2017 Infiniti Q50

The contact owns a 2017 Infiniti Q50. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with air bags failure. The contact was informed that the air bag needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed of an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not associated with a recall related to the failure. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to pass State Inspection due to the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Affected: Steering/Electrical/Direct Adaptive Steering, 50K miles While driving my 2017 Infinity Q50s under normal driving conditions, the vehicle suffered an instantaneous, catastrophic, and total failure of the power steering assist system without any prior warning or dashboard fault indicators. The sudden loss of steering assist immediately caused the steering wheel to become incredibly heavy and virtually locked, requiring extreme, dangerous physical exertion to maintain minimal control over the direction of the vehicle. Due to the violent and unpredictable change in steering dynamics at speed, I was forced out of my lane and ran over a curb and came moments away from experiencing a severe, life-threatening collision. The vehicle was rendered entirely undrivable and presents an immediate, catastrophic crash hazard. It had to be flatbed-towed to Infinity Valencia dealership. I am the original owner of this vehicle, and it has been meticulously maintained with exceptionally low mileage of 50,000 mile. Infinity previously issued mandatory federal safety recalls identical Direct Adaptive Steering (DAS) "steer-by-wire" software and module failures on the 2014-2016 model years (e.g., NHTSA Campaign number 16V433000). While the manufacturer asserted that the underlying engineering and software defects were fully resolved for the 2017 production year, this incident definitely proves that the catastrophic safety defect remains active, unmitigated, and present in the 2017 model year. Infinity Consumer Affairs and corporate databases currently lack proactive safety campaign for this specific VIN, leaving consumers entirely expose to a known, severe safety liability. I am filing this formal complaint to urge the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to open a formal defect investigation into the 2017 Infinity Q50/Q50s steering architecture and compel the manufacturer to expand the safety recall before this unmitigated defect results in fatal accident.

The passenger seat occupant sensor is on. Dealer confirmed the code is related to a bad sensor so even if someone is sitting in the passenger seat and we are in an accident the airbag will not deploy. The dealer said a recall exists for earlier models but not for the 2017 even though they say it’s the same components. They want to charge me between $6,000 to $8,000 to repair which is almost as much as the car is worth. This unfortunately is cost prohibitive at this time so we are driving with the known risk. The light has been on for a couple of years now as we were hoping an additional recall would come out but it hasn’t which is why I am submitting this report.

I experienced an ongoing grinding/rattling noise from the wheel/brake area. The vehicle was serviced multiple times by a franchised dealer, which diagnosed the issue as brake-related and performed brake repairs. The noise was not resolved, and the vehicle was returned in the same condition. Shortly after service, an independent mechanic discovered a cracked/broken brake pad installed on the vehicle. Due to safety concerns, the manufacturer authorized inspection at a separate franchised dealership under different ownership. That inspection confirmed aftermarket brake pads, rotors, and related components of unknown origin installed on both the front and rear, missing OEM hardware, improper lubrication, and wheel bearing issues contributing to the noise. The inspecting dealer documented that the braking system must be returned to OEM specifications before safe operation and further diagnosis could continue. Despite this, the manufacturer has declined to require OEM remediation, and the vehicle continues to operate with unauthorized aftermarket brake components. The grinding noise has continued and has since shifted toward the rear. The condition is reproducible, documented by video, and confirmed by independent inspection. I believe the vehicle was returned to service in an unsafe condition involving a critical braking system.

I had a passenger seat belt light on and took it to Jim Coleman Infiniti in Bethesda,MD. They then were going to charge me a diagnostic fee to fix it, but instead proceeded to perform a zero point seat reset and got the error code B00A0 and then the passenger air bag light came on. They subsequently said that the vehicle was not covered under any recall or warranty and said that the seat needed to be replaced and informed me that it would be around $8000 at that time. Now it must be more. Looking at the recall campaign 16V244000 my vehicle does not qualify since it is one model year later, but I have seen others have the same issue that I have with the 2017 Q50. There is infact one in Florida that has a similar experience as mine. Talking to the dealer and Infiniti neither wanted to do a goodwill jesters and would only reduce the cost by a few thousand dollars. That still meant that I would need to put out more than $4000 to get a safety issue that should be covered. The symptoms and error codes are exactly the same. So I ask that you extend the recall campaign to the 2017 model year as well for the Q50. It is a safety hazard that will be present on the streets. The dealer also refuses to do the module reset saying that it will fail again. Pleas ask Infiniti to cover the cost of ensuring this critical safety for the passenger side is resolved for all model years that have the error code from the recall.

My vehicle has been stalling and burning/leaking oil internally for some time now with white smoke coming from the rear. Well Infiniti sent a post card and stated that the emission warranty is extended for 120,000 miles which my vehicle has had the issue for some time and it was already over 120k miles at the time of the loss. The issue Infiniti reported in their postcard is, you may experience issue with the turbocharger, Overtime there is a possibility for the turbocharger thrust bearing to wear and leak oil internally. The most likely conditions you will experience are excessive white smoke from the exhaust, MIL-On an in rare cases reduced engine power or damage to the internal components. My vehicle is experiencing all these issues reported and the company, Infiniti, knows this is an issue and did not issue a recall the extended warranty instead, most people will not qualify for which will require people to thousand of dollars replacing the turbocharger assembly and engine control model. I got a quote and was told 8000 dollars unfortunately I cannot have repairs done. I believe it was January 2025 when the post card came from Infiniti identifying the issue

The engine and turbo system failed in my 2017 Infiniti Q50 Signature Edition (VIN [XXX] ). The vehicle remains at CarMax Naperville, where it has been since March 2025. Internal repair orders show CarMax performed two failed inspections in August 2020 before selling the vehicle as “CarMax Certified” on September 3, 2020. The vehicle should not have passed certification. Shortly after purchasing the vehicle, I noticed it was pulling hard to the right. During my first tire rotation and oil change, the technician informed me that all four tires were severely dry-rotted and unsafe to drive on. CarMax had represented the vehicle as fully inspected and road-ready. These conditions suggest the vehicle had sat for an extended period after a prior four-point accident and should have never been certified for sale. None of this was disclosed to me at purchase. In March 2025, the engine failed. CarMax later reported that a replacement engine was installed, part #10102-6HN3A (single-turbo) instead of the required #10102-5CH2D (twin-turbo VR30DDTT). This engine does not match the original factory specifications for my VIN. Infiniti of Naperville confirmed that my vehicle qualifies for a free extended turbo and engine warranty (TSB P4A05/P4A06), but CarMax declined to use the required OEM one-time-use parts, voiding that coverage. CarMax has refused to provide inspection reports, diagnostic data, emissions test results, or engine serial numbers despite over forty written requests. I have no documentation confirming what work was performed or whether the vehicle is safe or compliant with emissions standards. The car has now been sitting at CarMax for over seven months, with rusted brakes and unknown mechanical condition. They are just concerned about me coming to get the car. This raises serious concerns about safety, emissions compliance, and potential consumer fraud involving improper certification and undisclosed prior damage. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)