2003-2004 Infiniti M45, Y34 Owners, seeking some advice.

[koawood08]

New to this forum, looking for some advice, tips, hints, feedback. etc on a possibly purchase of an 2000-2004 m45

so far i've only gathered a few concerns,

fuel gauge malfuntioningOil consumption

any other majors isssues you guys are running into that would steer me away from a future purchase? spoke to a good friend today and said there were lots of Electrical issues with the car itself. Any help would be greatly appreciated, i've done as much search as possible. Thanx ahead ladies and gentlemen.

[Y34GLORIA]

welcome to the fourm. where in Calif u located? Fuel gadge is the common issues and yes it can be annoying sometimes. luckly when I got my 03 y34 the previous owner fixed the problem. I had the carf for over year now and its been great so far. I had 141k on original engine and it prob burn less than a quart in between oil changes. BTW I change my oil every 5000 miles and I used AMSOIL FULLY systhtic. best stuffs out there. keep in mind, this VK45DE engine was an very sophisticaed engine when it was introduced in 2002 even till this day. high HP output engine do burn oils and it happen to all high end manufactures like MB/BMW etc.. excluded LEXUS ( i do not consider their engine a real high performace engine). its not like engine gonna break down on the freeway or anything just have to watch out for the oil level and stuff. this car will warn u on the car screen if u have low oil pressure so I think most people will not go beyond that. other then that the car has been great and 0 problem so far beside my trunk release wont pop properly with the remote which is another common issue with this car and its really not a big deal. I been looking for this car when i was shopping ofr the car and I had NO regreat and this is possible the best car I ever own in one package (performace, reliablility, luxury, RARITY (about 78,00 sold) and value) noithing really can touch it. hope this will help u. good luck of finding the right one.

[koawood08]

thanx for the quick reply, im located in northern california, asked a few friends for and tips on the car but ive heard nothing but negatives about owning one, i personally still love the body style and will continue my hunt for one, just dont want to get myself in a world of problems with this car.

[Y34GLORIA]

what was ur friend said about negative on the car? do they even own one? I hate when people claime to be a expert on certain car and dose not even own the car in the first place. U should just google on the net and u can find alot reviews on this car and the buyers review. I found nothing but postive on this car in general out all the website. one of the site even said this is one of the "BEST CAR THAT NO ONE BUY". I had owned NISSAN/INFINITI vehicles for the last 14 years STRAIGHT. This is my second INFINITI BTW and my last one was an 98 Q45 and love it alot as well.

[koawood08]

he has friends that has owned Y34's, btw, is there any other Forums that have a lot of good write-up,s tech reviews etc?!

[Y34GLORIA]

just search 2003-2004 m45 there will have alot reviews and write up on the net or u can go check cars.com, yahoo auto, MSN auto etc.... tons info online. BTW, if u are really serious about this car u should go for a test drive. nothing on writing can do to sub a real life test drive. that way u can try to figure out if this is the car for ur driving habit. good luck!

[koawood08]

thank you, its either Y34 or an LS400/430 Lexus...i like the m45 a tad bit more over the lexus,,,both nice cars

[szh]

thank you, its either Y34 or an LS400/430 Lexus...i like the m45 a tad bit more over the lexus,,,both nice cars

Both are indeed nice cars, and there are some significant differences ... the LS400/430 will handle more like a bigger sedan than the Y34 M45 (plushier, slower, softer suspension, etc.).

The interior of the M45 is definitely smaller too - particularly in the rear seating. The handling of the M45 will be much better though - more road feel (along with more noise), etc.

I would push the M45 on curvy roads, which I would never consider doing on the LS400/430 (but would have on my first 1991 Q45 though). L)

Z

[Y34GLORIA]

usually NISSAN always have performance and handle characteristic over any TOYOTA vehicles at any giving time. unless the stupid overpriced $300k LEXUS LF-A or the IS-F which INFINITI has NO anwer to it. Cmon NISSA, build the ESSENCE and a new IS-F fighter (drop the VK56 from the new M to the G) yeah that will certainly kill the IS-F ahahaahah

[nmgoodthing]

Is the GTR chopped liver?

[UpStar]

New to this forum, looking for some advice, tips, hints, feedback. etc on a possibly purchase of an 2000-2004 m45

so far i've only gathered a few concerns,

fuel gauge malfuntioningOil consumption

any other majors isssues you guys are running into that would steer me away from a future purchase? spoke to a good friend today and said there were lots of Electrical issues with the car itself. Any help would be greatly appreciated, i've done as much search as possible. Thanx ahead ladies and gentlemen.

read link below...and what color exterior and interior are you looking for?zer...ework

[kingpin]

save your self the headakes Get the LS 430 (2004 and up ) ..

1/2 the stress , and it don't burn oil @ 45 000 miles MAYBE 450 000 miles .

Y34 is a nice car < rear and you will get attention when its modded besides that its nothing special unless u do the Viplook ..

[Mark Linkous]

Hello,The vast majority of us feel no stress when it comes to our 2003-2004 M45's. Yes, some have had high oil consumption. However, the vast majority have not. Moreover, there are now members with 120-150 thousand miles showing little ill effects.

While an LS430 is nice, it is also decidedly catered to the Country Club crowd and Early Bird Special types. Living on a Barrier Island in Southwest Florida 2 Miles from what has been rated the "Beach in America" Siesta Key Beach, I certainly have seen what the affluent elderly folks drive here.

Moreover, an LS430 with comparable features and miles will now cost significantly more than a 2003-2004 M45. I have had mine for almost 4 Years and have had no mechanical issues whatsoever.Cheers,ML

[jesustorres85]

I've replaced my rotors twice and counting. I do alot of city driving and I use all stock parts(pads and rotors) and I've noticed that they wear easy.

[kingpin]

Hello,The vast majority of us feel no stress when it comes to our 2003-2004 M45's. Yes, some have had high oil consumption. However, the vast majority have not. Moreover, there are now members with 120-150 thousand miles showing little ill effects.

While an LS430 is nice, it is also decidedly catered to the Country Club crowd and Early Bird Special types. Living on a Barrier Island in Southwest Florida 2 Miles from what has been rated the "Beach in America" Siesta Key Beach, I certainly have seen what the affluent elderly folks drive here.

Moreover, an LS430 with comparable features and miles will now cost significantly more than a 2003-2004 M45. I have had mine for almost 4 Years and have had no mechanical issues whatsoever.Cheers,ML

your car is a 2004 , that made some improvemenst on them ..

Here is a list with what can go or will go wrong as it gets older ..

Truck shocks Driver seat Burining oil Ac compressor power steering pumpsun roof leaking

i am sure 9 out of 10 members here with a Y34 has one the above ..

[myother45isalesbaer]

I have a 2004 M45 and have almost no problems. One of my TPS went and the tach died. Besides that nothing.

As to oil consumption I did have an issue. The car came with regular oil. I put Amsoil in it on the second change. It loved to eat Amsoil and would do so at a rate of about a quart and a half in 3,000 miles. I went back to regular oil and now it consumes no oil. Many posters on this site have had the exact opposite happen. Go figure.

Good luck on your hunt. I think it is just one awesome piece of work. Its fast, comfortable, reliable, what more could you ask for? Infiniti has me hooked. Next one I hope to get is the M56.

[Strongbad]

Here is a list with what can go or will go wrong as it gets older ..

Truck shocks Driver seat Burining oil Ac compressor power steering pump sun roof leaking

i am sure 9 out of 10 members here with a Y34 has one the above ..

Man. I am batting .1000....lol

Has anybody found a good fix for the drivers seat?

[UpStar]

save your self the headakes Get the LS 430 (2004 and up ) ..

.

I wonder if this fella took your advice and went the Lexus LS route

[szh]

your car is a 2004 , that made some improvemenst on them ..

Here is a list with what can go or will go wrong as it gets older ..

Truck shocks
Driver seat
Burining oil
Ac compressor
power steering pump
sun roof leaking

i am sure 9 out of 10 members here with a Y34 has one the above ..

On my 2003 Y34, my experience (at just over 90k miles today!) is:

Trunk shocks - YES
Driver seat - NO
Burning Oil - NO ... (not to the point where it needs an engine change. I "use" about 1/4 to 1/3 quart every 1750 miles.)
Ac compressor - NO
Power steering pump - NO
Sun roof leaking - NO ... (but then I don't have a sun-roof )

In terms of other issues that I have had:

Gas gauge misread - YES
Leak in lower exhaust header - YES
Crack in windshield - YES
Door edge weatherstrip - YES

So far, everything major has been fixed under warranty ... including the cracked windshield (I showed Infiniti that it was not due to a road mishap - started at the bottom edge of the glass and crept up!).

And, yet, I still am happy that I bought the car back in Sep of 2003 and still like it a lot! For what I paid for it new, it was great value ...

Z

[dtdm]

I am hovering around 84k

Trunk shocks - YES, replaced last week with www.burtmanindustries.com. EASY, LOVE THEM... would have replaced either way!
Driver seat - YES, someone please help me, damn squeaky bastard.
Burning Oil - Not in my opinion? But I did come from a turbo honda that needed a quart every week. Plan on doing that catch can trick.
Ac compressor - NO
Power steering pump - NO
Sun roof leaking - NO
Gas Gauge... Fixed before purchasing
My other problems
Front window trim rattle, which I hope to soon fix.