Considering buying an M56X

[dLat]

I just test drove one yesterday and at high speeds the steering wheel was vibrating/moving on its on and it felt jerky when we came to a stop.. could this be due to imbalanced wheels? he did have winter tires on oem wheels so im thining it needs an alignment and rebalancing?

Here is the OBD2 Scanner, it was my first time using one.


does the M represent a misfire?
Ive never understood how to read the I/M status

The transmission was very loud and the care was not cared for (scratches and oil was all black), is it possible to change the transmission fluid by myself? Ive yet to find the proper thread that has a tutorial on this.

[Ilya]

For the vibrating...could be a bent rim or an unbalanced wheel (wheel weights fell off, etc).

As for the code reader, I think those letters are just telling you which tests are completed (there are many) and running...with no codes so I think you're good there. If you had a misfire, you'd see the code there (something like Pxxxx).

How many miles on the car? I let the dealer do it cause they have the machine that does almost an entire fluid change. Doing it yourself, you'll only get like 80% of the old fluid out.

[Frog]

The jerky stop is probably the control arms. They go out on the m. Best advice pay the dealer to go over it.

[Ilya]

The jerky stop is probably the control arms. They go out on the m. Best advice pay the dealer to go over it.

Agreed...have a shop do a 100pt inspection on it and see what the list is...better to spend $100 on that than buy a lemon that needs $3000 of work.

[Debonair]

Wheel balance will usually manifest itself at all or certain speeds, not necessarily only when stopping. Vibration when stopping is usually brake rotor runout AKA warping. It's easy to check for this since it will stop as soon as you take your foot off the brake pedal. This can be resolved by machining the rotors. Depending on how many times it has been done you may be better off simply replacing them.

For what each symbol on your scanner means I would refer to its manual as various scanners display the same data in many different ways.

[Larz]

I couldn't agree more. Take it to a dealer for a complete going-over. Even if it costs $150, it's better than getting a repair bill in the thousands.

[dLat]

I forgot to show you guys this:

Anything shady?

This PPI would have addressed the control arms or brake rotors right? The dealer also said there were new brake pads. I did test them and they seemed to stop the car with no problem.

I also forgot to tell you guys, he gave me a carfax, but there was only detail up to around.. 40,000kms? I didn't say anything because that documentation to me was useless since the car had already been driven to 136,xxx kms.



Also I did some further research: the vibration on the highway is exactly (this is exactly what happened during the test drive) described by this video here @1:40







In terms of accidents, carproof showed none, I inspected the front subframe, nothing, rear subframe seemed to be okay aswell, except for one thing that caught my eye: the driver side's rear bumper was a bit warped into the wheel well, but only slightly. So maybe there was a really minor accident? or did this guy just accidentally have something hit the bumper at that area? Because to me the rear bumper seems to be attached on okay (without uneven seam lines), windows rolled all the way up and all the way down fine.

[Larz]

Just two more things to consider. You mentioned 136,000 kms which for the US is well past 80,000 miles. Perhaps the suspension (even with no leaks) is ready for replacement. Another thing, and those who have AWD models can chime in if I'm wrong, but don't you need to maintain even tread wear at all 4 wheels for the ride to be at it's best?

[dLat]

Just two more things to consider. You mentioned 136,000 kms which for the US is well past 80,000 miles. Perhaps the suspension (even with no leaks) is ready for replacement. Another thing, and those who have AWD models can chime in if I'm wrong, but don't you need to maintain even tread wear at all 4 wheels for the ride to be at it's best?

Well.. now the whole control arm/suspension thing is starting to get to me.. does the PPI check for this?

And yes I've talked to infiniti dealers and other repair shops, the 4 tires need to have same level tread. This is not a problem since i will be buying new summer tires, as the wheels come with relatively new winter tires (i live in Canada)

[Frog]

Well remember it's got 130k on it. It's not going to be new. And u never said how much the car costs. That's kind of important as well. It's it's dirt cheap get it. Lol

[dLat]

Well remember it's got 130k on it. It's not going to be new. And u never said how much the car costs. That's kind of important as well. It's it's dirt cheap get it. Lol

the only thing stopping me is the interior & ext colour, and wobbly steering wheel

[Debonair]

the only thing stopping me is the interior & ext colour, and wobbly steering wheel

You don't like the inside where you will spend most of your time with the car, you don't like the outside which you will have to see every time you walk up to it, and you don't like the way it drives (which is most likely a correctable issue). Why are you still looking at this car?

[ArmedAviator]

It needs an alignment and balance with proper all season or high performance summer tires. There is a good chance that would cure the vibrations.

The jerky braking? You'll have to describe or video that further that for further diagnosis.

I bought my car with 82k miles on it and presumably had no fluid or filters changed (didn't appear to have been changed). I had the dealer flush the transfer case, transmission, and front and rear diffs. The rest I changed and replaced myself.

The tread depth and wear matters on every car, not just AWD.

What Debonair said is spot on. If you don't really like the car, move on.

[DoN_BLaZe34]

the only thing stopping me is the interior & ext colour, and wobbly steering wheel

You don't like the inside where you will spend most of your time with the car, you don't like the outside which you will have to see every time you walk up to it, and you don't like the way it drives (which is most likely a correctable issue). Why are you still looking at this car?

I share Deb's sentiments as he took the words right out of my mouth.

[dLat]

You don't like the inside where you will spend most of your time with the car, you don't like the outside which you will have to see every time you walk up to it, and you don't like the way it drives (which is most likely a correctable issue). Why are you still looking at this car?

I share Deb's sentiments as he took the words right out of my mouth.

Because I love how it drives, I know it is fixable, and all are just minor tweaks. I know it's an extremely reliable car. I don't mind (I'm 50/50) with the white interior, it just needs some cleaning up, but its just the external colour thats a really hard choice.

I would love to go and find a black-on-black option, but there isn't that much supply to pick from unfortunately (at least here in canada)

But I understand what you guys are saying, right now I guess I gotta hold out for a couple more weeks, see if another better one pops up.. or maybe switch to a g37? I really like the v8 though - before I pull the trigger on this car.


There is one more thing that came up in my head, the tires are 235/xxxxxx I already forgot, but I didn't record it. How did the dealer manage to put 235 on a 245 wheel? Did he stretch it and how does this affect the performance? Keep in mind this is a winter tire I'm talking about.

Thanks for all the help guys.

[Ilya]

235 should fit fine on an 8.5 wheel...that wheel accepts a range of size...it's not one size.