NHTSA Complaint #10199626 — 2000 INFINITI Q45

MY 2000 INFINITY Q-45 WITH 37,000 MILES OF USAGE SUDDENLY AND WITHOUT WARNING COMPLETELY LOCKED UP WHILE UNDER POWER IN THE OUTSIDE LANE WHILE ON A BUSY SIX LANE STREET AND WOULD NOT MOVE. THE VEHICLE WE LATER LEARNED BY THE DEALER HAD SUFFERED A REAR WHEEL BRAKE AND AXLE COMPLETE BREAKDOWN AND FAILURE. THE DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT SAID THAT WE MUST HAVE DRIVEN THE CAR WITH THE EMERGENCY BRAKE ENGAGED TO CAUSE THE AXLE, BRAKE LININGS AND DRUMS TO OVER HEAT AND FATIGUE. THE CAR REQUIRED A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF NEW REPLACEMENT PARTS IN THE ACEL/BRAKE ASSEMBLY AREA THAT REQUIRED $2,158.64 IN PARTS AND THE TOTAL BILL WAS $3,113.70. WHILE NO ONE WAS INJURED IN THIS EVENT, IT WAS ONLY BECAUSE THE INCIDENT OCCURRED ON A SURFACE STREET A LOW SPEED AS OPPOSED TO AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY. MY CONCERN IS THAT WE, THE DRIVERS OF THE VEHICLE THAT WAS PURCHASED NEW, ARE RETIRED AND MONITOR OUR VEHICLES CLOSELY. THERE IS A "INDICATOR LIGHT" THAT SHOULD COME ON AUTOMATICALLY WHILE DRIVING OR ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE WITH THE EMERGENCY BRAKE PARTIALLY OR FULLY ENGAGED. THIS NEVER HAPPENED. I TESTED THIS LIGHT SINCE THE REPAIRS AND IT IS FUNCTIONAL AT THIS TIME. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF OTHERS WITH A INFINITY Q-45 MIGHT HAVE HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE AS OUR VEHICLE WAS NOT KNOWINGLY DRIVEN WITH THE EMERGENCY BRAKE ENGAGED. *JB