Infiniti FX Owners Forum (The Org)

I finally bought my fx35. $20,000 from a private owner for the following (please tell me if I got a decent deal)

2005 Infiniti FX35 - AWD
49k miles
Touring & Tech package (adaptive cruise control, nav, rear camera, bose, black leather seats, etc)
Aftermarket dvd player mounted in the ceiling
18" Wheels with brand new tires

First impressions:
Pros: Rides really nice. Pretty fast. Good on gas.
Cons: The driver's seat is too close to the left side of the car, and it rubs against the pillar and squeaks. Annoying. Anyone else have that problem? Also the gps in the bird's eye view is worthless. My radio's FM reception is terrible. I think it might have something to do with the FM transmitter that is hooked up to the dvd player that is installed. Anyone else have bad FM reception?
And lastly, I hear a slight "wah wah wah" sound when I drive. Can't be the tires since they are brand new. Thought it was the wheel bearings but took it to a shop and they said there was no "give" in the wheels when they lifted the car off the ground and applied force. They think the problem is really warped rotors (and yes I have a shimmy when breaking at high speeds). Could warped rotors make noise when driving even without applying breaks? I hope this is the problem, because I just bought new pads and rotors on ebay. If anyone has any insight, let me know.

Think you got an ok deal.
The noise Could be road noise from the tires depending on what was put on the car.
My Driver's seat never does that.
Yes the GPS in that view SUX!
The FM Radio is great in my car...try discounnecting whatever it is thats hooked up and hence you'll have your answer.

I CAUTION YOU! FROM EXPERIENCE! Please be very careful what brakes and rotors you buy. I bought after market pads and they didnt work with the infiniti shim kik. The brakes were noisey from the beginning and were wearing unevenly ....well after i haggled and got my money back I went for OEM pads and rotors from infinitipartsusa.com they had great prices compared to my local dealer. Also when installing the brakes (you or your mechanic) dont disgard the Infiniti Shims and Shim backers (like my mechanic)....you may want to use them in the future and the kits are expensive. IMO I would get OEM brakes and Rotors, just my 2 cents.

price is fair in excellent condition.
no seat squeak in mine.
wah wah could be warped rotors especially if you have shimmy at any speed. you should address the brakes regardless of noise if there's vibration with application.
How aggresive is the tire tread profile? i have BFGs and they're noisy as hell above 30mph, but the tread pattern is pretty aggresive as they're A/T tires. it's a give and take.

Yup its probably on. That'll kill reception.

I'd say tires or wheel bearing. New tires doesnt necessarily guarantee its not them. And as far as the bearing, it may not show any give. Mine didnt.

see pic for tread... is that considered aggressive? think i am going to put the 20" sport package wheels on it with the yokohama parada-x's that seem to be popular.

These tire are falken ?

I also hear same sound when I drive..but I have falken tires, now I'm not sure if the tires make noise or there is a bad wheel bearing.

Hey OP, by any chance did you buy your vehicle from a gentleman named Eli Rivera in Brooklyn? Sounds exactly like the vehicle I was going to purchase from said gentleman about 3 weeks ago for the same price you stated? If it is, congrats. I never got around to seeing it but he seemed like a nice enough guy and I hope the vehicle lives up to the great condition he stated it is in.

P.S. I was going to purchase the vehicle until an '04 with 37k miles popped up and I bought it for $17.7k

those are semi aggressive on the opposite end of the spectrum.
what does that mean?



Your tires are what are considered semi-aggressive in between the second and third pics.
i've heard some very noisy tires like yours especially if they are more than a couple of years old (rubber compound gets harder-->noisier) or they have worn down to less than 30-40%. Yours don't look too bad. Pretty good amount of tread after the wear indicator. not a whole lotta miles on they i assume.
obviously i can't hear the noise, but maybe someone you know that is knowledgable can.
find a tire shop or even a mechanic you can trust to give you an honest opinion with concern to the noise.
it can definitely be the source of your noise though.

yep they are Falken Ziex. i need to get rid of these things. anyone want to buy them

I would if they were 20s.

Im looking that you want to sell your tires.. If you change the tires, please let me know the good news that the freaking sound is gone to replace my tires too

if all else fails, you can always turn up the radio. that always works.

Replaced all 4 rotors and pads, still having wah wah wah sound. Next I am getting 20" wheels/tires, and if that doesn't correct the problem, I will take it in for warranty service for something in the drivetrain (IE: wheel bearings).

Then it's probably the bearings... might as well get them replaced before getting new tires since I assume you'll be doing an alignment around the same time...

Just an update for you all. The noise was the Falken Ziex tires. I purchased used 20" OEM wheels and brand new 265/50/20 Yokohama Parada Spec X tires (because of all the recommendations on this forum) and the noise went 100% AWAY. Thanks to anyone who recommended these tires because they are awesome. There is no change in ride quality going from 18's to the 20's, and the yoko's are 100% silent.
Anyone want to buy some noisy (but nearly 95% tread life remains!) 18" falkens?

For comparison....

04 FX45 Premium, Sport, Tech, Towing, 45K miles, 20880 a few months ago.

Market changes, location, etc affect prices. Once you are happy with what you have that is all that counts.

My radio stinks !

When I got my fx I had the wheel bearings replaces. That was a lot of noise.