What to look for when buying a 03-04 M45?

[itgogitrev]

Hey guys,

I've been looking at getting a third car for my new job (a people shuffler) and unfortunately both of my current cars are 2 seaters. I've been smitten with the M45 and would love one. However, I'm not familiar with Nissans and Infinitis, I'm an old school VW/Audi/Benz geek.

What should I be looking for when I go to check one of these beauties out? Also, what is the reliability like on them? What are the 'problem parts' on it?

Thanks in advance!Alex

[szh]

Welcome to NICO. There are a number of posts on the oil consumption issue ... which may or may not be a problem for the car you get. Please do a search for that topic and you will see the responses!

Z

[Andrew224]

My '03 M has been very reliable. I've only had it in for minor repairs (accessories and an interior trim piece that cracked). The periodic maintenance needs to be performed to keep it running properly. And an Infiniti Elite Extended Warranty will be worth the piece of mind if offers as repairs at Infiniti are expensive.

Andrew

[caug1]

listen for the rattles allover the car.it will tell you about previous driver.people that drives hard = will have lots of diferent noises, rattles stuff like that.i know it happend to me. my was pritty good untill i drove for 20K.it is not and bmw or audi, atleast it will smoke most of them, thats make me happy.infiniti put firm suspenssin, but no body stiffing parts.good luck.

[itgogitrev]

I'll be on the lookout for rattles then. There is a local Nissan dealership that has one, I'm going to take it out for a test drive next week. I'll look into that oil consumption issue as well, but that really isn't that big of a deal. Both my cars lose a quart over 2,000 miles so I'm pretty used to it.

As long as I don't have to deal with window regulators or coilpacks, I think I'll be completely happy with one.

[flizsr45]

I'm also in Cincinnati and I bought mine @ Kings Nissan back in January. So far the only problems I've had is the trunk not staying open when you use the the remote or the one on the drivers door. A quick adjustment was all it took. I just had some exhaust work done. Thats it so far. I get the oil changed every 3000 mi. and I would recommend getting and extended warranty. If you want to take a look at it give me a call. 513-652-0139 FlizMine is a 03 white with black interior.

[itgogitrev]

I'll take you up on that after the holidays. Too bad I don't work in Mason anymore...

[ncraig@62]

Fliz, I had to post, also live in Maineville, Ohio, with a white and black 2003 M-45. What adjustments did you do to the trunk lid, I am having the same issues. Also problems with the fuel quantity. Cell is 513-235-6911 Call when you get a chance.Neil

[maxnix]

You might want to read the "How to buy a Q45" sticky post in the Q45 Forum. Many of the principles apply to any new car purchase.

The most importatnt thing to obtain first before even looking at the car is its Infiniti dealer perfomed service history. In particular, verifiy the severe duty cycle 3,750 mile OCI. If you can, buy only the dealer supplied extended warranty.

[flizsr45]

Whats up Neil? My trunk was adjusted by the dealer, Infinity at the Kings automall, at the time the vehicle was still under the original waranty.

[A1A ANDY]

Hey Guys, there is a TSB for a new trunk solenoid to stop the re-latching. It happened on my first M, but I didn't do anything about it. I found the link in time to have the dealership replace the part when I picked up the second one. No, don't ask me about the third one, I'm keeping my baby even if I have to sleep in it. Hey!!, that makes it easy to bring my date home :-)

A1A ANDY

[szh]

Hey Guys, there is a TSB for a new trunk solenoid to stop the re-latching. It happened on my first M, but I didn't do anything about it. I found the link in time to have the dealership replace the part when I picked up the second one. No, don't ask me about the third one, I'm keeping my baby even if I have to sleep in it. Hey!!, that makes it easy to bring my date home :-)

Hi, Andy.

Yes, the TSB on the solenoid is good to do for sure. However, in most cases on the 2003 and 2004 M45, it is usually a trunk strut failure (leaky or weakened over time.) - they are a bit "light-weight" to begin with, and over time, tend to not raise the lid enough to prevent a re-latch (the hood does not rise enough, so the electronics think you actually lowered the lid).

In my case, the dealer replaced the two struts under warranty and everything came back to normal ... for now - till these new struts die, I suppose!

Z