Should I be worried?

12053 Views 61 Replies 23 Participants Last post by selzini, Sep 20, 2013

MikeElmendorf

Discussion Starter · Aug 20, 2013

After a few test drives and much deliberation, I decided on Saturday to go with the Q50. My dealer is working on locating a car for me now--loaded AWD Sport in either Graphite Shadow or the white (whatever they call it!).

I'm a little unsettled by the change in the tone of posts on this forum over the last few days. They are mostly all negative and deal with problems with the car.

Clearly, there seem to be some bugs with the InTouch system. I asked the dealer about their experience there, and they claim not to have had any reports of it. We know there's an update coming in September, so one hopes that not only it isn't impacting everyone (although it doesn't seem that isolated), but that it will be addressed therein. If I experience them, I'm not going to be a very happy camper, though.

Now there are the reports of a high-pitched noise. I didn't notice that on my drive, but admittedly was paying more attention to other things. And, there is a similar sound in my Acura TL SH-AWD (think it is drivetrain) that was present on both AWD TLs I've owned, so hopefully I wouldn't notice it.

However, who out there who has the car is loving it? Help me maintain my enthusiam for the car!

As an aside, my dealer was supposed to be contacting me early yesterday with an update on the ETA of the car. No call. Called them. No return call. Emailed later in the day, no response. Not good. If I don't hear from them today, may be time for a return trip to the BMW dealer....

Reactions: 5

1 - 20 of 62 Posts

Infiniti Chick

· #2 · Aug 20, 2013

Make no doubt about it, although I have experienced a couple of InTouch/Navigation issues, I absolutely LOVE my Q50 and do not question my decision at all. There are some technology bugs to work out but the customer service that Infiniti has provided has been quick and wanting to help in a variety of ways.

As far as the dealers calling you back, trust me, it seems to just be "normal" not just at Infiniti but most dealerships. I text my dealer rep and he usually responds faster in that manner than any other form of communication. It is frustrating but I wouldn't go to another brand because of it. I drove 75 miles (into a different state) to work with my dealer when there is another Infiniti dealership local to me, because I wanted better (and fair) customer service. If you aren't getting a good feeling with your rep, look to another one, maybe even within the same dealership. Competition will usually snap them back!

If you love the Q50, trust that Infiniti will fix the InTouch issues...quickly!

See less See more

Reactions: 3

FastGTR

· #3 · Aug 20, 2013

Ask for a longer test drive for at least a couple of hours, without the dealer. Drive it as though you own it, setup the car how you would with your phone/music/whatever and take it on the roads you usually drive, take it home, park it, run some errands with it. Don't get distracted by the technology then make up your mind.

I get to drive a different car almost every week thanks to Hertz and my work related travel. There are cars that I have got into and within the first 10 seconds knew that I would never buy that car ever. Others seemed really cool at first (e.g. Ford's Sync), but after a few miles or over night realized quirks that I simply cannot live with.

You are making a $55K decision taking a few hours is acceptable, IMHO

Reactions: 1

MikeElmendorf

Discussion Starter · #4 · Aug 20, 2013

I took it by myself for a fairly extended test drive, including driving it home. I definitely like the car. My concerns center around the bugs that are being documented so widely here, with a secondary concern being my dealer's apparent lack of urgency in giving me information about what's going on with their locating a car for me.

Infiniti Chick

· #5 · Aug 20, 2013

MikeElmendorf said:
I took it by myself for a fairly extended test drive, including driving it home. I definitely like the car. My concerns center around the bugs that are being documented so widely here, with a secondary concern being my dealer's apparent lack of urgency in giving me information about what's going on with their locating a car for me.

Are you close enough to another dealership to reach out to them? If so, I'd recommend just checking in with them to see if they show more urgency. The "lack of urgency" and information given by the reps has been what most of us experienced/are experiencing. Keep on top of your rep, bug them enough and they'll work for you just to make you leave them alone. haha

My rep wouldn't give me any numbers until the actual day I picked up my car and I know others had similar experience.

MikeElmendorf

Discussion Starter · #6 · Aug 20, 2013

No other dealer within 2.5 hours. Gave a deposit. Even just a call saying, "hey, we don't know anything yet" would be fine.

Infiniti Chick

· #7 · Aug 20, 2013

MikeElmendorf said:
No other dealer within 2.5 hours. Gave a deposit. Even just a call saying, "hey, we don't know anything yet" would be fine.

Ohhhhh they won't call you JUST to call you. They MAY return your calls/texts/emails if you bug them enough, but they aren't going to stop working on sales currently going on in their sales room to call to tell you that they don't have any information to give you.

Would it be nice if they did? Ummm YES!!!! It drove me insane that my rep didn't have a much information for me and I knew more than he did in many aspects just from being on this forum. But when they live off commission, they see the carrot in front of them versus a possible carrot down the road. Yet another reason I could never work on commission!

Reactions: 1

Infiniti Chick

· #8 · Aug 20, 2013

As an example, I sent me dealer rep an email yesterday morning outlining the InTouch issues that I've experienced as well as asking about the air deflectors that weren't installed on my car. I did not heard back from him so I sent him a text message about an hour ago asking if he got my email....haven't heard back from him on that either.

Frustrating? Ummm YES!! Patience is not my virtue, especially when it comes to responding to me!

Thankfully the Infiniti Consumer Affairs rep and Infiniti's Facebook page responds much faster!

MikeElmendorf

Discussion Starter · #9 · Aug 20, 2013

Just called. They are still working on locating the car...

Infiniti Chick

· #10 · Aug 20, 2013

MikeElmendorf said:
Just called. They are still working on locating the car...

By "locating" do you mean that they have your VIN and just can't locate where your actual car is or they are still just trying to find one with your configuration to trade for??

If the VIN issue, ask them for your VIN # and then ask JasonH on this forum (send him a private message) to see if he can locate it. I believe he is on vacation this week so he may not be able to get back with you right away!

If they haven't been able to locate a car with your configuration, do the research yourself (I did). Get on Cars.com, Edmunds and even Infiniti dealership websites within 500 miles of your location. Once you find the car (or two), contact your dealer with the information!! No more excuses!

MattJB

· #11 · Aug 20, 2013

Hi Mike. Pease know that I enjoy driving the new Q50 and my wife says I smile whenever I think about where my next drive might take me. The car has a quiet interior, has responsive handling (I leave Sport mode engaged all the time), she's quick (420 ft lb of torque helps in this category), and I am averaging almost 32 mpg in my AWD Sport hybrid. In town she stays in EV mode (electric motor only), starting the gasoline engine only when the hybrid system battery charge gets low. Did I mention how quiet it is inside the cabin?
Yes, there currently are software issues with the Nav and InTouch systems that you will learn about from our colleagues in this forum. I've experienced two lock-ups whilst some of us have experienced over a dozen. We dutifully follow-up with our Service Managers to report the issues and all salient data about the lock-up events so that Infiniti engineers can address the software issues in the upcoming software update due soon. I have no doubt these issues will be addressed in time.
Meanwhile, I love having incoming text messages read to me and Pandora playing through the audio system via my iPhone. You're gonna like it. ;-)

See less See more

Reactions: 2

MikeElmendorf

Discussion Starter · #12 · Aug 20, 2013

They are trying to find the car with the equipment I want. They just started yesterday and I don't really have time to do their job for them. I let them know I expected better communication.

Infiniti Chick

· #13 · Aug 20, 2013

Ohhhh well if they just started yesterday, patience is going to be needed. It took about 1-2 weeks for my rep to locate my car and set it up for a trade.

Be sure to ask them about any transportation fee for the trade. I ended up having to pay $575 for them to flat bed my car from Florida!

FastGTR

· #14 · Aug 20, 2013

MikeElmendorf said:
I took it by myself for a fairly extended test drive, including driving it home. I definitely like the car. My concerns center around the bugs that are being documented so widely here, with a secondary concern being my dealer's apparent lack of urgency in giving me information about what's going on with their locating a car for me.

I trust Infiniti will resolve the InTouch issues. It may take a little while but they will, as more people start to get their Q50's the issues should become more visible to Infiniti. It is a risk with anything generation 1.

As far as locating a car, I honesty don't think dealers can easily do that until the 23rd when Infiniti releases majority of the cars from the dock. At this point they would be looking for dealer initial allocation stock, which will be limited in color and options.

Infiniti Chick

· #15 · Aug 20, 2013

FastGTR said:
I trust Infiniti will resolve the InTouch issues. It may take a little while but they will, as more people start to get their Q50's the issues should become more visible to Infiniti. It is a risk with anything generation 1.

As far as locating a car, I honesty don't think dealers can easily do that until the 23rd when Infiniti releases majority of the cars from the dock. At this point they would be looking for dealer initial allocation stock, which will be limited in color and options.

And keep in mind, the 23rd is THIS Friday, so just days away!!

Gandhi

· #16 · Aug 20, 2013

I don't regret buying my Q50. For me the InTouch bugs are a minor inconvenience. 3 lock ups so far. I am bothered more by the RFTs noise on highway speeds than I am with the lockups.

MikeElmendorf

Discussion Starter · #17 · Aug 20, 2013

Appreciate the encouraging words. And, InfinitiChick, I won't be paying a red cent for them to locate, swap or transport a car.

Coryn

· #18 · Aug 20, 2013

MattJB said:
I've experienced two lock-ups whilst some of us have experienced over a dozen. We dutifully follow-up with our Service Managers to report the issues and all salient data about the lock-up events so that Infiniti engineers can address the software issues in the upcoming software update due soon.

MattJB, did you purchase from Herb Chambers in Boston? I've reported that I'd had a few lockups to my sales rep there, but haven't spoken with anyone in Service yet and was wondering who you were working with. Maybe if they had a couple of us working with the same person it could help.

Q50Aggie

· #19 · Aug 20, 2013

MattJB said:
Hi Mike. Pease know that I enjoy driving the new Q50 and my wife says I smile whenever I think about where my next drive might take me. The car has a quiet interior, has responsive handling (I leave Sport mode engaged all the time), she's quick (420 ft lb of torque helps in this category), and I am averaging almost 32 mpg in my AWD Sport hybrid. In town she stays in EV mode (electric motor only), starting the gasoline engine only when the hybrid system battery charge gets low. Did I mention how quiet it is inside the cabin?
Yes, there currently are software issues with the Nav and InTouch systems that you will learn about from our colleagues in this forum. I've experienced two lock-ups whilst some of us have experienced over a dozen. We dutifully follow-up with our Service Managers to report the issues and all salient data about the lock-up events so that Infiniti engineers can address the software issues in the upcoming software update due soon. I have no doubt these issues will be addressed in time.
Meanwhile, I love having incoming text messages read to me and Pandora playing through the audio system via my iPhone. You're gonna like it. ;-)

How are you going such good gas mileage? It's also hard for me to keep the car in electric only mode even when driving around town because in order to do so I'd have to accelerate at a speed a walking grandma could beat. What mode are you keeping the car in for electric mode only? Please share your tips. Also what is normal driving style

greenhut

· #20 · Aug 20, 2013

If you visit just about any forum, on any topic, you will typically find a large volume of content related to what's wrong or what could be better. I think people like us that frequent forums for reviews and opinions are critical buyers. We like to discuss the limitations, issues, fixes, etc.

My dad is 82 and an avid mac user. Every time a new release comes out, he tells me he will never upgrade because of all the issues he reads about people having on the forums. His loss.

Most likely, the InTouch lockups are caused by a software bug that will be fixed in the next several months. The design, features, and usability is solid and better than most comparable in car systems. I'd prefer to be here, than have a rock solid but functionally crappy system.

I respect the risks Infiniti took with this car. Too many businesses (and their leaders) are content to plod along with marginal changes and improvements. Infiniti has made bold changes - the car nomenclature, "messing" with the G cash cow, drive by wire, InTouch system for controls and customization, and semi autonomous driving/safety features. Largely, they executed well. The two month launch delay, while frustrating for a select few and poorly communicated by Infiniti, will fade and be forgotten by most. The InTouch lockup issue will likely be corrected soon.

The Q50 is an amazingly innovative car. Those of us buying early on get to enjoy it first, but also must live with some of the pains of being on the edge.

Enjoy your Q50!

See less See more

Reactions: 3

1 - 20 of 62 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.