Nissan North America has identified a problem with the driveshafts fitted to older Infiniti sedans produced for the 2011 through 2019 model years. Affected vehicles were specified with two-wheel drive rather than four-wheel drive. Their driveshafts can fatigue and break, resulting in an unexpected loss of motive power while driving.
According to Nissan, a specification change at the supplier – Hitachi Astemo – lead to the production of propeller shafts with reduced fatigue strength. Investigations revealed that said prop shafts may fracture at the ball yoke's press-fit joint. In addition to increasing the risk of a high-speed crash, bear in mind that a fractured propeller shaft also means that a given vehicle can move in park if the driver does not engage the parking brake.
Formerly known as Hitachi Automotive Systems, the folks at Hitachi Astemo specialize in sales and services of automotive components, transportation-related components, industrial machines, and so forth. Established at the beginning of 2021, the supplier is presently controlled by Hitachi (40 percent of shares), Honda Motor (40%), and JIC Capital (20%).
The suspect driveshafts are listed in the document attached below under seven part numbers, while their descriptions include two codenames: VK56 and VQ35. The former's VK comes from the VK series of V8 engines, which is going the way of the dodo after the Armada and Patrol get redesigned with the QX80's twin-turbo V6.
VQ35, meanwhile, indicates a VQ-series V6. Said engine family comprises 60-degree units with displacements ranging from 2.0 all the way to 4.0 liters. VQ mills are joined by the VR engine family, whose most famous of members are the R35-specific VR38DETT, the 3.0-liter unit in the Q50, Q60, Z, and Skyline for the Japanese market, as well as the QX80's twin-turbocharged sixer.
Photo: Infiniti
Returning to the recall, Nissan North America claims that replacing the propeller shaft will take up to an hour to complete. Of course, dealers won't charge you a dime for this operation. Remedy driveshafts feature similar part numbers yet were produced outside the suspect period.
Speaking of periods, the two-wheel-drive Infiniti M35 Hybrid opens the list, with suspect vehicles assembled between April 2010 and September 2013. Other affected nameplates include the M56 (from October 2009 to October 2013), the Q50 (from December 2012 to June 2018), the Q70 (from November 2013 to August 2019), the Q70 Hybrid (from November 2013 to January 2018), and the Q70L (from July 2014 through September 2019).
Owners will be notified by first-class mail beginning August 12, 2024. As you might have already noticed, only the Q50 is still available to configure nowadays. The mid-sized Q70 series didn't receive a successor, whereas the M series became the Q70 in 2013 for model year 2014.
Infiniti moved a meager 1,397 units of the Q50 stateside in the first quarter of 2024, which is really poor compared to the likes of the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and Audi A4. If you insist, the sales reports for the 3er, C, and A4 reveal the following numbers: 8,412 for the BMW, 8,052 for the Merc, and 2,452 for the Audi.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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