It Just Gets Better...

[lswaidz]

So my ABS/SLIP/VDC lights came on full time a week ago, which is my understanding that it's related to front brakes, so I'm getting them looked at ASAP. If that's not it I'll be taking the car into the dealer.

But it gets better... the car rolled 84,000 miles last night, and AS SOON as it rolled, the Airbag warning came on. I was just like "WTF..." I'm getting sick and tired of this... anybody know a reason that might come in perfect concert w/ the car rolling 84,000? All I was doing was driving down the highway, it was raining lightly, I was doing about 70, and my windshield wipers were on. The light was still on this morning.

Is my car just failing bit by bit right now??

[Double E]

Dealer would be my first stop with all of that going on.

[lswaidz]

Unfortunately the closest Infiniti dealer is about 200+ miles away. The local Nissan dealer is trying to charge me to even look at the car, and I find that extremely unreasonable. I understand it will take the technician some time to diagnose the problem, but if I'm going to pay out of pocket anyway, why should I have to pay to find out how much??

[EniGmA1987]

my Infiniti dealer charges $120 just to look at the car, but that can be applied towards the cost of fixing it afterward. You could ask Nissan if whatever they want to charge can be applied toward the cost of fixing it as well.

[lswaidz]

They're saying it's a left wheel speed sensor. Would the wheel weights coming off cause this to fail? I noticed this morning that the stick on weights were gone.

Also needs new pads and rotors... who is the guy on here that sells all that stuff? I wonder if he can get that speed sensor, which I'm sure isn't going to be cheap.

[SteveTheTech]

Wow man that sounds like a run of tough luck.

The advise from the old Q is working it's way into the M forum. With these older (out of warranty) vehicles, not just the M but all Infinitis require money to keep them running. With these cars when it rains it pours, things like airbag lights and wheel speed sensors all pick random times to go.

Your airbag light will continue to flash until you get it shut off. The AB system has three separate levels of DTC logging.

The wheel speed sensor just goes whenever the time will be least ideal to you. If you are sitting in the car with a few hundred bucks burning a whole in your pocket it will continue to hang in there.

Paying to diagnose your car is just the way it works. As EniGmA1987 stated almost all dealers roll the cost of diagnosis into the repair if you choose to have it repaired there. From the other side of the fence, we spend a fair amount of time learning how to fix and diagnose these cars and in addition our dealers need to purchase the software as well as the hardware to run it on and pay for us to go to school. Should we not get payed if warranty is not going to pay? Now the rate that is charged is a little high to some and I do not set them, the local market does. Your Nissan dealer may make arrangements for you since the parts have to be sourced and using aftermarket parts on the Y34 does not usually work so well, just ask them.

Honestly we are not out to rob you, it's just business.

Here is the link I think you were looking for http://www.infinitipartsusa.co...id=55

[lswaidz]

Thanks very much, Steve.

I hear you about when it rains it pours... just upsetting it's 3 weeks before I planned to sell the car. Anyway, the speed sensor isn't that bad, at only $140, and the place I took it to down here is only charged $50 to fix it... so I'd call that a small victory.

Going to do rotors and pads myself. Not that tough on these cars. As far as the airbag light goes... we'll see... going to have the shop reset the codes, and see if it pops up again. They seem to think it all might be stemming from the speed sensor... that goes out, airbags don't know what speed the vehicle is traveling at to deploy airbags... who knows.

By the way, the Nissan dealer I was taking the car to WOULD NOT apply the $200 "diagnostic fee" towards parts or labor for any repairs... further more, they wanted to charge me hourly just to look at the car ON TOP OF the fee. I took it to a local Midas and was in and out for $45.

[lswaidz]

Just to follow up on this... the speed sensor in the left front wheel was out. Ordered from Scottsdale Infiniti for $130 (about $60 or $70 off dealer retail) and got it in about a week... awesome experience). The local shop threw it in there, and boom... problem solved.

Still getting the airbag light, however. I will probably have to take it to an Infiniti Dealer next time I'm up near Chicago... better start saving for the "diagnostic" fee ;-)

Anyway, new problem... left rear wheel is "bowed" out on the bottom. Crawled under the car, and noticed one of the suspension components seems damaged. I went back and looked at pictures from when I first bought the car, and it seems the wheel was in the same condition... It appears to be called the "lateral arm" and is a pretty cheap part... but I'm just wondering how this goes un-noticed by a dealer on a car taken on a trade that was certified by Infiniti of Lisle outside of Chicago...? Furthermore, this probably accounts for the discoloration of the left side of the rear bumper I'm now seeing... I ran the CarFax on my car, and it shows as accident free... could there be some undisclosed damage from the previous owner on this vehicle? Anyway, this is a link to a picture of the suspension, with the right suspension following it... you can see the difference...

The question is, will replacing this part and getting a good alignment fix this problem? Do I have any recourse with the dealer I purchased the car from? Finally, should I be able to claim treadwear warranty on the Sumitomo tire I purchased 6 months ago that is now worn down to the threads on the inside, assuming I replace the suspension component and take it back to the shop I bought the tire at? I've put about 10,000 miles on it since purchase.

Thanks for all your help guys, hopefully I can get another year and another 20,000 miles out of this beautiful car!

Left (bad)http://i14.photobucket.com/alb...6.jpg

Right (good)http://i14.photobucket.com/alb...7.jpg

[GJEMD]

Car Fax is a very limited document. It requires either a police report filed or an actual accident Insurance claim filed. Dealers will always fix in house accidents with no paper work. Individuals can pay out of pocket for single vehicle accidents with no paper work. lastly Car Fax has no knowledge of damage claimed on your comprehensive policy ie weather damage or theft. Anytime you buy a complex high end luxury car with high miles, you're on your own. These cars late in life sell cheap for a reason

[1scott]

Sorry too hear the bad luck with the M. Try resetting the airbag light, on my Toyota Seqouia I dissconnect the battery for around 10mn to around an hour then reconnect it. This should reset the on board computer, you could also try pulling the breaker but sometimes their are several. Hope this can help.

[lswaidz]

When I had it in for service they reset the codes, and it immediately came back up... does the battery disconnect trick do more than "reset" the codes?

I ordered the new lateral arm today, looking forward to another great experience with Scottsdale Infiniti. I wish they would just open a dealership in here Peoria, IL.

[M4T5]

No sir, disconnecting the battery will not make your air bag light go off. If clearing the code with a diagnostic machine didn't fix it, then disconnecting the battery will be a waste of time on your part. Most vehicle ECU's will reset codes or turn off various warning lamps/ lights only when the problem is corrected. This mostly has to do with a failed sensor or a failing part a particular sensor is monitoring.You may be able to go to a local parts store and have them scan your car for free and give you the trouble code. Though most local parts stores only have hand held scanners that can only read engine only codes. Not ABS, brake, transmission, or airbag codes.It wouldn't hurt to stop into a few local auto part stores and see if they could help you out. I can think of five possible part stores: O'Reileys, Autozone, NAPA, Car Quest, and Advanced Auto.I'm not really sure which ones you have there locally.Good Luck!

J

[svard75]

- If the car was in an accident (Even as a write off) and if the original owner did not claim it using his/her insurance then it would not be listed on any report regardless.

- That bent rear control arm is not considered a safety impacting item. It would however affect the alignment. When I buy a used car I always do the alignment test (Drive on a straight smooth street without holding the steering wheel and see where it goes)

-Treadwear warranty on a tire cannot be claimed because the cars original alignment was off. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/...id=34

[1scott]

Dissconneting the battery- both terminals- will only reset the codes and then its a wait and see if the light returns, many times simply resetting the computer works if the problem was a spurious computer fault, but if a code reappears, then thier is a real problem, then you will have to scan the codes to see which sensor is belly up. Hope this helps.