NHTSA Complaint #10403175 — 2007 INFINITI G35

THE VEHICLES ENGINE CONSUMES OIL DURING NORMAL OPERATION AT AN UNACCEPTABLE RATE. I NEED TO ADD OIL AFTER EVERY 300-500 MILES! AND I USUALLY END OF ADDING UP TO 3- 4 QUARTS OF EXTRA OIL BETWEEN OIL CHANGES. THE LEVEL OF CONSUMPTION MAY DIFFER FROM VEHICLE TO VEHICLE BUT NEVERTHELESS, IT IS EXCESSIVE. IF I WERE NOT TO DO SO, THE ENGINE WOULD RUN OUT OF ALL OIL WELL BEFORE THE RECOMMENDED OIL CHANGE INTERVAL AND RESULT IN CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. THIS PROBLEM REQUIRES ME TO PULL OVER SEVERAL TIMES AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD TO ADD OIL DURING NORMAL OPERATION. SUCH MANEUVERS ON A JOURNEY ARE HAZARDOUS AND RISKY (I.E. TRAFFIC DISRUPTION, POSSIBLE CRASH). MOREOVER, IF A CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE IS TO RESULT BECAUSE OF THE DEFECT WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN OPERATION, IT CAN RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURIES OF OCCUPANTS (I.E. FIRE HAZARD, CRASH) AND A HIGH RISK OF FATALITIES. INFINITI HAS ACKNOWLEDGED THE DEFECT BY RELEASING A SEVERAL TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETINS (TSB: ITB08-XXXX) BUT THERE ARE THREE MAJOR ISSUES: FIRST, IT ONLY COVERS CARS UNDER WARRANTY. SECOND, IT IS BASED ON CARS THAT SHOW A QUART OF OIL ON DIPSTICK WHILE THERE ARE VEHICLES (LIKE MINE) WHICH HAVE TWO QUART DIPSTICKS (FROM FACTORY). THESE VEHICLES, EVEN THOUGH CONSUMING EXCESSIVE OIL, WILL NOT QUALIFY FOR ENGINE REPLACEMENT AS OIL CONSUMPTION TEST PROCEDURE BY INFINITI IS BASED ON MEASURING MM ON DIPSTICK ONLY AND NOT MEASURING THE ACTUAL OIL CONSUMED. AND THIRD, THE REPLACED ENGINES MAY STILL SUFFER FROM THE SAME PROBLEM AS EVIDENT BY OTHER COMPLAINTS AND PEOPLE GETTING IT REPLACED SEVERAL TIMES. THEREFORE, IT MAY HAPPEN THAT ENGINES ARE REPLACED BY INFINITI WITH THE SAME DEFECTIVE MODEL SEVERAL TIMES ARE WARRANTY IS RUN OUT. CONSIDERING ALL THIS, I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST NHTSA TO ASK INFINITI TO ISSUE A RECALL AND FIX THIS PROBLEM PERMANENTLY FOR ALL DEFECTIVE VEHICLES, RATHER THAN TEMPORARY TRICKY SOLUTION'.