Infiniti Q50 jerking problems

Filed May 18, 2026 · Acceleration · TX

OUTPUT SPEED SENSOR on 2016 INFINITI Q50t - Took vehicle in for oil and filter change 2 days ago. I drove the car about 40 miles, without incident. Went back to same place for state inspection yesterday. I drove about 2 miles from the inspection place and park in shopping lot. Went in business to shop for about 30 minutes. Returned to vehicle and drove about 100 yards through the parking lot. The car appeared to lose power and made a jerking movement as if it didn't want to go. I drove out onto a very busy street and we were almost rear ended by other traffic. I pulled up in another parking lot to assess the problem. I could not determine what was causing the car not to pick up speed. I drove to an AutoZone: battery checked out at 90 percent good; no electrical problems noted either. I drove off about 1 block from AutoZone: the CEL came on for the first time. I went back to the AutoZone to get them to check it out. The diagnosis code is P0720: vehicle speed sensor. I went back to the inspection shop the next day and I was told the same code. I took the vehicle to the dealership and I was told that I need to replace the whole transmission. I purchased the vehicle about 8-1/2 years ago; garage kept; only put 60k miles on car since purchase. Car has approx. 108k miles now. This is not only a problem with 2014 -2015. When I purchased the car in 2018, I feel like the dealership should have informed me that this was a problem with Q50s. This is not just an issue with previous years; this is a problem with 2016 as well. This vehicle is very clean/outstanding: no accidents, no body damage, immaculate leather seats, no repairs in 8-1/2 years and all of a sudden this fault code comes up with no previous indication that the transmission was not working properly. There needs to be a RECALL for this vehicle due to this common issue.

Filed Aug 19, 2025 · Electrical · 150,000 miles · LA

The contact owns a 2014 Infiniti Q50. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the message "No Key Detected" was displayed. The contact waved the key fob around the START/STOP button, and the message ceased. The contact stated that the light around the START/STOP button was orange, but was green before the failure. One day, while driving the vehicle, the engine failed to shut off after shifting into park(P) and pressing the START/STOP button. The contact made several attempts to turn off the vehicle. The message to "Visit the Dealer" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to several independent mechanics before finding a mechanic who was able to turn off the vehicle by removing the starter fuse. The mechanic advised the contact to tow the vehicle to the dealer. The dealer performed a water test and discovered that there was a leak in the sunroof, which had caused the failure. The mechanic discovered that water had leaked through the firewall in the body control module (BCM), causing the failure. The contact was provided with an estimate, and the vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that after the repair, while the vehicle was idling, the vehicle intermittently jerked. There was no warning light illuminated. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

Filed Jul 21, 2025 · Steering · MO

Adaptive steering clicks and looses control. Steering wheel jerks back when self aligning. There was a recall for this I believe in June 2016. For 2015 infinity Q50’s but my VIN says that it wasn’t recalled but is the exact description of what is happening.

Filed Mar 19, 2025 · Acceleration, Transmission · LA

While driving on the interstate and coming over an overpass there was unavoidable debris located in the road. Immediately after passing over the debris there was a loud noise followed by jerking and the RPM's revved up almost like the car was in neutral. I let up off of the accelerator and then tried to accelerate again. The car would not go faster than 30mph and will not shift out of 3rd gear. I had the car towed to the dealership and the diagnostic codes reflected vehicle speed sensor and there was no physical damage that was visible under the car. I was told that the problem was in the transmission and that it would need to be changed and given an estimate that totaled over $10,000. I was also told by the service advisor that this is a known issue with the Infiniti Q50. After doing researching this a common problem and the consumer is having to pay out of pocket if the warranty has ended. This incident could have ended badly while doing 70mph on the interstate and the car just quits moving. With all of the complaints that I have read over in regards to the transmission issues yet no action has been taken to investigate this problem. It is obliviously a manufacturing issue and the consumer should not have to pay out of pocket for defective transmissions. This luxury car was not a cheap purchase. Very disappointed that with so many cases an investigation has never been done. Infiniti should be held accountable and a recall should be issued for this problem. I will not stop until I can get through to someone that can help.

Filed Nov 15, 2022 · Fuel system, Transmission · FL

While driving vehicle if you suddenly stop vehicle would stop, however when applying pressure to gas pedal vehicle would not move, if foot is left on pedal car would jerk and then proceed forward. Unlike other vehicle after breaking hard vehicle would move without hesitation.

Filed Sep 19, 2022 · Transmission · 147,000 miles · TX

The contact owns a 2014 Infiniti Q50. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, she noticed the check engine warning illuminated on the instrument panel. Additionally, the contact stated she heard a loud noise coming from the vehicle. On another occasion the contact stated while driving at 10 MPH the vehicle started jerking. The vehicle was towed to the dealer but was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was referred to the federal safety agency Hotline. The failure mileage was 147,000.

Filed May 9, 2022 · Acceleration, Engine · 133,000 miles · GA

The contact owns a 2014 Infiniti Q50. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle independently decelerated to 10 MPH. The contact depressed the accelerator and observed that the RPMS was elevated however, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact pulled off the road into a parking lot and turned off the vehicle. The contact stated that when she restarted the vehicle, the vehicle jerked while driving and failed to exceed 20 MPH. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the valve body assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 133,000.

Filed Jan 12, 2022 · Acceleration · GA

When on the highway my transmission slipped then went out and wouldn’t accelerate, without any warning or sign of trouble beforehand. I scrambled to pull over and it started to accelerate again. It struggled to shift in 1st gear and second but despite going over 40 mph it would not shift to third gear. I could feel it slipping/sputtering when letting up on the accelerator and jerk when I press on the brakes. The engine will continue to rev high at lower speed. My check engine light came on and gave two codes, P0720 and P0500. I took this to my mechanic and he advised the valve body that houses the AT speed sensor be replaced and I likely need a new transmission. On a forum for Q50s another Infiniti owner said a dealer parts manager told them that Infiniti was aware there was a problem, and that the valve body was hard to come by and part of the delay was due to them redesigning the part to assure it didn't happen again. They suggested filing a case with Infiniti in case they were to issue some type of recall or TSB. He said out of the 750+ parts that were on backorder, his was #130 in line, and it still took over 2 months to receive. IF this is a known issue it is dangerous and should be addressed

Filed Dec 18, 2021 · Transmission · FL

While vehicle is in “D” drive move the car would jerk likes its trying to shift/switch gears and jerk hard. It sounds like the issue would involve the transmission. Another occasion happened when I came to a complete stop, & then pressed on the gas, and the car jerks again then started to accelerate.

Filed Jun 4, 2021 · Engine · 60,000 miles · FL

The contact owns a 2016 Infiniti Q50. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked before stalling. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine was faulty. After replacing the engine, the failure persisted. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired several times before the engine was replaced. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.