Infiniti M37 Interior Quality

[JBHorne]

What are other's opinions as to the interior quality of their M37/56 or Q70? Have you had any rattles or other significant internal issues? Besides rattles, my steering wheel tilt motor went past it's stop limiter and popped all the plastic trim around it off. New motor and trim is going to cost $1200 -- just a month out of warranty. I also have fading trim pieces, exterior handles have had pealing chrome, etc. This stuff was covered under warranty, but I just haven't been impressed with Infiniti compared to Lexus. Now I'm shopping for an extended warranty because I'm afraid of what else might fail.

[pedsemdoc]

Mine's been pretty rock solid...no probs with rattles/squeaks from dash. Steering wheel still good.
I did have a weird buzzing/resonating noise in the driver side door panel, but took it off and put some dampening material on and it's all good. Mine is a year newer than yours, so I guess we'll see what i think in about a year. I am definitely going to get an Infiniti Elite extended warranty - I just got too busy and i blew past 60k miles on the odometer, so I'm gonna wait closer to 70k miles before purchasing. God help me if something electronic/computer part goes titz up.

[M37xfan]

No problems here....

[ibc]

Perfect here. :-)

[InfinitiAce]

What are other's opinions as to the interior quality of their M37/56 or Q70? Have you had any rattles or other significant internal issues? Besides rattles, my steering wheel tilt motor went past it's stop limiter and popped all the plastic trim around it off. New motor and trim is going to cost $1200 -- just a month out of warranty. I also have fading trim pieces, exterior handles have had pealing chrome, etc. This stuff was covered under warranty, but I just haven't been impressed with Infiniti compared to Lexus. Now I'm shopping for an extended warranty because I'm afraid of what else might fail.

Wow, that is incredibly unusual. Have you talked to Infiniti customer service (not the dealer) about covering part of the cost of that steering wheel repair? That should not happen.

I have two M37's, not a rattle to be found so far.

[ajab]

I have the Deluxe Touring Package interior option and a rattle on my rear deck developed because of the power sun shade and the dealer replaced everything back there to eliminate the rattle while it was still under warranty. One of the power steering wheel motors burnt out (I was told there's actually two motors, one to move the steering wheel in and out and the other motor to move the steering wheel up and down) and that was also replaced under warranty. Other than that I haven't had any other problems until recently which is when I shift in reverse my rear camera flickers in and out, very frustrating and I'm not under warranty anymore.

[reggiebrown40]

What are other's opinions as to the interior quality of their M37/56 or Q70? Have you had any rattles or other significant internal issues? Besides rattles, my steering wheel tilt motor went past it's stop limiter and popped all the plastic trim around it off. New motor and trim is going to cost $1200 -- just a month out of warranty. I also have fading trim pieces, exterior handles have had pealing chrome, etc. This stuff was covered under warranty, but I just haven't been impressed with Infiniti compared to Lexus. Now I'm shopping for an extended warranty because I'm afraid of what else might fail.

There are a lot of factors to consider when you talk about build quality, JBHorne. If you didn't buy your car new there's no way of telling 'who did what' before you got the car. Maybe somebody was trying to modify something and broke a clip and that made your steering wheel lose it's tracking. Maybe someone put a cleanser on the trim and handles that have stripped it's coloring. No way of really telling at this point, unless of course you bought your car new.

Now, if you're talking about initial build quality -- Infiniti has gone downhill. the plastics trim pieces scratch too easily, especially the one long piece above the door handle and the kick panel plastic. Totally unacceptable. Anywhere you see plastic you're going to see scratches. The trunk mold piece that surrounds the lock on the bumper is all scratched up. I guess they didn't think anyone would be moving things in and out of the trunk. Higher quality plastic should be a focus point for the next gen.

[Ilya]

I have some rattles in my door panels and center dash from playing music too loud for the last 2 years. Kind of annoying but I just turn the music up louder. lol.

[ArmedAviator]

I have some rattles in my door panels and center dash from playing music too loud for the last 2 years. Kind of annoying but I just turn the music up louder. lol.

I have a rattle when hitting certain notes from my front passenger door woofer. I will someday tackle putting some insulation around whatever is rattling, but until then, I do as you do and just turn it u

No other rattles in the car. Interior looks like new, even.

[JBHorne]

I have a rattle when hitting certain notes from my front passenger door woofer. I will someday tackle putting some insulation around whatever is rattling, but until then, I do as you do and just turn it u

It's probably not the door speaker, FYI. Try pushing on the arm rest bolster and see if the noise goes away. We're looking at having a new door put on. It's already had 8+ hours of work done to the existing door and the rattles keep coming back.

[JBHorne]

There are a lot of factors to consider when you talk about build quality, JBHorne. If you didn't buy your car new there's no way of telling 'who did what' before you got the car. Maybe somebody was trying to modify something and broke a clip and that made your steering wheel lose it's tracking. Maybe someone put a cleanser on the trim and handles that have stripped it's coloring. No way of really telling at this point, unless of course you bought your car new.

Vehicle was purchased new.

This isn't a unique issue. Several others on this forum have had the same issue. It also affects several Nissan models and I can find over 1000 complaints on the same issue. How Nissan/Infiniti haven't released a TSB and/or recall is beyond me. See:

steering-wheel-won-t-turn-unless-column ... 11149.html
steering-wheel-rubbing-plastic-housing-t609452.html
steering-column-shroud-popping-up-t610716.html
steering-wheel-sounds-like-a-mice-wheel-t610742.html
steering-wheel-power-tilt-malfunction-1 ... 00860.html

[JBHorne]

Wow, that is incredibly unusual. Have you talked to Infiniti customer service (not the dealer) about covering part of the cost of that steering wheel repair? That should not happen.

Infiniti Consumer Affairs already denied the first claim stating it's out of warranty (one month to the day it occurred and 10K miles still under basic warranty). I'm going around round two with them now and opened a NHSTA complaint as well.

[Mjkkb2]

2 issues for me
Steering wheel pealing and left foot rest pealed all to s**t.
Other than that no issues

[Mjkkb2]

2 issues for me
Steering wheel pealing and left foot rest pealed all to s**t.
Other than that no issues

[Larz]

I have an old M35 (2009) and when I compare my interior to the M37 and even the Q70, the difference is quite obvious. Seems Infiniti have gone the way of most 'regular' car companies instead of keeping up with the quality products they used to use. The wood trim in the newer models is much better looking, but that's where the improvements stop. I truly think Infiniti have made zero effort to improve or even maintain quality sine 2010. Here are but a few examples:
The center armrests - no longer a dual adjustable set for driver and passenger - adjusting forward on either side. Now its a flimsy one-piece.
The sun visor - no longer a dual visor on each side so if you move your visor to the side window for shade, you no longer have the second visor to use for the windscreen.
The steering wheel finish - newer models have peeling, scraping issues that don't happen in the older models
The side view mirrors - love my sporty, sculpted mirrors - now they are SUV-sized square mirrors
The trim along the kick plate - much thinner and cheaper looking
The carpet was already too thin and cheap for this price class and now it's even thinner and cheaper
The head rests - no longer tilt forward to cradle your head and seem to be much stiffer
Rear seats - mine are soft, they recline, have temp control, A/V control, etc in the armrest and an electric video screen that folds down for rear passengers - no loner available even in the L version - you get stiff seats and a pair of cup holders.

My hope is that when Infiniti do an actual re-design, they will include accessories and trim levels that everyone else has already had for years.
When BMW, Merc, Jag, and even Cadillac out-class the Infiniti, that's unacceptable to me. Our cars are absolutely brilliant with performance and reliability, but fall well short of the interior styling and options of the competitors.

[JBHorne]

I test drove a fully-loaded Q50 Red Sport and was quite close to trading my M37 in. We'll see how Infiniti handles my 30-day-out-of-warranty claim for the steering wheel issue before I buy another Infiniti. Quite frankly, I don't even think Lexus would have made a phone call to have it covered.

[mrnightsky]

I get a lot of creaking sound from the top of the front dome lights area. I could literally push the headliner up to kind of "pop" it back in place and it'll stop making creaking noises for a few.

[M37xfan]

do an internet search, you will find out that other luxury brands have similar issues

[TreyhunnaM37x]

Only complaint is my creaking armrest. Any one have any fixes for that?

[reggiebrown40]

I test drove a fully-loaded Q50 Red Sport and was quite close to trading my M37 in. We'll see how Infiniti handles my 30-day-out-of-warranty claim for the steering wheel issue before I buy another Infiniti. Quite frankly, I don't even think Lexus would have made a phone call to have it covered.

Agrees. It seems as though as more complaints come in Infiniti consumer affairs becomes more reluctant to fixing issues, probably because it cuts into their bottom line. Like you, my last experience with the dealer has greatly influenced my next car purchase.

[reggiebrown40]

I test drove a fully-loaded Q50 Red Sport and was quite close to trading my M37 in. We'll see how Infiniti handles my 30-day-out-of-warranty claim for the steering wheel issue before I buy another Infiniti. Quite frankly, I don't even think Lexus would have made a phone call to have it covered.

Agrees. It seems as though as more complaints come in Infiniti consumer affairs becomes more reluctant to fixing issues, probably because it cuts into their bottom line. Like you, my last experience with the dealer has greatly influenced my next car purchase.

Treyhunna, I'm going to take the armrest out and line the inside with dynamat or something similar. My armrest is making more noise than anything else in the interior. Second is the dome light like Mrnightsky said.

[Mnick88]

Overall I love the interior of my 2013 M. The quality is a step above the G37 I used to own, namely the leather seats and the center wood console. I like the wood on the deluxe touring edition better but I have the standard red colored wood. The navigation screen and the way the console "bulges" out has always been some of my favorite things about the interior. I agree with the poster who mentioned the carpet. It is just as cheap as any other car. I also think the road noise is ridiculous for such an expensive car. I doesnt seem to be any worse than my old G or my wife's Q50 but I'm coming off of driving a 1995 town car. I know that car rides completely different but it had a very quiet cabin. I also notice the passenger seat rattles when driving more than maybe 60 on the highway. I've heard other M owners have the same problem. Another poster mentioned the steering wheel getting scratched. I noticed this on those 2 small areas near the controls - it does scratch with just the slightest bit of fingernail pressure. I recently test drove a new C-class and 3 series as my wife's Q50 lease ends and couldn't wait the get back into the interior of my car. Even my wife mentioned it. But is it worth over 50 thousand? Not sure. This is the first car I've owned in this class but I just paid under 30 grand with 17,000 miles and for that I love the interior.

[M37xfan]

Overall I love the interior of my 2013 M. The quality is a step above the G37 I used to own, namely the leather seats and the center wood console. I like the wood on the deluxe touring edition better but I have the standard red colored wood. The navigation screen and the way the console "bulges" out has always been some of my favorite things about the interior. I agree with the poster who mentioned the carpet. It is just as cheap as any other car. I also think the road noise is ridiculous for such an expensive car. I doesnt seem to be any worse than my old G or my wife's Q50 but I'm coming off of driving a 1995 town car. I know that car rides completely different but it had a very quiet cabin. I also notice the passenger seat rattles when driving more than maybe 60 on the highway. I've heard other M owners have the same problem. Another poster mentioned the steering wheel getting scratched. I noticed this on those 2 small areas near the controls - it does scratch with just the slightest bit of fingernail pressure. I recently test drove a new C-class and 3 series as my wife's Q50 lease ends and couldn't wait the get back into the interior of my car. Even my wife mentioned it. But is it worth over 50 thousand? Not sure. This is the first car I've owned in this class but I just paid under 30 grand with 17,000 miles and for that I love the interior.

Tires also affect road noise

[JBHorne]

Overall I love the interior of my 2013 M. The quality is a step above the G37 I used to own, namely the leather seats and the center wood console. I like the wood on the deluxe touring edition better but I have the standard red colored wood. The navigation screen and the way the console "bulges" out has always been some of my favorite things about the interior. I agree with the poster who mentioned the carpet. It is just as cheap as any other car. I also think the road noise is ridiculous for such an expensive car. I doesnt seem to be any worse than my old G or my wife's Q50 but I'm coming off of driving a 1995 town car. I know that car rides completely different but it had a very quiet cabin. I also notice the passenger seat rattles when driving more than maybe 60 on the highway. I've heard other M owners have the same problem. Another poster mentioned the steering wheel getting scratched. I noticed this on those 2 small areas near the controls - it does scratch with just the slightest bit of fingernail pressure. I recently test drove a new C-class and 3 series as my wife's Q50 lease ends and couldn't wait the get back into the interior of my car. Even my wife mentioned it. But is it worth over 50 thousand? Not sure. This is the first car I've owned in this class but I just paid under 30 grand with 17,000 miles and for that I love the interior.

Tires also affect road noise

I'm running Michelin Pilot Super Sports now and they are better in every way over the OEM Bridgestones. Quieter, but the M is still not insulated well from road noise.