2009 Infiniti G37: sudden loss of power

Filed Sep 11, 2020 · Acceleration, Engine · 186,000 miles · NC

I was driving my vehicle on a state highway with no breakdown lane, only a 'soft shoulder' going about 70 MPH in the middle lane. There was a vehicle in front over me going about 65 MPH and the furthest left lane was moving closer to my speed. When there was an opening, I signaled and began changing lanes when the vehicle began jerking and losing power. There was a car approaching fast in that left lane and also the vehicle that was behind me in the middle lane began closing in. I nearly caused a three car pile up trying get over to the soft shoulder. These vehicles are equipped with a vq37vhr motor which infiniti equipped with a paper gasket in the depths of the motor called a 'galley gasket'. Its cheap fragile design causes loss of power and for the vehicle to not exceed 2500 rpms which is very unsafe for highway driving as many times it is necessary to safely navigate or even exit the roadway. The paper gasket causes inevitable demise to the motor allowing oil to enter where it should not. This is all before the check engine light even illuminates. Once the light comes on, it will display a code 'p0011' and/or 'p0021' which calls for the variable valve timing solenoid to be addressed. I replaced both, changed the oil, and the car drove fine for a few days then the same thing repeated. After going to numerous shops and them either not wanting to take on the job or not knowing what else the issue may be, I went to the infiniti dealership and was told that I need a new motor. After extensive research, I've come across thousands of owners experiencing the same issue. The more handy ones with time have discovered this 'nissan' cork paper gasket causing the issue. Infiniti designer and manufactured these motors with poor quality gaskets then charge the customer upwards to $3000 to fix the problem they caused through their own negligence or over $5000 for a new motor.

Filed Dec 12, 2017 · 180,000 miles · NH

When driving at various speeds the car rpms will not go above 2500 rpms. As I was driving the car lost power and started to stall. I have had to put the car in neutral and coast to a stop from 70 MPH. This has happened now at least 15 times over the last two years. Many posts I've read that infiniti is aware of the issue but I have yet to find a solution. The issue is very dangerous and know of many others that have had this issue from posts online.

Filed Dec 23, 2013 · Electrical, Engine · 72,000 miles · MA

My 2009 infiniti g37x lost power without warning on 3 separate occasions. The first two times the problem occurred in jan 2013 (car was still under 60k miles warranty). I was driving on the highway on a cold night and my car stalled at around 55/65 MPH mark. The car was shaking when I tried to accelerate. When I pulled over to the emergency lane, my car had lost complete power. Then, I restarted the car and the engine acted and sounded normal. I warmed up the car for 5 minutes before I drove home. I went to infiniti to get the problem fixed and I reported the problem to infiniti of north america. Infiniti could not identify or re-create the problem. On dec 7, 2013, I noticed my car acted like it was losing power when I accelerated the car to 65 MPH while I was on the highway on a cold rainy night. I tried to accelerate and the car felt very choppy and shaky as if it was choking on something. Since this problem had occurred two times before, I decided not to continue to increase acceleration to the car any further. I pulled over to the emergency lane, parked the car, and I video recorded the problem. There was no lighting indication of any problem on dashboard. While the car was parked and the engine was running, I tried to rev up the engine. The car was shaking intensively when it was rev up to 2,000 RPM. I also restart the car and I tried to rev up the engine again and the car did not shake. After restarting, the car engine acted and sounded normal. I was able to drive the car home safely. There is a safety issue with this model. I've reported this problem to infiniti, but they denied there is any problem. Infiniti needs to issue a recall on this model. I am scared to drive this car, but I need the car to get around. If anyone can help push forward this issue to the right level of attention, please contact me at [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Sep 16, 2010 · Engine · 14,000 miles · AZ

My 2009 infiniti gx 37x lost power without warning. The MPH went from 50 down to 30 in seconds, the rpms would not go above 1500. Acceleration failed. Power steering and braking still worked. I had to pull over and restart the engine. The first time this happened was july 2009 and the dealership said not to worry, that it was probably an isolated incident and to bring it in if it happened again. If something happens once, I can reason it away. But, twice? This is a major safety issue and infiniti needs to issue a recall asap. Driving conditions have no factor and this problem strips the driver of any control of the vehicle. The dealership did a "reflash" or ecu update and said that a similar problem occured on a "m" model. I am not convinced this has solved the problem. I am terrified of driving this car.

Filed Sep 1, 2010 · Electrical, Transmission · 10,200 miles · AZ

Apparently on 2009 infiniti g37s, there is a programming error/deficiency in the electronic engine control module (ECM) affecting the processing of the mass flow rate sensor that will cause the engine to unexpectedly (and without a dash warning indicator) to lose power. At occurrence of the failure, the car will decelerate from highway speed to less than 35 MPH within a few seconds. Following the failure, the engine RPM will not exceed 2,400 RPM and speeds above 35 MPH are impossible (I found that 4th gear is the highest gear selectable). This failure can be dangerous in a number of traffic situations. I have learned from an infiniti service dept. That the failure will temporarily correct itself if the engine is turned off for a period of time, but that the failure could reoccur. The car's ECM was re-programmed by towbin infiniti (las vegas, nv) on august 30 and that supposedly fixes the failure. While at towbin, the service man said that infiniti knows of the problem, but is waiting to see how wide-spread the problem is. Owners have not been told of this problem. Towbin service said they have seen about 300 cases of the problem. A salt lake city dealer service dept. Had also heard of this problem. Again, I feel this problem can be dangerous, because: if it were to occur in heavy traffic, it may be difficult to get out of the way of others; if it were to occur when turning in front of oncoming traffic; after it occurs, there is no way to keep up with higher speed traffic - one is left going slow and hoping no one rear ends me; without more information, I have no way of knowing if the problem has really been fixed.