I'm buying one on Friday but want to hear from I30 owners first, before completing the transaction.

 

I bought one "Pre-Certified" from Infiniti dealership... with 35,000 miles in June 2004. Not a LOT of problems, but here they are:

1) Back rotors made whirring noise (after about 4 times of service (thankfully under warranty), and fighting with them, they managed to fix it somewhat better). Now front rotors make that noise, and I think they are warped as well.
2) Oxygen sensor failed (service engine light came on), but they replaced it free covered under original warranty.
3) A/C blower motor fan blew out, made a ticking noise when on, replaced free under original warranty.
4) Subwoofer has rattle when listening to genres like hiphop/rap - (be sure to test this out otherwise it will be a headache, turn up the bass and listen closely).
5) All Infinti I30,T's have this problem - excessive rear window wind noise, like a loud whistling/rustling noise - from the seals not being tight enough.
6) Assorted creaks/rattles from dashboard when driving over rough surfaces... very annoying.


My advice: Make sure the car is as stock as possible, meaning that hopefully an old gentleman/lady was the previous owner and drove it slow and didn't push it hard. I made the mistake of buying one that had aftermarket rims, meaning some punk kid probably had it and pushed it hard (especially after he knew he was going to sell it, that it didn't matter). Anyway, I did buy new rims/tires, so it did improve the car a little bit.

And in retrospect, (I paid 18k, plus tax so total was 21k) - I should have bought a 2004 Honda Accord EX. It would drive better (better suspension/shocks/handling), have better mileage, and be NEW with no worries about previous owner problems. I easily could have bought a new Accord at the time, just didn't like the front styling. But now that I look back, I don't care as much as the car being worry free...

ANyway, hit me up for more questions if you have any... Just don't want to see someone make a wrong choice and suffer for it, sorta like me.

I have grown to like my car, but not love... kinda just accepting the flaws as they are...

 

Thanks for the tips! You have really helped me make my decison. I'm sorry that you've had so many problems with yours. The items that you listed help explain some of the things that I noticed when I test drove it (i.e. loud wind noise and loud brake noise). I am familiar with the oxygen sensor problems from my Maxima. All three of them have been replaced and the check engine light still comes on with that error code. I do not want to go thru that again, and will definitely look at getting something else. Like you, I am not fond of the Accord's styling. In fact I think it's ugly. But you made a good point about peace of mind over looks. I'm going to go with the Toyota or the Honda. You've helped me out for sure. I was going to pick up the I30 on Friday. Thanks!

 

I bought my '01 with 48k miles on it (it had been a corporate car). No problems except the windnoise, and you can quickly find out if that will be an issue for you just by test driving on the highway.

I'd suggest you get as many opinions as possible before making your decision -- I love everything about this car.

GL.

 

I guess there is NO PERFECT CAR in this world!!!

 

i bought my 2001 i30 in june of this year. it had 23k on it, and i got it for a little over 16,000. i have since put over 10,000 miles on it, and havent had any problems yet. the subwoofer in the back does in fact rattle the rear deck when rap is played, but that can be taken car of with about 15$ worth of dynomat. i like the infiniti because there arent as many on the road compared to a camry or an accord.

 

When did you buy it and how many miles have you put on it since then? Do you do mostly city or hwy driving? The thing is that I want something that will last for at least 3 years with no problems. That being the case, it would probably be better to go with something new.

 

if you buy an i30 with less than 30k on it, 3 years shouldnt be too much to ask for besides regular stuff

 

I just bought a 2000 I30T. I have noticed all of those problems except the fan motor.

These problems seem minor for everything else you get with this car.

My service engine soon light is on. I was told by a Nissan mechanic to disconnect the battery for a little while and the light will go out. I haven't tried it yet.

There has to be fixes for the rest of these issues. Does anyone have any?

What is dynomat and where do you put it?

Can you tighten up the seals to eliminate the wind noise?

 

dynomat is a sound deadening product that can be found at at audio store likye best buy, sound advice, circuit city, etc. the largest roll will cost about 50.00, and that will be way more than enough to make the back of the car to stop rattling

 

Do you tack it up to the underside of the rear deck?

 

Or you can get the generic stuff called Protecto Wrap from Home Depot for $12.50 for a 12.5 foot square roll.

 

Is there a fix for the rear wind noise? Has anyone been able to find a solution for it? It was the thing that I really did not like during the test drive. Grinding breakes were second.

 

I have been told by three Infiniti dealerships that if I buy a used I30 from any other dealership, and it still has some of the basic warranty left on it, I can purchase an extended warranty from them. It would cost $2,000 and would cover me for 48 months or 48,000 miles, bumper to bumper, with no deductable.

I figure if I can haggle a low price on the car itself and then get the extended warranty I could be okay for the 4 years. What do you think?

 

Great googly! That's a tough story about the '01 unit.

I had an '00 Limited and at the same time the '97 t. I put about 8000 miles on the Limited and sold it for a boat & tow vehicle. I kept the 97 t.

I've nerver experienced the rattles, cel problems or any assorted situations like described here (aside from the well known starter issue). I have no mods aside from a generic front strut stab. bar. and it just turned 115K.

My leather stering wheel is not wearing perfectly and the #2 has popped off of my radio station pre-sets. I had to replace the oil pressure sending unit because it was leaking (about $30) and it took me 10 mins to do.

I'm not disputing any experiences provided, just feeling bad for y'all that did and hope it gets better for ya.

 

hey, i actually fixed the rear wind noise... take a look here... http://www.innerbean.com/housecor/wi...ind_noise.html just make sure you put the foam on the outside of the window so it adds more pressure to the glass, effectively sealing it.

before when i hit around 45 -60 there is a noticeable wind noise, and 60-80 it sounds like a hurricane in the back.

now, the car is extremely silent. in fact, at 60mph, it's silent and even outside noise like cars passing is definitely less. at about 80mph, i do start to hear some very faint wind noise, but that's going to be case in almost all cars when u're doing 80+...

come to think of it, the I30T won't give u any major problems... just minor ones that get underneath ur skin and get u all annoyed... for me, it was the wind noise, but now that it's gone, i'm likin this car again...

 

nope, i don't know anything about the extended warranty. you'll hafta read the fine print... no experience there. good luck, let me know what u decide to do, i'm interested in how ur I30t turns out for you (if u decide on it).

 

Do the A32s also suffer from rear wind noise ?!? just curious ... if so, looks like it's an easy fix like rlx77 suggested. I have a 98 I30 standard

 

No, we dont. The problem with the A32 is when a rear window is down but all the rest are up, a weird flutter noise can be heard at highway speeds, but it is caused by the design of the vehicle. There is noting you can do about it and that is life.

The only problems I have ever had with my 97 that was not regular wear and tear, was the knock sensor, which has been known to be a troulbe spot on the A32, and my remote control module (controls keyless entry) crapped out on me.

Over all my Nissan has treated me better than any of my other Japanese cars (92 Honda Vigor, and 89 Toyota Cressida). Both developed oil leaks in multiple places before 100k, the Toyota's tranny went out at around 80k, the Vigor's master break cylinder developed a leak at about 100k and a rear main seep at around 80k (bound to happen on a high winding Honda engine). I am the type of guy that takes maintenance of my cars very seriously.

Over all the Honda and Toyota product was far superior than the two American cars I have owned (89 Chevy S10 Blazer and 88 Buick Century), but they cannot compete with Nissans power and bulletproof reliability. Anybody that would take a Honda or Toyota car over a Nissan car of that same class is a fool!

95gxe: Do not waste your money on that warranty. You would have to under go $500 a year in non-maintenance repairs before it paid for itself. If the car was a Chrysler, I would say go for it. But since it is not, the chances of under going that many repairs is remote in the least! Save the money for mods!!

 

Well if I have to replace the O2 sensors, which is likely to happen, that would cost about $90/parts $350/labor x3 = approx. $1,300. Then if I needed struts or shocks it could $300-400. So getting hit with one item could run a thouand or more. It would be better to pay the 2k up front and have the extra coverage in case anything else happened right?

I had the two rear struts and one axle replaced on my 95 Max towards the end of last year. That cost me $500 at a local shop for parts and labor. The dealer would've hit me for much more. And Infiniti parts are even more expensive then Nissan. What do others think?

 

IN MAY 2004 I sold my 1999 i30 LIMITED & got my self a 2000 i30. 2000 is same as 2001 & only major problem upto date i had was my alternator went on fire. =)

 

I stopped by the dealership yesterday. I did not get the car b/c the dealer did not want to lower the price any. He was pretty ademant about sticking with his asking price, only coming down $150. So I'll keep looking. But the info on fixing the wind noise makes me feel a lot better about getting one.

 

How much are you looking to spent ? You know u don't only have to buy from a dealer

 

i just bought mine dec. 28. 02, 36K. i hear a faint noise coming from the heat ducts under the seat whenever i turn the heat on. i do have the rear window wind noise. i just heard the rear brake noise yeastersay, only when i back up when the car's cold. to me these are minor inconveineinces. i enjoy driving the car and totally agree that it feels good not to see your car everytime you look up (Camry, accord). in addition, IMO i think you would be hard pressed to find a similarly sized vehicle with similar options. i initially was looking for a loaded 02 max. cars with the options i wanted (heated leather, roof, performance oriented) costed lots more. think about it heated steering wheel, and rear seats, in dash 6 disc cd player with rds & cd text, 255hp? you get a lot of car for the money

 

oh, also a local nissan dealer told me that i could buy an extended warranty from them that would take the car to 84K for 1400. i figured that it at least as ggod as the infiniti warranty (same parts). any thoughts?

 

Your right, same ****. My car i bought in May, i bought in Mass from a retired State Trooper he only serviced the car at Nissan NOT Infiniti and the car is fine. I even have Nissan signs on my remote controls. I also have all records because he was nice enough to bring them out for me. Besides under the hood i30 = maxima

 

They are not going to charge you $350 per o2 sensor, more like $350 for all 4 or 5 (not sure how many sensors the A33s have, but it is more than 3). Even if they charged rip off list price of $150 per sensor you are looking at $950-$1100 for replacement of all them. This will not be needed as all will not go bad at the same time.

The best option would be to buy all new sensors for about $250 from www.oxygensensors.com, a $10 o2 sensor socket, jack the car up and spend an hour or two replaceing them your self. You save your self some cash and learn about your car in the process.

 

I was looking to spend no more than $13k b/c I would have to put another $2k into the extened warranty. The dealership was asking $17k. That would put me at $19k total.

 

True...the features that you get can't be matched on cars this size. You usually have to jump up to one of the larger luxury cars to get them.

 

Well, i finally ended the search and got a 2002 I35. It's blue on black w/Sport pkg, heated rear seats, and heated steering wheel. It's got 22k miles on it and had one owner. Other than a few scratches on the driver's side of the car and on the inside, it's in good shape. I really like the features and the interior is a huge upgrade from my 95 max with leather. This one feels like a luxury car. I do hear the wind noise in the back. So 'll have to take care of that. But that's it really.

 

Congrads, i here you about a change. I have a 2000 i30 know i got it a year ago. Prior to that i had a 99 i30. When i test drove my current 2000 for the first time i though i was driving a ford prior to that.
CONGRADS & enjoy !!!

 

i only had the oxygen sensor problem and that was all

 

1st & foremost, welcome home! 2nd, did you get it for the price you were looking for? Finally, what did you decide about the warranty? FYI, Nissan directed me to Infiniti, who wanted $2000 for mine. Also, they start your warranty from the in service date, not when you pruchase the policy! Can you say rip off? I'm looking elsewhere. Let me know what you decide. Again, congrats!

 

Hey what dealer did you go to? And welcome to the I30/I35 club. I too have an I35 and if you need some help or questions, pm metaorbit or me anytime. I also live in md so if you need help on shops or mods let me know.

 

Anyone have trouble with the sunroof. My auto open and closed stop working. The roof only moves in 2" increments. And both buttons do the same thing, tilt AND open.

Weird!

 

Yep....I can tell you all about it. You're best off to re-post this though as it is a different topic than the original (to get better assitance).

 

Thanks. I got it for 20k which I thought was not too bad considering the alternative was a 2005 camry for 24k (6 cyl w/o NAV). All in all I think the features on the I35 are much better. I haven't made a decision on the warranty yet. Infiniti dealers here want $2000 like you said. You may want to look at independant warranties. On the carfax site there is a link to one from 1SourceAuto for about $1,200. It covers seven years bumper to bumper from the date that you purchased it. I'll let you know if I see another one. If anyone else has info on one hopefully they'll give some info on it.

 

I got it from a Cadillac Dealer in Westminster, MD. It was a trade-in on a caddy. To be honest the experience there was much better than at larger dealerships. Not a lot of haggling and back and forth. They were ready to get rid of it b/c no one was gonna drive all the way out there for an Infiniti at a Caddy dealer. I looked for an '04 like you had but they are really hard to find. The best that I saw was an '04 w/ 12k miles for $22,000 in NJ. When I called about it it was gone. Black on Black w/cold weather pkg. The one that I got was the second best that I'd seen for the $. Where do you go for service? Mine pulls pretty hard to the right. So I have to get an alignment.

 

I got my 2000 I30 for 9K with 45000 miles on it. I'm in love!!!! I mean I'm kinda pissed at the I35 interior with all the wood grain, and the subwoofer is a little to cute for me, but all in all, just like my 98 I30, it's a great car.