Faults:

Audio does not function properly, skips from iPod to radio to iPod randomly.

General Comments:

Drivers seat is most uncomfortable I have ever experienced.

Audio controls are very inconveniently placed.

Bluetooth phone interface takes way too long to initiate a call.

Actual gas mileage is below claims.

Faults:

I am very disappointed with my new 2008 Infiniti G35x, purchased on November 1, 2008. To begin with, I was sold a DAMAGED vehicle, with long, concentric arced scratches (as though engraved by a pantograph with a double stylus) on the windshield. The scratches were evidently caused by someone -- between the manufacturer and delivery to me -- turning on the windshield wipers without a blade having been installed on the driver's side. Because the scratches were not apparent in all lighting conditions, I did not notice them until after I took delivery of the vehicle. After looking at the windshield in fluorescent lighting inside the dealer's service area, the dealer's service manager told me that the scratches could likely be buffed out such that I would never know they had ever been there.

Just days later, before I scheduled work on the windshield, the vehicle's tire pressure warning light ("idiot" light) went on. After raising the possibility that I might have a nail in a tire, the service manager told me that I would have to bring the car back again to determine the cause for the tire pressure warning signal. At considerable inconvenience to me, I again brought the car to the dealer. The car was put on a lift, and the tires were examined. A computer analysis was performed, and the right front tire was declared "flat." The tire was removed and placed in a tub of water for further testing. That testing revealed that although I didn't have the bad luck of picking up a nail in the first 300 miles of driving my new car, I did have the bad luck of having a brand new DEFECTIVE VALVE in the tire's valve stem.

I later brought the car back to the dealer to remove the scratches on the windshield. Needless to say, the dealer was unable to buff out the scratches, and the windshield had to be replaced.

I wish that were it. Unfortunately, I don't like "road feel" through vibrating/scraping brakes. So, before I drove the car 600 miles, the brakes were also repaired: the WARPED FRONT ROTORS were resurfaced. Yet, I still feel annoying vibration/scraping in applying the brakes on the G -- quite unlike my wife's smooth-stopping Toyota SUV. Also, after asking why the compass on the car's $2,000 plus navigation system showed that I was traveling northeast on a westbound road, I was told by the Infiniti dealer that the compass does not indicate the car's direction of travel. (I suppose I could do better with a compass from a box of Crackerjacks.)

I have utterly no confidence in this car -- now with approximately 760 miles on the odometer --and, based on my experience with it thus far, believe that the quality of the Infiniti G has declined markedly. (In purchasing the 2008 G35x, I traded in a 2004 G35x. In my judgment the 2004 G was built better and was much more fun to drive.)

My disappointment with the "new" vehicle has been matched by my disappointment with Infiniti's "customer service" response. The "customer service" representatives I have dealt with seem to lack any genuine concern for the customer's inconvenience, aggravation and disappointment caused by Infiniti's incompetence, negligence or worse. My complaint (assigned reference number 6349527) to Infiniti of North America resulted in what was referred to as an "offer," arrogantly presented like an ultimatum. Astonishingly, the "offer" made by Infiniti sought my authorization for putting the car on a flatbed and having it hauled off to an out-of-state dealer for "a second opinion." Although I requested the reasons for that "offer," the explanation given was confusing and contradictory, if not entirely inscrutable.

When I asked Infiniti of North America to clarify and put in writing its "offer" and the reasons for it, the regional customer service representative, after first agreeing, later said she was unable to furnish a written response for want of a "form" for such a response. When I asked for an e-mail address to communicate with her, she furnished me, instead, with an e-mail address for Nissan North America (which I presume is the parent company). I then sent an e-mail to Nissan North America, clearly repeating my request that Infiniti's "offer" be reduced to writing and supported by an explanation of the reasons underlying it. Nissan sent the following, totally nonsensical reply: "We are not clear from your communication exactly how we can address your concern and hope that you will take the additional time to give us more details either in writing by return e-mail or by calling us at 1-800-647-7263 and pressing "0" for a live operator. We are unable to view your email, please reply back with your original question. At Nissan, we are committed to a high level of customer service."

Of course, the telephone number was useless for my Infiniti-related complaint, and I was redirected back (with a phone number) to the same "customer service" of Infiniti of North America that had given me the worthless Nissan contact information. (Interestingly, however, when I spoke to the people at Nissan and asked why their reply e-mail said that they "were unable to view" my e-mail, the response was that their computer system had virus problems.) Evidently, Infiniti of North America's "customer service" people will do just about anything to avoid putting their oral representations in writing. They have taken bureaucratic stonewalling to a new low (at least from this consumer's perspective).

In sum, I am very disappointed with my "new" 2008 Infiniti G35x and wish I had never purchased it. Walking on hot coals might have been a better experience... I should have waited for the new Acura TL.

General Comments:

In my opinion, Infiniti should go back to the 2004 G and start over.

The cabin of the 2008 G is very tight and unless the driver is very small, the driver will likely have his/her left leg pressing uncomfortably against the driver's door and his/her right leg occasionally contacting under the dash.

The braking is not nearly as smooth as I am accustomed to, or as the braking on my wife's Toyota SUV. The 2008 G's warped brake rotors were resurfaced (at less than 600 miles).

The (thin) carpeting in the front near the seats and console seems to be adhered to cardboard. (The surface pushes in and out with only slight pressure.)

The seat belt retracts, but because of the tight space between the seat and door, most of the time it has to be manually assisted to fully retract.

Although the car's quick reference guide indicates otherwise, I have been unable to return to the last climate control settings. Rather, the settings default to an automatic setting with air conditioning and floor heat.

The compass on the $2,000 plus navigation system does not indicate the direction in which the vehicle is traveling.

I find the 2008 G less maneuverable/less agile and less fun to drive than the 2004 G.