[drdra11]

Hello All,
I just purchased a certified pre-owned 2019 QX50 from the dealer about two weeks ago. Only has 3200 miles on it. Was great fro about a week but I started getting a strong hot oil smell in the garage after driving it all day. I checked for oil leaks and nothing. No warnings or engine issues. All gauges look fine. Checked the oil and it's full. Smell seems to be coming from around the dipstick. Thought it was just a loose dipstick but it still does it everyday after I verified it wasn't loose. The dealer says it's probably just wearing in but I don't buy a new car smelling like hot oil "just wearing in". The only think I did was fill up on gas the day it started. Has anyone else had this issue? Any ideas?

Thanks in advance

 

[cvandine]

Hello

I am experiencing the same issue. I purchased my vehicle new and have similar mileage as you. The smell has always been there - just as you said, most prevalent when parked in the garage after it has been driven. The smell is very strong at times and can even be smelled in the cabin if you get back in the car. When I initially took it back to the dealership, I was told that there had been three other cases reported, and Infiniti engineering was looking into the issue. I did not want to wait around so took it back the following week and spoke with the service manager (he said he was unaware of other reports!) Nonetheless, the dealership had my car for one month trying to figure out the problem. They had a tech take it home to "replicate" the smell in his garage. The dealership was instructed to power wash the engine bay and return the vehicle to me. This did not help at all. After speaking with consumer affairs, Infiniti sent a regional case manager to my home to inspect ("smell") the vehicle. At this point, they acknowledge the issue and have determined that the smell is not oil or fuel, rather it is coming from the rubber hoses (near the dipstick). If you pull off the plastic engine cover you will see the hoses. If you touch them, the smell will transfer to your hands, so I have no doubt that this is the source. I was told that they would let me know if a solution was found. That was in December, and I've not heard back since.

As far as I know, there is not currently a solution. There was speculation that this is typical off-gassing, but couldn't guarantee that the smell will go away over time. I can definitely say that it has not gone away and remains just as strong. If anyone else is experiencing this issue, please post it in hopes of getting more attention and maybe prompting Infiniti to find a solution sooner rather than never.

 

[drdra11]

Thank goodness it isn't just me!

I've taken the car back to the dealer two times for this with no luck either. I also noticed the smell was coming from the dipstick area and pointed it out to the dealer service manager who also said he had no reports of this issue...smh. I also pointed out that the loaner QX50 they gave me filled up my garage with gas smells too! I contacted Infiniti consumer affairs as well and they opened a case for me. Had me take the vehicle back to the dealer and they were supposed to call the tech line with my case number to work with Infinit. I doubt that happened because when they called me to pickup the vehicle, they gave me the same "it's because of the direct injection engine" line that they have been saying all along. I called Infinit consumer affairs back and they said it was becoming a common problem being reported with the car and that they have an engineering "fix" for it that they wanted to apply to my car. She is supposed to be scheduling an engineer to come down to the local dealership and install this "fix "they have but the schedule is several weeks out so we will see. Needless to say, I'm more than skeptical about this "fix" and extremely disappointed with my local dealer service shop. How is it that I , the consumer, know more about the issue than you?...smh..

Thanks for the tip about the hoses. I'll try that today. My gut tells me their "fix" is to just swap them out with a different brand of hose. I'll take it if it works though..lol

 

[drdra11]

An update..

I was contacted by consumer affairs and told there was an "engineering fix" they wanted to try on my car and they sent a tech from the USA office to my dealer. What I thought was going to be a fix turned out to be a "we're still trying to figure out the issue" conversation and I was told it is currently under "engineering review" with Infiniti. Even though I told them the gas smell is coming from the dip stick area under the hood, they proceeded to change the EVAP canister hose, which is in the back of the car next to the gas tank...smh. That tells me they don't have a clue on how to fix it yet and are just doing something to say that they are trying. I'm calling consumer affairs back tomorrow to let them know this was a waste of my time and didn't change anything.

Oh, I was also told by my dealer that Infiniti released a TSB (technical service bulletin) on the issue as well so this is becoming a widespread issue for them. Needless to say, they won't get to play guinea pig on my car anymore until they have a fix. They have literally every QX50 to do that with at any dealer. Let's keep up the pressure.

 

[cvandine]

any update to report? I still haven't heard back from Infiniti.