Turns out there is no maintenance or lubrication of the bushing. The dealer tells me the material the bushing is made of lasts 5 to 7 years. I called Infiniti consumer affairs and explained the situation. I relayed to the agent that I also purchased a $2200 extended warranty at the dealer when I purchased the car (used with 10,000 miles) at an Infiniti dealer. She listened, put me on hold for 15 minutes, then came back and told me that there was nothing she could do for me. She implied that part of the problem was that I didn't have a "sufficient relationship" with the dealer. When I told her that I have all my service done there she was unmoved. I guess the car has been reliable so far and I haven't spent as much money there as they would like. So I'm now facing a bill of $3414.17 to replace a bushing and I've spent $2200 for an extended warranty purchased from an Infiniti dealer that doesn't cover a known issue. I wasn't expecting the repair to be free but I did expect some support from Infiniti. I will stick to Lexus from now on. I put significantly more mileage than 83000 on my Lexus ES330 and never needed a bushing or anything else for that matter. I still own the Lexus and it's my daily driver. If anyone outr there has a relationship with Infiniti, let them know that their engineering is poor ($3400 for a $20 bushing) and their customer service leaves a lot to be desired.
