6- 3-2011
238,000
02 F50 Sport

Same as previous post several yrs ago.
Recently got 30.4mpg on a 1500 mile trip to texas over 2 days (detils in another post)
replaced shocks and struts at 200k
replaced waterpump at 189,000 - only because i was driving to texas in july thru thr mojave, it wasn't broken and looked brand new inside.

Just replaced the original top serpintine belt

Well here's what I've done with my 2005 Q45

Bought at 94.5k miles for $14.5k in 2010 from shady Russian dealership.

Car was getting 9.5 MPG at time of purchase. I don't know what I was thinking when I saw it the first time.

Replaced air filter a week later. Pic of old one here:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/51/img0571qz.jpg/
Day after replacement, car breaks down and doesn't stay started for more than a second. Turns out that a piece of dirt got into the intake post-filter when I was replacing it.

Airbag replaced under warranty - didn't deploy.

Taillights replaced under warranty. When dealer told me there was a recall for the taillights, I acted like I knew what he was talking about because one taillight was letting a lot of water in. He looked at me funny and then said it was because the lights weren't bright enough or something

Oil changed multiple times - I think I like 10W-40 the most but I'm using 10W-30 synthetic now.

Fuel filter changed - like the air filter, this one was never changed during the lifetime of the car. Full post here: post6135402.html#p6135402

Cabin air filter changed - also never changed, pretty dusty.

Metal seat bracket broke resulting in some serious seating problems when turning. Had to have it re-welded. Still not sure how the mechanic pulled that one off without setting the seat on fire


Now onto the problems that I am still unsure/uneasy about:

I waited 7.5k miles once to change my oil because I was running synthetic. I noticed that when I checked the oil level on the dipstick, it wasn't even on the bottom dot. I'm afraid I may have damaged the engine because since then, the car always starts idling at 1.5k after a cold start and the RPMs go down VERY VERY slowly till they reach 575. When I first had the car, It would start at 1.1k TOPS and would move to 575 relatively quickly. Could this have to do with different oil viscosity or did I damage something after all by not having enough oil?

The damn mirrors don't fold by themselves when locking the car. I was 100% sure that the F50 had this feature.

After filling up at Lukoil in NJ once, I started feeling noticeably worse performance and gas mileage. Might have just been a coincidence, but everything was normal until then. I changed the fuel filter and used Chevron Techron fuel system cleaner TWICE already. The gas mileage was at 17.6 before the Lukoil incident, ~15 after, and ~17.1 now. My driving habits have not changed and neither has my highway/city ratio. Any suggestions? I'm not so much concerned with the .5 MPG drop as I am with:

The performance. I read that this car has a 5.8 second 0-60. The fastest I have gotten was 6.5 slightly downhill. This was done after heating up the tires with a 3 second burnout. Not sure if this is normal or something is wrong after all.

Lastly, I have a sound coming from the engine after cold starts as though a belt is slipping. It's that annoying sound and it sounds like a squeel. It's a broken-up sound (squeek, squeek, squeek squeek, squeek) but at relatively fast intervals (I'd say 343 squeeks per minute at idle) and it increases with higher RPMs. After the engine warms up, the sound goes away completely. Any ideas?

chech the ps fluid on the DRIVER SIDE!!!!!
that is the hydralic fan on the radiator.

chech the ps fluid on the DRIVER SIDE!!!!!
that is the hydralic fan on the radiator.

mcrews wrote:chech the ps fluid on the DRIVER SIDE!!!!!
that is the hydralic fan on the radiator.

Which issue are you referring to?

thehacker3 wrote:

mcrews wrote:chech the ps fluid on the DRIVER SIDE!!!!!
that is the hydralic fan on the radiator.

Which issue are you referring to?

your last one

I'm afraid I don't understand. I just checked out the FSM and there is only one power steering fluid reservoir and it's on the passenger side, slightly covered by the engine valve cover. I also don't understand what you mean by it being the hydraulic fan. What exactly is wrong with it? Belt slipping?

to anyone who had done the ecm/tcm(what does tcm stand for btw?) reflash was it a night and day difference?

I was told the bracket was 'white metal' and could not be welded. Dealer wanted $800+ to install a new $80 bracket?
I see there is a service bulletin for the seat bracket in 2002 models: ITB01-066 - seems it's still an issue in 2005??

thehacker3 wrote:Well here's what I've done with my 2005 Q45
...
Metal seat bracket broke resulting in some serious seating problems when turning. Had to have it re-welded. Still not sure how the mechanic pulled that one off without setting the seat on fire
...

ive had my 03 f50 for about 8 months .. only problems ive had are.. front end issues..control arm bushings, break rotors, stablizer links etc... blower motor stoped working , tail lights leaked, driver side vent broken.. so far thats it ....

ive had alot of fun with the car an spent alot into it .. this vip stuff is hard ......

well ... I have missed my Q. My 92 was rock solid and nothing rides as nice as that car. So it is time to buy something to fill the garage ... I have been looking at 02-06 Qs for a few weeks. Found a 03 and a 04 in what appears is excellent condition, but after reading this thread, I am wondering if there is such a thing. Burns half a quart of oil every 3000 miles???? What is the maintenance running on the newer Qs each year? $2K? not looking to drive the car much, am I really looking at this much work on these cars???

Can't speak to the other posters here but mileage and service history may be a good selection criteria. As for my '02 purchased 3 years ago with 47K miles, the only maintenance issues I've had were a failed HID power supply and a sunroof actuator. Now have 89K miles and car is up for sale on this forum. Oh I did have someon back into the corner of my rear bumper cover but you can't blame that on the design.

As for burning oil, I add a quart of Mobil 1 between 7.5K mile oil changes. If this bothers you, look elsewhere.

Adding a quart of oil every 3500 miles ... i have just never heard of any production car requiring that. My 2002 Toyota Sienna has 170,000 miles. I check the fluid levels at ever fill up, dip stick reading never moves. Some things I expect: wheel bearings, water pump, headlight bulbs. But burns a quart of oil in 3500 miles? Yowza.

Anyone have any suggestion on what else to look for? I still love the cars and am still interested. i do a carfax, contact the previous service facility for any maintance issues, and find the previous owners if possible. I am farily thorough.

I had a 1972 240Z btw. Loved that car!!!! Hitting Indian Trail in Cocoa FL was always fun!!!

These cars were the first new models out after the acquisition by Renault. Not saying Renault engineers caused the selection of a new piston ring supplier or the design specifications for this engine, but it did take several years to sort it out. Many engines were replaced for excessive oil consumption under warranty, but obviously there was no lead pipe cinch cure.

Is it a design flaw? Yes. Is it going to cause premature engine failure? No. Is this shortcoming going to leave you stranded along the side of the road? No. If you drive a typical 15K miles per year, this amounts to $13 worth of Mobil 1.

Does the car have many positive things going for it to offset this shortcoming. As an owner, I say yes.

BTW my '71 Z specs out with a 5Qt oil change every 3K miles. With 170K on the clock, I'd be tickled pink to get my oil consumption down to 1Qt/ 3.5K. That would have worked out to just about 1.1qt/year over it 42 year life.

Ill just chime in, i know its been 10 years since anyone posted anything here, but if youre on the fence about getting a F50 type Q45: almost all the issues of the previous two generations have been resolved. I bought a 2005 Q45 in 2016 with 55k miles for relatively cheap and have had nothing but a sparkling record with it. I have driven it to 99k as of today, and love the long trips as much as the short ones, the only thing ive done is valve cover gaskets that were leaking a little oil for a few weeks.

I clay bar and professionally wax the car every 18-24 months, change the oil reliably, run some techron fuel system cleaner with each oil change, all things aside its been a fantastic bulletproof car and super rare, you will see one or two of these per year at most.

If your Q45 seems to be a bit slower or lower fuel efficiency, check your belts, idler pulley, and tensioner. A seized idler pulley or worn tensioner can affect both performance and fuel economy- honest, true story.

cbird805 wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 04, 2023 12:02 am

If your Q45 seems to be a bit slower or lower fuel efficiency, check your belts, idler pulley, and tensioner. A seized idler pulley or worn tensioner can affect both performance and fuel economy- honest, true story.

That’s a good point in consideration of what I’ve been dealing with. I do know a fan clutch I replaced with a new parts store brand, went bad not long after. But i heard the belt squeal at startup. Once the clutch was off, noticed it would bind up as I started to rotate it by hand. The original one locked up completely and was just always engaged.

I had got it replaced under warranty, but now it’s got me wondering. But no belt slipping, so not about to take it off. The previous one was dealing with an intake gasket leak that kept the idle high at startup especially in cold weather. Figured it was just a bad bearing premature.