NHTSA Complaint #10568532 — 2014 INFINITI Q50

THE 2014 INFINITI Q50 INCLUDES INFINITI'S NEW INTOUCH INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM. ITS ADVERTISED CAPABILITIES WERE AMONG THE KEY DECIDING FACTORS IN MY DECISION TO SELECT THIS VEHICLE. I BEGAN EXPERIENCING SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS WITH THE SYSTEM WITHIN THE FIRST FEW DAYS OF OWNING THIS VEHICLE AND PROBLEMS PERSIST TO THIS DAY. ON SEPTEMBER 3, WHILE TAKING MY FIRST LONG TRIP WITH MY Q50, I EXPERIENCED SEVERAL INTOUCH FAILURES. THESE INCLUDED LOCKUPS AND A RESULTING LOSS OF CONTROL OF AUDIO AND CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEMS THAT COULD ONLY BE REMEDIED BY A RESET OF THE SYSTEM. THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM ALSO LOCKED AND WENT OFFLINE, AND COULD ONLY BE RESTORED BY STOPPING AND RESTARTING THE VEHICLE. PROBLEMS RECURRED REGULARLY. SOFTWARE UPDATES AND HARDWARE REPLACEMENTS HAVE BEEN PERFORMED BUT THE FAILURES PERSIST, EVEN IF THEY HAVE CHANGED IN NATURE OR DECREASED IN FREQUENCY. RESETS ALSO RESULT IN THE LOSS OF SOME DATA AND DEFAULT SETTINGS. MOST OF THESE FAILURES ARE DOCUMENTED BY VIDEO OR PHOTOS. I HAVE BEEN ADVISED BY A NISSAN/INFINITI TECHNICAL SPECIALIST WHO WAS SENT TO TOWN TO ASSESS THE MANY PROBLEMS WITH MY VEHICLE AND BY CLIENT SERVICES THAT SEVERAL LOCKUPS A MONTH IS A "NORMAL" CONDITION. IT MAY BE NORMAL FOR INFINITI'S UNSTABLE SYSTEM, BUT IT IS CERTAINLY NOT THE NORM FOR CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE, EITHER. I WAS ALSO ADVISED BY THE TECHNICAL SPECIALIST THAT MANY OF THE ISSUES ARE BECAUSE THE SYSTEM HAS A "SLOW" PROCESS AND PATIENCE IS REQUIRED. FURTHERMORE, AT THE TIME OF RELEASE VARIOUS FUNCTIONALITIES WERE ADVERTISED FOR THE INTOUCH SYSTEM, INCLUDING VARIOUS APPS, CALENDAR AND EMAIL FUNCTIONALITY. THESE CAPABILITIES WERE KEY DRIVERS IN MY PURCHASE DECISION. THESE CAPABILITIES WERE ADVERTISED FOR A FALL 2013 RELEASE. AS OF MID-MARCH 2014, THESE CAPABILITIES REMAIN NON-EXISTENT AS DOES ANY INFORMATION ABOUT WHEN OR IN FACT IF THEY WILL ACTUALLY BE MADE AVAILABLE. *TR