Has anybody replaced their power antenna? I have the replacement ready to go but I don't have a tool to remove the retaining nut at the base of the antenna. Does anybody have any suggestions? 2001 QX4

I have, and it wasn't too hard! I used a pair of small needle-nose pliers to unscrew the chrome finishing piece. Just make sure you have all of the old white plastic gear pulled out before you put the new one in. Also, it couldn't hurt to rub a bit of grease on the plastic gear of the new one.

You bought an OEM replacement, right? I tried one of those knockoff ones that looked the same, but it didn't come close to working right.

Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions!

Hey thanks for the advice, finally got around to taking on this job today. Got the base nut off ok but I can't get the old mast out of there. Currently trying the vise grips/hammer method. Thinking I may just replace the whole motor assy. Anybody had luck with that?
Here's the part I'm looking at: http://www.jcwhitney.com/replacement-po ... 93de0#tab2

Dang, that's a really good price. Good to know, and good find!

Try taking the motor assembly apart first, though; it's pretty straightforward. There's only a few screws holding it in place and together. You remove the inner wheel liner to get to it, which you'll need to do even if you get a new one... If you do that, throw a little grease in there while you're at it.

The mast gear on mine was broken off inside the motor too.

Alright I'll keep playing with it, thanks for the encouragement!

I need to do this on my 2001 Infiniti QX4........my wife went through the car wash with the radio on and ......"Snap" there goes the antenna! oops.......so I bought the replacement mast but I ended up needing the entire assembly even though the motor is still good. I cant get the rest of the antenna out its broke off inside or something. Im not really worried about it right now.....I bought a aftermarket CD player with Bluetooth so the wife never listens to AM=FM radio anymore....only CD's and now Pandora through the Bluetooth.

Just wanted to add to this thread rather than starting a new one because it was very current. I'm reviewing the information in two previous on-point topic threads and I anticipate this being a huge hassle compared to all the other repairs I've been able to complete thanks to info here on NICO.
antenna-not-rising-t586795.html
antenna-replacement-t498220.html

Looking for some advice on my 2002 Infiniti QX4. The power antenna is currently stuck in fully extended position and will not retract. I hear the motor attempting to raise and lower the antenna on start up/shut down.

I've ordered the OEM part to replace the mast and I am assuming the plastic teeth have stripped or broken off. I'm hoping for a quick fix like the FSM says, but since the antenna mast is fully extended, should I expect there to be broken teeth/plastic line that will require me to remove the power antenna motor from the interior wheel well? I hoping to avoid this.

Also, reading the FSM it appears that the windshield inlaid antenna is for FM reception and the power antenna is for AM reception only? If that's the case this may not even be worth my time as this is my wife's vehicle and she listens to FM exclusively. Should I just pound down the extended antenna with a rubber mallet?

I would like to get this fixed correctly, appreciate any advice or instructions people with experience have on this fix.

Thanks.

If I remember right, once you remove the lock nut and such topside, you should be able to just pull the antenna out. Once you do, you'll probably get an idea of whether it's broken off inside. My guess is the mechanism inside jumped gears or something and the retractor isn't getting pulled, which would mean you'll need to take the assembly apart.

Have you tried pushing the antenna down by hand while it's trying to retract (after shutting off power)?

It looks like the windshield one is used for AM. The whip most definitely does pick up FM signals, as my radio was nothing but snow until I put a new one in.

atraudes wrote:Have you tried pushing the antenna down by hand while it's trying to retract (after shutting off power)?

Is that recommended?
I figured better to leave it up so my wife can continue to listen to the radio while replacement part comes in. Also it seems like people were having more issues trying to remove antenna when is was down vs up. Let me know if you think its worth trying to push antenna down to see if it "catches" or if that would put me in a more difficult position come time to replace.

Thanks, Atraudes, it appears you had to remove the entire assembly on your replacement job? Did you find easy access through the wheel well liner? Any guidance, instruction would be appreciated.

It may be all that's needed to get the antenna working properly again. I would think that if it sucks it in, it would spit it back out too, and worst comes to worst, you can always pull the entire assembly out and disassemble to retrieve it. Keeping it up and functional until you have the replacement onhand may not be a bad idea, though.

No tips on how to get it out of the wheel well because it was two years ago now, but I remember it being really straightforward.

Seems like this issue is really dependent on the condition of the inner teeth cord, which in my case seems to be immobile. I will soon order a replacement for the entire unit, which seems to be achievable for under $50.

Finally got the motor out and turns out it needs to be replaced. Does anybody know where I can get a quality replacement power antenna assembly?

Your best bet is eBay. Amazon has some universal types but no guarantees as to how well or if it'll work and new OEM run about $200.

Wow alright, I'll let you know what I go with and how it works out.

I'm actually looking to replace my (broken) powered antenna with a static (non-moving), compact one... but I haven't been able to find any out there. Does anyone have any recommendations?

botched_lobotomy wrote:I'm actually looking to replace my (broken) powered antenna with a static (non-moving), compact one... but I haven't been able to find any out there. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Also hoping to do this. Mine won't go up anymore and I'm stumped.

restes1989 wrote:Also hoping to do this. Mine won't go up anymore and I'm stumped.

Ironically, I just saw this on Amazon, just a couple of days ago: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00NUEASEQ/

I've not purchased one, yet, but they say it fits 1990 - 2004...

How do you replace a power antenna on 2001 QX4

Most power antennas have a bracket or an anchor point so that they dont swing around while driving, because it will hog out the fender mount hole with the retainer nut. Actually, I think all power antennas have the anchor bracket or tabs to stabilize the motor assy. Unless some one replaced the whole assy and didnt see a need to use that pain in the..um you know bracket.

How do you get to the power antenna bracket? In an 01 QX4?

AnaMayShun wrote: ↑

Mon May 14, 2018 3:16 pm

How do you get to the power antenna bracket? In an 01 QX4?

Today I'm replacing my entire antenna coz mine is dead. I removed wheel well cover, but wires for power and antenna are reaching inside, so I removed passenger side carpeting and could see electrical connectors, but seems black antenna wire is headed up, to where, I have no clue. How do I access that? I'm stuck and need help, thanks.

I just removed glove compartment and could see antenna cable snakes all the way to back of radio. There's no way I'll be able to get behind radio unless I remove it. No fun there!

RoyDaGeneral wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 15, 2019 11:38 am

I just removed glove compartment and could see antenna cable snakes all the way to back of radio. There's no way I'll be able to get behind radio unless I remove it. No fun there!

Actually, it is very easy to remove the radio and should take less than 5 minutes, there are youtube videos on how to do it

RoyDaGeneral temporarily demoted to Roy Da Sargeant , I have confidence you'll get it soldier!

Yes Sir, I've gotten to the bottom of this! I opened the motor and it turned out the plastic end of the plastic inner teeth cord was broken, so I removed it and now the motor runs fine, so just need a new mast, the right one though! Anyone who's replaced theirs?

RoyDaGeneral wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 18, 2019 11:31 am

Yes Sir, I've gotten to the bottom of this! I opened the motor and it turned out the plastic end of the plastic inner teeth cord was broken, so I removed it and now the motor runs fine, so just need a new mast, the right one though! Anyone who's replaced theirs?

Replaced mine just last week. Much harder than it seemed like it was going to be. I couldn't get the old mast out without taking the drive assembly out and disassembling it, had trouble getting the new one in, then had everything apart again because they included a new seal (which is good) but I neglected to notice the old seal stayed with the drive unit so I couldn't get the retaining nut to thread in with two seals so I effectively ended up doing the job twice. Plus dealing with all the plastic drive rivets retaining the fender liner, half of which broke on removal. Not the most difficult or technical job, but nowhere near the 5 minute job I thought it would be.

Mike W. wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:30 am

RoyDaGeneral wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 18, 2019 11:31 am

Yes Sir, I've gotten to the bottom of this! I opened the motor and it turned out the plastic end of the plastic inner teeth cord was broken, so I removed it and now the motor runs fine, so just need a new mast, the right one though! Anyone who's replaced theirs?

Replaced mine just last week. Much harder than it seemed like it was going to be. I couldn't get the old mast out without taking the drive assembly out and disassembling it, had trouble getting the new one in, then had everything apart again because they included a new seal (which is good) but I neglected to notice the old seal stayed with the drive unit so I couldn't get the retaining nut to thread in with two seals so I effectively ended up doing the job twice. Plus dealing with all the plastic drive rivets retaining the fender liner, half of which broke on removal. Not the most difficult or technical job, but nowhere near the 5 minute job I thought it would be.

Hey Mike, which mast did you use? I'd like to get the correct one, thanks!

RoyDaGeneral wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 20, 2019 12:45 pm

Mike W. wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:30 am

Replaced mine just last week. Much harder than it seemed like it was going to be. I couldn't get the old mast out without taking the drive assembly out and disassembling it, had trouble getting the new one in, then had everything apart again because they included a new seal (which is good) but I neglected to notice the old seal stayed with the drive unit so I couldn't get the retaining nut to thread in with two seals so I effectively ended up doing the job twice. Plus dealing with all the plastic drive rivets retaining the fender liner, half of which broke on removal. Not the most difficult or technical job, but nowhere near the 5 minute job I thought it would be.

Hey Mike, which mast did you use? I'd like to get the correct one, thanks!

Just got back from vacation. Probably too late, but whatever. From Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JI ... UTF8&psc=1
Went up and down many times in the past 2.5 weeks without issues.

So the dealer breaks my antenna driving thru the car wash. He replaces it no problem but now it doesn’t go all the way down. The service manger checked with the mechanic when I pointed it out and the mechanic told him that was normal and it isn’t supposed to go all the way down. I’m thinking he was pissing down my back and telling me it was raining.
I looked at a lot of pictures of QX4s and haven’t seen any with the antenna up just a foot.
Can anyone tell me if your antenna goes all the way down shen you turn the radio off?
Thanks.

You are correct. The power antenna on QX4's will normally retract fully into the fender well. The mechanic is blowing smoke as they say.