RESOLVED: Broke Down This Morning-edit in OP

[ericwells]

Hey gang,

I have an 06 M35 with 66k on it, I was driving to work and had the cruise set at about 72, everything was going fine. All of a sudden the car hesitated for a second like I had tapped the breaks. At that time the Slip and VDC lights started to flash like the car had lost traction. I turned the radio down and listened for any engine noises, flat tires, etc. Everything seemed ok after a about 30 seconds or so, so I took it back up to 72. I cruise along for a few more miles and hit a stop light. I come to a complete stop and set for probably 30 seconds or so, then get going back up to speed no problems. After a few more miles the engine just dies. The cluster lights lit up like a Christmas tree, some were flashing some were solid, but I still had power steering, brakes, etc. So I slid off into a parking lot where I turned the ignition off, only it didn't want to go off. It took several presses and manipulations from neutral to park, brake pressing, etc. Finally, the ignition shut off. I got out and popped the hood and looked for anything obvious. It wasn't overly hot, belts looked good, no red hot pulleys or anything. So, then I tried to fire it back up- The gauges light up but it didn't try to turn over at all. Some of the electronics were operational, like the radio worked, but the AC just blew and I couldn't turn it off.
I had it towed to the nearest Infiniti Dealership, about 100 miles away. I have a message out to them, I'm waiting for a call back.
Any ideas on this one?
Thanks in advance for your time.

EDIT: 6:50 AM CST 5/26/2011
It was in fact the IPDM (Intelligent Power Distribution Module), and that appears to be all at this time. I got my car back yesterday evening, everything seems to be running fine and up to par. I do have the elite warranty and it was covered, so I got out of the dealership for the price of my $50 deductible, although I did have a hellacious 268$ tow job (car broke down out of town) The service manager said that an IPDM for an M costs about 280 to 300 dollars, who knows what it really costs, and if he even knows what he's talking...He said the IPDM delivers power "to over 300 computers inside the M". He had no idea why it died, or if it affected anything else, which worries me quite a bit. I guess I'll have to hope for the best. Thanks for all the advice here, and if your car dies, it won't turn over, and the electronics start acting funky, it would be the IPDM!

[m4m]

DAMNIT!! sorry to hear it.........
Let us know what the dealer comes up with.

[InfinitiEric]

No solid ideas to offer, but, like m4m said, sorry to hear that this happened to you. I hope you have an extended warranty since your over 66,000 miles, do you?

It seems like the ICC system in the M35/M45 causes more problems than solutions...

[qship96]

Especially with every single other driver in the area using a radar/laser detector.

[a.blanco0905]

Holy crapperonis, sorry to hear that OP... I so knock on wood with my M. So far so good thank God.

[bicsintegra]

please keep us posted sorry to hear about that.

[yosM45]

My car did that once. ICC was on, and it beeped loud three time and slowed down.

Come to find out that because I was driving into the sun, the ICC shut it's self off and the car slowed down.

But your situation seems different.

[mgokool]

sorry to hear bout your problem...though I havent experienced this issue myself, let me ask...Does the engine turn over when you try to start it? Have you checked the oil lately? I know some of us have really bad oil consumption w/ the M's, If not checked periodicly and you run low could lock-up the motor...I hope you're not in that situation...

[06M4.5]

I read in a different forum that this can happen when your battery is low or on it's way out.

you still have some power but not enough to keep up with all the demand.

I think I read that the car had to be taken to the dealer to get the battery replaced and reprogrammed.

[phillyM35]

I had a similar thing happen to me last week with my '07 m35x w/44k. Was driving along and all of the sudden the Slip, VDC Off and Service engine Soon lights came on. Car slowly lost power, no matter how hard I pressed on the gas, I couldn't get it over 40mph, engine was sounding rough too. As soon as I was able to get to the side of the road, I turned the car off and started it back up, all the lights went out except the Service Engine light. Luckily my mechanic is only a few blocks from my house. I had him pull the codes and he was getting an Accelerator Sensor error code. Made an appointment with the Infiniti dealer and drove it as little as possible till my appointment. Took it yesterday and I tracked my MPG's over the 30 mile drive, averaged around 15mpg. They looked at it and found a P2138 APP Sensor Failure stored. They Cleared the codes and retested it and found the APP Sensors working normal. Picked it up and the car sounded and drove beautifully, on the ride home I clocked the MPG's and I was back up to around 25mpg's. There were no charges and they washed my car, so all in all, not too bad.

[mgokool]

I read in a different forum that this can happen when your battery is low or on it's way out.

you still have some power but not enough to keep up with all the demand.

I think I read that the car had to be taken to the dealer to get the battery replaced and reprogrammed.

I replaced my battery last month and didn't have to take it to the dealer or get anything re-programmed...Unlike the 745i I had before the M...that had to go to the dealer...

I'm guessing as long as you dont leave the battery disconnected too long then changing the battery should be like any other normal car. I removed all the plastic trim first and made sure the battery was the last thing I disconnected while I had the replacement already there...ready and waiting...

[ericwells]

Hey everyone,
Thanks for all the ideas and thoughts. My dealer called me back this morning and said that the IPDM is bad (intelligent power distribution module). I do have the extended warranty, and the IPDM is covered. The part should be in tomorrow and we are hoping that is all it is.
I had the car in for service two weeks ago, and they inspected the car and battery, cables, etc all checked out. So, let's hope its just the IPDM. Anyone ever experience a bad IPDM before?

[cruzad3r]

man infiniti electronics on the M series are just as bad as the early Audi version cars. That's horrible.

I was hoping that it was the battery but since you got the dealer informed you of a bad IPDM, that makes me nervous and disappointed at the same time.

does anyone here actually own the cipher cable and diagnostic software? i think with that tool, you can scan the car for any fault code and for folks without the extended warranty and willing to fix the car themselves, i think it's a great tool.

[Theo]

Hey everyone,
Thanks for all the ideas and thoughts. My dealer called me back this morning and said that the IPDM is bad (intelligent power distribution module). I do have the extended warranty, and the IPDM is covered. The part should be in tomorrow and we are hoping that is all it is.
I had the car in for service two weeks ago, and they inspected the car and battery, cables, etc all checked out. So, let's hope its just the IPDM. Anyone ever experience a bad IPDM before?

My car has been doing some weird things lately, similar to the issue you described. Twice in the last few days the car has seemed to stall out for a split second and not want to accelerate from a stop. Started it the other day and it sounded like it was running on 4 cylinders for about 20 seconds and it took a few cranks to start another time.

T.

[kermit the guy]

mine was starting sluggish and certain functions werent workin right, took it in and told them i think i needed a new battery , told me later it was the battery ! now my car runs really better and starts up with 1 click and running good!

[ericwells]

about 200 miles since repair, all things seem fine.

thanks everyone

[The Bodyguard]

Low voltage tends to affect many many things on our M's!! Thats what I was told by my service advisor at the dealer. I've been going to him for a while now and I can say I pretty much trust the guy.... I just had my battery replaced last week at 55k 3 1/2 yrs of service, battery cost me $70.xx