I recently rolled over 100k on my '03 (ya, I drive a lot, now shut it about that!) and thought I'd run down a few things that some of you can expect and how to fix them:

First problem I had was the rattle from the interior fan. Bearings died in it. There is no fix and it'll only keep getting worse till it fries itself. I bought a used one at a junkyard for 60 bucks and installed it in fifteen minutes. Fixed.

Secondly: Valve rattle. At 2,500 to 3k rpms and no load, the 3.5 liters can get a rattle. I tried seafoam just because it was cheap and I thought that maybe by cleaning the fuel / air system it would go away. Well, it helped, but didn't stop it. I dealt with it for 30k miles and then changed the plugs. I think that the increased gap in the sparkplugs due to wear caused for a slightly retarded timing by not making the fuel ignite quite as soon as it should have. Since I changed the plugs, the engine is smooth again.

Third: my transmission had started slipping at 40k. At 103k I had to buy a new one. I think it was kind of a freakish accident, but it died. Make sure to follow the intervals in the manual for transmission service. I let mine go for 50k on my second interval and vola! No tranny at 103k.

Fourth: my climate control system seems a little fcuked up now. The fan now has three speeds: off, low and a little faster. The switch also seems to act funny for the fan. Also, my A/C switch works when it wants to now. I haven't had a chance to work on it, but sometime soon I'll be tearing it open and seeing if I can find the problem. I'll get back to you on that.

I'll try to keep this thread updated as I rack up the milage. My job requires that I drive 50k a year, so if anyone is prone to mishaps, it's me.

 

Good post. And the bearings on the blower motor can go a lot sooner than 100k I may have to change mine soon and I'm at 47k.

 

No coil problems? Brake judder/warp? Wheel bearing issues? MAF issues?

 

I will second interior fan noise. I had to replace mine at 78k on a 2002.

 

my blowe motor is gone also 46k miles. my worry is about the tranny and the valve rattle.

did you get any work done at the dealer such as ECU reprograming etc ?

 

87K on my 2002 no problems as of yet, but after 40 mph i got a power loss i hope it not the tranny slipping.

 

Wow that's a lot of miles, i bet you drive cross country a lot. Not too bad with some failures with that kind of mileage. Sound very solid car though.

 

Hmm

I'm only at 27k miles. I know at 30k there is a big service to be done, anyone want to explain to me exactly what that is?

 

Oil change
Tranny oil change
Tire rotation
Air filter
In cabin filter
Check all kinds of crap
Lube doors, sunroof, etc.
Coolant flush

My dealer did for $149

 

I also had 2 O2s replaced plus ECU reprogrammed and a Right rear ABS sensor (goodwilled)

 

did you notice any difference in the car after o2 sensor was replace and the ECU reprogrammed, ? dealer quoted me $330 for one 02 sensor and ECU repgromming. I was told that hte new ECU program helps with other thinks like hard shifts etc.

 

I have a manual tranny, so I did not really notice anything. Only one o2 was bad, but according to TSB they had to replace 2. They were $115 a piece plu labor was like $400. I could not take it to my mechanic cuz of the stupid ECU reprogram (he does not have consult)

 

i wanna go to your dealer. you must have not gotten the full "30k mile" bullsh!t package that goes for 290. You listed the important stuff but they dont do the in cabin filter (that's all you). and they reset the idle, however much that costs to do separately. if you have floor jack and stands, dont even let them rotate your tires.

 

No MAF, coil or wheel bearing issues. Of course, I had the brakes warp, but to be honest, I didn't type about it because it has happened on every single car I've ever owned. Because of that, I throw it in the Routine Maintenance column.

 

Could you really only hear the interior fan rattle when it was on the lowest two fan speeds? I hear it from time to time, but only on those two settings.
Thanks.

 

Actually, it started off making noise only when it was cold and on high. Over time, it started to make noise at all speeds when it was cold, then it really began to crap out and just made noise all the time at all speeds.

 

You mention there is not a fix for that issue. Is it that it is not warrantied or is there another reason?

 

I'm sure it would be covered under the warranty, however, when it died, I was way out of my warranty. The reason for no fix is because the bearings are sleeve bearings, no ball bearings, so when it died, the cash you would spend to fix it would be better spent on going to a junkyard and buying a used one.

 

Exactly what mine was doing! Gone at 32K. How cheap are these parts that we can't even get a couple of years outta them??!! Wonder if the Infiniti guys have these same type of irritating issues?

 

You should still be under the warranty. Take it in.

 

Cool - thanks for the info. I have a 7yr/100k, so I may look into having this replaced next time in.

 

I did...no questions asked. The MAF for the hesitation TSB however, was another issue.

 

Try resetting the throttle position sensor. There was a thread about it last week. I haven't done it yet, but sounded like it might work.

 

Thanks for the update Gbauer. Luckily, my car wont approach 100k for at least another 6 years, given how infrequently I drive it.

But outside of blown MAF sensor @ 8k, my 02 has been trouble free (35k now).

 

Ya I read that thread too...just haven't had time to play with it. Will prob have time this week.