My 2008 FX35 won't start, please help!

S

sunspotzsz

Member
Location
Morrisville NC
Car
2008 FX35 RWD
When I tried to start the car, I can hear rapid click sounds and three lights(battery, brake and safety belt) in the dash board are flickering as well, but the car won't start. The headlight can turn on but it turns off when I turn the key to start. The radio is working.

I first thought it is probably the battery, so I tried the jump start with my wife’s car and it didn’t work.

I am not knowledgeable about cars at all, so please help. Right now, I am thinking that I should probably replace the battery first. If it doesn't work, I will probably have to tow the car to the dealer, which is 25 miles away.

Are there things I should try to do?

Thanks a lot.
 
Last edited:
agreed there is enough juice for the lights and accessories but not enough to engage the starter to turn over!!! did you have signs of a failling battery prior, you know these cold nights and morning brings out a true batteries strength
 
I did notice slight difference when starting since last week. Yeah, it is getting cold here now and that might be the reason.

I will replace the battery tomorrow and report back.

I do have a feeling that it might be the starter since the jump start didn't help.

---------- Post Merged at 10:56 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 10:27 PM ----------

I am wondering when infiniti designs cars. Do they intentionally make replacing parts like battery, spark plugs very difficult to increase their service revenue?

Last car I owned was a Mecury sable and I remember replacing the battery was very easy.
 
sunspotzsz said:
I am wondering when infiniti designs cars. Do they intentionally make replacing parts like battery, spark plugs very difficult to increase their service revenue?

Last car I owned was a Mecury sable and I remember replacing the battery was very easy.
Click to expand...

How often do you need to change spark plugs, every 100k miles, so basically you need to change them 2-3 times max . Battery every 4-5 years(3-4 times max), so I doubt there are any design flaws.

It takes 10min to replace the battery from my experience.



• •
 
sunspotzsz said:
I did notice slight difference when starting since last week. Yeah, it is getting cold here now and that might be the reason.

I will replace the battery tomorrow and report back.

I do have a feeling that it might be the starter since the jump start didn't help.

---------- Post Merged at 10:56 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 10:27 PM ----------

I am wondering when infiniti designs cars. Do they intentionally make replacing parts like battery, spark plugs very difficult to increase their service revenue?

Last car I owned was a Mecury sable and I remember replacing the battery was very easy.
Click to expand...

Jumper cables will not always work with my car, I had a dead batter once, I had to use two sets of cables from my wife's Camry, the cables were getting very warm and I keep hearing the clicking sound and occasionally very slow engine turn over, I had to actually replace my battery with my wife's and hook it directly, only then the engine would start. The beast would instantly suck a lot of current more the cables or the contact areas can handle. I am pretty sure it is your battery.

I guess master car designers delegate small tasks to their trainees, I do not see any sense in the battery set up, not only it is hard to remove and put back on, but actually it is in the way. Every time you need to check on the IPDM you need to take it out.


Sent from my iPad
 
If your wife's car is smaller, like a 4 cylinder, it will take forever to jump the car if the battery is really bad. When the battery in my '07 went, we tried jumping it with a Chrysler and it wouldn't work, it acted more like a trickle charger. Hooked up a v8 titan and it started first try. Same experience on an older car, we tried to jump my maxima with a civic and nothing. Hooked up another maxima and started first try. Small cars have small alternators...btw, almost definitely the battery, exact same thing happened to my 07 earlier this year.
 
you guys were right!!!

It was the battery. I changed it today and it is working now.

it was very difficult to get the battery out and it took me a hour to have it replaced. but, in the end ,it works.

thanks a lot!
 
I had a couple of battery issues in the past during a very bad NY winter. I picked a B&D 350amp portable jump starter from Home Depot and had it in my car since then. It is powerful enough to do the job and compact enough to sit unobstrusively in a corner in my trunk.

http://compare.ebay.com/like/350607625016?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar

This is just for back up contingency. Nothing beats having a good quality battery and keeping your regular maintenance checks.
 
Glad you got the problem fixed. I once was trying to help a friend jump start his 05 FX35 with my 99 Honda Accord. I had to start my accord first while jump starting his car, and even with that, it still didn't work for the first few tries. I had to let my accord running while stepping on the throttle for about 10 to 15 min to get the FX started. The battery was fine at the end, it just somehow needed a lot of time to get it charged with enough juice to start the car.
 
Because I wasn't sure if it was the battery or not, I didn't get the best battery.

The one I got was AutoCraft Gold Battery, Group Size 35, 640 CCA from advance auto parts.

I now wish I had got a better one like Optima Batteries BlueTop; Deep Cycle Battery, Group Size 31, 900 CCA
 
sunspotzsz said:
Because I wasn't sure if it was the battery or not, I didn't get the best battery.

The one I got was AutoCraft Gold Battery, Group Size 35, 640 CCA from advance auto parts.

I now wish I had got a better one like Optima Batteries BlueTop; Deep Cycle Battery, Group Size 31, 900 CCA
Click to expand...

I would suggest to keep this as a back up it will come handy one day, and get yourself the proper battery you want. I have a back up battery somewhere around the house just for that.


Sent from my iPad
 
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