[Surge]

I had a 2012 EX35 which was basically trouble free for 125,000km.
Considering the QX50 but the number of issues is putting me off. What’s going on? Reliability and quality seem to have taken a nose dive.
I see it’s also no longer Made in Japan.

 

[LQQX50]

Nissan / INFINITI had to compete with the Competition

They had to enlarge their Mid Size Crossover Offering when it came time to Modernize the QX50 nameplate in 2018.

So instead of the '08 to '17 EX, EX35, EX37, QX50 that was on the FMS ( Front Mid Ship ~ Engine behind from Wheels for Balance ) Platform, RWD Based, with Traditionally Mounted VQVHR V6 engine producing 325 HP that got just OK gas milage with a 7 spd Transmission and Assembled in Japan . . .

The Bean Counters and Designers went with a FWD Platform, 4 Cylinder, CVT Transmission on the 2019 ( there was no 2018 model year QX50s ) to present Model ( QX55 too - the slope back version of the today's QX50 ) Both Assembled in Mexico with Global Parts.

If you can, seek out the lowest milage 2016 or 2017 Used QX50 there is out there and you shall be pleased with the longer version of your beloved EX35 ~ Really ~ this sounds like what you're looking for instead of the ( Gen 2 ) QX50.

Does the Gen 1 look a bit dated, yes.

Is it a Blast to Drive . . . YES !

is it reliable ~ Dang Right . .


Not to slam the Gen 2 QX50, it looks great, and is on par with the Competition's performance and quality. It was a Business Move Nissan / INFINITI really had to make, and the increased sales figures are there to back their decision.

The old saying proves true ~ " Things aint what they used to be " when it come to the two different Generations of QX50s - They are indeed very different animals

 

[Doobster_6]

We have both the J50 (2017 QX50) and the J55 (2019 QX50) variants in our household; his and hers respectively. As LQQX50 above advises, I searched out and found a pristine, fully loaded 2017 a couple of months after my wife purchased a similarly pristine and super-low miles 2019. I’m at 45k trouble-free miles in my ‘17 while my wife’s ‘19 has just tripped 29k miles on her car. Despite being the (dreaded) ‘first-year’ of the new J55 and its variable-compression engine, we’ve also had zero problems with her car. Granted, 29k is not much, and time will ultimately tell, but so far so good. There have been the usual ‘WTF is going on’ issues with computerized functions failing to launch requiring that the car be restarted, but I’ve had to do that in my ‘17 too on occasion to get the car’s Bluetooth to recognize my phone. LQQX50 is right; Infiniti HAD to upgrade the model to be competitive and I must say, with one exception her car is a total engineering triumph. No, it’s not the pocket-rocket driving experience the 325 HP J50 is, but it does just about everything you could ask of a family SUV, providing significantly more cargo and passenger space while significantly improving mpg, still handling competently while providing a great ride quality, and still providing ample performance. My wife sometimes suggests that with us both being retired there’s no reason to own two cars (uh, sorry honey, not gonna happen) but, there’s no question that for our purposes the new model would be the one to keep. Only the ‘rubber-band-acceleration‘ experience of the CVT/variable-everything’ engine experience blunts my enthusiasm for the car, but that’s ‘curable’ by keeping the car in ‘sport’ mode, albeit at some sacrifice in mpg. Even her ‘top-line’ Bose sound system is a noticeable improvement over my (also ‘top line’ in 2017) Bose system, and her two-screen NAV/INFO screens has its advantages. I’ll drop back in on the forum if anything unusual or disappointing M&R-wise happens on either car; as I said, so far so good for both of them!!

 

[LQQX50]

Appreciate your comparative analysis Doobster

You are indeed a valuable resource to this Forum having both generations.

Jump in at any time to offer your insights and especially to help answer some 2nd Generation Model Owner's questions.


A few other thoughts on " Reliability " - Ever hear of those cars that were built on Friday or Monday ?
Where the Assembly Line perhaps wasn't running in optimal rhythm ?

Also, Vehicles are sum of thousands of parts awarded to the lowest bidder typically ~ the potential for a bad part every now and then can affect overall reliability if one fails or is faulty

Electronic Gremlins and Bugaboos can also happen as there are so many systems reliant on circuitry and wiring

All in all ~ INFINITI is known for their Reliability and being a Notch Up in all things from an already Reliable Nissan Line of trusted and reliable vehicles.

 

[Doobster_6]

Appreciate your comparative analysis Doobster

You are indeed a valuable resource to this Forum having both generations.

Jump in at any time to offer your insights and especially to help answer some 2nd Generation Model Owner's questions.


A few other thoughts on " Reliability " - Ever hear of those cars that were built on Friday or Monday ?
Where the Assembly Line perhaps wasn't running in optimal rhythm ?

Also, Vehicles are sum of thousands of parts awarded to the lowest bidder typically ~ the potential for a bad part every now and then can affect overall reliability if one fails or is faulty

Electronic Gremlins and Bugaboos can also happen as there are so many systems reliant on circuitry and wiring

All in all ~ INFINITI is known for their Reliability and being a Notch Up in all things from an already Reliable Nissan Line of trusted and reliable vehicles.

I wanted to address the comment above regarding the ‘Monday-or-Friday’ car. After a fifty year career in manufacturing, the last fourteen in executive management, I whole-heartedly concur that back-in-the-old-days there absolutely was such a thing! You wanted a ‘Wednesday’ car if you could somehow scheme it because there was less likelihood that the experienced line workers had taken a day off, only to be replaced by someone inexperienced and prone to error. These days that’s a thing of the past. There’s simply been too much global cross-polinization and training, what with the vaunted ‘six-sigma’ programs, coupled with elements of Toyota’s Manufacturing System, having virtually wiped out manufacturing defects. Today’s problems in cars almost always trace back to1a) engineering cost-compromises (i.e., plastic cam chain tensioner guides in Audis), 2) bad designs owing to pushing limits (I’m talking to you here, BMW) or 3) supplier quality issues (Takata airbags!). Consequently, the country of assembly isn’t a factor anymore; cars assembled in Mexico or Korea are subject to the exact same quality processes and use the same factory tooling as in their own country of origin. No manufacturer can afford to risk customer satisfaction at the hands of a sketchy workforce. IMHO, nobody builds a bad car anymore, and I use 2006 as time when all manufacturers achieved ‘full maturity’ on their assembly lines.

Can things still go wrong? Yes, many factory tools require periodic re-calibration and/or outright replacement at predictable time intervals, and there’s always the odd plant manager trying to stretch their budgets and put the product at risk. But almost all modern factories are ISO-900x or ISO 1400x certified and subject to audits to assure conformance to their own procedures and regimens, so such impulses have really been driven into the dustbins of manufacturing history.

(Sorry for the long and boring mini-treatise on modern manufacturing! And btw, everything I wrote applies most reliably to huge multi-national firms. Small manufacturers are hit or miss with regard to their own embrace of high-quality processes and procedures.)

 

[Milaa]

We have both the J50 (2017 QX50) and the J55 (2019 QX50) variants in our household; his and hers respectively. As LQQX50 above advises, I searched out and found a pristine, fully loaded 2017 a couple of months after my wife purchased a similarly pristine and super-low miles 2019. I’m at 45k trouble-free miles in my ‘17 while my wife’s ‘19 has just tripped 29k miles on her car. Despite being the (dreaded) ‘first-year’ of the new J55 and its variable-compression engine, we’ve also had zero problems with her car. Granted, 29k is not much, and time will ultimately tell, but so far so good. There have been the usual ‘WTF is going on’ issues with computerized functions failing to launch requiring that the car be restarted, but I’ve had to do that in my ‘17 too on occasion to get the car’s Bluetooth to recognize my phone. LQQX50 is right; Infiniti HAD to upgrade the model to be competitive and I must say, with one exception her car is a total engineering triumph. No, it’s not the pocket-rocket driving experience the 325 HP J50 is, but it does just about everything you could ask of a family SUV, providing significantly more cargo and passenger space while significantly improving mpg, still handling competently while providing a great ride quality, and still providing ample performance. My wife sometimes suggests that with us both being retired there’s no reason to own two cars (uh, sorry honey, not gonna happen) but, there’s no question that for our purposes the new model would be the one to keep. Only the ‘rubber-band-acceleration‘ experience of the CVT/variable-everything’ engine experience blunts my enthusiasm for the car, but that’s ‘curable’ by keeping the car in ‘sport’ mode, albeit at some sacrifice in mpg. Even her ‘top-line’ Bose sound system is a noticeable improvement over my (also ‘top line’ in 2017) Bose system, and her two-screen NAV/INFO screens has its advantages. I’ll drop back in on the forum if anything unusual or disappointing M&R-wise happens on either car; as I said, so far so good for both of them!!

Curious for an update???... on the 2019, Thanks for all the information.

 

[winterwonder217]

Could not agree with you more on your comments regarding present-day manufacturing, Doobster_6. And the comment regarding Infiniti's manufacturing in Mexico assuages some apprehension since I purchased a 2019 QX50 just last Saturday! (a beautiful vehicle to say the least)

As a former assembly line worker (many, many moons ago) for G*, I'm well-versed in the legacy, mass-manufacturing rigors within the auto industry.

My experience was the typical job "on the line" took about 20 minutes to perfect. In those days a passenger vehicle rolled off the line every 60 seconds. I was once thrown into the line to do a job for a man who had +20 years experience doing the same thing, day-after-day. They told me to do it & anything I missed would be corrected by, what they called, the "utility man". Being the conscientious person I am (sorry about that), I was able to get up to speed in about 20 minutes without missing any screws, radiators (yes, install a radiator in the frame passing by), and hoses all in 60s - bleeding hands and all.

Bottomline: even back in the ole days, there were layers of inspectors, and even the "red kill button" nearby that would stop the production line to get things caught up. If you ask the typical autoworker, he/she may admit everyday was a Monday ;>)

What does this all have to do with Infiniti QX50's? Glad you asked. I can appreciate a well-engineered automobile and have a real sense of how these things are put together. I am impressed with Infiniti's craftsmanship, the way they run their classy & professional service dept and the overall care to detail over their entire operation (including customer service - a real person took the initial call, which is unheard of these days).

Apologize for the diatribe here. Sorry. If you made it this far you deserve a coffee cup refresh. Nonetheless, a pleasure joining this forum today & looking forward to reading the experiences of other QX50 owners in the days to come. Blessings!

 

[LQQX50]

Looks like I'm getting a bit of smackdown for the Assembly in Japan vs. Assembly in Mexico statement

It was merely a point to ponder since the thread title is " Reliability Drop What's Going on ? "

I supply a Raw Material to the Automotive Industry ~ The Material that makes up 65% of what a car is made up of.

My primary client is NNA ( Nissan North America ), I daily ~ sell, service, & ship product to TN, AL, & MX

I respect all in the Auto Industry at every level of the vast complex operation that churns out a QUALITY Assembled Vehicle

This is Forum, we share ideas, opinions, knowledge, life experiences, and above all . .

Our Admiration of our QX50s ~ both Generations ~ regardless of which spot on the Globe that they Roll off of the Final Assembly Line . .

 

[gregory.g.diaz]

Anyone have a fix for the clock that randomly changes time and will not let you manually reset it? Both dealer and corporate ack kwledge it is a known problem, but have no timeline for a fix. Makes me question the other gouges and safety equipment. Looking at dumping this car for a Volvo--at least they care about their customers.