M45 2003-2004 common problems?

[Aceofspades]

Hey gang I going to be picking up an 03-04 M45. Besides the gas gauge problem what else is there?I should be watching out for when working a deal on the car. leaks? rust? drive train problems?

I have heard some of the spark plus rust and go bad before 100k?

please any thing else that would help would be great!

Wish me luck

[saeedakobiakov]

Hello,what make you want to buy this car?caug

[Aceofspades]

love the body lines great power and i needed an auto car that i can relax and drive in!every thing else i own is stick and I do alot more traffic driving now so it helps as well

[saeedakobiakov]

yah, i agree on style and power, BUT if you in traffic a lot, this is not the right car.#1 will suck gas like cary.#2 bad transmission for traffic, very slow action. press and wait before it down shifts, pain in the a**. i usually keep it in the low gear, to get more responsiveness out of the car.

[Aceofspades]

gas is not a problem for me.but trans thing i'll have to test out i'm sure it won't bug mebut any one seen any problems with them in the 100k area?

[saeedakobiakov]

struts and mounts stated going down @ 75k. i am at 91 now. car feels not too bad, not sure if i shoud bother with replacing them.thinking of a new car.soming that more sportier, smaller.

[rsg123]

Sometimes people have problems with excessive oil consumption. Just make sure it doesn't blow blue smoke from the tailpipes when it starts from cold.

[1scott]

The oil consumption is an issue and can lead to decreased performance and engine failure. My engine only went 39kmi before it needed to be replaced. If you are into performance and want an infiniti try the G series, they are lighter and can be tuned with a more extensive selection of aftermarket stuff. To inspect for the oil consuption problem on the M, in addition to smoke on start up, remove the air intake snorkel and look at the intake and look for pooled oil or if it is really dirty.

[Aceofspades]

good to know i'll bring my snap on cordless screw gun!

[Y34GLORIA]

Mine is 134k miles. I used AMSOIL (good chit) 10w40 suppose last 7500 miles but I change it every 5000 miles. U just have to take care of this car and do the regular maintance. I replace al my fluids with REDLINE FULLLY SYSTHETIC oil like for transmission (12 quarts), power steering, and differancial fluids. It should last u for long time. Use the best spark plugs when ever u change them. I used NGK Irridiant plugs. I am working on a brake upgrade soon just dont have the time and money right now to do it maybe next year I will get it done. One more thing, Make sure u use good gas like Shell and Chevron and dump in REDLINE fuel cleaner every 3000 miles. i guareetee ur car will run strong. This is based on mine experience of maintance sports cars I owned.

[UpStar]

#2 bad transmission for traffic, very slow action. press and wait before it down shifts, pain in the a**. i usually keep it in the low gear, to get more responsiveness out of the car.

Ace,

there is nothing wrong with the transmission in this car. The problem is that some guys want to drive it like its a GSX-R or something. This is a luxury car and in my opinion the transmission responds just fine as long as you drive it like it was meant to be driven.

[M45Caliber]

my take so far. remember these cars (Y34) are now 6 to 7 years old. Mine is a 2003 with 52K on it as of last night. I have the Infiniti Elite warranty and it has paid for itself 2X already.

1. Gas gauge = full cluster replacement - confirm this has been done on any car you are consideringOil consumption = hi-po motor so 1 qt every 1500 to 2K miles is NOT excessive; under 1K miles is so look for blue smoke on start up. Mine uses a qt between changes (3,500 miles) but runs like a scalded cat and no blue smoke.

2. trunk struts - "baby" shocks that raise the trunk lid an inch or so when the remote is used to pop the trunk These little SOB's fail regularly. NAPA sells a universal strut --15 inch 80# lift -- that fits perfectly and raises the trunk all the way up. Struts at NAPA are $72; dealer installed for free as I bought the parts and they had already replaced the factory struts twice, to no avail.

3. Suspension Struts -- I had to replace all 4 - dealer price was $1,100 rear and $1,400 front. Plastic/rubber mounts break down over time, and struts started rattling around. Running my car at the recent Track Day at Firebird Raceway probably accelerated the issue. These are Infiniti ONLY parts -- so figure $2500 for all 4.

4. I had the drivers side exhaust manifold crack - warranty replacement (estimate was $900)

5. I had the crankshaft positioning sensor fail -- warranty (Cali emissions and Elite both would cover) Estimate was $450

6. Brakes -- originals were warped. replaced with "Frozen Rotors" - that's a company name - and HAWK pads. All four wheels. I think about $600 for parts and $200 labor - indy shop did the install. Now it stops like an F1 car and has very linear feel. BEST upgrade you can do. Ran these at the Track Day event in AZ summer heat with zero issues. Amazing.

7. Spark Plugs - Infiniti says 100K miles, changed mine out (OK -- Ken did it...) at about 50K and they looked like "Sh_t" I would hate to see these things at 100K. Maybe just my car in AZ heat...

8. Beg borrow or steal the Cyber software or drive to AZ and have Ken bump your timing 2 degrees -- the difference in drivability is amazing. No impact on fuel economy

9. Yeah, the transmission is a bit slow in it's response to the throttle to downshift, but any car from 7 years ago was like that. If you know ahead that you will be jumping on it, you can go into manual mode and pre-select your gear.

10. I just had a custom cat-back Magnaflow dual exhaust set up installed -- sounds way cool now with no additional noise when driving on the freeway etc. Probably lightened my car by 50 pounds too! I will post pics (before and After) as soon as I get the time.

11. I'd go for an '04 as the CD changer is in the dash - where God intended it to be. The '03's stuck it in the glovebox and they are repair prone. Mine was replaced twice under warranty and now I don't even use it; I have the iPod FM connector and just use that now.

12. Almost forgot -- my car goes in next week (parts on order) for the sway bar connecting rods or joints or something -- front bar. I hear "clunking" when going over bumps etc. Tech drove it and diagnosed. Warranty (Elite) will cover but this would be another $500 or so, I'm guessing.

I look at all the new cars out there, and keep deciding to hang on to the M for another year or two. I bought this a couple years back and paid cash, so seeing $35 - $60K price tags on what I like new seems insane when the car I drive can still run with the big dogs, and I like the style and comfort. Maybe when the warranty is about up I will change my mind.

[Jake4074]

I actually had somewhat of a strange problem with my Y34. I was returning from a cruise in which I parked my car at the port for a week. When I put the key-fob in the ignition it wouldn't turn. I tried troubleshooting everything I could possibly think of to get the ignition to turn but it wouldn't budge. Luckily, I was able to use the valet key to unlock the ignition to push it down to the ground floor of the parking garage (5 stories up) because the towtruck couldn't fit up there. Anyway to make a long story short, it turned out that the power wire to the anti-theft device rubbed through and shorted out somewhere up under the dash. The repair bill was $1,300 due to a complete dash removal. Thank goodness for my extended warranty. I've had a few repairs done but overall I love this car and if I can give any advice to you, I'd say make sure you have a good warranty because even minor repairs can get expensive.

[Aceofspades]

I drove one last nightseemed greatmotor seemed a little missy meaning some miss fires at idle guessing plugs

but trans was fine and motor seem good but could use a tune up!

i like them just shocked how little back seat space there is but trans shifted fine your all crazy who think not!

the enter button didn't seem to work at all unless i pressed super hard to doubled tapped it!

[kingpin]

how many miles might be your exhaust gasket going ...mine is blown i am at 60 000 miles ..

[saeedakobiakov]

no crazy, drive it in traffic.

[Aceofspades]

little confused do the back seats adjust some how?

this from car and drive "Most of us thought the interior was quite nice, if a little ornate. With a medium-size driver or front-seat passenger, a rear-seat occupant can even recline his or her seat separately."

I didn't notice this at all

[qship96]

Premium Package had electrically adjustable rear seats on the 06+ models
Modified by qship96 at 9:51 PM 12/24/2009

[gbpdx]

One item you should be aware of on this car -- and I have had my M 45 for only 6 monhts -- is that because of the limited number of cars imported during the 2 years of production, availability of replacement parts is more limited than on most any other Infiniti. Used parts are very scarce.

Now mind you, I am not complaining even with some of the costs I incurred when purchasing the car knowing I needed to do some things. I bought the car for comfort for up to four people, and it does that far better than the two J30's I had as my daily drivers before.

[UpStar]

little confused do the back seats adjust some how?

this from car and drive "Most of us thought the interior was quite nice, if a little ornate. With a medium-size driver or front-seat passenger, a rear-seat occupant can even recline his or her seat separately."

I didn't notice this at all

Rear seat 2-way adjustable head restraints is the only thing that is adjustable on the 03-04 M45, not the seats.

[Aceofspades]

any one got photos?

[Jeff Williams]

1. Gas gauge = full cluster replacement - confirm this has been done on any car you are consideringOil consumption = hi-po motor so 1 qt every 1500 to 2K miles is NOT excessive; under 1K miles is so look for blue smoke on start up. Mine uses a qt between changes (3,500 miles) but runs like a scalded cat and no blue smoke.

2. trunk struts - "baby" shocks that raise the trunk lid an inch or so when the remote is used to pop the trunk These little SOB's fail regularly. NAPA sells a universal strut --15 inch 80# lift -- that fits perfectly and raises the trunk all the way up. Struts at NAPA are $72; dealer installed for free as I bought the parts and they had already replaced the factory struts twice, to no avail.

3. Suspension Struts -- I had to replace all 4 - dealer price was $1,100 rear and $1,400 front. Plastic/rubber mounts break down over time, and struts started rattling around. Running my car at the recent Track Day at Firebird Raceway probably accelerated the issue. These are Infiniti ONLY parts -- so figure $2500 for all 4.

4. I had the drivers side exhaust manifold crack - warranty replacement (estimate was $900)

5. I had the crankshaft positioning sensor fail -- warranty (Cali emissions and Elite both would cover) Estimate was $450

6. Brakes -- originals were warped. replaced with "Frozen Rotors" - that's a company name - and HAWK pads. All four wheels. I think about $600 for parts and $200 labor - indy shop did the install. Now it stops like an F1 car and has very linear feel. BEST upgrade you can do. Ran these at the Track Day event in AZ summer heat with zero issues. Amazing.

7. Spark Plugs - Infiniti says 100K miles, changed mine out (OK -- Ken did it...) at about 50K and they looked like "Sh_t" I would hate to see these things at 100K. Maybe just my car in AZ heat...

8. Beg borrow or steal the Cyber software or drive to AZ and have Ken bump your timing 2 degrees -- the difference in drivability is amazing. No impact on fuel economy

9. Yeah, the transmission is a bit slow in it's response to the throttle to downshift, but any car from 7 years ago was like that. If you know ahead that you will be jumping on it, you can go into manual mode and pre-select your gear.

10. I just had a custom cat-back Magnaflow dual exhaust set up installed -- sounds way cool now with no additional noise when driving on the freeway etc. Probably lightened my car by 50 pounds too! I will post pics (before and After) as soon as I get the time.

11. I'd go for an '04 as the CD changer is in the dash - where God intended it to be. The '03's stuck it in the glovebox and they are repair prone. Mine was replaced twice under warranty and now I don't even use it; I have the iPod FM connector and just use that now.

12. Almost forgot -- my car goes in next week (parts on order) for the sway bar connecting rods or joints or something -- front bar. I hear "clunking" when going over bumps etc. Tech drove it and diagnosed. Warranty (Elite) will cover but this would be another $500 or so, I'm guessing.

I look at all the new cars out there, and keep deciding to hang on to the M for another year or two. I bought this a couple years back and paid cash, so seeing $35 - $60K price tags on what I like new seems insane when the car I drive can still run with the big dogs, and I like the style and comfort. Maybe when the warranty is about up I will change my mind.

Great information. I just picked up mt 04 M45 on Christmas eve. So far, no issues, but I will be puting in new plugs and doing the brakes soon. I also will be getting the trunk struts from NAPA. She has 53K on her now.

[caug1]

paint the bottom panel and rear bottom part of the bumper of the car white to give it lowered look. also paint the logo on front to match the grill.i like white color.happy new year!