2016 INFINITI QX50 Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2016 INFINITI QX50, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Engine521.7%
- Electrical417.4%
- Powertrain (other)313.0%
- Driver assistance313.0%
- Fuel system313.0%
- Airbags313.0%
- Brakes14.3%
- Interior & seats14.3%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Engine
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components.
From owner reports, verbatim
My qx50 is currently back in the shop. So far I’ve spent about $12,000 on engine and transmission repairs and the NHTSA doesn’t seem to be doing anything about it. Now it needs a new “ignition coil” for another $1,000. I’m just at a loss for words!! I’m attaching the “Review of services” that was conducted earlier this month, when my Infiniti was in the shop and the diagnostic codes that came up when I had to have the vehicle towed there, less than a week later.
so after my initial report about my engine catching fire on the highway, I received an invoice for $5,000 for a used engine with 80k miles on it; plus another $2800 for the service fee. I already put down about $3900 for the engine repair. The mechanic sent me pictures of the engine with the holes on it that caused the damage (or the holes might have happened during the fire). I’m attaching photos sent to me, from my mechanic, showing the holes/damage on the engine, for your consideration and a photo of the initial repair bill (including receipt of my deposit) for your review … also, I still need to pay another $4300 to pick it up, but he said my check engine light is still on due to a transmission, that may be related to the valve body failing. What are these qx50s still being sold?? On the car forums and YouTube, there are so many issues with the engines and the transmissions (including the 450k that are currently under investigation). And their consumer affairs dept is extremely hostile about the situation, when you call into the infiniti office/headquarters. These defective engines/ transmissions need to be recalled, as soon as possible. They’re extremely dangerous and Infiniti is not taking responsibility for the problem. Why is the govt not intervening on behalf of the infiniti owners??
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Electrical
Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories.
From owner reports, verbatim
The contact owns a 2016 Infiniti QX50. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she attempted to engage the horn to prevent a collision; however, the horn was inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the clockspring had melted onto the horn relay. The vehicle was not repaired. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 118,274.
Purchased vehicle on 4/23/23 from Carmax. Discovered horn was not working 5/10 when a truck swerved into my lane on the freeway. Carmax refused to refund money under 30 day guarantee stating I drove over 1500 miles. Prior to purchasing I signed documents stating the car was in perfect condition after 3 point inspection , horn included . They scheduled a appointment at the end of the month leaving me with no transportation to get to work . After complaining to the BBB they denied anything was wrong with the car, even after doing a appraisal on 6/10 where I stated the horn was not functioning. I took the car for a third party diagnostic and the mechanic determined a defective horn relay and spiral cable . I have not driven this car at all since 5/13 except 6/10 when I attempted to sell it back to the dealership twice.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Powertrain (other)
Powertrain reports that are not specifically the engine or transmission — driveshafts, axles, transfer cases and differentials.
From owner reports, verbatim
My qx50 is currently back in the shop. So far I’ve spent about $12,000 on engine and transmission repairs and the NHTSA doesn’t seem to be doing anything about it. Now it needs a new “ignition coil” for another $1,000. I’m just at a loss for words!! I’m attaching the “Review of services” that was conducted earlier this month, when my Infiniti was in the shop and the diagnostic codes that came up when I had to have the vehicle towed there, less than a week later.
so after my initial report about my engine catching fire on the highway, I received an invoice for $5,000 for a used engine with 80k miles on it; plus another $2800 for the service fee. I already put down about $3900 for the engine repair. The mechanic sent me pictures of the engine with the holes on it that caused the damage (or the holes might have happened during the fire). I’m attaching photos sent to me, from my mechanic, showing the holes/damage on the engine, for your consideration and a photo of the initial repair bill (including receipt of my deposit) for your review … also, I still need to pay another $4300 to pick it up, but he said my check engine light is still on due to a transmission, that may be related to the valve body failing. What are these qx50s still being sold?? On the car forums and YouTube, there are so many issues with the engines and the transmissions (including the 450k that are currently under investigation). And their consumer affairs dept is extremely hostile about the situation, when you call into the infiniti office/headquarters. These defective engines/ transmissions need to be recalled, as soon as possible. They’re extremely dangerous and Infiniti is not taking responsibility for the problem. Why is the govt not intervening on behalf of the infiniti owners??
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Driver assistance
Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems.
From owner reports, verbatim
I was driving and came to a red light behind other cars. I was completely stopped with brakes applied and vehicle suddenly lurched forward, RPM’s reved up over 3,000 without me accelerating. I was about two blocks from home and was able to make it by slowly driving and jerking all the way. Mechanic codes were 720 output speed sensor. Very alarming situation! I could have easily hit the car in front of me if I would have been any closer, or worst yet a pedestrian! Appears to be critical safety issue and something that may need to be recalled.
THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH EITHER THE ACCELERATION, ELECTRICAL OR THROTTLE. WHILE PARKING THE VEHICLE AND APPLYING THE BREAKS, THE VEHICLE SPEED FORWARD AT HIGH SPEED AND WOULD NOT STOP EVEN WITH APPLYING THE BREAKS. IT CRASHED ME AND MY DAUGHTER INTO A BRICK BUILDING AT HIGH SPEED. THE WITNESS SAID HE HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT BEFORE AND HE WAS A MECHANIC AND AUTO BODY SPECIALIST. HE SAID WE WENT FROM ALMOST IN THE STOP POSITION TO HIGH SPEED LIKE A CRASH TEST DUMMY VEHICLE. THIS ALL OCCURRED IN A SMALL PARKING LOT IN THE CITY. THE INSURANCE COMPANY DEEMED IT A TOTAL LOSS BECAUSE THE DAMAGES WERE OVER 85% OF THE CARS VALUE. THE WITNESS AND URGENT CARE FACILITY SAID WE ARE LUCKY TO BE ALIVE. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP IN FEBRUARY OR MARCH 2020 REGARDING THE VEHICLES ACCELERATION. THE SERVICE REP I WORKED WITH WAS CONDESCENDING AND TRIED TO MAKE ME THINK IT WAS ALL IN MY HEAD AND TOLD ME THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. HE DROVE IT AROUND A FEW BLOCKS WITH ME IN IT AND SAID THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG. I KEPT TELLING HIM THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG BECAUSE IT WOULD EITHER LOSE POWER OR JERK FORWARD OUT OF NOWHERE. THIS WAS A CPO VEHICLE SO I DID NOT EXPECT TO BE TAKING IT IN FOR SERVICE ONLY A COUPLE OF MONTHS AFTER PURCHASING IT. *TR
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Fuel system
Reports naming fuel storage or delivery — tanks, pumps, lines, injectors and fuel leaks.
From owner reports, verbatim
so after my initial report about my engine catching fire on the highway, I received an invoice for $5,000 for a used engine with 80k miles on it; plus another $2800 for the service fee. I already put down about $3900 for the engine repair. The mechanic sent me pictures of the engine with the holes on it that caused the damage (or the holes might have happened during the fire). I’m attaching photos sent to me, from my mechanic, showing the holes/damage on the engine, for your consideration and a photo of the initial repair bill (including receipt of my deposit) for your review … also, I still need to pay another $4300 to pick it up, but he said my check engine light is still on due to a transmission, that may be related to the valve body failing. What are these qx50s still being sold?? On the car forums and YouTube, there are so many issues with the engines and the transmissions (including the 450k that are currently under investigation). And their consumer affairs dept is extremely hostile about the situation, when you call into the infiniti office/headquarters. These defective engines/ transmissions need to be recalled, as soon as possible. They’re extremely dangerous and Infiniti is not taking responsibility for the problem. Why is the govt not intervening on behalf of the infiniti owners??
There are 2 check engine codes that came up as an issue for my vehicle, out of the blue: P0720 and P0500. I reached out to my mechanic and he couldn't fix it. So my plan was to take it to the dealership at the end of this month; however, while driving the vehicle back from my sister's house, the bottom of the car caught on fire and I had to pull over to jump out the car with my children. Called 911. The police and fire dept came, but the fire had gone out by that time, so the officer had the vehicle towed off the highway. Looked into the issue online and apparently it's very common. One Infiniti dealership said that he fixes about 30 per month. Why didn't Infiniti issue a recall for this very serious, hazardous situation? Where is their due diligence to fix this problem for their customers? Why are they letting so many vehicles fail? What happened to reasonable due care? Is it not enough that they are aware of this issue and won’t recall it, but what about the physical danger that they are putting us in? And the emotional distress they caused my children, having to jump out of their vehicle on a highway in the middle of the night? Doesn’t Infiniti have a minimum safety requirement of due care to mitigate hazards for its customers?
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Airbags
Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights.
From owner reports, verbatim
On December 24, 2024 I was in a car accident where my car did make impact twice after spinning out of control due to black ice. The first impact occurred hitting a car then the final impact occurred when the car was flung into the metal barricade after spinning. The air bags did NOT deploy during this accident and I was very concerned for my safety and my life.
The contact owns a 2016 Infiniti QX50. The contact stated that while driving or parked, the “Air Bags Deactivated” and “Seat Belt Detached” warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and a local dealer. The independent mechanic performed an electronic reset on the vehicle and the lights were off for one day; however, the failure reoccurred. The independent mechanic related the failure with the NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V244000 (Air Bags) however, the vehicle was not included in the recall. The local dealer diagnosed the vehicle and confirmed a failure with the sensor module for the air bags. The contact approved the repair; however, the vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Brakes
Reports naming service brakes, the antilock braking system, brake hoses, master cylinders or the parking brake.
From owner reports, verbatim
This is the 3rd instance of my car rolling backwards down the driveway. Both the first and second instances of uncontrolled rolling happened in 2016. Only the second instance was caught on camera. I shared the video with Infiniti and was instructed to bring the car in for an inspection. I went in for the inspection in December 2016 and they reported that there were no issues (despite video evidence). Today, December 2, 2022, the car (while gear shifted into park) again rolled down the driveway, across a street and hit my neighbor's house. This was all caught on video as well. I posted the video on the manufacturers social media site. See below for the email I sent to the dealership after they contacted me. I've also uploaded the videos to YouTube because they're in MP4 format and I'm unaware of how to convert them to the format required for this submission. The titles of the videos are: Infiniti QX50 Rolling Backwards December 2016 and Infiniti QX50 Rolling Backwards December 2022. Both were published today, December 2, 2022.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Interior & seats
Reports naming seats, latches, locks, linkages and interior fittings.
From owner reports, verbatim
THE CHILD SEAT VEHICLE LATCH ANCHORS ARE PRACTICALLY INACCESSIBLE. THE ANCHORS ARE POSITIONED UNDER THE SEAT CAUSING GREAT DIFFICULTY IN ATTACHING THE CHILD SEAT TO THE BRACKETS. THIS HAS CAUSED INJURY TO THE PERSON ATTEMPTING TO ATTACH THE LATCH TO THE ANCHOR. ALSO IT HAS RESULTED IN IMPROPERLY SECURING THE CHILD SEAT. IT SEEMS TO BE A FACTORY DEFECT, WHEREAS THE ANCHOR WHICH IS SHAPED LIKE AN "L" BRACKET WAS INSTALLED UPSIDE DOWN. THE LOCATION OF THESE ANCHORS ARE UNDER THE SEAT RATHER THAN BETWEEN THE GAP OF THE SEAT CUSHION AND THE BACK CUSHION ARE VERY UNREASONABLE TO USE. ATTEMPTING TO UTILIZE THE ANCHOR HAS CAUSED UNDUE AMOUNT OF TIME, STRESS AND INJURY. I HAVE REPORTED THIS ISSUE TO THE DEALER.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .