2016 Infiniti QX50 Complaint Log

My qx50 is currently back in the shop. So far I’ve spent about $12,000 on engine and transmission repairs and the NHTSA doesn’t seem to be doing anything about it. Now it needs a new “ignition coil” for another $1,000. I’m just at a loss for words!! I’m attaching the “Review of services” that was conducted earlier this month, when my Infiniti was in the shop and the diagnostic codes that came up when I had to have the vehicle towed there, less than a week later.

On December 24, 2024 I was in a car accident where my car did make impact twice after spinning out of control due to black ice. The first impact occurred hitting a car then the final impact occurred when the car was flung into the metal barricade after spinning. The air bags did NOT deploy during this accident and I was very concerned for my safety and my life.

I was driving and came to a red light behind other cars. I was completely stopped with brakes applied and vehicle suddenly lurched forward, RPM’s reved up over 3,000 without me accelerating. I was about two blocks from home and was able to make it by slowly driving and jerking all the way. Mechanic codes were 720 output speed sensor. Very alarming situation! I could have easily hit the car in front of me if I would have been any closer, or worst yet a pedestrian! Appears to be critical safety issue and something that may need to be recalled.

so after my initial report about my engine catching fire on the highway, I received an invoice for $5,000 for a used engine with 80k miles on it; plus another $2800 for the service fee. I already put down about $3900 for the engine repair. The mechanic sent me pictures of the engine with the holes on it that caused the damage (or the holes might have happened during the fire). I’m attaching photos sent to me, from my mechanic, showing the holes/damage on the engine, for your consideration and a photo of the initial repair bill (including receipt of my deposit) for your review … also, I still need to pay another $4300 to pick it up, but he said my check engine light is still on due to a transmission, that may be related to the valve body failing. What are these qx50s still being sold?? On the car forums and YouTube, there are so many issues with the engines and the transmissions (including the 450k that are currently under investigation). And their consumer affairs dept is extremely hostile about the situation, when you call into the infiniti office/headquarters. These defective engines/ transmissions need to be recalled, as soon as possible. They’re extremely dangerous and Infiniti is not taking responsibility for the problem. Why is the govt not intervening on behalf of the infiniti owners??

The contact owns a 2016 Infiniti QX50. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that following the warning light illumination the vehicle hesitated to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the mechanic and diagnosed as a speed sensor module located inside the transmission. The contact was advised the module being in the transmission caused the transmission to overheat requiring valve body replacement. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

There are 2 check engine codes that came up as an issue for my vehicle, out of the blue: P0720 and P0500. I reached out to my mechanic and he couldn't fix it. So my plan was to take it to the dealership at the end of this month; however, while driving the vehicle back from my sister's house, the bottom of the car caught on fire and I had to pull over to jump out the car with my children. Called 911. The police and fire dept came, but the fire had gone out by that time, so the officer had the vehicle towed off the highway. Looked into the issue online and apparently it's very common. One Infiniti dealership said that he fixes about 30 per month. Why didn't Infiniti issue a recall for this very serious, hazardous situation? Where is their due diligence to fix this problem for their customers? Why are they letting so many vehicles fail? What happened to reasonable due care? Is it not enough that they are aware of this issue and won’t recall it, but what about the physical danger that they are putting us in? And the emotional distress they caused my children, having to jump out of their vehicle on a highway in the middle of the night? Doesn’t Infiniti have a minimum safety requirement of due care to mitigate hazards for its customers?

The engine blew up on the expressway. And this has happened for many other qx50 drivers.

The contact owns a 2016 Infiniti QX50. The contact stated that while driving or parked, the “Air Bags Deactivated” and “Seat Belt Detached” warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and a local dealer. The independent mechanic performed an electronic reset on the vehicle and the lights were off for one day; however, the failure reoccurred. The independent mechanic related the failure with the NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V244000 (Air Bags) however, the vehicle was not included in the recall. The local dealer diagnosed the vehicle and confirmed a failure with the sensor module for the air bags. The contact approved the repair; however, the vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000.

Driver door locked and will not unlock or open, but all other doors open.

Purchased vehicle on 4/23/23 from Carmax. Discovered horn was not working 5/10 when a truck swerved into my lane on the freeway. Carmax refused to refund money under 30 day guarantee stating I drove over 1500 miles. Prior to purchasing I signed documents stating the car was in perfect condition after 3 point inspection , horn included . They scheduled a appointment at the end of the month leaving me with no transportation to get to work . After complaining to the BBB they denied anything was wrong with the car, even after doing a appraisal on 6/10 where I stated the horn was not functioning. I took the car for a third party diagnostic and the mechanic determined a defective horn relay and spiral cable . I have not driven this car at all since 5/13 except 6/10 when I attempted to sell it back to the dealership twice.

The contact owns a 2016 Infiniti QX50. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she attempted to engage the horn to prevent a collision; however, the horn was inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the clockspring had melted onto the horn relay. The vehicle was not repaired. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 118,274.

This is the 3rd instance of my car rolling backwards down the driveway. Both the first and second instances of uncontrolled rolling happened in 2016. Only the second instance was caught on camera. I shared the video with Infiniti and was instructed to bring the car in for an inspection. I went in for the inspection in December 2016 and they reported that there were no issues (despite video evidence). Today, December 2, 2022, the car (while gear shifted into park) again rolled down the driveway, across a street and hit my neighbor's house. This was all caught on video as well. I posted the video on the manufacturers social media site. See below for the email I sent to the dealership after they contacted me. I've also uploaded the videos to YouTube because they're in MP4 format and I'm unaware of how to convert them to the format required for this submission. The titles of the videos are: Infiniti QX50 Rolling Backwards December 2016 and Infiniti QX50 Rolling Backwards December 2022. Both were published today, December 2, 2022.

The Display / Navigation screen does not always light up. Some time it works when you start the car. Other times it tries for a awhile be fore it starts to work. When it lights up everything from what I can tell works normally. When it does not light up. The AC works by its self, but you can not turn it off or adjust it. The warning sensors work, but Camera does not work. Radio does not work. Because we do not live close to an Infiniti dealer. I took it to a North Strand Nissan dealer 2592 Highway 9 Little River, SC 29566 phone 843-390-7777. They performed a diagnosis and found internal failure in the system. They told us they would need to start with replacing radio unit and then check further at a cost of $6,500. Yet when they moved the car outside to park it everything worked for them. And when we picked up the car everything work until we turned it off. We just drove it 10 hours on a trip. Sometimes it worked when starting up the car. Other times it took an hour or so for it to work. The safety problems is when the screen flashes trying to start at night. It is distracting. Also backup camera does not work if the screen does not light up. Car has 39,000 miles on it Thanks

THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH EITHER THE ACCELERATION, ELECTRICAL OR THROTTLE. WHILE PARKING THE VEHICLE AND APPLYING THE BREAKS, THE VEHICLE SPEED FORWARD AT HIGH SPEED AND WOULD NOT STOP EVEN WITH APPLYING THE BREAKS. IT CRASHED ME AND MY DAUGHTER INTO A BRICK BUILDING AT HIGH SPEED. THE WITNESS SAID HE HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT BEFORE AND HE WAS A MECHANIC AND AUTO BODY SPECIALIST. HE SAID WE WENT FROM ALMOST IN THE STOP POSITION TO HIGH SPEED LIKE A CRASH TEST DUMMY VEHICLE. THIS ALL OCCURRED IN A SMALL PARKING LOT IN THE CITY. THE INSURANCE COMPANY DEEMED IT A TOTAL LOSS BECAUSE THE DAMAGES WERE OVER 85% OF THE CARS VALUE. THE WITNESS AND URGENT CARE FACILITY SAID WE ARE LUCKY TO BE ALIVE. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP IN FEBRUARY OR MARCH 2020 REGARDING THE VEHICLES ACCELERATION. THE SERVICE REP I WORKED WITH WAS CONDESCENDING AND TRIED TO MAKE ME THINK IT WAS ALL IN MY HEAD AND TOLD ME THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. HE DROVE IT AROUND A FEW BLOCKS WITH ME IN IT AND SAID THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG. I KEPT TELLING HIM THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG BECAUSE IT WOULD EITHER LOSE POWER OR JERK FORWARD OUT OF NOWHERE. THIS WAS A CPO VEHICLE SO I DID NOT EXPECT TO BE TAKING IT IN FOR SERVICE ONLY A COUPLE OF MONTHS AFTER PURCHASING IT. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 INFINITI QX50. CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE TURNING INTO A PARKING FACILITY THE RPM REVVED UP WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT SHIFTED THE VEHICLE INTO NEUTRAL AND THE VEHICLE RETURNED TO NORMAL OPERATION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO GEORGE HARTE INFINITI LOCATED AT (1076 S. COLONY DRIVE, WALLINGFORD, CT 06492, (203) 495-6700) WHERE THE VEHICLE WAS TEST DRIVEN AND DIAGNOSED HOWEVER, THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE RECEIVED AN UNKNOWN REPAIR HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS SCHEDULED TO BE DIAGNOSED WHICH WAS STILL PENDING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 26,000.

FROM A COLD START,DRIVING VEHICLE A SHORT DISTANCE APPROX.( 1 MILE ) PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE. STEP ON BRAKE PEDAL, ENGINE IDLE INCREASES MAKING YOU PRESS HARDER ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. THIS EXCESSIVE BRAKING TO STOP IS A SAFETY ISSUE. AT FIRST I THOUGHT I WAS STEPPING ON THE BRAKE AND GAS PEDAL AT THE SAME TIME. I FOUND THIS WAS NOT THE CASE. THE VEHICLE WANTS TO LURCH FORWARD . THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES. THIS EXCESSIVE BRAKING HAS ALSO HAPPENED AT A TRAFFIC SIGNAL LIGHT. CONCERN IS ALWAYS TO BE READY WITH A HEAVY FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. SINCE I'M A NEW OWNER OF THIS PREOWNED VEHICLE, I WASN'T SURE IF THIS WAS A MINOR PROBLEM ,THE VEHICLE HAS LESS THAN 26K MILES. I CALLED THE DEALER ,WAS TOLD NO PROBLEMS WERE EVER NOTED FOR THIS EXCESSIVE BRAKING ON THE 2016 INFINITI QX50 MODELS. THEY ARE GOING TO CHECK OUT THE VEHICLE AND SEE IF THE PROBLEM CAN BE DUPLICATED BY THEIR TECH'S. I FOUND PREVIOUS INFINITI VEHICLES BACK AROUND 2008 WERE NOTED IN A SERVICE BULLETIN AS TO EXCESSIVE BRAKING FROM INCREASE RPM PERHAPS FROM ICV CONTROL VALVE OR IAC FOR ERRATIC IDLE. I WILL WAIT ON THE RESULTS FROM THE DEALER ON THEIR FINDINGS.

FUEL GAUGE INACCURATE - WHEN FILLED IT SHOWS ABOUT 306 MILE RANGE, I.E. ABOUT 15.2 MPG FOR THE 20 GAL TANK. AFTER DRIVING FOR 20-30 MILES IT SHOWS 360 MILE RANGE WHICH IS MORE ACCURATE - WHETHER STATIONERY OR MOVING. THE FUEL ECONOMY INDICATOR SHOWS 18.8 MPG IN THIS EXAMPLE. ON THE FREEWAY THE INDICATOR MAY SHOW 21.0 MPG BUT THE SAME PROBLEM IS THERE.

DRIVING BACK ON THE HIGH WAY FROM WORK, AND HEARD LOUD POP SOUNDS. STOPPED TO CHECK AROUND ALL MY WINDOWS AND EVERY SEEM FINE UNTIL I LOOKED ON TOP, AND THE SUN ROOF GLASS WAS SHATTERED. THE GLASS DID NOT FALL INTO THE CAR AND ON ME LUCKILY.

THE CHILD SEAT VEHICLE LATCH ANCHORS ARE PRACTICALLY INACCESSIBLE. THE ANCHORS ARE POSITIONED UNDER THE SEAT CAUSING GREAT DIFFICULTY IN ATTACHING THE CHILD SEAT TO THE BRACKETS. THIS HAS CAUSED INJURY TO THE PERSON ATTEMPTING TO ATTACH THE LATCH TO THE ANCHOR. ALSO IT HAS RESULTED IN IMPROPERLY SECURING THE CHILD SEAT. IT SEEMS TO BE A FACTORY DEFECT, WHEREAS THE ANCHOR WHICH IS SHAPED LIKE AN "L" BRACKET WAS INSTALLED UPSIDE DOWN. THE LOCATION OF THESE ANCHORS ARE UNDER THE SEAT RATHER THAN BETWEEN THE GAP OF THE SEAT CUSHION AND THE BACK CUSHION ARE VERY UNREASONABLE TO USE. ATTEMPTING TO UTILIZE THE ANCHOR HAS CAUSED UNDUE AMOUNT OF TIME, STRESS AND INJURY. I HAVE REPORTED THIS ISSUE TO THE DEALER.