[NJQ50]

Add me to the steering wheel lockup. Not sure if anyone else has had an issue with the audio however.

Started the car up earlier this morning and let it warm up while I cleaned off all the snow. Got in it about 10 minutes later and had the yellow steering wheel and exclamation sign on the dash. I tried pulling out of my spot and couldn't turn the wheel much at all. Had to turn the car off and restart. Worked fine the rest of the day.

On my way home from the gym tonight, all the controls on the car stereo worked (XM radio stations, FM, iPhone music) however I couldn't get any audio out of the speakers. Couldn't even get the volume gauge to pull up on the screen. After about 15 minutes of driving I came to red light, turned off the car and restarted and the audio came in perfectly.

I'm going to take the car to Infiniti to at the least, document these issues. I have no doubt the car will function properly at that time (of course it would) however, I just want to build a track record of these incidents. I can deal with the audio issue but I'm a bit worried about this steering bullshit.

 

[jnaegely]

Just had my q50s hybrid awd lose all steering. Car is undrivable. Worse yet, Infiniti road side assistance said they can't get a tow truck out for 4 hrs and it's 5 degrees out. The car is only 4 days old. Unhappy so far to say the least.

 

[vbx]

Seems like it's affecting more than the 20 or so vehicles as first claimed.

 

[NJQ50]

Just had my q50s hybrid awd lose all steering. Car is undrivable. Worse yet, Infiniti road side assistance said they can't get a tow truck out for 4 hrs and it's 5 degrees out. The car is only 4 days old. Unhappy so far to say the least.

Wow.. **** I feel for ya man. At least mine came right back after shutting the car off and restarting! Good luck..

 

[rbaker83]

Wow.. **** I feel for ya man. At least mine came right back after shutting the car off and restarting! Good luck..

If you go back many months and review my posts, you can see this lock up is a consistent problem that has been persistent since the first release of Q50, since I had one of the first ones on the road. When I began posting on this I heard intelligent comments like "hey, it's a new model, expect issues", and my favorite "stop the car, turn the wheel left, then right, then left then right again then drive straight for a few miles"...Yeah, that sounds good. I repeat as I have from the beginning, someone is bound to get hurt and ten the lawsuits will start. Oh, and the console lockups, get used to them, they are a part of the ownership pride ("hey, it's a new model, expect issues )

 

[jnaegely]

If you go back many months and review my posts, you can see this lock up is a consistent problem that has been persistent since the first release of Q50, since I had one of the first ones on the road. When I began posting on this I heard intelligent comments like "hey, it's a new model, expect issues", and my favorite "stop the car, turn the wheel left, then right, then left then right again then drive straight for a few miles"...Yeah, that sounds good. I repeat as I have from the beginning, someone is bound to get hurt and ten the lawsuits will start. Oh, and the console lockups, get used to them, they are a part of the ownership pride ("hey, it's a new model, expect issues )

Just got the car to the dealer. Heard all the same things. "New car, expect issues, blah blah blah". I understand there is going to be some gremlins to work out with a new model but not being able to drive the car is unacceptable. Haven't had the console problems yet but I'm looking forward to that too. Haha.

 

[jkay]

If you go back many months and review my posts, you can see this lock up is a consistent problem that has been persistent since the first release of Q50, since I had one of the first ones on the road. When I began posting on this I heard intelligent comments like "hey, it's a new model, expect issues", and my favorite "stop the car, turn the wheel left, then right, then left then right again then drive straight for a few miles"...Yeah, that sounds good. I repeat as I have from the beginning, someone is bound to get hurt and ten the lawsuits will start. Oh, and the console lockups, get used to them, they are a part of the ownership pride ("hey, it's a new model, expect issues )

I feel compelled to mention that the left/right turn to turn suggestion was meant to help folks in the very short term if their steering went caddiwampus on them - not a long term fix or to excuse the BS you and many folks are unfortunately experiencing with your steering. Just a simple, short term re calibration that one of the salesmen on this board reported should help. I agree that this is a safety issue waiting to happen.

This is a really bad problem for Infiniti and the Q specifically.

I haven't taken my Q out in the last day or two as I don't want to get stranded.

Here's hoping they fix it - and SOON!!

 

[jnaegely]

Just had my q50s hybrid awd lose all steering. Car is undrivable. Worse yet, Infiniti road side assistance said they can't get a tow truck out for 4 hrs and it's 5 degrees out. The car is only 4 days old. Unhappy so far to say the least.

Just an update.
Service department said the battery was not fully charged and the car is designed to conserve battery power for critical components. Apparently steering isn't one of them. This happened by design.
Btw. I was not driving when I had this problem. It was on start up. One solution that I was giving was to let the car run for awhile to recharge battery and then restart it if it happens again. Wonderful.

 

[Klamalama]

I wonder if Infiniti's cold weather stress testing was sufficiently intense? Signs point to insufficient battery capacity. This could still be solved in software. Sure, give the engine starting preference, but lock out driving (possibly through the transmission) until there's enough voltage for the steering. A warning message could tell you to wait to drive.

 

[kosh2248]

Not a given outcome.

If you go back many months and review my posts, you can see this lock up is a consistent problem that has been persistent since the first release of Q50, since I had one of the first ones on the road. When I began posting on this I heard intelligent comments like "hey, it's a new model, expect issues", and my favorite "stop the car, turn the wheel left, then right, then left then right again then drive straight for a few miles"...Yeah, that sounds good. I repeat as I have from the beginning, someone is bound to get hurt and ten the lawsuits will start. Oh, and the console lockups, get used to them, they are a part of the ownership pride ("hey, it's a new model, expect issues )

You said it.

The last new car I purchased (2004 TL) had a number of new technologies released in it including Nav, touch screen control and voice commands. I could count the problems I had with the car on two fingers. And they were downright trivial issues, neither of them affecting the control of the vehicle.

What I'm seeing is a lack of attention to details on the Q50 and those details are biting both the customers and Infiniti in the backside.

 

[descriminator]

the minute i have a steering wheel lockup issue, i'll just stop driving the car. I'm not putting my child into a car that can just quit turning to save power for its useless inTouch :/

I would contact Infinity Corporate and attempt to get money back. if not, in go attorney general office, official USDOT and NHTSA complaint, etc etc etc. I think those who have these vital systems fail for trivial reasons have a solid case on their hands.

 

[piggybox]

Sigh, DAS wasn't really well tested.

 

[andrew]

the minute i have a steering wheel lockup issue, i'll just stop driving the car. I'm not putting my child into a car that can just quit turning to save power for its useless inTouch :/

I would contact Infinity Corporate and attempt to get money back. if not, in go attorney general office, official USDOT and NHTSA complaint, etc etc etc. I think those who have these vital systems fail for trivial reasons have a solid case on their hands.

Not sure about that.
It really sounds like some software tweaks could fix the issue reported a few posts ago that there wasn't enouhg juice for the DAS.
Software just needs to better manage things.

It's that or the batteries are defective.. well that would be another issue entirely.

 

[andrew]

the minute i have a steering wheel lockup issue, i'll just stop driving the car. I'm not putting my child into a car that can just quit turning to save power for its useless inTouch :/

I would contact Infinity Corporate and attempt to get money back. if not, in go attorney general office, official USDOT and NHTSA complaint, etc etc etc. I think those who have these vital systems fail for trivial reasons have a solid case on their hands.

From the big thread about hte DAS steering issue's.
Saw this after I posted above.
There ya go.
Software update.
Will it be the last. Somehow I doubt it.

I got a call from ICA and my dealer yesterday about a released tech bulletin to update the SW in the DAS system. I didnt get the # for the bulletin but was told it's 2-3 hours and updates the SW in a bunch of different parts of the steering system. My appointment is Jan 11 as I'm busy AND didn't want to be the first for my dealer.

 

[descriminator]

From the big thread about hte DAS steering issue's.
Saw this after I posted above.
There ya go.
Software update.
Will it be the last. Somehow I doubt it.

Fingers crossed I think i should start reading positive forums. All this negative stuff is starting to affect me

 

[SimpsonTide985]

Sigh, DAS wasn't really well tested.

hmmm....

I wish I could argue with this, being an engineer with some basic vehicle engineering experience, but I'm curious to determine how much time is actually proven to be needed on such a brand new piece of technology that has never existed before. That was never quite in my wheelhouse so I don't know what that calculation is, but I'll assume that smarter minds at Infiniti must have figured something out that fit the testing methods, specs, and timelines set by the original designers.

As others have pointed out, developing testing methods, measuring defects, measuring six-sigma, looking at baselines, historical data, well, it's harder---much harder to do when you're messing around with a brand new piece of technology. It sounds like I'm defending Infiniti, which, in part I am, but at the same time, yes, I too am concerned with the observed DPU/DPO over time that may be so specific to DAS and/or Intouch that it may have been incredibly difficult for them to test for. It's really hard to say exactly how much is actually DAS testing-related to the defects or it could just be a symptom of different areas that certain testing could not have picked up. The amount of testing may have been efficient but if the testing methods for DAS were not effectively developed as well, then you're likely to miss more defects and who knows if it could have been one or the other or a combination of both.

BTW, I haven't had any of these lockup or audio issues (so far )

 

[NJQ50]

Make that two instances now with no steering at start up. Interestingly enough, both times happened when it was extremely cold outside. This morning was 4 degrees out (negative with wind chill) and last friday it was probably somewhere in the low teens. Both times, the issue was remedied by restarting the car. Audio was fine this morning however.

Was pm'd by Infiniti Care about this issue so I'm going to reach out to them as requested. Also going to stop by my nearest service department as well.

 

[jkay]

Posted in the 'caution' thread but figured I would post here as well:

Count me in as another victim.

Heard a faint click and knew what the result would be.

Turned off my audio, climate control, headlights, steering wheel heater and seat heater.

Put the car in neutral and revved it a bit to get things warmed up and he battery charged.

Turned off the car and then back on and he steering was fine.

Temp was about 5 degrees and this was after a short trip of about 3 miles. Longer trips with the car sitting for longer today did not exhibit the issue.

Figured I would post up.

Glad I read this thread before the cold today!!

 

[NJQ50]

Update : dropped the car off at service this morning. Got a call back from my rep saying they needed the car until tomorrow because the software update is "lengthy". He also insists that this issue is isolated to 20 something vehicles and that despite what I read on message boards, that this isn't a common issue.

 

[vbx]

Update : dropped the car off at service this morning. Got a call back from my rep saying they needed the car until tomorrow because the software update is "lengthy". He also insists that this issue is isolated to 20 something vehicles and that despite what I read on message boards, that this isn't a common issue.

20 vehicles per dealership.