Hi everyone. I just purchased an '06 QX56 with 104,000 miles on it. I purchase the vehicle from my local Infiniti pre-owned dealer. This is my third purchase from this dealer and have been very satisfied with the dealer and service department in the past. I have had the vehicle for about a week now and have discovered some issues. Any advice you can give would be appreciated.

1. Charging indicator issue. I noticed my charging indicator light had only one bar lit, the one all the way to the left under the '8' volt indicator. I took it back to the Infiniti dealer where I purchased the vehicle. They said the LEDs on the instrument panel were bad and the entire panel would have to be replaced, which they were not going to cover. They said they checked out the charging system and their was nothing wrong. I didn't buy their line, but I left anyway. The very next day, the second bar lit up and the left (bottom) bar under the '8' went away, indicating normal charging level. Since then, I have occasionally seen the two middle bars lit, but it is usually just the second one lit or the bottom one (8) lit. This seems like it could be an alternator issue, assuming the battery is good. Any ideas?

2. Ride bumpiness. I feel every bump when I'm driving on a road that isn't perfectly smooth. I'm no expert, but it feels like it's coming more from the front than the back. Does this mean I need new shocks or struts? I've cruised around the forum and noticed people are recommending Bilsteins. If I buy the Bilsteins, will the dealer install those, or should I have another shop do the job? If Bilsteins are the answer, what model should I get?

3. Passenger side vents broken. The control arm for the vents on the passenger side do not work. We have to stick a pencil in the vent to change the blowing direction. We can manually close or open the vents by grabbing on to one of the vent slats. Is this something that's fairly easy to fix or replace?

4. Rattling from the back interior. This is related to the ride bumpiness. On some bumps, there is also a rattling noise that appears to be coming from inside the cabin, somewhere toward the rear of the vehicle, but I cannot figure it out. Any ideas?

Other than the above issues, I love the vehicle.

Sup and welcome to the club.
Regarding your issues. Here is what I think it is. I am not a mechanic by any means. Just my average opinion.

Battery not charging to full potential could possibly be the alternator. You have over 100k on the SUV.

And most definitely, if you get knew shocks, (like the ones the guys/gals on this forum uses) and you ride will more likely be smoother.

The other stuff, i dont know jack about.....

Peace and Believe.

Just do everything I have in my signature and you'll be happy


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Welcome djbabin!

Just do everything I have in my signature and you'll be happy


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no doubt!

try to swap out to the bilsteins, thats my next mod i will do as every one has had great results with them.

passenger side vents, try www.parts.com
all oem stuff they sell.

Welcome to CA.

A quick thing to check on your tires is the air pressure. My tires were over inflated when I bought my Aremada and it bounced over every single bump.

[QUOTE=djbabin;186581]Hi everyone. I just purchased an '06 QX56 with 104,000 miles on it. I purchase the vehicle from my local Infiniti pre-owned dealer. This is my third purchase from this dealer and have been very satisfied with the dealer and service department in the past. I have had the vehicle for about a week now and have discovered some issues. Any advice you can give would be appreciated.

1. Charging indicator issue. I noticed my charging indicator light had only one bar lit, the one all the way to the left under the '8' volt indicator. I took it back to the Infiniti dealer where I purchased the vehicle. They said the LEDs on the instrument panel were bad and the entire panel would have to be replaced, which they were not going to cover. They said they checked out the charging system and their was nothing wrong. I didn't buy their line, but I left anyway. The very next day, the second bar lit up and the left (bottom) bar under the '8' went away, indicating normal charging level. Since then, I have occasionally seen the two middle bars lit, but it is usually just the second one lit or the bottom one (8) lit. This seems like it could be an alternator issue, assuming the battery is good. Any ideas?

If it were your alternator, you would know, you would not go down further than a mile before the truck turned off. It is the led's in the cluster that have or are going bad, only fix for it would be to get them changed out, or replacing the cluster.

2. Ride bumpiness. I feel every bump when I'm driving on a road that isn't perfectly smooth. I'm no expert, but it feels like it's coming more from the front than the back. Does this mean I need new shocks or struts? I've cruised around the forum and noticed people are recommending Bilsteins. If I buy the Bilsteins, will the dealer install those, or should I have another shop do the job? If Bilsteins are the answer, what model should I get?


Just get the Bilstein shocks and you will be fine, have a local mechanics shop install them, going to the dealer will be expensive.

3. Passenger side vents broken. The control arm for the vents on the passenger side do not work. We have to stick a pencil in the vent to change the blowing direction. We can manually close or open the vents by grabbing on to one of the vent slats. Is this something that's fairly easy to fix or replace?

I would have had the dealer changed them out before I took delivery of the vehicle, you are going to have to go out of pocket for these pieces.

4. Rattling from the back interior. This is related to the ride bumpiness. On some bumps, there is also a rattling noise that appears to be coming from inside the cabin, somewhere toward the rear of the vehicle, but I cannot figure it out. Any ideas?

Check out the tires are properly inflated as Draden stated, also since it is a QX56, you might have the auto level suspension, have the rear air shocks checked out, they might be worn out, just cause they are not leaking air does not mean they are not worn out.

Good luck with everything.

Thanks for the responses. I figured out the rattling issue. There was a nut missing inside the rear door. There is a metal panel that was vibrating (metal on metal) when I hit a bump. I temporarily fixed this by stuffing a small stuffed animal between the metal panel and the door frame. I need to take the back door apart to be able to reach that screw and fix it properly. :-)

My tire pressure was good, so... I plan on ordering Bilsteins for the front struts. I have seen several different model numbers on the forums. Is there a specific model that would be a better fit?

How can I tell if I have the auto level suspension? I have never heard a compressor kick on. Is there something on the dashboard cluster that would indicate this?

Okay, I think I found the correct Bilsteins, F4-BE5-B623-H0 for Nissan Titan. URL here > http://www.shockwarehouse.com/site/product.cfm?id=282321

Also, I found out that the auto-leveling rear suspension is standard on a 2006 QX56. I plan on replacing the front shocks/struts with the Bilsteins. Hopefully that will be sufficient to smooth out the ride. Will repost after I have them installed.

Okay, I think I found the correct Bilsteins, F4-BE5-B623-H0 for Nissan Titan. URL here > http://www.shockwarehouse.com/site/product.cfm?id=282321

Also, I found out that the auto-leveling rear suspension is standard on a 2006 QX56. I plan on replacing the front shocks/struts with the Bilsteins. Hopefully that will be sufficient to smooth out the ride. Will repost after I have them installed.

F4-BE5-D185-H0 Bilstein 5100 Offroad Leveling Shock Nissan Titan
^ this is your other option on bilstein shocks. I went with this one over the HDs partially because I liked the adjustability of them and that they would get me 2.5" of lift! :) It looks like they run about the same price as the HDs and you can pick up the rear pucks from Greg at PRG products to raise up the rear for a very decent price.

F4-BE5-D185-H0 Bilstein 5100 Offroad Leveling Shock Nissan Titan
^ this is your other option on bilstein shocks. I went with this one over the HDs partially because I liked the adjustability of them and that they would get me 2.5" of lift! :) It looks like they run about the same price as the HDs and you can pick up the rear pucks from Greg at PRG products to raise up the rear for a very decent price.

You don't get the rear spacer you just adjust the sensor on the rear shocks to go up 2"


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You don't get the rear spacer you just adjust the sensor on the rear shocks to go up 2"


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You can put the spacer in so it's not so much stress on the air shocks. :) Right now I've done what you said above to pinch a penny but I'm looking to put in a spacer so I can ease off the air suspension a little.

Considering this is your 3rd vehicle go back to the dealer and tell them to fix the vehicle to your liking, bottom line. Be firm and stand your ground. I personally would of had the vehicle inspected before even considering the purchase, but the dealer needs to give you some sort of warranty and time on the vehicle. The shocks/struts may help but you also may have other suspension parts that are on the way out. And at that milaege you may have to just deal with it. Our truck is a bit rough but she drives the vehicle so no complaints, no changes.

Welcome to the Club!!

You might want to go to an A/V shop or a different mechanic to check your voltage output to make sure you're getting more than 8 volts. Other than that, what they said!!

Welcome to the Club and Congrats on the QX
1. Charging indicator issue. I noticed my charging indicator light had only one bar lit, the one all the way to the left under the '8' volt indicator. I took it back to the Infiniti dealer where I purchased the vehicle. They said the LEDs on the instrument panel were bad and the entire panel would have to be replaced, which they were not going to cover. They said they checked out the charging system and their was nothing wrong. I didn't buy their line, but I left anyway. The very next day, the second bar lit up and the left (bottom) bar under the '8' went away, indicating normal charging level. Since then, I have occasionally seen the two middle bars lit, but it is usually just the second one lit or the bottom one (8) lit. This seems like it could be an alternator issue, assuming the battery is good. Any ideas?

This is a common issue on the 04-07 QX the LEDs go out and every now and then they will light up randomly (there should be 3 bars lit up when the engine is running), I have the same issue with my 07, your charging system is fine, I have 103k miles on mine and have had no issues with the electrical system. If you are good with soldering circuits or have experience with soldering transistor and chips, I would recommend you to take out the dash and go over all the LED contacts on the dash and re solder those that need it.

Rob

Hi - for the Bilsteins - I ordered BS-F4-BE5-B623-H0 for about $170 from offroadwarehouse dot com. They made a huge difference on my Armada. Good luck with the QX!

Interesting on the led battery guage. I have an 08 and it has an analog batt guage like thr speedo. Seems like an led guage would be more advanced. I wonder if they reverted this to analog because of this issue.

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I know when I bought my certified pre owned 06 armada, they told me I have 3 months to bring any problems to their attention and they would fix them for free. I took it in for paint chips, cloth roof was coming out a little
Bit, alignment was off, door handle was loose and some other issues. Does this not apply to everyones sale? Cause of it does just take it back and tell them what you wrote.