HELP! Do I have to crawl in the trunk of my '04 I35 when I use valet parking?

[knucklebuster]

Just bought an I-35 '04. This car has no keyset to open the trunk. You can only open the trunk by:

1-Using the keyless remote, or2-Using the driver's door switch, or3-Crawling into the trunk through the back seat.

I want to secure items in the trunk from parking attendants. I've been told the valet key will not open the glove box or the keyset for backseat access to the trunk. Fair enough. But......

How do I secure the trunk from being opened by a parking attendant using the driver's door switch? My local dealer's service rep said the only way was to use the latch just inside the trunk. It disables the driver's door switch from opening the trunk but also keeps the remote key fob from opening it, too. He said I'll have to crawl into the trunk through the backseat to release the latch each time since there's no key lock on the trunk of this model. Are they freaking kidding????????????? Please, someone, tell me there's a better way!

I thought the car must detect whether a valet key is inserted into ignition and disable the driver's door trunk switch but the dealer's service guy, parts guy, and their techs say the car can't detect the difference between a master key and a sub (valet) key. This just doesn't make sense. I can't believe Infiniti expects people to crawl into the trunk to open it every time they use valet parking.

I've searched the body and topics of posts both recent and archived using keywords: trunk access valet

[ttinfinitiM30]

wow! thats crazy. are you saying no keyhole in the trunk? altho it looks smooth functionally that sux.you would think that there would be someother way from factory to do that i dont know that paticular car, but if your handy at all you might be able to rig up some linkage or pulleys to do that, or buy a $20 door poper, like one for making a manual lock, automatic, and set it to flip the security lock and hide the switch somewhere, or put a master switch in the trunk release ciurcut and hide that under the dash, but all that would involve beeing pretty handy. the easiest would be a master switch, if you want to go through with it i can get you the wire info.

[knucklebuster]

thanks, tinfinitiM30.

i couldn't believe it either. hoping infiniti might have thought it through better than that. go figure. guess the engineers thought it looked good on paper and saved another exterior lock. first the passenger door, then the trunk.

as for the wiring diagram, thanks, but i'm not a DIY. would probably opt for paying someone to install a keyset in the trunk as an aftermarket deal if i could get it keyed for the master driver's key. want it to look good and be fully functional. is that too much for an infiniti buyer to ask?

[GseaQ]

Hi knucklebuster,

Congrats on your new car and joining us on NICO! I just had a look at your Owners Manual on the Infiniti website. Page 3-12 says to pull something called a "string handle". It says to lower the rear seat and pull the handle so it sounds as id the string handle is accessible at the rear seat opening without actually having to crawl in there. If there isn't a string to the handle, I'm sure you'd be able to put one there. I know it's not the same as a key, but it's still easier than crawling into the trunk!

Glenn

[GseaQ]

BTW, we have to thank Brian (maxnix) for posting the link to Nissan/Infiniti publications in a post on the Q45 Forum. Thanks Brian.

[knucklebuster]

Many thanks, Glenn!

I just had a look at your Owners Manual on the Infiniti website. Page 3-12 says to pull something called a "string handle". It says to lower the rear seat and pull the handle so it sounds as id the string handle is accessible at the rear seat opening without actually having to crawl in there. If there isn't a string to the handle, I'm sure you'd be able to put one there. I know it's not the same as a key, but it's still easier than crawling into the trunk!

Glenn

I pulled the rear seat down and, after sticking my head inside, found the lever to release the trunk. I then read the manual on 3-11 and 3-12 and was glad you pointed it out because I might never have noticed it as being the solution from the way it was presented in the manual.

The release lever would be much easier to find if painted with a glow or reflective color instead of black. I had a hard time finding it, even after knowing it was there. Overall, it's still an inelegant workaround. But, I'm happy there's a solution and props to Infiniti designers for that.

For an example of textbook ineptitude, here's the response I received to a request for assistance I left at the Infiniti website:

Dear xxx xxxxxxx,

Thank you for your recent e-mail to Infiniti and allowing us the opportunity to be of assistance. We apologize for the delay in response.

We are sorry to hear of the concerns you have regarding the quality and design of your 2004 Infiniti I35. Infiniti is committed to designing and building vehicles that incorporate our customers' needs for styling, performance, quality, safety and security.

File 5986308 has been created to document your concern. Your comments are appreciated, as they will help us improve our level of service. The file may be reviewed by Nissan engineers for future model suggestions.

We apologize for any inconveniences you may have encountered with your vehicle. If you have any further comments or concerns, please feel free to e-mail us again or contact our Consumer Affairs department at 1-800-662-6200.

Thank you for allowing me to be of assistance.

Sincerely,Arnel GomezConsumer Relations Representative

[GseaQ]

You're welcome.

[bullittandy]

What the hell are you hiding from valets? And how often are you valet parking your car?

You act like all valets are ex-cons!

[knucklebuster]

What the hell are you hiding from valets? And how often are you valet parking your car?

You act like all valets are ex-cons!

You ask that living in Atlanta? Geez!

My wife and daughter go on shopping trips and use valet parking garages in downtown areas and have a trunk full of new stuff for which I've paid dearly. I don't lose any sleep about the vast majority of parking attendants who are honest. I just don't foolishly leave my car a sitting duck for the few who are supplementing their meager pay and tips with what they can easily steal. It's a matter choosing not to be an easy victim.

Do you go on vacation and just leave laptops, jewelry, cameras, and currency sitting out in the room when you're gone, instead of using the room safe, confident that most people in the the hospitality industry are honest? "What, me worry?" Hey, I'm all for you, and those who think like you! As long as thieves are busy hauling away stuff that's easy to get, they'll be too busy to bother my stuff.

Using a valet key won't keep out someone determined to break into your car. But keeping everything out of sight and locked up means they won't have any way of knowing if there's anything there to steal in the first place. Most criminals are opportunists and go for what's easy to get to. Most auto burglary victims are blissfully trusting souls who left their stuff too easily accessible.

Valet keys make sense to some of us that stay at hotels instead of motels and eat at restaurants a tad more upscale than McDonalds. But, that may not describe you, bullittandy, so just pick your food up at the drive-through and take it back to the economy motel when you vacation and it won't make any difference. In fact, any time you need an additional key, save about fifty bucks and get valet keys cut instead of master keys since the difference is lost on you anyway, dude. rotflmao
Modified by knucklebuster at 3:23 PM 1/1/2008

[qship96]

A lot of attitude for someone who drives an entry level,bottom of the range, badge engineered maxima with a skirt and lipstick!

[knucklebuster]

A lot of attitude for someone who drives an entry level,bottom of the range, badge engineered maxima with a skirt and lipstick!

You may be right about the i35 being an entry level, bottom of the range, badge engineered, maxima with a skirt and lipstick. I buy what I can afford and suffer neither shame nor embarrassment that others can afford bigger, better, newer. I don't envy their good fortune, but celebrate it. I'm blessed to have the little whored up maxima with a few extras.

But.... qship, does any of that make my points about using the valet key any less valid? Would I need to drive a QX56, or a Mayfair, or an aging flagship Q45 for my points to have merit? I'm just a newbie so I may have missed reading that some people may discount what I say based on what I drive. Thank you for correcting me.

BTW, I just looked on Edmunds and saw I could have bought two '96 Q45 Touring Sedans in perfect condition for the $12.8k I just paid for my wife's '04 I35. Boy did I get screwed! Guess I've got a lot to learn.

[Q451990]

Knucklebuster... I'm sorry to see your first thread turn in to a flame war. The I35 is a great car for what it is - and a major step above the Maxmia if for no other reason that it's made in Japan instead of TN. Without any of the warranty and feature differences, that's worth the price difference to me.

Anyhow, your question and points are very valid. Some of my friends think I'm crazy to look for "safe" parking spots for an 18 year old car. I guess some people think it's odd that I actually lock my sweaty tshirt and shorts in a locker at the gym while I'm in the pool. It's just a matter of how much you want to protect your stuff from people out there that will destroy or steal your stuff without a second thought. In my case it's not about being financially able to replace something, but the lack of sleep and hours of being extremely angry about someone messing with my stuff.

Anyhow, I hope you'll continue to post.

Heath
Modified by Q451990 at 1:17 AM 1/2/2008

[knucklebuster]

...your question and points are very valid. Some of my friends think I'm crazy to look for "safe" parking spots for an 18 year old car. I guess some people think it's odd that I actually lock my sweaty tshirt and shorts in a locker at the gym while I'm in the pool. It's just a matter of how much you want to protect your stuff from people out there that will destroy or steal your stuff without a second thought. In my case it's not about being financially able to replace something, but the lack of sleep and hours of being extremely angry about someone messing with my stuff.

Thanks Heath.

Not being smart enough to know exactly who the criminals are in advance, I, like you, just choose to be cautious. I live in a low-crime suburb of high-crime Jackson, MS where at least two city councilmen have had their cars jacked, a councilwoman was a victim of armed robbery at her home, a former governor was robbed walking near his home, and the mayor travels with armed bodyguards. New Orleans is even worse, though my wife and daughter still shop there. Life goes on in spite of thugs but it pays to use good sense.

It especially pays to be cautious with a car more than three or four years old because insurance isn't much help at replacing your car with something of equal value. An even older car in pristine condition deserves even greater caution since it may not even be cost effective to insure it for anything beyond liability. So it would be crazy, or just plain foolish, not to look for "safe" parking places. And yeah, the pure inconvenience of having your stuff stolen is often a bigger hassle than the financial cost.

Maybe qship was just on a roll the other day. No harm done. This redneck is pretty thick skinned and not prone to leave the road, or shift into reverse, for the occasional varmint in his path. Down here, this driver's roadkill might be another, hungrier, driver's free meal. It all works out. lol.

[Q451990]

I went to Jackson in 1995 for a couple of days. My dad was there for a conference and we stayed there for a couple of nights as a jumping off point for a road trip to visit relatives in KS and CO. Anyhow, I thought Jackson was as close of a clone to Columbia as I had ever seen! I would bet at that point the phone books were exactly the same thickness... if we had two of a store in town, you did too. Years later I met some potential real estate investors from Jackson and mentioned how similar the two were - and they all laughed, saying they said the same thing...

No real point to my rambling - just my observation of two southern towns.

Heath

[Haitian_King]

Well. I keep all valuables out of sight. (Occasionally I forget my wallet in the center console). I lock my doors when in public parking lots and away for more than 5-7 minutes and not able to look out the door and keep the Q in my line of sight.

But when I'm at home? Different story. Sometimes I have to retrieve something from the car and don't feel like dealing with keys. When my Q is in the driveway, I leave my doors unlocked. Just a quirk I guess. But if I have a guest and I'm unable to park my Q in the driveway and have to park on the street (a mere 10 ft. Maybe even less), I lock all the doors and double check to make sure everything secure.

In warm weather, if my Q is in my driveway, I'll leave the windows down and the sun roof either tilted or wide open. But I wouldn't dream of doing that if the car is in the street.

I want to get my windows tinted to keep prying eyes out of my Q. It was sitting underneath a street lamp in the parking lot of my job and I could seeeverything. I was about 50 feet away and I was looking right though the rear windows. Makes me feel uncomfortable.

Slightly off topic, but I've noticed that my Q's windows have the faintest brown tint. Slightly amber. It's more noticeable from a distance. Anyone else have it like that?

[Haitian_King]

You ask that living in Atlanta? Geez!

My wife and daughter go on shopping trips and use valet parking garages in downtown areas and have a trunk full of new stuff for which I've paid dearly. I don't lose any sleep about the vast majority of parking attendants who are honest. I just don't foolishly leave my car a sitting duck for the few who are supplementing their meager pay and tips with what they can easily steal. It's a matter choosing not to be an easy victim.

Do you go on vacation and just leave laptops, jewelry, cameras, and currency sitting out in the room when you're gone, instead of using the room safe, confident that most people in the the hospitality industry are honest? "What, me worry?" Hey, I'm all for you, and those who think like you! As long as thieves are busy hauling away stuff that's easy to get, they'll be too busy to bother my stuff.

Using a valet key won't keep out someone determined to break into your car. But keeping everything out of sight and locked up means they won't have any way of knowing if there's anything there to steal in the first place. Most criminals are opportunists and go for what's easy to get to. Most auto burglary victims are blissfully trusting souls who left their stuff too easily accessible.

Valet keys make sense to some of us that stay at hotels instead of motels and eat at restaurants a tad more upscale than McDonalds. But, that may not describe you, bullittandy, so just pick your food up at the drive-through and take it back to the economy motel when you vacation and it won't make any difference. In fact, any time you need an additional key, save about fifty bucks and get valet keys cut instead of master keys since the difference is lost on you anyway, dude. rotflmao

Modified by knucklebuster at 3:23 PM 1/1/2008

While I did agree with your rationale regarding reducing the chances of being victimized, it seems that your final paragraph was tad rude and uncalled for. I sensed a judgemental and elitist tone in that conclusion. Sounded a little snobby with your references to hotels and fine eateries. Why'd you try to bag Andy like that with the comments about budget motels and fast food? Totally uncalled for.

You may be right about the i35 being an entry level, bottom of the range, badge engineered, maxima with a skirt and lipstick. I buy what I can afford and suffer neither shame nor embarrassment that others can afford bigger, better, newer. I don't envy their good fortune, but celebrate it. I'm blessed to have the little whored up maxima with a few extras.

But.... qship, does any of that make my points about using the valet key any less valid? Would I need to drive a QX56, or a Mayfair, or an aging flagship Q45 for my points to have merit? I'm just a newbie so I may have missed reading that some people may discount what I say based on what I drive. Thank you for correcting me.

BTW, I just looked on Edmunds and saw I could have bought two '96 Q45 Touring Sedans in perfect condition for the $12.8k I just paid for my wife's '04 I35. Boy did I get screwed! Guess I've got a lot to learn.

Some subtle jabs towards Q's in this post. It seems like your tune had a little change of key here as well. I seem to recall the gist of the last paragraph directed at Andy to be along the lines of your indulgence in the "finer" things like fancy restaurants and swanky hotels. Now it's about "living within your means" and "buying what you can afford".

And then you go back into "My car is worth 2 of yours".

One thing I've noticed is that most of the Q owners on the board, especially the very active and knowledgable ones either have owned more Q's than you can shake a stick at, or are in possession of a fleet of them. Didn't Rex have like 5 cars? (2-3 Q's, an M30, and something else I can't remember).

Yes, your later model vehicle may have a higher value in today's market, however, it could never compete with a Q (Had to toss in a little Q pride there), nor do the people who do have Q's here drive them because they can't afford anything better.

While I respect your position on valet keys and theft deterrent tactics, I simply cannot remain idle and passive after witnessing such ill-mannered and tactless behavior towards a fellow NICO member. I think Qship's reply was in the same vein.

Andy's a pretty nice guy and is very helpful to other board members. To have a go at him like that was quite uncouth and puerile. Especially over something said in jest? There was ROTFLMAO smiley there. How do you interpret his comment that as something which merits such rudeness?

What the hell are you hiding from valets? And how often are you valet parking your car?

You act like all valets are ex-cons!

Was it really that bad? You went a little far.

I guess it could be all chalked up to your inexperience as a NICO board member.

I really hope that this doesn't continue. It'd be a more pleasant atmosphere for all, n'est-ce pas?

*I do have to admit that your posts were extremely well written.*

[knucklebuster]

Thanks, King, for what you said about my posts being well written and for sharing your thoughts. I didn't come here to get in blowtorch match. I'm new here and didn't come here to make trouble. I just wanted to learn more about the cars in my garage.

I like to think I understand the pride Q owners have for their cars even though I don't own one myself. I take pride in my '00 I30 and the '04 I35 I bought for my wife.

As for Andy's questions:

What the hell are you hiding from valets? And how often are you valet parking your car?

You act like all valets are ex-cons!

Rolling head laughing or not, it took my question to task over its necessity and the assumption that I was making an assumption about all parking valets, which I wasn't, only the dishonest ones. I tried to answer in kind.

It's hard to read someone's intentions in posts and I'm not sure I buy the idea that you can say anything, and no one should take offense, as long as you follow it with a smiley or an lol. But I don't lose a lot of sleep worrying about it. Someone talks smack to me and I talk smack back. It's all good.

As for qhip's shot across my bow:

A lot of attitude for someone who drives an entry level,bottom of the range, badge engineered maxima with a skirt and lipstick!

Well, no laughing there. Just a bit of talking smack about my cars. Okay, I can live with that. If that's the way the game is played... I'm up for it.

As for the other things I said, that's just tit for tat, IMO. I didn't come here to talk smack. But it's not a foreign language to me either. Frankly though, I'd rather stick to talking cars which is what I came here for.

Right now, I have more questions than answers so I realize it's not in my best interest to alienate people. But I'm not going to be the butt of someone's joke without answering back either. Hopefully, as I learn more, I'll be able to contribute something and help other Infiniti owners which is what I believe this site is all about.

As a newbie here, I don't mean to be disrespectful of people who've been posting here a long time and have earned respect. But, I'm not roadkill either. Anyone who wants to bring it needs to have at least as thick a skin as they expect me to have. That said, I offer apologies to anyone I offended including qship and Andy.

[qship96]

Its all good!

[Haitian_King]

And all is right with the world.