[descriminator]

I'm coming from a G37x, and that car was simple inside (for a luxury) but loaded with features for its time and a great ride, both performance, sound and awd ability. I live in the north and Snow is a common occurrence for me. I know how to drive in snow, i know how to drift in snow ;D i know how to park in snow...

Now my Q50awd hybrid is a much more "fancy" vehicle in terms of luxuries, but what about snow performance:

1) MOD issue in snow:
Car continuously beeps. Even in snow mode where its less sensetive. You turn off MOD on the screen when it beeps, and for 3 minutes you have peace and quiet. THEN IT TURNS ITSELF BACK ON AND BEEPS. Argghh...... Seems like the sensors get plugged up with snow and just freak out. Non-issue on other cars

2) Tires:
Those run-flats are just terrible with traction. Thread gets plugged up with snow and ice and they become ice skates. Rigid walls are no help either.

3) AWD System:
I miss my go-anywhere g37x. This AWD system keeps overheating (see darn warning message below) and is too rear-biased. It won't transfer torque to front under almost any condition, but when it does its jerky which is bad for slick surfaces.

4) Breaks:
Regenerative breaking makes smooth snow driving impossible. Too jerky, too unrefined

5) Electric motor:
Seems like switches between electric and gas modes are accompanied by a downshift in transmission. Noticeable kick and jerk -- annoying in try, but horrible in snow.

6) Heater:
Mine automatically switches to feet only in "auto" mode..WTF? Wont switch to any other setting after getting up to temp... which is expected in my mind.

7) Defrost:
Rear defrost turns itself off... I have to re-enable it every 10 minutes.

8) Drive Mode resets:
Drive mode wont stay in snow. If it snowed 10 minutes ago, before i went in the snow, it snows still after i re-start the car. Let me save the last drive mode, darn it it remembers butt cooker no problem...

9) "Low Temperature outside" alarm:
Why can't i shut it up? I know that its cold... Every time i get in the car, it beeps. I keep thinking MOD kicked in and i almost ran someone over. EVEN IF I DISABLE IT, IT COMES BACK!!!! arghh..

 

[descriminator]

Oops. Mods, can you please move this rant to Problems section. I mean to put it there.

Thanks

 

[chilibowl]

AWD Overheating?

I had not a clue that was even possible in sub freezing temperatures....

LOL, this Q50 sure has a ton of surprises!

 

[SimpsonTide985]

Yeah, I would never use the run flats in snow...If I had to move back midwest, I would get rid of those RFTs entirely and never use them again until I had to take them back in to Infiniti.

 

[mattreading22]

If you go into settings, you should be able to turn all of these off. Also, the G and your Q50 use the same all wheel drive system, so this should not be any different (my guess is it is more the tires). Rear defrost will turn itself off after it has defrosted the rear window. There is no way to keep it in snow mode once you turn the vehicle off, but it really is just a flick of a button anyways. Snow tires are really where you will notice a difference in drivability, so these are definitely a good purchase if you experience a lot of snow. As for the AWD warning, there may be something wrong with the system if it keeps doing it. All of the Q50's I have driven in the snow have been fine, but I do not like going into the snow mode unless it is very icy.

 

[Chris]

The AWD system might not be transferring torque if its overheating. I bet there is something up with yours and once fixed it will work as expected.

 

[descriminator]

yea, a lot of it is tires, but generally, other things i listed are either software related (fixable) or just odd by design. Overheating thing might have to be checked out by the service dept when i bring it for DAS recall.

Just continuously sad that all this unrefinement is so noticeable in the most basic conditions that should've been tested. I've got all this and much more with only 1600 miles..

 

[selzini]

I'm coming from a G37x, and that car was simple inside (for a luxury) but loaded with features for its time and a great ride, both performance, sound and awd ability. I live in the north and Snow is a common occurrence for me. I know how to drive in snow, i know how to drift in snow ;D i know how to park in snow...

Now my Q50awd hybrid is a much more "fancy" vehicle in terms of luxuries, but what about snow performance:

1) MOD issue in snow:
Car continuously beeps. Even in snow mode where its less sensetive. You turn off MOD on the screen when it beeps, and for 3 minutes you have peace and quiet. THEN IT TURNS ITSELF BACK ON AND BEEPS. Argghh...... Seems like the sensors get plugged up with snow and just freak out. Non-issue on other cars

2) Tires:
Those run-flats are just terrible with traction. Thread gets plugged up with snow and ice and they become ice skates. Rigid walls are no help either.

3) AWD System:
I miss my go-anywhere g37x. This AWD system keeps overheating (see darn warning message below) and is too rear-biased. It won't transfer torque to front under almost any condition, but when it does its jerky which is bad for slick surfaces.

4) Breaks:
Regenerative breaking makes smooth snow driving impossible. Too jerky, too unrefined

5) Electric motor:
Seems like switches between electric and gas modes are accompanied by a downshift in transmission. Noticeable kick and jerk -- annoying in try, but horrible in snow.

6) Heater:
Mine automatically switches to feet only in "auto" mode..WTF? Wont switch to any other setting after getting up to temp... which is expected in my mind.

7) Defrost:
Rear defrost turns itself off... I have to re-enable it every 10 minutes.

8) Drive Mode resets:
Drive mode wont stay in snow. If it snowed 10 minutes ago, before i went in the snow, it snows still after i re-start the car. Let me save the last drive mode, darn it it remembers butt cooker no problem...

9) "Low Temperature outside" alarm:
Why can't i shut it up? I know that its cold... Every time i get in the car, it beeps. I keep thinking MOD kicked in and i almost ran someone over. EVEN IF I DISABLE IT, IT COMES BACK!!!! arghh..

I can't comment on everything, but:

2) I'm sure they are lousy. I'm glad I switched them out.

3) I haven't had the system switch to AWD except once, and that was in rain. I hope your problem is an anomaly.

4) I DEFINITELY wouldn't be driving the car if the regenerative system is constantly breaking. I hope you get it fixed soon.

5) Again, I've had no problem with the switch back and forth between engine and motor. I don't feel anything except when the car is sitting still.

6) Auto mode for the heater goes to bi-modal when the temperature is comfortable. Again, maybe your car is the odd one.

7) Rear defrost will always turn off automatically in EVERY car. Mine stays on for 15 minutes.

9) I find it's funny that the car tells me it's cold outside-gee, I'd never know! Just press the tab on the steering wheel, and the warning goes away, until you restart the car, of course.

 

[Sinecure]

I really expected the tires to suck in the snow. I was pleasantly surprised so far.

I created a separate user profile for snow. I'm not sure that's the best route to take, but you might consider it.

You can turn off the outside temp warning. I have to look, but I think the setting for it is either in the meter display settings or vehicle settings. Mine doesn't go off any more.

It would be nice to be able to shut off all the forward sonar gizmos with a button or setting.

Most rear defrosters these days turn themselves off after a short time. Not sure if I like this as a feature or consider it a bug.

 

[drdawg]

I have had issues with mine in other ways but never had issues in the snow..even the loaners ...i have all season tires on mine...

also about the drive mode selector..i am annoyed by that.. on the ads they act like when your car recognizes your key for your user, it would put it in the drive mode you want (such as the personal or sport)...but it doesn't...lame..yes flick of a switch but lame...you have to clean the snow off the sensors..with my JX35 and my friends other kinds of cars, if there is snow stuck on there,it will keep beeping..in the JX you can turn off the volume on there easily...not sure about the q but mine has been in the shop for over 6 weeks now...

 

[maddsiick]

I can't wait to switch mine out this weekend to non run flats. As for the overheating, I'm assuming this is a hybrid issue, I've only seen member have overheating issues with hybrids, but i could be wrong. My AWD Gas model does really well in the snow. I haven't had any complaints about it in the snow up here in NY and its been crazy here the last couple of weeks with snow. The runflats were the only issue for me.

 

[Klamalama]

I don't understand why folks are hung up on some of these settings. There's nothing wrong with the car returning to Standard. Obviously Infiniti believes this is the best overall setting, but allows you the option of adapting to your changing environment. Don't you have to take it out of Park every time you want to drive? What's up with that?

Rear defrosters have been on a timer shut off from the 70s.

Auto heat modes usually drop to the feet because heat rises. Don't like it? There's manual override.

I wouldn't like all those nannies beeping. That's why I didn't buy the nanny package.

I despise run flats too, but I've had no problem with traction in light snow.

I think the electric/gas shift is nearly imperceptible. I don't know how it could be any smoother.

The outside temp warning? My BMW behaved the same. I suspect it's industry wide.

Yes, the regenerative braking (not breaking) could be smoother when coming to a complete stop. However, it is newer tech, and I'll cut it some slack. I do like the way it charges the battery and provides additional braking.

By the way, the G is merely pedestrian, in the luxury department, when compared with the Q.

YMMV.

 

[bova80]

My AWD premium gasser does great in the snow with the run flats. No over hearing issues or anything. It also hardly ever slips on me and I drove through some heavy snow.

 

[Sudzz]

There is something wrong (possibly several things) with your car because I've had my awd hybrid out in snow several times including today during the peak of a snowstorm and it's great! Even compared to my Grand Cherokee, it's impressive and the only limiting factor is ground clearance - stock rft's and all. I can only imagine what it could do with a set of Blizzaks! Sonar alarms are easily silenced by turning off the sonar.

I pulled into an unplowed parking lot with about 10" of snow today. I had people staring at me when I got out and one even said, "you shouldn't have stopped. You're not getting out now". His jaw dropped when I pulled out with ease.

 

[jkay]

I'll just throw out one more positive experience for snow driving in the Q.

I have he gasser and no issues - in fact things feel very safe driving in snow.

I agree about the sensors beeping but that's the nature of the sensors in general on all cars. It would be nice to have an easy setting/button press to disable this though (i.e. Cadillac's shortcuts in their system).

I feel the rear defroster timer is a bit short as well compared to other cars I've owned but that's an easy button press to fix.

Not sure about the overheating but definitely something is wrong/up there. I would get that looked at ASAP.

The climate control is fine but I have almost always had to change from low fan/foot position to split low/front defrost. I don't think I've ever had a car do that split automatically. My problem (purely user error) is that I am getting used to the in-touch so much so that I keep forgetting about the hard button next to the screen to make this easier on myself. I think I'll have plenty of practice over the next few weeks as it looks like old man winter will be sticking around.

Generally I've been more than pleased with my Q in the snow. Much more so than I did in my G's.

 

[yardie876]

If your car really isn't transferring power to the front wheels then that sounds like it is related to the AWD system overheating. Maybe there's some friction or slippage going on causing excess heat buildup. You should definitely take it in ASAP before the dealership plays the negligence card on you if something breaks.


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[bova80]

my question is are you trying to melt snow with rear defroster rather than clearing off your car or is your rear windshield truly not clearing up?

 

[toinfiniti]

There is something wrong (possibly several things) with your car because I've had my awd hybrid out in snow several times including today during the peak of a snowstorm and it's great! Even compared to my Grand Cherokee, it's impressive and the only limiting factor is ground clearance - stock rft's and all. I can only imagine what it could do with a set of Blizzaks! Sonar alarms are easily silenced by turning off the sonar.

I pulled into an unplowed parking lot with about 10" of snow today. I had people staring at me when I got out and one even said, "you shouldn't have stopped. You're not getting out now". His jaw dropped when I pulled out with ease.

I would love to see Q50 on unplowed snow.... especially 10 inch... that would be cool.... You should have taken a video of it!

 

[dmkmd]

Could it be the extra weight of the batteries that give you better traction? I have noticed that our Rx400h is much better in the snow than our Rx350. Both are AWD. I have not had my car on the road in the snow yet so I cannot comment about the traction of the Q50 AWD.

 

[bova80]

I don't have hybrid and my traction is great in the snow as I said before.