NHTSA Complaint #11717437 — 2021 INFINITI QX50

My 2021 Infiniti QX50 is subject to Recall 25V437000 for engine bearing defects that can cause engine failure, loss of power, and fire. During the recall inspection, Cerritos Infiniti found metal debris. They first diagnosed this debris as being in the engine oil and recommended immediate engine replacement. Days later, they reversed this diagnosis, claiming the debris was only on the removed oil pan from "technician scraping" and that the engine is safe. Infiniti Corporate reviewed the dealer's evidence, denied the warranty claim for an engine replacement, and refuses to provide me with any technical documentation—photographs, video, or analysis—that would verify which diagnosis is correct. They have refused my request for an independent inspection by a Field Technical Representative at a different dealership. The dealer has now threatened $60/day storage fees to coerce me into accepting the vehicle back without any verifiable proof of engine safety. I am being forced to choose between paying punitive fees or driving an unverified vehicle with known, documented risks of catastrophic failure and fire. I am filing this complaint not to seek an engine replacement, but to request that NHTSA investigate whether Cerritos Infiniti and Infiniti Corporate have violated federal safety recall requirements by: 1. Failing to provide owners with complete and accurate information about the results of recall inspections; 2. Destroying evidence (the original contaminated oil/filter) before an independent review could occur; 3. Coercing owners into accepting potentially unsafe vehicles through punitive storage fees; 4. Failing to perform the required recall remedy—which, if "specific debris" is found, requires engine replacement—and instead substituting an unverified, undocumented "second oil change" as an informal remedy.