2002 Infiniti Q45: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2002 Infiniti Q45
On the 2002 Infiniti Q45, the failure owners report most often is other wheel or tire problem, with 6 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 60,000 miles. Overall it scores 58 out of 100, elevated risk for a 2002.
Elevated risk for a 2002 — 322nd riskiest of the 328 2002 vehicles we can rate. 29 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
The failures owners actually file about
Owners have reported 17 named failure modes on the 2002 Infiniti Q45, and the three most-reported carry 34% of everything filed, which is an unusually even spread for one model year.
Other wheel or tire problem leads with 6 reports and about 0.1 per 1,000 vehicles.
Excessive oil consumption follows with 2 reports.
Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure follows with 2 reports, median 145,000 miles.
By system, the reports fall mostly into wheels (6), engine (5) and lighting (4).
The mileage the reports cluster at
25 of the reports on the 2002 Infiniti Q45 came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 60,000 miles.
Cumulatively, 44% by 50,000 miles and 84% by 100,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed.
The busiest stretch is between 0 and 10,000 miles, which alone holds 28% of the dated reports.
40% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles, which is early enough that a fair number of these cars were still under a factory warranty when the owner complained.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
Showing the 12 most-reported failure modes of 17. The full list is in the table below.
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the median reported mileage
Severity, and what it costs
Across the named modes, 1 mentions a crash and 1 an injury. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 3.55, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: other wheel or tire problem at $200–$1,500, excessive oil consumption at $900–$6,500, fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure at $250–$1,800 and other engine problem at $300–$4,000. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
17% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other wheel or tire problem | wheels | 6 | 6 | — | 73k | — | 0.1 | $200–$1,500 | High |
| Excessive oil consumption | engine | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.0 | $900–$6,500 | High |
| Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure | fuel | 2 | 2 | — | 145k | — | 0.0 | $250–$1,800 | Moderate |
| Other engine problem | engine | 2 | 2 | — | 8k | — | 0.0 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Other lighting problem | lighting | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.0 | $120–$1,200 | Moderate |
| No-start or intermittent start failure | engine | 1 | 1 | — | 81k | — | 0.0 | $200–$1,800 | Moderate |
| Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure | electrical | 1 | 1 | — | 150 | — | 0.0 | $700–$3,000 | High |
| Engine sensor failure | electrical | 1 | 1 | — | 115k | — | 0.0 | $180–$900 | Moderate |
| Parking brake failure | brakes | 1 | 1 | — | 150 | — | 0.0 | $250–$1,300 | Moderate |
| Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault | airbag | 1 | 1 | — | 90k | — | 0.0 | $300–$1,600 | High |
| Cruise control failure | adas | 1 | 1 | — | 4k | — | 0.0 | $200–$1,400 | High |
| Seat, track or recliner failure | body | 1 | 1 | — | 40k | — | 0.0 | $300–$2,200 | High |
| Headlight failure or clouding | lighting | 1 | 1 | — | 24k | — | 0.0 | $150–$1,800 | Moderate |
| Tail light, brake light or signal failure | lighting | 1 | 1 | — | 85k | — | 0.0 | $100–$900 | Moderate |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 1 | 1 | — | 150 | — | 0.0 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other speed control problem | adas | 1 | 1 | — | 150 | — | 0.0 | $250–$2,000 | Critical |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 1 | 1 | — | 63k | — | 0.0 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Unclassified problem | other | 3 | 3 | — | 92k | — | 0.1 | — | Moderate |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2002 Infiniti Q45 draws about 0.7 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 71st percentile of complaint rates among 2002 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.
The working figure is 42,000 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2002 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Other wheel or tire problem
I own a 2002 infiniti q45, which was purchased new. Since taking delivery of the vehicle on august 8, 2002, I have repeatedly complained of vibration and vibration related issues, but the dealership was never able to correct the problem. On my latest visit, during the 22500-mile service, the dealership informed me that all four of my factory wheels were bent. The technician at the dealership said that they see this regularly and that it is caused by imperfections in the road surfacepotholes, brick roads, uneven pavement, etc. I explained that I have not hit any potholes or uneven pavement and the brick roads that I have driven on are in good condition, but the dealership refuses to repair or replace my wheels. Being that the dealerships technician told me this is a common problem with my car, I believe that the factory infiniti 18 wheels are made of an aluminum alloy, which is too soft and bends too easily under normal road conditions. Furthermore, infiniti owners may be unaware that their wheels are bent and unsafe and continue to drive on them. *ph
Low tire pressure warning light came on along with lcd information that vehicle needed to be taken to dealer for service; something was wrong with the remote tire pressure-sensing system. It took two trips to the dealership, a total of five days, and a lot of time with the mechanic either online or on the telephone with an infinit "hot line" electical specialist to diagnose the problem: one defective tire pressure sensing gauge. Trouble is, the same thing had happened approximately one year ago, when the vehicle was only about two months old. At that time, the dealership was able to diagnose the problem and simply replaced a tire pressure gauge. Problem solved. Why, with this car's previous history, did it take five days and several minds working together to determine that my car was suffering from the exact same problem as a year earlier?
Recalls on the 2002 model year
NHTSA has issued 1 recall campaign covering the 2002 Infiniti Q45, affecting an estimated 42,000 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover engine and engine cooling. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
Recalls also distort complaint counts. Publicity about a campaign reminds owners that complaining is possible, so reports for a recalled component often spike after the recall rather than before it.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
630,000 vehicles 2003-11-17- Defect
- On certain passenger vehicles, the circuit board for the crank position sensor or cam position sensor may have an improper solder joint due to solder deformation caused by heat stress accelerated by the existence of flux residue during the soldering process.
- Consequence
- This could cause the "service engine soon" warning light to come on, create a no start condition, cause reduced engine power, or cause the engine to stop running without warning during vehicle operation, which could result in a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the crank position sensors. Camshaft position sensor(s), and in some cases, the variable timing control sensor(s). Vehicles involved in a previous recall campaign, 01v357, are also included in this new campaign. The replacement sensors used in that campaign are also affected. Owner notification began on december 22, 2003. Owners should contact nissan at 1-800-647-7261 or infiniti at 1-800-662-6200.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
How it ranks in the 2002 field
The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.
Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.
- Left fewer and less serious reports
- Right more, or worse
- Marker this vehicle
Where 2002 sits in the model line
Elevated risk for a 2002 — 322nd riskiest of the 328 2002 vehicles we can rate. The comparison is always within the same model year, so an older car is never penalised for having had longer to break.
Across the 3 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 2002 comes out best at 58 and 2003 worst at 73, with 2002 itself at 58.
No other year of this model scores meaningfully better than 2002, so if this generation is what you want, the year is not the lever.
Within the 1999–2006 generation specifically, 2002 is the strongest year at 58 and 2003 the weakest at 73.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Within the 1999-2006 generation, 2002 Infiniti Q45 scores best at 58 and 2003 Infiniti Q45 worst at 73.
The limits of complaint data
29 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 29 reports, 25 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 86% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
Named failure modes come from matching phrases in the complaint text, so a badly worded complaint can land in the wrong bucket. The effect washes out across hundreds of reports and does not wash out across five.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2002 Infiniti Q45?
The most-reported failures are other wheel or tire problem (6 reports, median 75,000 miles), excessive oil consumption (2 reports) and fuel tank, filler or evap failure (2 reports, median 145,000 miles). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
Is the 2002 Infiniti Q45 reliable?
It scores 58 out of 100 on our risk index, which is elevated — 322nd riskiest of the 328 2002 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2002 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.
Which year of the Infiniti Q45 is best?
Within the 1999–2006 generation, 2002 scores best at 58 out of 100 and 2003 worst at 73. Same body, same engines, different luck.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed