3rd Sep 2009, 22:08

I have a 2001 Infiniti I30. I bought it 5 months back. I've driven over 2k miles and I've already visited the dealer 3 times; every time I see a new problem. Now the service engine soon light came back, I hate myself for being the owner of an Infiniti. I advise all of you to take any other car, not an Infiniti.

21st Sep 2009, 23:06

I have a 2000 Infiniti I30. This car gave me nothing but trouble: Radiator leaks, air conditioner pipe leaks, and now struggling with the Service Engine Soon light (SES). The dealer said to fix the SES, I have to replace 6 coils, 4 O2 sensors and the catalytic converter and wanted over 2500 dollars for the repair.

Recently I replaced my second car and one manufacturer I avoided looking at was Nissan.

29th Sep 2009, 21:38

I had a 2001 Infiniti I30 for 5 years, it was bought pre-owned.

Service Engine light went on and off for one month already, until my mechanic buddy told me to check with dealer, since his OBD won't read the code out of it any more. It was showing P0420 code for the first time, which is the catalytic converter. Today I get the dealer to check it, it was the catalytic converter again and confirmed. In the report it says bank 1 catalytic converter needs to be replaced. This will cost more $1000+, I decide to have it replaced by a 3rd party one, which is about $300 or less, instead of dealer's "Gold-coated" one.

Then I check the Internet, there actually has 3 unit for converter: front, center, rear. Luckily I found a maintenance book in PDF for my car. And it looks to me, it is the center unit needs to be replaced, I will have my buddy check it again tomorrow, before I place an order online. Has anybody here had the same experience? Any comments on which part I should buy will be appreciated.

2nd Dec 2009, 16:56

I own a 2000 I30, which I bought new. The car has only 60,000 miles on the clock. Recently many things started going wrong. For example: the service engine light kept coming on, coolant began leaking, starter motor had to be replaced and the O2 sensor had to be replaced. I like the car, but I'm disappointed that so many mechanical items showed up on such a low mileage car.

13th Dec 2009, 02:26

I just purchased a 2001 Infiniti I30t with a blown motor... I got a motor with 70,000 miles for $500. Got it installed for $800... needed an O2 sensor ($75), coils went bad ($68 per coil), had to replace all 6, a new cat ($300), ECM got fried ($70) for repair, needed new IAC valve ($230) and may need sway bar links and bushings... The car is in really good, physical condition but... I should have bought a 1999 Lexus GS300... no more Infiniti for me... that's it!

30th Dec 2009, 17:15

I bought my wife an 2000 Infiniti I30t many years ago and she's put about 50K miles on it. I just change the oil and replaced the tires recently. The Service Engine Soon light has been on for two years now, and it was due for a smog so had to bite the bullet and get it fixed as it will not pass smog here in CA.

I took it to several mechanics I know, and here were their comments:

1) 1st said it was the left bank and thought it could be the catalytic converter, but didn't diagnose any further.

2) 2nd read the code and said it was the left bank, and also thought it was the catalytic converter, but suggested I take it to Infiniti. Unfortunately, I hate the dealer as every time I visit them, I wait at least 15 minutes just to speak to someone.

3) 3rd confirmed that it was the left bank and replaced the catalytic converter with labor which came out to $1100+. A week later, the SES light is on again and I am angry. I bring it back and he checks again, and he actually changed the wrong catalytic converter (there are three: left, right bank both near the exhaust manifold and a rear further down the exhaust pipe underneath). So I will bring the car in next week so he will reinstall my old cat and replace the bad one. This mechanic did diagnose the cat using a scope, and said he sees the waveforms pulsating, which shows that it's bad.

Will see if this solves the SES light. NO MORE INFINITI or NISSAN cars for me. It's back to Honda/Acura and Toyota/Lexus.

9th Jan 2010, 15:54

HELP!!! 2001 I30~ I was tired of waiting on my husband, and took my car to the local parts store to have a free diagnostic performed. Turned out they said I needed a Bank 2 "If I remember right".

So once again, tired of waiting on my husband, I took it to the local auto craft shop and replaced it on my own. Thinking I am amazing, only to find out that didn't solve the issue of the car running terribly and the SES light coming on. So I take it to a shop "while in a panic, did I mess something up while repairing it?". They said I needed a new transmission. WHAT? OK, so second opinion. Took it to the dealer and $90 later I find that I need a mass air sensor. This lovely little item cost a whopping $350.

Then my head, dash, signal lights are flashing, ah ha! I need a battery. Once again, I am not waiting for hubby. I run to the parts store, buy a new battery and now car runs great "I am a woman, hear me roar".

OK, I roared for one day, then my roar turned into a growl, my head, dash, and signal lights are all flashing. I go to the local auto shop and my battery is great! OF COURSE IT IS, I JUST BOUGHT IT!!! The alternator is bad. OK, I can deal with that. I'll go buy the part and you guy's will put it in. Great, Hubby will be so proud of me. Once again I am a woman, hear me roar.

Alternator replaced, car runs great, yahoo, I am awesome. OK, wait, why in the hell is my dash light coming on and showing my little battery signal? WHY are my lights flashing? Why won't my car start? I hate this car... I am a woman, hear me pout... Any ideas?

26th Jan 2010, 14:42

OK, thought I'd throw my $.02 in. First off, I have a 2000 I30t, 154k miles. I love the way the car looks, even ten years after it came out.

Here is what I know: The MAF will go bad. It causes all sorts of strange problems; loss of power when accelerating, excessive pinging and even shifting problems. In addition, you will get an SES light indication. The codes generated are not the cause, but rather the effect. The MAF sends a bad signal to the computer, which tries to compensate by updating the engine parameters in turn changing the fuel/air mixture. This then messes primarily with the O2 sensors and catalytic converters. Changing these items will not fix this problem. The factory MAF can be found for around $100 (4+ years ago, they were selling for $400) and is almost as easy to change as the air filter. The factory replacement MAF should have a small green sticker on it signifying it is the latest standard. Once changed, it should be "flashed" by the dealer, about $100. After replacing the MAF, if the SES light comes on, the codes should actually be identifying the correct issue. Take the car to Autozone or the like. Ask them to pull the codes. They can tell you what the code is indicating.

If you have a bad coil, the engine will run very rough. The code should tell you which coil is failing. To confirm, swap it with one of the other like coils (the three in the front are different from the three in the back). If the SES light illuminates, the code should now indicate the changed location. Save yourself some money and only replace the one that is bad. Another may go bad, but it may not as well. Don't pay more than $80 for a factory part. If you can use a screw driver, you can change these.

Before I spent any money on a Cat converter, I'd replace each O2 sensor.

One last thing about the SES light. It comes on when part of the emissions system is not functioning properly, but stays on for something like 50 starts, even if the problem went away.

I have no association with this place, but have found that Pinnacle Infinity in Scottsdale AZ is about the cheapest place for factory parts. They will mail order (I live in GA).