Left Lexus for Infiniti

[davethepilot330]

So this past Saturday I traded in my 2007 IS250 AWD for a beautiful 2013 G37x coup in Slate Blue. I am leaving Lexus because I've owned 2 and had to sink too much $$$ in costly repairs: the first being a CPU replacement in a '99 GS400 and a complete engine rebuild on the '07 IS250.

So, my question is this (though it's too late now, I own the G37) what, if any, costly repairs should I be worried about? Are there chronic problems that this make/model tend to experience more frequently? I would also love octane level recommendations, oil viscosity recommendations, and tire recommendations.

Thanks all. Looking forward to many long years in camp Infiniti!
--Dave

[telcoman]

So this past Saturday I traded in my 2007 IS250 AWD for a beautiful 2013 G37x coup in Slate Blue. I am leaving Lexus because I've owned 2 and had to sink too much $$$ in costly repairs: the first being a CPU replacement in a '99 GS400 and a complete engine rebuild on the '07 IS250.

So, my question is this (though it's too late now, I own the G37) what, if any, costly repairs should I be worried about? Are there chronic problems that this make/model tend to experience more frequently? I would also love octane level recommendations, oil viscosity recommendations, and tire recommendations.

Thanks all. Looking forward to many long years in camp Infiniti!
--Dave

Welcome to NICO Dave

Prior to my 06 G35 6 sp first Infiniti I also got rid of my 92 Lexus ES 300 5 speed manual
I only owned that one Lexus but I find Infiniti far superior and I believe Infiniti uses better and higher quality parts.

So, my question is this (though it's too late now, I own the G37) what, if any, costly repairs should I be worried about?

Thanks all. Looking forward to many long years in camp Infiniti!
--Dave

Whether or not you end up with costly repairs depends a lot on how you drive and how you treat your vehicle.
Read the forums and observe some of the mistakes others make resulting not only in costly repairs but lots of aggravation and loss of use of their vehicle while it ends up in a shop.

I would also love octane level recommendations, oil viscosity recommendations, and tire recommendations.
--Dave

As far as octane and oil recommendations this information is in your owners manual.

Lots of differing opinions on the forums.

Personally I don't believe the octane recommendation on using premium gasoline is necessary and this has been confirmed by service people at my local dealer and my own testing.
One of the first things that I did after taking delivery of my 06 G35 with a full tank of gasoline and assuming it was filled with premium, I filled the tank with regular when the gauge fell to the 3/4 full mark.
Noticed no difference in performance.
I repeated this test at the 1/2 full and 1/4 full mark and never noticed any performance difference.
A year or so later I did a one month test using 91 octane and another month of using 93 octane. No noticeable difference in performance but my MPG dropped using the higher octane gasoline.
So now aving owned two Infinit's and driven them over 230k miles on regular 87 octane I've saved thousands of dollers in gasoline costs.
BTW my 88 Mazda 929 also recommended premium gasoline and I ignored that and put over 200k miles on that vehicle with no engine issues.
My 92 Lexus also recommended premium gasoline and I ignored that recommendation also. Never had an engine problem with that vehicle in over 100k miles and almost 14 years of ownership.

As for oil I use 5w-30 conventional oil and change it every 3750 to 4k miles.
The air and cabin filters are easy to change yourself and so far in over 60k miles that is all that has been done on my G37S. I replaced the OEM Bridgestone tires with Michelin Pilot As 3's at 32.3k miles and they are still on the car.

A very reliable vehicle

Telcoman

[davethepilot330]

Thanks for taking the time to write that Telcoman! I will read through the forums for as much info as I can find on prior costly mistakes others have made.

Peace in our time,
--Dave

[telcoman]

Also, another thing I've learned over the many years of driving and vehicle ownership is I no longer trust or use any aftermarket parts and only let the dealer touch my vehicle except for a recent tire repair.
I have found dealer parts prices on batteries and tires very price competitive with my discount card vs independent shops. Dealers can be very helpful for a good customer when a serious problem does develop.
I had to have a wiring harness replaced on my previous 06 G35 due to a repeated air bag warining light problem after the warranty expired. Their $2200.00 quote ended up being split three ways after some serious negotiation that I engaged in with the dealer and Infiniti customer service.

I've been very happy with Infiniti and will most likely purchase another one in the future.

Telcoman

[janus287]

Hi, I'm relatively new to the NICO forums (I used to post in G35 driver forums under a different username).

Joined NICO forum as we have just replaced a 2004 G35 Sedan (Sport 6-speed manual) with 2015 OX50. We very seriously considered Lexus as well.

First, to add to telcoman's posts on octane, here's an very comprehensive article on whether you need to use premium. http://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/to- ... emium.html

It includes list of vehicles the "Require Premium" and vehicles the "Recommend Premium". The only Infiniti vehicle at present that Requires premium is the OX70 (what was the FX). Most of the others "recommend premium", and the posted horsepower and acceleration figures are based on premium fuel. So even though the gas cap says "premium only" you can use regular without any risk to the engine, and unless you are a speed demon, you won't notice much difference in performance.

on Infiniti vs Lexus

Both have strong reputations for quality. Lexus has a stronger reputation for reliability based on surveys. But both are strong. Infiniti's are exclusively built in Japan, while Lexus are mostly built in Japan, the RX model is assembled in Canada. There will always be luck of the draw, in that you might get a car that has problems, like you did with your Lexus problems.

With our 2004 G35 Sport, the only problem we had over 11 years (and this was in the the last couple of years), was the stereo system started acting strangely, with radio sometimes with no sound, or a sudden large increase in volume. We replaced the stereo, and it largely solved the problem (not 100%, but not bad). So pretty good for 11 years.

When Infiniti division was created many years ago, I was unimpressed with the designs. But the G35 really changed that, and Infiniti today are great looking cars and are great driver's cars. While Lexus has been around longer, until recently, I have never been that impressed with the looks of Lexus vehicles. Some of their recent designs however are very attractive. I have a friend who changes gets a new car every four years (company car), and he recently decided to try Lexus (GS FSport edition) after having had an Infiniti. He said he while the Lexus is solid, it is not as fun to drive as his old Infiniti. Also, seems to me that Infiniti tries harder to deliver value because Infiniti is behind Lexus is sales volume.

Final comment, is that it seems like telcoman, we like manual transmission. We have two cars, and liked having one auto and one manual. But sadly, they are harder and harder to find on new cars. I think for Infiniti, now only the Q60 offers a manual transmission option (and who knows how long they'll keep that as an option).