03 FX35 reliability vs. FX50 reliability....considering an upgrade

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etl330

Member
hey guys. I've had an '03 FX35 for a number of years. I was fortunate enough to receive it as my first car with about 26xxx miles on it and over the past few years i've gotten it up to around 195,000 miles with very few problems. The head gaskets were done on the vehicle, but that seems common on the 03s. Besides this the car has been absolutely bulletproof and i love it. I'm thinking of getting into a current gen FX50, but with change comes reservations. My biggest fear is that i'll have issues that i never had before and i just don't want to deal with it. I've had bad experiences with Infiniti dealers both by my home and by my college and i'd prefer to spend as little time at the dealer as possible. If anyone has any insight to provide, i'd appreciate it. Also, just in case you want to provide any other feed back other cars i'm considering are: current gen Grand Cherokee Overland Summit w/ hemi, BMW X5 4.8/5.0, and the Yukon Denali. Thanks for your imput.
 
Welcome to IS. If you had an FX for this long and so many miles, then brand loyalty and ownership experience (less dealer experience) should get you into the FX50. I don't think many owners here had any issues with their 50s or even 35s.. If your biggest fears are the potential issues keeping a car long term, then maybe stay away from BMW? I think the new GCs are nice looking SUVs. The quality and design are top notch, but they are so common and I see the design as short term. It will show its age in a few years. The Yukons are nice too, but they are boring to look at, drive and so common.
 
Welcome to the Scene. You mentioned that you had the head gasket done on your 03 and that it seems common? Honestly, your is the first with a head gasket job. Possibly you mean the valve gasket where engine oil leak into the spark well?
 
AeroBFA said:
Welcome to IS. If you had an FX for this long and so many miles, then brand loyalty and ownership experience (less dealer experience) should get you into the FX50. I don't think many owners here had any issues with their 50s or even 35s.. If your biggest fears are the potential issues keeping a car long term, then maybe stay away from BMW? I think the new GCs are nice looking SUVs. The quality and design are top notch, but they are so common and I see the design as short term. It will show its age in a few years. The Yukons are nice too, but they are boring to look at, drive and so common.
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Thanks for the welcome. I've been lurking on here for years, but never really had much to contribute. The FX50 is kind of the decision i'm leaning towards but there have been many times i wished i had more room in the FX and i'm just doing my research. The only reason i'm even considering BMW is because my family has always had good experiences with them and we have a good relationship with the dealer. Overall and especially for the money i think the FX is a no brainer, i'm not sure why i second guessed it.

---------- Post added at 08:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:12 AM ----------
la_fx35 said:
Welcome to the Scene. You mentioned that you had the head gasket done on your 03 and that it seems common? Honestly, your is the first with a head gasket job. Possibly you mean the valve gasket where engine oil leak into the spark well?
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Thanks for the welcome. it was the head gasket on the right side i believe. From what i've read many people have had the problem, but not many have actually had the heads done for one reason or another. I remember reading about it on the other FX forum and i thought on here as well, but maybe i'm mistaken. It was a pricey repair, but it was only about 1/3 of the car's KBB value at the time and i love my FX so it was money well spent.
 
I don't think anyone can tell you definitively if the V8 is worse than the six. Both seem very reliable. However, compared to the BMW, Jeep, and GMC for reliability and resale value, this is a no brainer.
 
This to me is easy to answer given your question.

The FX50 is a VK50VE engine -- what does that mean? Newer engine, less R&D than VQ35 -- that goes for both VQ35DE and VQ35HR for the newer FX35's. The VQ35DE alone is in around 20 different cars around the world. The VK50VE is only in the FX50/FX50S.

I had a first year build FX45 with VK45DE engine, the only earlier car it was in is the 2002 M45. I don't think you'll have any issues with the VK50VE, just as long as you take care of it.

Stay Infiniti -- you're used to reliability.

etl330 said:
hey guys. I've had an '03 FX35 for a number of years. I was fortunate enough to receive it as my first car with about 26xxx miles on it and over the past few years i've gotten it up to around 195,000 miles with very few problems. The head gaskets were done on the vehicle, but that seems common on the 03s. Besides this the car has been absolutely bulletproof and i love it. I'm thinking of getting into a current gen FX50, but with change comes reservations. My biggest fear is that i'll have issues that i never had before and i just don't want to deal with it. I've had bad experiences with Infiniti dealers both by my home and by my college and i'd prefer to spend as little time at the dealer as possible. If anyone has any insight to provide, i'd appreciate it. Also, just in case you want to provide any other feed back other cars i'm considering are: current gen Grand Cherokee Overland Summit w/ hemi, BMW X5 4.8/5.0, and the Yukon Denali. Thanks for your imput.
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sounds good to me guys. thanks for all the advice. now begins the daunting task of finding a 50S in midnight mocha with java interior!
 
Funny, I test drove a 09 50S back in December with that combo before buying my 45. It was only $33K but had 69K miles. The interior was a great setup, but that FX was sold shortly after I drove it. Glad you are staying with the FX and good luck on the search! :top:

etl330 said:
sounds good to me guys. thanks for all the advice. now begins the daunting task of finding a 50S in midnight mocha with java interior!
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haha it'll be a tough search, but hopefully i'll find one. after my orange 35(can't recall the factor color name) i need to another unique color. thanks again for all your input
 
You had Liquid Copper for your '03 and I understand the need for a unique color combination. That's why I'm thrilled to have what I have now. So the search and wait it worth it! :wink (2):
 
AeroBFA said:
Funny, I test drove a 09 50S back in December with that combo before buying my 45. It was only $33K but had 69K miles. The interior was a great setup, but that FX was sold shortly after I drove it. Glad you are staying with the FX and good luck on the search! :top:
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I would never buy a car out of warranty for that coin. My philosophy has always been if you buy used, they you buy USED, or buy before the warranty expires so you have a least a few months or 1,000 miles or more to drive around it and then go to the dealer with your list of issues that you are nit picking at to resolve for free. Out of warranty for that kind of $$ is actually sort of expensive I think, not a purchase I would be comfortable with, but that's just me. But then again my FX has had no issues...I've had to do that to my previous Ford cars and I had a huge list right before expired warranties and got them fixed free.
 
Jonas, I used to be this cautious in the past with used cars I purchased. I either bought them certified or with extended warranties, my last one being the 35. But after having the 35 for two and a half years and only using it mainly for the seat creaking and hatch struts, I bought the 45 with absolutely no qualms about reliability the second time around. I still may consider getting an extended warranty, but I figure its cheaper to pay out of pocket for anything moving forward. Either way, its a total win with Infiniti. :top:

jdTrader said:
I would never buy a car out of warranty for that coin. My philosophy has always been if you buy used, they you buy USED, or buy before the warranty expires so you have a least a few months or 1,000 miles or more to drive around it and then go to the dealer with your list of issues that you are nit picking at to resolve for free. Out of warranty for that kind of $$ is actually sort of expensive I think, not a purchase I would be comfortable with, but that's just me. But then again my FX has had no issues...I've had to do that to my previous Ford cars and I had a huge list right before expired warranties and got them fixed free.
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AeroBFA said:
Jonas, I used to be this cautious in the past with used cars I purchased. I either bought them certified or with extended warranties, my last one being the 35. But after having the 35 for two and a half years and only using it mainly for the seat creaking and hatch struts, I bought the 45 with absolutely no qualms about reliability the second time around. I still may consider getting an extended warranty, but I figure its cheaper to pay out of pocket for anything moving forward. Either way, its a total win with Infiniti. :top:
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I would have no problem buying a high mileage 35 but a 45 were the engines are a little harder to come by, i would demand warranty. Thats just me. I have never bought warranty on my cars. I have picked cars that i can work on and researched possible parts cost or work arounds. My navi is the only system that i worry about but if that goes out i'm pulling the whole unit out and getting a double din.

That being said, if you owned a fx35 why not look for the newer fx37. If your after power then the FX50 is last on my list, SRT8 Grand Cherokee, trailblazer SS. Those would be SUVs that i want with power. They will blow the doors off a FX50 hands down. They will faster and cheaper to repair and mod. They have stronger aftermarket support. Yea they aren't as baller as a FX but for me its a simple move.

Nissan's aren't known for making a great 8 cylinder. The original 1990 Q45 had bad timing guides that just blown up. The 03+ M45/q45 had oil consumptions. From what i've heard of the Fx45 isn't a little oil burner as well. But in most cases they aren't serious.
 
TurTLeG said:
I would have no problem buying a high mileage 35 but a 45 were the engines are a little harder to come by, i would demand warranty. Thats just me. I have never bought warranty on my cars. I have picked cars that i can work on and researched possible parts cost or work arounds. My navi is the only system that i worry about but if that goes out i'm pulling the whole unit out and getting a double din.

That being said, if you owned a fx35 why not look for the newer fx37. If your after power then the FX50 is last on my list, SRT8 Grand Cherokee, trailblazer SS. Those would be SUVs that i want with power. They will blow the doors off a FX50 hands down. They will faster and cheaper to repair and mod. They have stronger aftermarket support. Yea they aren't as baller as a FX but for me its a simple move.

Nissan's aren't known for making a great 8 cylinder. The original 1990 Q45 had bad timing guides that just blown up. The 03+ M45/q45 had oil consumptions. From what i've heard of the Fx45 isn't a little oil burner as well. But in most cases they aren't serious.
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The trailblazer and grand cherokee are completely different animals than the FX in my opinion. it's kind of similar to the corvette vs. exotic debate. The FX may not be as fast in a straight line, but it will handle a lot better. I haven't driven the SS but i'm told it handles worse than the previous SRT8(i can't speak for the new one), which i have driven. They're fun to hammer the gas, but i think the FX50 would probably be a more enjoybal drivers suv. My sister has an RT Daytona Charger and while not an SRT-8, the FX feels more stable than it at speed and i think that speaks volumes about the FX....BUT if you throw the cayenne turbo or one of the bmw M suvs out there, then yeah sure they'll be faster and outhandle the 50 but they're also 100k give or take.
 
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TurTLeG said:
I would have no problem buying a high mileage 35 but a 45 were the engines are a little harder to come by, i would demand warranty. Thats just me. I have never bought warranty on my cars. I have picked cars that i can work on and researched possible parts cost or work arounds. My navi is the only system that i worry about but if that goes out i'm pulling the whole unit out and getting a double din.

That being said, if you owned a fx35 why not look for the newer fx37. If your after power then the FX50 is last on my list, SRT8 Grand Cherokee, trailblazer SS. Those would be SUVs that i want with power. They will blow the doors off a FX50 hands down. They will faster and cheaper to repair and mod. They have stronger aftermarket support. Yea they aren't as baller as a FX but for me its a simple move.

Nissan's aren't known for making a great 8 cylinder. The original 1990 Q45 had bad timing guides that just blown up. The 03+ M45/q45 had oil consumptions. From what i've heard of the Fx45 isn't a little oil burner as well. But in most cases they aren't serious.
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I was actually first in the market for a SRT8 waiting for the 2012 since it runs under 5 seconds. FX50 runs at 5.1. That made it a no brainer. I got a few friends with SRT8s and they already got lots of issues and I basically keep up the whole time no issues. Then the interior...well that's a different story! Handling/cornering is for sure better on FX50S with the rear wheels that turn on the FX50, the adaptive suspension, etc, I can take a ramp going very very fast with no effort on the steering wheel....completely opposite of the SRT8. SRT8 will only be better just slightly off the line and that is basically it. I'll be very close to it and burned off a 1/3 of the gas in the process too. I would no longer ever recommend SRT8. Trailblaizer SS that is a joke...it's so plastic inside with so many issues I'd do anything before recommending that thing to any family or friend member. Those things are slow as hell too. Worthless. Better off X5, Porche Cayenne turbo, etc.

---------- Post added at 10:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:25 AM ----------
AeroBFA said:
Jonas, I used to be this cautious in the past with used cars I purchased. I either bought them certified or with extended warranties, my last one being the 35. But after having the 35 for two and a half years and only using it mainly for the seat creaking and hatch struts, I bought the 45 with absolutely no qualms about reliability the second time around. I still may consider getting an extended warranty, but I figure its cheaper to pay out of pocket for anything moving forward. Either way, its a total win with Infiniti. :top:
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Yeah I totally agree....now that I've been an Infiniti FX owner, my perception of having to buy warranties needs to be severely reevaluated! lol

---------- Post added at 10:28 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:27 AM ----------
etl330 said:
The trailblazer and grand cherokee are completely different animals than the FX in my opinion. it's kind of similar to the corvette vs. exotic debate. The FX may not be as fast in a straight line, but it will handle a lot better. I haven't driven the SS but i'm told it handles worse than the previous SRT8(i can't speak for the new one), which i have driven. They're fun to hammer the gas, but i think the FX50 would probably be a more enjoybal drivers suv. My sister has an RT Daytona Charger and while not an SRT-8, the FX feels more stable than it at speed and i think that speaks volumes about the FX....BUT if you throw the cayenne turbo or one of the bmw M suvs out there, then yeah sure they'll be faster and outhandle the 50 but they're also 100k give or take.
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How funny, I didn't read your comment before I wrote mine and seems like we are on the same page lol :top:
 
I read recently that Jeep currently holds two distinctions among domestics; 1) Lowest initial quality, and 2) Least reliable brand.
 
you can buy my FX50 if you want. I've seen another one that came for service at the dealership 2009 FX50 w/ 70k miles and it runs like a champ -technician was suprised how smooth the motor still is.
 
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