Hey guys.

Brand new to the forums and I am desperately looking for some help/advice. Here's my story.

I have a 2007 G35 Sedan with a lot of miles. 160k miles. I have not had any issues with the car and absolutely 0 check engines/ codes. A bit ago my car started hesitating at take off and during bumper to bumper traffic. Felt like the RPMs would drop and then go up. One day my RPMs dropped enough that my car turned off.

I took it to a mechanic the next day and he saw a Bulletin for 2007-08 G35 sedan needing a ECM/ECU reprogram. He suggested I go to the dealer and get that along with a relearn.

I go to the dealer and they won't do it. According to them and their computer (I still have no check engine or errors), my exhaust timing sprocket and VTC cover failed which caused a misfire/ hesitation.

I end up getting 2,3,4 other opinions from mechanics and none agree with the sprocket issue that the dealer mentioned. According to them and when they hook it up, I have no errors showing up. They all mentioned if my sprocket was bad and causing misfire i would be throwing codes left and right. They also recommend I get the ECM/ECU reprogram. I tried going back to the dealer but they still wouldn't do it.

Have any of you guys had this problem? Any suggestions?

btw on the description of service, the only code they have next to the suggested repair is J0001.

Thanks in advance.

Hmm...I had that issue when I bought a used '07 G35s sedan back in '09 but it did have a SES code and the dealer fixed it up (it was NOT cheap based on the records, but, was covered under warranty). I can't find anything in regards to a J0001, just a U0001 which is a Controller Area Network issue.

You can either try a different Infiniti dealership or call Infiniti Customer Affairs and see if they can pressure the dealership. In general I agree with you that the motor should be throwing codes, but, it is also possible Consult is showing an issue which may not have a code which reports on the car (the U0001 does not trigger a SES either).

If the cam sprocket is broke, it'd sound awful and potentially bind/not run. Catostrophic engine damage would be suspect.

Replace the cam phase sensors and go from there.

There's a 0.00000000000000001% (exaggerated) chance that a ECU reprogram will help. The ECU main programming memory is EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) and does not change. Only two things could have changed this code - 1) strong solar radiation flipping a 0 to a 1 (or vice versa) or (much more likely) 2) a ECU physical fault (electrical issue). The latter would require the problem to be physically rectified (likely an ECU replacement). You can force the KAM (Keep-Alive-Memory) to reset by removing the negative battery cable for 15 minutes or so. This is the "learned" stuff in the programming.

Questions for the OP:

1. Does our engine idle as it always has?

2. Does your engine hesitate always when accelerating or just when cold/warm?

3. Does your engine hesitate/misfire when at cruising speed?

4. If revving your engine in Park/Neutral, any unusual noises or misfire/hesitation?

Thanks for the response guys. One of the mechanics told me that it sounds a lot like TSB: ITB11-018. The more i read on this, the more I think this is it since it basically describes what i feel. I'm considering another dealer and just telling them to do it without another service checkup. ArmedAviator, to answer your questions.

1. In park it idles fine, even in gear it idles fine.
2. Always hesitates at take off or very low rpms (speeds while driving in a parking lot or pulling out of a driveway). At high speeds if you floor it, it will hesitate before the power and rpms shoot up.
3. At cruising speeds, it you tap the gas to speed up a bit, you feel a bit of a hesitation/jolt. Its not a huge jolt feeling, you probably wont feel it if you're sitting on the passenger seat.
4. Revving does not cause any unusual noises or misfire.

The dealer stated the the bad sprocket is causing the misfire which feels like a hesitation to me but what has me questioning that is that I still don't have any codes or check engine light on.

ArmedAviator wrote:If the cam sprocket is broke, it'd sound awful and potentially bind/not run. Catostrophic engine damage would be suspect.


Questions for the OP:

1. Does our engine idle as it always has?

2. Does your engine hesitate always when accelerating or just when cold/warm?

3. Does your engine hesitate/misfire when at cruising speed?

4. If revving your engine in Park/Neutral, any unusual noises or misfire/hesitation?

Just a quick update. I did a ECU reset, I went with the ignition in on position, pump gas pedal 5 times, etc. Surprisingly the car runs a lot better. I honestly could not believe it. There is still a slight hesitation/hiccup feel to it. Almost like something holds the car back from going for a split second and then it goes. But it is much much better than before. Technically i'm still feeling the same symptoms just not as bad as before. Before it was embarrassing to drive through parking lots as the car would buck at those speeds since it wanted to turn off.

I'll still be doing the ECM/ECU re program and i really hope it completely solves everything. If a simple ECU reset made a huge difference i really hope the re program will completely fix the issue.

Please read my above post regarding the ECU re-tune. It will be a waste of money, IMHO.

ArmedAviator, the Cam Phase Sensor you referred to, is that he same as the Cam Position Sensor? I could not find Cam Phase Sensor and for the Cam Position Sensor I'm only seeing them for 2003-2006 G35 not the 2007. Can you send a link? If not i'll keep searching. Thank you.