some of my j30 issues

[tomj84]

ive been looking to sell my infiniti, (broke college student with too many vehicles) but i have a couple of issues and have been reluctant to advertise.

if i go out to my car right now, and attempt to start it, i better have my foot on the gas pedal holding it in a half an inch and i better be ready to let it warm up, it will not idle unless i do so for 5 minutes or so. If i just turn the key and not give it any gas (like most fuel injected cars), it will then fire and immediately die. i can put up with it, somewhat, but it seems shady to try to sell it like that.

heres what i cant put up with. if the car dies (from not keeping it from idling down, or someone in my family borrows it that cant handle the quirks) then its a major issue to get it started. sometimes i can floor it and then it will eventually sputter and fire up. and then it will run a little rough at lower idle even after its warmed up. or it wont fire up at all again for a few hours. not cool if you have to be somewhere.

On a whole other topic, i get this crazy glass or metallic rattling noise from the middle-rear section of the car. very annoying. but not enabling me to drive like the previous mentioned starting issues. someone told me driveshaft, but he was a gm mechanic, someone told me it could be the exhaust shielding..

thought i would see if anyone else has been driven nuts with any of this issues, and had any luck ridding them so i can sell it. before i drive to a scrapyard out of anger. let me knowtom

[Q45tech]

What does your expert certified technican report as the problems and solutions?

We service almost a hundred of J30 and their owners usually visit us every 90 days for oil changes [$29] and general look sees to catch and repair problems.

These cars are usually reliable and cost about half the $3000 per year old Q45 need to maintain as new operation. Tires, brakes, and suspension, injectors, sensors, are the usual items.

[driverdriver]

Welcome to NICO!!!

If you need to start the car with the gas floored, your injectors are flooded. Its a common issue that stems from not warming the car properly and/or short trips before shutting off.

I would start by cleaning the MAF to see if that solves your engine dying question. Also check your fuel sending/pump unit. When you turn the ignition can you hear the fuel pump prime?

The rattling noise is your heat shields. They're loose. You can either tighten them or remove them.

[brandonjustice93J30]

I just removed my heat shields last year. After years of salty roads there wasnt anything to tighten, the mounts had rusted. Much like the pipes they covered too. lol

*grumbles* $700-$800 per side to get OEM too through everythinginfiniti.com.

Other than that I'll agree with Q45Tech, very reliable. I almost hate to want a new car soon.

[tomj84]

Thanks for the quick replies folks,

I dont have a technician for infiniti, and would be afraid I'd rack up a bill that my bank account would later laugh at. so maybe i can get away with trying some of your guys' suggestions..

I noticed in the past, it does seem to run better with a bottle of fuel injector cleaner. And i will have to try cleaning the MAF sensor, I think I saw how to do so on another post when i was browsing. hopefully it wont be too difficult. I CAN hear the fuel pump prime.

is it a major pain to remove or tighten the heat shields? My car is magically rust free, so maybe theyre just loose.. It will be messy to find out soon, my driveway is gravel-- i mean mud-- from melted snow.

you would think living in kansas at wintertime, besides the infiniti, i would own something besides a mazda miata and a motorcycle. but i guess ive sort of collected that problem myself ha. I might be more apt to keep the infiniti as its comfortable and nicely designed, if i can get things fixed finally. although the RWD in occassional heavy snow bothers me. (i guess not as much as a miata or motorcycle though ha)

[tomj84]

cleaned the MAF, did not seem to improve much on starting the car. maybe a little, maybe wishful thinking. seems to be idling a litte rough as well.. might try to change the plugs out. not sure how.. hopefully not too difficult to get to.

havent got around to looking at the exhaust shields, just got another bit of snow dumped on us this week.

how do people manage to own these j30s that dont have a far commute? i usually warm up my car for a couple of minutes, but i was only going to school a few miles away at the time the car started acting up..

[brandonjustice93J30]

I've never had that problem. No matter how short of a trip it always starts back up.

[yodawill2000]

Same here.

[StevieRaySTL]

-- OP, how old are your spark plugs?

[tomj84]

finally got some decent weather for a minute, old plugs of unknown age were very foul. New plugs are in, not running choppy anymore. still seems to want to flood out easy..