Hello, I’m new to the forum. Tomorrow I am going to look at a 2006 m45 sport with 144,000 miles on it. After researching this particular model, I am confident that it is a reliable vehicle, and will probably buy it if I don’t find a major problem. Pics show it to be in very nice condition.

My question here is, what are the red flags that would stop a knowledgeable person from buying one of these? Thanks.

Check the driver seat rails. Some Y50 M's had issues with the seat bracket breaking and the seat moving forward under breaking or back under acceleration. Check the oil to see if it's eating, etc. V8's were known for that in this generation I believe. Get all of the maintenance records if you can. If there isn't, I'd be a little skeptical.

My first Infiniti was a 2007 M45 Sport Base with 180k that I bought for $6200. This car had no records and was being driven by a teenager. I drove it until 239k when it was rear-ended and totaled. I had to replace the spark plugs, valve cover gaskets, tie rod ends, the headliner, the AC clutch and the power steering hoses. That’s all I did for the couple of years I drove it until the AC compressor completely went out. Then I had to replace the compressor, condenser, and dryer. The headliner was BY FAR, the worst of those repairs. It had the usual cracked dash but never had the Takata recall. It did not consume more than 1/2 quart of oil in 5k miles. Ran great until the day it was pummeled into submission.

I replaced it in January of 2018 wit a 2006 M45 Sport/Tech Package with 98k, for $9000. This car had only one owner who had all service done at Infiniti of Austin and had all records. This one is in much better shape but I still had to replace the spark plugs, the valve cover gaskets, the battery, the power steering hoses, all the radiator hoses, the belts, and all the tensioner/idler bearings. The headliner is just now starting to fall right at the windshield. I had the Takata recall done on this car so I got a new dash to replace the old cracked one. She doesn’t consume any oil that I’ve noticed.

Things to look for:
1). Pull down the Splash Shield under the motor and look for pooled fluids.
2). Check all power steering hoses but pay special attention to the high pressure hose. It is expensive and can only be purchased from Infiniti.
3). Check under the exhaust manifolds for oil stains. If the valve cover gaskets haven’t been replaced you’ll have to do it anyways. Just make sure you don’t have really bad leaks.
4). Start car when cold with hood up and really listen for ticking (not injector tucking.). You don’t want any, not even faint clicking, coming from under the valve covers. Also listen for timing chain noise.
5). Turn AC on and off. Make sure clutch isn’t noisy
6). Make sure engine comes up to temp quickly, doesn’t fluctuate temp, and that there is no odor of coolant. Check overfill bottle and make sure fluid level is good and fluid is good color.
7). Sit in drivers seat and push back really hard to see if sear moves or creaks.
8) check sunroof operation. Both of my cars had some issues with it not opening in one single movement. Never looked into it.

That’s all I can think of at the moment. They’re good cars. A lot of people talk about oil consumption but I haven’t seen it myself.

Thanks for the quick responses. This one I am looking at is purported to have been stored winters, and is actually in storage right now. He is getting it out of the shed it’s in for me to look at it. It’s a Sport model and he’s asking $5900.00. Seems reasonable, but not a smoking deal. He was originally asking over $7500.00. It’s been for sale a while, and he has just now lowered his price.

The one real issue with these cars is the expense of the VK45DE engine. You have to make sure the engine is good because it will cost you 6-8k to replace it.

So this question has been asked a lot - try the search function, we all know it isn't the greatest, but you may find even more answers...
but to get you started:

https://forums.nicoclub.com/topic616661.html
https://forums.nicoclub.com/topic616944.html


good luck and hopefully it's a decent car and you get it!!!

Craig

Just got home from looking at the M45. I did end up buying it. It seems to be sorted out just fine. It isn’t perfect, but it doesn’t have any of the problems that were listed above, except for the loose seat. It moves just a little when you push back.
It had the power steering pump replaced less than a year ago, as well as brakes/rotors. It will need some tires, as the rear tires are Blizzaks, and the fronts are a performance style tire that are too narrow for the wheels. He said he needed new tires, and got these cheap at an auction. Ended up not quite wide enough.
One thing I find annoying, though, is the gas pedal is a bit stiff. It’s stiff to the point of fatiguing after my 1.5 hr drive back from the seller.
I will get some photos up as soon as the weather gets a little more above zero.

Stevem45 wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 08, 2019 9:46 pm

Just got home from looking at the M45. I did end up buying it. It seems to be sorted out just fine. It isn’t perfect, but it doesn’t have any of the problems that were listed above, except for the loose seat. It moves just a little when you push back.
It had the power steering pump replaced less than a year ago, as well as brakes/rotors. It will need some tires, as the rear tires are Blizzaks, and the fronts are a performance style tire that are too narrow for the wheels. He said he needed new tires, and got these cheap at an auction. Ended up not quite wide enough.
One thing I find annoying, though, is the gas pedal is a bit stiff. It’s stiff to the point of fatiguing after my 1.5 hr drive back from the seller.
I will get some photos up as soon as the weather gets a little more above zero.

Not sure if it's related, but there is a recall on the Gas pedal. Maybe that hasn't been done yet, or maybe it has and it is the reason why if feels stiff. Mine feels great, smooth and low effort..or maybe something is stuck behind the gas pedal, because honestly its not connected physically to the engine

This car has 20” Niche wheels. What tire sizes are good to use? Right now I have p275/35/20 on the rear, and it fills up the wheel well pretty good, with no rubbing that I noticed.

Congratulations on your purchase. I hope it serves you well.

Tires:
Ultimately, the width of the tire will depend on the width of the wheels.
I use this tire and wheel calculator to visualize wheel changes and determine tire sizes - https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/?wheel1 ... 0mm&sr=0mm
It recommends 255/35/20 as a more suitable size than the 275 when compared to the OEM sport size of 245/40/19. What is your front tire size? And are the front and rear wheels the same width?

On the recall:
Typically I do this before buying the car, but you could check online if your car has any open recalls. I usually call my dealership with the VIN number and they tell me some of the key highlights of the car if it has ever been serviced at Infiniti. If there are any open recalls relating to issues I see, at least they get handled for free.

Not sure on the width of the wheels, But the front has 225’s on it and they are not wide enough at all, they’re stretched.