Apparently, Infiniti has had enough of the fact that other brands such as Acura and Buick are luring in more buyers with their brilliant and practical mid-size luxury crossovers. The curvy and family-friendly Infiniti JX35 arrives to stiffen the competition and borrows the Nissan Murano’s platform underneath. For a newly-launched vehicle, the JX35 has seen its share of run-ins with reliability issues. Even though the SUV has sold over 30,000 units already, the official 260 complaints are still on the lower side but the brand recalled the SUV 8 times and NHTSA investigated several issues with the vehicle a total of 4 times as well. The investigations are regarding the collision mitigation system malfunction, transmission cooler hose separation, and a couple of occupant classification system failure issues. The recalls also cover a majority of the safety issues as well. The SUV faces a maximum number of complaints against its airbags followed by powertrain issues, electrical system issues, and exterior lighting issues among others. The all-new JX35 rivals the Audi Q7, the Acura MDX, and the Buick Enclave in the segment.
Infiniti JX35 user complaints and problems
Engine problems
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Power loss and vibration while driving: Loss of power while driving has been reported by a few owners. In one instance, a concerned dealership informed one owner that the transmission required replacement. A single case of vibration from the powertrain is also there against the vehicle.
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Transmission failure and shuddering issue: Several cases of transmission failures are being reported by the affected owners. In many cases, the transmission failures were preceded by significant shuddering from the powertrain while driving. During the failures, the vehicles lost all power and failed to shift to a gear despite the engines running. A few owners further reported that the failures recurred even after replacing the transmissions.
Safety problems
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Occupant sensor malfunction: A significant number of 2013 Infiniti JX35 models were affected by a faulty occupant sensor system. Due to the fault, the system fails to detect any passenger on the front passenger seat below a specific weight. As such, the airbag warning light would come on intermittently or stay on indicating that the airbags were offline.
Miscellaneous problems
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Sunroof shattering: Some models of the 2013 JX35 faced sudden shattering of sunroofs while they were being driven. Furthermore, during the occurrences, no source of impact was present as well.
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Engine cooling fan assembly failure: Some users complain about failing engine cooling fan assembly. The failure caused the fans to run at abnormally high speeds and fail, rendering the cooling system ineffective. One owner complains that even after replacing the fan assembly three times, the failure occurred.
2013 Infiniti JX35 recalls
|
S.No. |
Recall Date |
NHTSA Campaign ID |
Issues noticed |
Additional remarks |
Remedy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
August 14, 2012 |
12V398000 |
Fuel Transfer Tube |
If the fuel gauge does not accurately show when the tank is becoming empty, the vehicle may run out of gas unexpectedly, stalling, and increasing the risk of a crash. |
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and re-route the fuel transfer tube and install a new O-ring, free of charge. The recall began on September 10, 2012. |
|
2 |
March 1, 2013 |
13V069000 |
Occupant Detection System May Disable Pass Airbag |
If the vehicle is involved in a crash necessitating airbag deployment and the passenger airbag is suppressed, there may be an increased risk of personal injury. |
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ODS sensors and replace them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 6, 2013. |
|
3 |
April 12, 2013 |
13V139000 |
Front Brake Torque Member may Fail |
If the brake torque member fails, the brake caliper may move and contact the inside of the road wheel, resulting in reduced braking, increasing the risk of a crash. |
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the manufacturing date of the torque members and replace them, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 20, 2013. |
|
4 |
October 17, 2013 |
13V445000 |
Increased Stopping Distance when using ABS |
The increased stopping distance may increase the risk of a crash. |
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the ABS, free of charge. The recall began on November 18, 2013. |
|
5 |
March 25, 2014 |
14V138000 |
Airbag may not Detect Passenger in Seat |
If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger airbag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger. |
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on April 14, 2014. |
|
6 |
January 26, 2015 |
15V033000 |
Hood Release Cable Assembly |
If the primary hood latch is released and the secondary latch fails during the operation of the vehicle, it could cause the hood to open during vehicle operation impairing the driver's vision, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash. |
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will modify the angle of the hood release mechanism to provide additional length to the release cable, free of charge. The recall began on March 9, 2015. |
|
7 |
October 20, 2015 |
15V681000 |
Airbag sensor may not Detect Passenger in Seat |
If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger airbag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger. |
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on November 30, 2015. |
|
8 |
April 26, 2016 |
16V244000 |
Passenger Airbag may not Deploy due to OCS Error |
If the passenger frontal airbag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury. |
Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. |
Should you buy a used Infiniti JX35?
The Infiniti JX35 is a promising 7-seater utility vehicle that is preferred mostly by parents wishing to carry their kids with utmost comfort. The SUV doesn’t focus on cornering and performance hence enthusiasts would find it boat-like and boring. For a family-friendly vehicle, the JX35 did run into troubles with its reliability initially but only a specific number of models were affected. However, according to the complaints on the NHTSA portal, many owners were left disgruntled since they were denied a fix in the name of their vehicle’s VIN number not being included in the recalls. If you wish to prefer buying a used JX35 you can broaden your search and opt for the Acura MDX since it has an almost scot-free scorecard for its reliability department.
