hileo

Hey guys and gals --

First time poster here, literally made an account just now because I don't know what to do anymore.

I've been having some issues with my 2009 g37s 6mt (75k miles). P0345 camshaft (bank 2) code keeps popping up. Had a shop replace both cam sensors with new infiniti OEM ones. Worked fine for awhile, and then the car would drop into limp mode (no rpms past 3500) unexpectedly. I would then pull over and turn the car off and on again to clear it and it would work. The dash never really lit up. Used a code reader to pull the codes and it was always "Pending P0345".

Finally got sick of it and took it to an infiniti dealership in my area. They said the bank 2 VTC sprocket sticks at times and quoted me $4500 to yank the engine out and replace both VTC sprockets, timing cover etc. Does that seem reasonable to anyone? I realize it is a huge job and very labor intensive.

I've bought the car about 5 years ago (used) with 20k miles on it. Haven't really had problems and have always done regular maintenance including oil changes every 3k or so miles with conventional oil. I've asked the service advisor how this could happen, and he said that its possible the car was run without oil or low on oil before I bought it and over time etc. etc.

Basically, I'm a little suspicious that they were able to diagnose the issue so quickly. I think my car was at the dealership for only a few hours and they came back with that.

Does it even make sense to repair it at this point? I think KBB has the car at around 11k in "good" condition.

I still love the car but now I don't know what to do... has anyone experienced anything like this before?

slartibartfast

iTrader: (7)

Welcome to our little corner of the Interwebs. Sorry you're having problems.

I can't address the specific code you have but there have been a lot of folks recently with VQ35s having timing issues. Poke around this folder, maybe someone has written about this.

telcoman

Visit another Infiniti dealer for a second opinion.
If the second dealer confirms what the first dealer found then it might be time to start looking for another vehicle?

Telcoman

hileo

Yeah... that's probably the next step.

I've heard the VQ engines are supposed to be very solid (lifetime between 200k - 300k miles?). Do you guys know if my issue is common at all?

Can I realistically get a few more years (3?) out of it or is the risk too high for something else to go wrong if I do decide to fix it.

Thanks for the replies!

hileo

I’m going to try and keep this thread updated as I sort through this mess, just incase someone is experiencing the same thing.

I was driving the car last week and my dash lit up with SES, VDC, and SLIP warning lights. Pulled over, turned the engine off and pulled the codes. Only code was P0345 camshaft position sensor circuit A. This time I guess it was confirmed since the SES light actually turned on.

I decided to take it to a local dealership (different than the one that diagnosed the sticky sprockets) so I can have this issue documented (I recently replaced both cam sensors with OEM Infiniti ones). I explained to the dealership what my issues were, they were insistent that this is simply a bad sensor as a sticky sprocket would throw other timing related codes. They replaced the sensor (for a whopping $465) and told me to come back if it happens again.

Well I drove the car today and what do you know... it drops into limp mode again and pops a P0345 code in pending mode (does not show on dash as it wasn’t confirmed).

To me this whole thing seems like a wiring issue still. It doesn’t make sense that the VTC sprocket “sticks at times” without any additional codes being thrown, especially timing related ones.

I’ll update again once I take it back to the dealership.

MStrike

Any updates on what happened?