does anyone know any decent q45 tech in Vancouver area?

[cplus]

my q has some problem with the active suspension system, i already talkedwith Keith, and got lots of information from him, now i just need someoneto check and fix the active system in person.

the infinity dealer here only care about newer models, like G35, Fx35 etc,they said they've never seen a q45 before (i'm not kidding), i cantget any help from them, and the nissan dealer said they dont do infinitys.

so please help me out, thanks in advance.

[maxnix]

One of our Vancouver members used Orlando Auto Service, specifically a technician named Darko at 604-874-5665.

I think he did a member's timing chain guides.

But be aware the Active Suspension is a whole different animal. Have all FSM and TSB available on a CD for him. And read all posts by texasoil thoroughly to be able to understand any problems.
Modified by maxnix at 7:28 PM 9/26/2006

[viso]

Looking for any updates to this post.

I just bought a 1994 Q45 and live near Vancouver, BC, Canada (actually, 10 kilometers south of the city). Can anyone recommend any independent mechanic shops in Vancouver proper?

[melan]

Have you been able to find a knowledgeable tech? I'm shopping for a q45 in the LM and would want to have a potential purchase checked out by someone who knows his way around these cars. Thanks.

Brian

[viso]

Nope. No luck so far. I had to rely on non-expert mechanical inspection, which didn't tell me much more than I could see for myself. I'm going to contact a few mechanics in the Kitsilano (Vancouver) area and see if any have had experience with the Q45. Please let me know if you have any luck.

Which Q are you looking at? Mine is a 1994 Q45 with 167,000 KMs purchased for $7,000 CAD. Body is clean and interior is gorgeous.

If you're looking at a 1990-1993, make sure you check out the sticky zerothread/213450 and pay particular attention to the chain-guide issue. I almost bought a 1992 but found out about this before I got stuck.

[lino]

You'll probably find that no one has experience with trhe ACTIVE suspension in Canada. Find a great mechanic, not necessarily Infiniti and Keith is going to be the most help you'll find outside of Japan and also the members on this board. Keith is a major part of the solution to any problem. Also, every Infiniti dealer in Canada that I've been to have been a real pain in the rear end. The parts guys are always nice, but the the service departments are impossible to deal with. I've bought parts from more than 9 dealers in Canada and the US this year and all of the guys in the service department sing the same tune when you tell them that your car is an ACTIVE. Many guys in Canada think ACTIVE means HICAS. I'm on the east coast so I don't know anyone to hook you up with. Sorry.

BTW Your car lloks great. What year is your car? Looks like a westcoast JDM import. Maybe the importer has a place they deal with??

[maxnix]

Eric at Beaverton Infiniti is a genuine Senior Infiniti Technician and has maintained a 1994 since new for his father. So I assume he is better versed on the active than most. I could call Charlie the service manager at Infiniti of Tacoma and see who they have there.

Personally, with no sales tax, lower rates, and allowing one to bring in their own parts, Eric is difficult to top for expertise.

[melan]

Thanks very much for the refernce to the chain guide problem. Critical info for a newb shopper. Just the way Google works, I found the article before I found this forum. I've been eyeing the post for a '92 on craigslist van for $5200, but I expect that if the chain guides had been done, the owner would have mentioned it as a major selling feature. But there's no rush. I'm looking for a fun car. Have daily transport.

Brian

[lino]

When I asked several Infiniti dealers in Canada about the chain guides, each and every one of them had no idea what I was talking about and some even said that I should stop believing what I read on the internet. "We are fully trained and you should ignor those kids."

The biggest problem in Canada that I've personally encountered is that Infiniti never sold many Q45s to begin with. Not in 1990 not in 1995 not in 2005. Not in any year. Let's face it, the Q45 has never been a big seller here. Chances of me bumping into one here are as great as spotting a Ferrari, and I know that there are plenty more Ferraris here than Qs of any generation combined.

Also, when these cars ran out of warranty, most owners never came back to the dealer either; they replaced their cars with new ones and so the old cars ended up into the hands of people that couldn't afford a new car or dealer service and were certainly not going to go to the dealer to spend big $$$$. Or they may have kept them and went to a local garage. That's another reason why we may not here of chain guide issues.

After one or two experiences, seeing how little the dealer techs know about the Q45 and misdiagnosing and charging so much labor would definitely keep people from returning.

Most of the Infiniti techs seem to be young guys that have never seen a G50 Q45, let alone work on one. These guys have no experience with these cars and don't have a clue. Many that I have spoken to are intimidated by the car. They keep telling me how they understand G35s and QX4s and try to persuade me to sell the car.

Chances are during an average of a 4 year life span of a new Q owner and maybe 60,000 miles accumulated during that time there may have been none or possibly very few cases of dealers replacing guides in Canada. Some people believe it only happens to cars in very hot climates and that are driven at high speeds on a regular basis. There are many theories, but if you're in the receiving end of an engine with broken plastic guides....you won't be happy.

In the end, we are very fortunate for this forum and all of its members for the continued support and dedication to this car that has helped so many people, especially myself into having a better understanding of the Q and how to get through some of those challenging repairs that can arise.

Don't ever rush a purchase of a car Brian. I bought my car from Florida so that I wouldn't have to deal with the rust of the east coast. For you, that's not a problem in BC. If you have questions, post them and be sure to do a thorough check up before you buy. Remember one thing, it is near impossible to sell a Q in Canada, so you can always negotiate strong. Someone asks $5200, I believe can be talked down to $3000 with ease. The car market in Canada is very dry especially for a Q.

[maxnix]

Most of the Infiniti techs seem to be young guys that have never seen a G50 Q45, let alone work on one. These guys have no experience with these cars and don't have a clue. Many that I have spoken to are intimidated by the car. They keep telling me how they understand G35s and QX4s and try to persuade me to sell the car.

Why Q45tech designates continuously employed technicians who were trained on the G50 in 1989 as Senior Technicians.

[lino]

Why Q45tech designates continuously employed technicians who were trained on the G50 in 1989 as Senior Technicians.

I have heard of the G50 trained technicians being referred to as Senior Techs, but the problem is that most of these Senior Techs have retired or moved on elsewhere. There are many rookies in Canada and also Canada does not have many Infiniti dealers to begin with, 27 in total and I belive that there are some states that don't either, like Vermont.

Infiniti dealers in Canada (west to east):British Columbia has 4Alberta has 2Saskatchewan has 1Manitoba has 1Ontario has 12Quebec has 6Nova Scotia has 1The rest of the provinces have no Infiniti dealers.

[viso]

Remember one thing, it is near impossible to sell a Q in Canada, so you can always negotiate strong. Someone asks $5200, I believe can be talked down to $3000 with ease. The car market in Canada is very dry especially for a Q.

That may be true in eastern Canada, but Vancouver tends to be a hot market for just about all Japanese products and prices also tend to be higher. Having tracked listings in the Buy-Sell http://www.buysell.com/ for Vancouver, Qs in good condition and at reasonable prices rarely hang around for more than a week. The carry-over ads tend to be oddballs and crackpots trying to sell their 1990s for $10,000 and such! [Edit] By the way, if you can source low-mileage Q45s for $3,000, we should work out some way to sell them here. Vancouverites pay waaay too much for their cars.

Modified by viso at 6:37 PM 3/7/2007

Modified by viso at 6:40 PM 3/7/2007
Modified by viso at 6:41 PM 3/7/2007

[Q45tech]

Any technican with a 2 year degree from a good trade school and a year of electronic technican training [certified] can easily deal with an Active system.

By reading and understanding what's in FSM and on the web.

The problem is who will pay him/her to spend 20-40 hours reading.

Does he/she think they will make AN EXTRA $1,000 dealing with actives vs their standard work. HOW?

Members usually bring their own used recharged parts so there is no profit there.

If you are going to keep the car you either have to pay people to learn or do the work yourself.......................or MOVE.

Ask Jay Leno why he keeps 4 expensive technicans on his personal payroll, nobody outside understands the weird cars he buys.

You would need 50 Q to justify the salary of a single trained tech.

[Q45tech]

At one point we had members from Costa Rica and Dominican Republic ZERO Infiniti dealers there...............fly to Miami to buy parts and return as necessary.

We used to have members drive from all over US East of Rockies N. Dakota, and Maine to Atlanta for chain guide replacement.

So driving 1,000 miles to get your Q active worked on is just normal.

[pito11213]

Hey Dennis sorry to put this question here but...

Do you happen to have any LS400 parts down there? I need a strut rod badly. Please help as the dealer is trying to kill me with it. I may have to ante up though.