oil from the cylinder walls on the down stroke. From you description, I would assume damage to the rings and or cylinder wall.

I don't doubt anything you've presented and I certainly feel your dissatisfaction. My inquiry here was for education in the specific engine type and not for yours in particular.

Personally, I had a Lycoming Engine eat an exhaust valve at 160 MPH due to poor lubrication of the valve guides. The tulip of the valve separated at the valve stem and fell horizontal. Each time the cylinder compressed, it rammed the disc into the cylinder head. As I watched the propeller bouncing up and down +- 2 inches with each revolution, I began to wonder if the time remaining until the engine left the airplane should be estimated in minutes or seconds. Eventually, the valve tulip rolled up until it split in two. The mechanics later found both halves in the muffler. They sit on my desk today to remind me that regardless, this current situation just isn't that bad.

If anyone has gone beyond R&R the engine or short block and can elucidate, I am still interested.

maybe i am missing something here, but what is an F50?

chipahoy wrote:maybe i am missing something here, but what is an F50?

It's the platform name of the 2002+ model year Q45.