I just bought a 2008 G35, and have noticed that when it is newly started and I turn hard, for instance to get out of a parking spot, a loud thumping seems to come from the front of the car, even shakes the car a bit. After a few minutes I can't make it repeat. It seems to only occur when cold. Any ideas?

Welcome to NICO!

I'm going to guess that what you're feeling is actually the ABS self test. Does it happen only once? Can you feel it through the brake pedal?

For whatever reason the self test is more pronounced in cold weather or if you're on a hill.

Heath

Hey there,

I would highly suspect what you may be experiencing is a natural reaction to the excessively cold winter temperatures. I think it might be the power steering fluid increasing in viscosity. My rational for that is the fact that you make mention of the issue resolving itself once the engine warms up. The power steering pump is a very simple design, probably the simplest thing on these cars.

At the point in the winter that we are at now I don't know if I would recommend you do anything about it other than let the car warm up a bit more after starting it.

These cars use remotely mounted power steering reservoirs so the chance that the fluid will be slightly thicker is pretty great.