NHTSA Complaint #10260668 — 2008 INFINITI G35

DEAR SIR/MADAM, I AM WRITING YOU BECAUSE OF A PROBLEM I ENCOUNTERED WITH INFINITI AUTOMOBILES WHILE DRIVING IN LOOSE SNOW. I HOPE YOU WILL CONSIDER THIS A SERIOUS ISSUE AS IT COULD AFFECT THE SAFETY OF POTENTIALLY MILLIONS OF DRIVERS. NOTE THAT THE CAR PERFORMS AS EXPECTED ON DRY OR EVEN WET PAVEMENT, BUT ON SLUSHY SNOW THE COMPUTERIZED TRANSMISSION APPEARS TO FAIL AND THE CAR WILL NOT DRIVE. HAD I BEEN AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM I WOULD NEVER HAVE ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE THE CAR IN THE SNOW. I DO NOT KNOW IF THIS WAS A MAINTENANCE PROBLEM UNIQUE TO THIS LOANER OR IF THIS IS A DEFECT IN THE ALGORITHM BEING USED TO CONTROL THE TRANSMISSION AND DRIVE TRAIN. THE PROBLEM THE 2 WHEEL DRIVE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION DOES NOT EVENLY DRIVE THE CAR AND CAUSES IT TO STEER ALMOST UNCONTROLLABLY IN LOOSE SLUSHY SNOW. THE DRIVE WHEELS LOOSE SYNCHRONIZATION AND ESSENTIALLY STOPS WORKING ON EVEN SMALL INCLINES. I COULD FLOOR THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND NOTHING WOULD HAPPEN. THE RPMS IN THE CAR WOULD REMAIN LOW AND THE TIRES WOULD HARDLY MOVE. MY EXPERIENCE ON THE MOST RECENT SNOW IN THE WASHINGTON, DC AREA ON MARCH 1 -2, 2009 I WAS DRIVING AN 2008 INFINITI THAT WAS A LOANER FROM A LOCAL DEALERSHIP. I HAD TO DRIVE IT FROM WASHINGTON REAGAN AIRPORT FOR ABOUT 12 MILES TO GET HOME. GOING SOUTH ON GEORGE WASHINGTON MEMORIAL PARKWAY TOWARD OLD TOWN IN ALEXANDRIA THERE ARE NO HILLS TO SPEAK OF, ONLY MINOR INCLINES. THE CAR I WAS DRIVING HAD TO BE PUSHED UP THESE MINOR INCLINES, AND AGAIN ON THE BELTWAY AFTER CROSSING THE WILSON BRIDGE TO THE TOP OF THE HILL AT INDIAN HEAD HIGHWAY. WHILE THE MOTOR CONTINUES TO RUN, THE CAR WILL NOT MOVE FORWARD UNLESS BOTH WHEELS HAVE TRACTION, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO ESSENTIALLY STALL. I HOPE THAT YOU WILL CONDUCT TEST TO DETERMINE IF THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM, BECAUSE NOT ONLY DOES IT CAUSE A SAFETY HAZARD WITH STEERING DUE TO THE PULLING UNEVENLY I WILL LEAD TO MOTORIST BEING STRANDED UNDER CONDITIONS WHERE THERE IS SNOW ON THE HIGHWAY. *TR