Is Q45 a right one for me?

[Donkas800N]

Hello

Now, as my first rwd luxury sedan, I have been considering Q45 for long long time. Before, I actually jump in to experience Nissan's top engineering quality, I would like to borrow your opinions/expertise about Q45 to make a good judgement whether I can really afford to own it....

1. Can Q45 last over, say 200k miles with original drive-train without major repair? Major repair means such as transmission rebuild, Head Gasket service on engine, etc etc. Should Q45's transmission be a little weak (to me, weak transmission means failure before 200k miles...^^), is it possible to rebuild the Q45 transmission by ordinary back-yard mechanic? Has anyone tried it?

2. Does the Q45's A/C system last as long as the vehicles life-span or A/C usually fails at certain milege interval?

3. Is the Q45 part readily available with reasonable cost? I expect higher price tag than ordinary cars such as Camry, Accord etc ^^; (being a luxury sedan). However, I can NOT handle those ridiculous German luxury brand part price and shipping cost as well as outrageous waiting period such MBenz, Audi, BMW etc....

4. How much important role does the traction control of Q45 play (in Michigan winter)? I am actually in the middle of making a choice between 96 Q45 (No Traction control) and 97 Q45 (which has Traction control). Which is better? I believe it should be somewhat better to have traction control here in Michigan, however, again, this is my first RWD sedan, I actually do NOT have much sense how much necessary it is to have traction control....

5. Finally, is there any other aspect choosing particular model year over the other years?

Sorry for long message.

I truly appreciate your help/advise. Have a nice day!

[elwesso]

Welcome to our humble little posse... Normally I dont get to reply first but I get to this time... YAY!!!

1. NO problem.. The transmission with good maintenace can go to 200k... transmission cooler is a MUST... You cannot do cheap rebuilds, must go with factory reman or a high quality rebuild like level 10..

2. Again depends on maintenance.. IF nothing is done it usually can make it to 150k... it doesnt require much maintenance at that, just keep the refrigerant and oil fresh.....

3. Yes.... Call Joe at infiniti of scottsdale.. 1888-216-5328... Tell him your from NICO and know Wes I dont know how they compare to other parts but they're cheap compared to dealer prices... I only buy my stuff form joe but there are a few other sponsors that sell OEM parts at the same discount..... Even iwth shipping its very cheap, and he uses DHL so its quick too.....

4. Youll want TCS if you want to use it in the winter......

5. This is a never ending debate between the G50 (90-96) and Y33 (97-01)...... It all depends what you want.... The G50 is the BEST of hte Q45, but youll need to drop some cash to make them perfect.. If you go with the 90-93, you MUST read up on teh chain guides.....

Tell you what, go to our infinit articles section or goto http://www.Q45.org (my/Jesda's site), and look at the buying advice... That will give you EVERYTHING you need to know about the G50 Q...

The Y33 is more reliable but less thrilling, less poewrful..... If your more concerned about classy transportation, then go with the Y33, if you want a drivers car, get hte G50... They are both reliable but the G50 offers more for performacne and handling.....

[Jeff Williams]

The great thing is, you can get a used Q45 for about the same price as a used Camry, and you have 300 times the car.

I am shooting for 300,000 miles on my Q. I already have a rebuilt transmission (brake drum destroyed tje first at 80 mph), and have spent about $3,000.oo in upgrades and repairs, in the last 100,000 miles.

A little more than your standard Camry's maintenance, but WELL worth it, in my opinion.

[Q45tech]

A weak transmission is one that doesn't last thru the warranty! Very few V8 trannies with +300lb/ft of torque last 200,000 miles.

Mercedes nor BMW nor Audi have accomplished this.

Over 15,000,000 trannies fail each year [10 Million are replaced] roughly the number of new vehicle sales and since the average age is 8 years one could assume the average life is 8 years x 15k= 120k.

Industry practice is to specify transmission life as 100,000 shift cycles [full up and down]. If all your driving is interstate it is likely that you might get 200,000 miles even 250k.........if it is ALL bumper to bumper traffic getting 120,000 miles is a challenge!

Lots of difference between no shifts per mile and a dozen!

For Michigan get the 97 with TCS!

[Rex]

... For Michigan get the 97 with TCS!

Though I agree with ALL of Dennis' (Q45Tech) advice, this is the part you need to heed most. Even with TCS, the 96 will be more difficult to dive in the MI winters. Opt for the 97 and get a good set of winter tires, you'll be happy.

[maxnix]

The TCS on OBD II is a whole lot different than TCS on OBD I, and a much better all electronic implementation.

Have you considered sled dogs for the winter? No rust, good all paw traction, can keep you warm in a breakdown.

[elwesso]

TCS on OBDI is just fien I think but it gets annoying when you dont need... its too overactive and too dependant on OEM tires (which you cant get anymore)..... Its helped me in the winter and heavy rain...

[BadQ45t]

I do not see buying a Q45 without TCS. I have a 97 and I drove a 96 touring and a 96 standard back to back the day I bought my car. The 96 did not have the same umph that the 90-93 had, but you're not going from a rocket sled to a dog sled, the 97 is a powerful car and was just about the same gas as the 96, but with the winter there and that much power I think you'll be needing another car for winter.

I'd either look for a 94-96 with TCS or go for the 97. The 90-93 while having the most raw horsepower, they have huge problems and headachnes to worry about, no center console, no CD players (at least not most of them) and LOTS of gremlins to chase. I had a 92 for 6 months and it seem like every time I solved one small problem another cropped up (until the engine seized on my Dad after he took it back when the timing chain guides broke).

[Donkas800N]

Wow! I am touched to see how great support I am getting from this site. I really appreciate all of your response.

With such great support/information from all of you, now I am getting more and more sense about Q45. And of course, I have been reading as many posts as possible in this site. However, yet I can NOT make a firm decision. My heart says "yes yes yes you can do it" but my brain still holds me saying "hmmmm... transmission..." It is mainly because of all those post about transmission problem. Please help me one more time...

1. It does seem like 90~93 is prone to show more problems as those model years are the "most" powerfull performers. Then, do 96 (which does NOT have VVT) or 97 (which seems to be more conservative design) have less transmission problem? Do the trannies of those model years tend to last longer than previous model years (90~93)? Or it does NOT matter at all????

2. I see some post showing rather significantly biased opinion toward 90~96 model years over 97 (or after) models. Would anyone help me to understand better why people likes 90~96 better (especially 90~93)? Does 97 have any significant drawback compared to 90~96? Working in auto industry, I heard Nissan/Infiniti has showed great engineering capability as well as quality control till 95~96, then it is rather well-known/spread "rumor" that its' quality rather took down-grade since 97~98. Of course, Nissan still manufactures great vehicles. But not as superb as the early 90's. Maybe I am wrong, but my question is is the reason people prefer 90~93 over 97 or after somehow pertaining to such Nissan/Infiniti quality issue (or just rumor)?

3. Why is 97 with TCS better than 96 with TCS? If I obtain q45, I can still have another cheap winter beater car saving q45 in my garage during very severe winter. However, I still may need to drive q45 during rainny day (or maybe once or twice even during winter in case all of my family members take out all other cars......) Would you be willing to elaborate why 97 TCS is better than previous TCS?

Oh! man I tried to simplify my questions, but it becomes another lengthy post. I am sorry that I just can NOT stop...

Thank you again in advance.

[Q45tech]

The 97 engine is easier to work on! Significant labor savings in changing almost everything over 150,000 miles this can save you $1,000 in labor cost alone [plug and knock sensor replacements , hoses, etc.].The 97 have improved [different [heater mix doors] which could save you another $1,000 in labor. No upper links to fail every 30k that another $1200 in parts and labor [3 sets not changed]

All in all the 97 could cost $3000 less over 150,000 miles less to maintain to exactly the same precision standards. The oem 16" tires are easier to find decent replacements vs the 96 15" tires.

[pito11213]

Either way you look at it you will spend some money on a Q. It is whether you will spend it now or later.

Bottome line90 - 93 performance luxury sedanPower, comfort, luxury in that order.Downside is 1. chain guidesThat is the major issue. Other than that the usual questions.Was the car maintained?Was the transmission ever flushed?Were the under plenum hoses ever done?Were there any injector issues?How are the sunvisors?Does the ashtray pop out and go back in?Is the bose radio on the way out?

94-96Alot of the previous questions except that the timing guides were changed. But this version is more of the "luxury" car look. Now as powerful as a 90 but not that far off.

97 - 2000?What the hell happened here? Infiniti went the other way with this one. I drove one and wasn't impressed. The interior didnt feel as spacious as my 90. It just wasnt that different from other luxury cars of that era. They do look nice though.

[maxnix]

Once again, the implementation of TCS on an OBD II system is much more sophisticated than on OBD I and does not require kluge add-on mechanical devices for throttle control like on OBD I.

By the way, if I were looking at an FY33, I would look at 1999 and later for refined content, especially 2000 and 2001.

[Jesda]

Maybe someone can confirm this.. was it in 1993, that changes were made to make shifting smoother, which resulted in reduced transmission life?

I know that on my 92, the transmission was replaced at 50k by the dealer with a new unit with redesigned cooling. I added my own transmission cooler at 170k, and it has enjoyed annual flushes with Mobil 1 for at least 4 years.

I guess you could do a search, because I'm not entirely certain.

In any event, thorough maintenance is a greater factor in transmission longetivity than anything else.

-Jesda

[elwesso]

The transmission design didnt really change TMK but it was the cooling system that changed and added life.....

1994 was when they got a new design, the dual cooler...

[PalmerWMD]

1)Maybe someone can confirm this.. was it in 1993, that changes were made to make shifting smoother, which resulted in reduced transmission life?

2)I know that on my 92, the transmission was replaced at 50k by the dealer with a new unit with redesigned cooling. I added my own transmission cooler at 170k, and it has enjoyed annual flushes with Mobil 1 for at least 4 years.

I guess you could do a search, because I'm not entirely certain.

In any event, thorough maintenance is a greater factor in transmission longetivity than anything else.

-Jesda

I1)t was the 91 MY and chnagesd for rebuilt trannys as well as new car production introduced some in 93, and then more changes again in 94

2) 93 redesign for rebuilts

Fred..