'07 M35 NAGGING ISSUES

[hawkfan]

I have an '07 M35 that I purchased in '09. It's the best car I've ever owned and has given me no real problems. But it currently has two issues that seem minor but are kind of annoying me enough to get them fixed. The seat slides back and forth a little when accelerating or braking and the steering wheel doesn't always like to tilt automatically anymore. I took the car to the dealer over the seat and they quoted me $1200 and an entire day to fix. I didn't even mention the automatic tilt issue to them since it's not an issue while driving. I read that the tilt issue is probably due to a faulty tilt sensor which is relatively cheap. Both of these seem to be common issues for these cars which is a little disappointing since Infiniti won't do a recall. If I bite the bullet and pay to have the seat rails/mechanism replaced, will it permanently fix the problem? Isn't there a chance that the replacement will fail as well?

[Ilya]

I had my seat fixed when I first got my 07 in 2010 and I traded it in 2014 at 142kmi and it hadn't broken again...for what it's worth.

[BlackCat81]

I have an '07 M35 that I purchased in '09. It's the best car I've ever owned and has given me no real problems. But it currently has two issues that seem minor but are kind of annoying me enough to get them fixed. The seat slides back and forth a little when accelerating or braking and the steering wheel doesn't always like to tilt automatically anymore. I took the car to the dealer over the seat and they quoted me $1200 and an entire day to fix. I didn't even mention the automatic tilt issue to them since it's not an issue while driving. I read that the tilt issue is probably due to a faulty tilt sensor which is relatively cheap. Both of these seem to be common issues for these cars which is a little disappointing since Infiniti won't do a recall. If I bite the bullet and pay to have the seat rails/mechanism replaced, will it permanently fix the problem? Isn't there a chance that the replacement will fail as well?

Yes, it will fail again. There is no updated seat frame, it'll get the exact same one. There's a service bulletin to replace them. They either rock back and forth or the one of the welds on the seat track crack and it has a gangster lean. If you don't use your easy exit function and don't ever move the seat, the track can be spot welded to the frame, eliminating the rocking. But you loose forward and backward function. The tilt issue isn't common. I don't believe the limit switch for the tilt function is available separately from the column though. I could be we wrong though, I haven't done one in forever. Does the telescopic function work correctly?
The bulletin# for the seat adjuster is ITB07-029.

[hawkfan]

I have an '07 M35 that I purchased in '09. It's the best car I've ever owned and has given me no real problems. But it currently has two issues that seem minor but are kind of annoying me enough to get them fixed. The seat slides back and forth a little when accelerating or braking and the steering wheel doesn't always like to tilt automatically anymore. I took the car to the dealer over the seat and they quoted me $1200 and an entire day to fix. I didn't even mention the automatic tilt issue to them since it's not an issue while driving. I read that the tilt issue is probably due to a faulty tilt sensor which is relatively cheap. Both of these seem to be common issues for these cars which is a little disappointing since Infiniti won't do a recall. If I bite the bullet and pay to have the seat rails/mechanism replaced, will it permanently fix the problem? Isn't there a chance that the replacement will fail as well?

Yes, it will fail again. There is no updated seat frame, it'll get the exact same one. There's a service bulletin to replace them. They either rock back and forth or the one of the welds on the seat track crack and it has a gangster lean. If you don't use your easy exit function and don't ever move the seat, the track can be spot welded to the frame, eliminating the rocking. But you loose forward and backward function. The tilt issue isn't common. I don't believe the limit switch for the tilt function is available separately from the column though. I could be we wrong though, I haven't done one in forever. Does the telescopic function work correctly?
The bulletin# for the seat adjuster is ITB07-029.

Telescoping is fine. In fact, both work manually just fine. It's just the automatic tilt when I start the car is intermittent. I read that it could also be a memory module. But that's a minor issue compared to the seat since it's a potential safety hazard. That sucks about the seat replacement frame NOT being revised since I'm sure Infiniti is aware of the problem. I usually keep my seat all the way back which 'tightens' it up. That's why I didn't catch it during the test drive. But when I had to slide it up for backseat passengers, it slid back and forth while driving. I read that slop in one of the plastic track gears could be the cause, but I popped the plastic seat cover off and took a look. The 'motor' side(next to transmission tunnel) of the seat is tight. The 'door' side of the frame is what moves when I tug and push on it. Yet, the seat moves just fine on it's own with the seat controls with no binding, so I'm not even sure it's a gear anymore? Do the M37s and Q70s have this problem?

[hawkfan]

Called the Infiniti parts department to order the seat assembly, but balked after they said it would be ~ $1100 for it since I knew it was much cheaper online. Went ahead and ordered a new driver's seat track assembly from infinitipartsusa.com for $784 + $70 for 3 day shipping. I'm wondering how there can be that much of a discrepancy in price? Wouldn't the dealership and Infinitipartsusa.com get their parts from the same source? Anyway they should be fine with installing it since they said they were fine with installing my Brakemotive kit at the same time.

[hawkfan]

Got everything installed and picked up the car today. I was surprised at how 'rigid' the seat felt after the repairs, which is a good thing. I have to thank this forum for suggesting the Brakemotive kit. The drilled/slotted rotors look so much better than the rusted wobbly rotors I had before. I saved $$$ despite having the dealership do the work. Hopefully, the replacement seat assembly holds up. Thanks again.

[BlackCat81]

Called the Infiniti parts department to order the seat assembly, but balked after they said it would be ~ $1100 for it since I knew it was much cheaper online. Went ahead and ordered a new driver's seat track assembly from infinitipartsusa.com for $784 + $70 for 3 day shipping. I'm wondering how there can be that much of a discrepancy in price? Wouldn't the dealership and Infinitipartsusa.com get their parts from the same source? Anyway they should be fine with installing it since they said they were fine with installing my Brakemotive kit at the same time.

Yes, but there's a difference in pricing when a company buys 100 seat frames at a time vs. one, and then sells them at wholesale pricing.