what i hate about my 07 M35 AWD after a month........

[sjkforever]

okay so i have had 07 M35 AWD for about a month now and just thought that i might share what could be improved.......(im coming from 05 Acura TL......)

what i dont like

1. engine...engine...engine......cant believe the rpm is above 3 around 60mph.......this car seriously needs a 6th gear.......when i reach 80mph....the car is so loud due to high rpm(almost 4000).......not to mention the gas waste.......(my TL rpm stayed well below 3000 at 80mph which provided a very quite ride)

2. the driver and passenger side cubbies are too small.....(the ones on the doors)

3. the side mirrors are not heated or tinted......

4. navigation voice has a very annoying two different people telling me directions.....

5. poor gas mileage....again that could be due to the reason #1

6. no message telling me i have emergency brake on.....for example if the trunk is open, it gives me the msg but when the emergency brake is on,and i try to drive, no msg is given whatsoever.......

Please feel free to comment......especially about the engine.....i really think i might have a lemon car or something......

[audtatious]

Weird about the RPMs. The VQ in my maxima is sub-3k at 80. Are you sure OD is not off?

[sjkforever]

is there an OD switch??????? i tried to find it but no avail........

[mousie]

There is no OD switch.. if you have it in "D", you're in 5th gear.

[exbmwdude]

I agree with you on the gearing, but unless the x is signifigantly different than the rwd model, you should be at 3k rpm @ 80mph, not 4k. A few other things that have I've noticed:

1) the window lock-out should only disable the rear-seat switches (kids), not totally disable all of them. Why on earth would the driver hit a switch to make his own window control not work ?

2) The doors should open from inside even if they are locked. BMW's do this and it's a good idea for safety reasons. The first pull unlocks the door and the next one opens it.

Checked your oil yet ? Wait till you see the dipstick design...



exbmwdude2006 M35S

[scjconsulting]

>>3. the side mirrors are not heated or tinted......

I don't know about the 07 M35X, but my mirrors defrost when you turn on the heated back window. I don't miss the tinting. I used to have it on my 2004 S4 Avant and it cut down on what you could see in the at night.

[szh]

1) the window lock-out should only disable the rear-seat switches (kids), not totally disable all of them. Why on earth would the driver hit a switch to make his own window control not work ?

Hmmm ... om my 2003 M45, the switch does not disable the driver window - only the other ones! Is this different on the later M models? Quite unusual!

2) The doors should open from inside even if they are locked. BMW's do this and it's a good idea for safety reasons. The first pull unlocks the door and the next one opens it.

Now, this one I am not so sure that I would totally agree with. I'd much rather have an explicit lock-out, that you have to specifically unlock to get the door to open from the inside. Very typical on all the cars [admittedly almost all Japanese] cars I have had in the past ...

Checked your oil yet ? Wait till you see the dipstick design...

Just have to be careful, I guess, not to bend it! Has not bothered me ... but, probably this is because I am used to it, from many years of driving an Infiniti of some sort.

Z

[ca996]

OK here's mine, when I put the car in gear shouldn't the doors automatically lock or is there a setting that I can set to do this?

[Bag302]

"2) The doors should open from inside even if they are locked. BMW's do this and it's a good idea for safety reasons. The first pull unlocks the door and the next one opens it. "

I agree with this one. My 6th gen Maxima did this and I'd love to retrofit this to my '03 M.

[szh]

OK here's mine, when I put the car in gear shouldn't the doors automatically lock or is there a setting that I can set to do this?

Again, another item that I am not sure I would agree with. I prefer to be more in control of these kinds of things myself! I lock the car doors with the button myself when I drive off ...

An another example, my 1995 Q45 would automatically set the auto-dimming rear-view mirror into auto-dim mode every time the car was started. Even though I did not want it on at all - I had my rear windows tinted! And I could not disable the damn thing permanently. So, I got into the habit of reaching up every time I started the car and pressing a momentary button to disengage the auto-dim function.

I would much rather have had a simple rocker switch instead - to set it the way I wanted it to operate! On my current 2003 M45, it is an old-fashioned, manual, "flip the mirror" switch and I love it!

Sometimes, too much automation, without the ability to disable the choices made by somebody else, is not a good thing!

Z

[mousie]

I just came out of a Lexus GS and you can program things like that... doors lock when you put in park, or at 6mph, etc, etc.

[szh]

I just came out of a Lexus GS and you can program things like that... doors lock when you put in park, or at 6mph, etc, etc.

That is a workable approach. If I could set up those configuration items one time, then it would be fine!

Z

[namyac]

There are always personal taste issues here.

I am amazed at how good my gas mileage is and I love the performance. (21.5 mpg with synthetic oil) I had an FX 35 and got 17.5 with it.

The cubbies are bigger than I am used too and I always drive alone so the window lock is not an issue.

After 7,000 miles I have never used the emergency brake.

I would like heated mirrors, but its not a big deal to me. I have never had tinted mirrors so I don't miss them.

One thing I do know, the perfect car is always just slightly out of reach...

Good dialogue...

[jEzTeR]

Performance > Gas Mileage.

[SilverShadow]

1. You must not be in fifth gear, my M35X runs around 2400 at 60, and around 3200 at 80.2.Agreed, cubbies to small.3. Mirrors are HEATED but not tinted4.Not really sure what you are trying to say, I only get one voice from the NAV.5.Gas mileage is averaging around 19.25 (55% highway, 45% Local)

With respect to your RPM's, either you are not in D or there is a problem with the transmission. I would get it looked at ASAP.

[m11ilt]

Two things I dislike about my '07 M35X- Dip stick is dreadful to get in and out. Fuel door on Passenger side. Why oh why. Maybe I can get my wife to fill it up when she rides with me???

[scjconsulting]

Fuel door on Passenger side. Why oh why. Maybe I can get my wife to fill it up when she rides with me???

You are not used to it. My last 10 car have had the fuel door on the passenger side and I would not buy a car with it on the driver's side.

All German (maybe all cars from Europe) and most of them drive on the same side of the road that we do. They must know something that American cars don't. A lot of Japanese cars have it there too.

[szh]

My wife's Acura has it on the driver side too. This is a pain. You have to get close enough to the pump to be able to reach it, and yet stay far enough to avoid banging the door on the metal posts.

I'd rather have it on the passenger side.

Again, yet another example of what may suit one person does not suit another ... choices!!

Z

[SilverShadow]

I realize that the M has dual exhaust, but if you check, every vehicle with single exhaust has the gas tank on the opposite side of the exhaust (I guess for safety).I really can't believe that you really have trouble getting close to the pumps, most hoses on Long Island are long enough to be at least 3 feet from the pump and still be able to reach the fill. To me it seems pulling in to the station is really no different that pulling into a parking spot with a vehicle on the passenger side, do you find that a pain too?

[szh]

The Acura that my wife has is a two-seater, with longer than usual doors (so that you can get into the back seat). While I don't have trouble getting close to the pumps ... it is just that I have to be careful when opening the door. If you don't watch out for the metal posts, it is too easy to bump into them without realizing.

At some of the local stations near my house, if I don't park close enough to the pump, it is tough for people to get by me to get to the pumps on the other side of the station. So, I try to be helpful about that.

On the M, I don't have this problem, since I get out of the car on the opposite side of the pump ...

Z

[Bloodredhog]

There is bright red lighted word - "Brake" - that lights up on my dash if the emergency brake is left on in my 07 M35X....

[sjkforever]

as a matter of fact, im gonna get that looked at this weekend....take it to the dealership.......