QX55 — review after ~1 year
Not sure if anyone is even interested in the QX55 — since there’s a lot of hate about the CVT transmission and stuff. But I wanted to give a review after having owned it for about a year (will be a year in a month or two), just in case. on the quirks and stuff. I’m coming from a 2018 Q60S.
The one I have is the 2022 sensory model. I think the only additional options, from standard, that it came with were the lighting package (kick plates, under car / exterior lights to make it bright at night when you’re getting into your car — it’s kind of nice and makes me less concerned of surprise butt stuff at night if I drop something and need to bend over) splash guards and cargo net. I went and got the black front grille separately.
Exterior: I have no complaints. I think it looks really great — I took the pearl white and swapped in the black front grille. I also think it’s really cool how they put the button to open the rear into the actual emblem. The piano lights look very nice as well.
Seats: Nice. It was awesome that cooled seats came standard — so I can warm and chill my butt while driving. They’re comfortable. The leather in the QX50 is weird and feels grippy. Like almost sticky but not sticky, just. I don’t know. The QX55 has smooth leather and is a lot more comfortable to sit on. The seat controls work great, the lumbar support is nice, everything (for me) is in easy reach (6′, I feel just kinda standard limb length).
The center console is kind of weird though. It’s just like this massive hole when you open it. It fits a ton of stuff and has USB ports (is ports the right word for a car?), but anything you put in there will get lost with anything else you put in there. I bought like a splitter thing so there’s 2 levels — one blackhole and one organized section on top.
Trying to get your car into neutral is like wtf. Like there’s drive and reverse and that’s it, it seems like. Trying to just slightly tap your shifter to get it into neutral takes practice. The first time I learned this, I spent 10 minutes in the front of a line of a drive thru car wash :(. It was stupidly frustrating and I’m pretty sure I made at least 5 enemies.
Speaking of gears and all that (I’m definitely all about technical terms) — the park function is a button behind the shifter. That felt super sketchy for the first few weeks, and I’d always hesitate letting go of the break pedal. The e-break is also right next to the button and is just a tiny little switch — so that scares me too. I don’t know. something about not feeling or hearing your car actively go into park is strange to me.
Steering wheel feels good. Car is responsive, but it’s a taller car so it’s not like you should be swerving in and out of traffic or making sharp turns. It gets the job done on normal streets and doesn’t feel like you’re driving a bigger car (or bigger to me coming from a coupe). Same on the freeway. The controls are intuitive enough — but that might just be because it’s so similar to my previous car. The only thing missing from this is being able to change audio input — so I have to use the touchscreen for that (not a big deal).
Speed/engine/etc: Yes yes. It’s not the fastest car, it’s only 268 hp, but where are you going that you need a fast SUV/crossover/SAV? It’s noticeable coming from the Q60, but I got used to it and I’m kind of past zipping about everywhere. CVT: I really can’t comment, but I really do not feel it. It’s responsive from a stop, breaks well and climbs up in speed steadily when you need it to. You’re not going to win any races, but I hope you’re not trying to race anyone while in a mid sized vehicle.
Touch screens: literally exactly the same as my Q60, I don’t feel like they did any kind of upgrade to it (after reading other reviews, they didn’t). Except — I can now scroll through my phone book while driving. It was locked in my Q60 and was a pain in the ass — I get why they did it, but still. It’s not the greatest system, but it’s also not the worst. Oh, they did add Apple play and Android auto (maybe those were there in earlier cars? it wasn’t in the q60) — but I don’t use them because:
There’s only one USB port that is actively connected to the touch screens / you can control via your car. And that is the port right under the screens (where the cigarette lighter used to go). All other ports are for charging only (and there’s a lot of them — I think in total 5-6?). And I keep that plugged into my iPod — because I’m weird and I don’t like using my phone as a portable music player. So anyways, I miss out on . whatever features Android Auto has which I don’t think is much. but what do I know. And yes, it’s archaic. I’m OK with it.
They added a heads up display which I was sorely missing in the q60. They also let you adjust the location of the hud, and it’s almost my favorite thing besides the ass cooler.
I don’t think it’s the most fuel efficient at 22mpg city.
- My iPod (people laugh at me for this :() is listed as a version/generation that is 100% compatible with the car in the manual. It plays and displays the music, but that’s it. I can’t fast forward, go to next song, go to last song, etc. The controls don’t work. That’s the steering wheel controls, touchscreen controls and the physical buttons. I’ve taken it in and they don’t know why it doesn’t work. So I gave up.
- If you turn on HD radio, your radio will skip back to whatever is stored in station 1. It’s 100% of the time after you’ve been listening to a station for 20ish plus seconds. If I go to station 4, stay on it and listen for maybe 20-30 seconds and then try to go back (using the steering wheel controls) to station 3 or forward to station 5. I get station 1.
- I still haven’t figured out how to delete stored radio stations, so I have like 6 I listen to and 24 random ones that were pre-stored for some reason. So instead of being able to like go from station 6 to station 1 by hitting next, I have to go through 24 stations of static or remember to use the previous station button (I don’t do that — I’m not THAT dumb).
- When you park the car and open the door, the seat slides back and steering wheel pulls in and up so you have a lot of room to exit the car (this is not a gripe — this is a good thing). BUT like maybe 5% of the time, when I get in the car, the seat will adjust only part way back to the setting that’s stored and occasionally the steering wheel too. I only notice this because on those occasions, only the tips of my toes hit the pedals so I have to manually adjust the seat. And that’s really weird to me.
- The passenger side front window is noticeably slower than the driver side.
- I leave my wiper settings to just auto turn on if it senses rain. Sometimes after a car wash, the wipers will just go off even after being dried and sitting in the sun for a few hours. Leaving streaks on a freshly washed windshield. This is probably user error and there’s probably some moisture somewhere triggering it, but. reeeeeeeeeeee.
- The «do a small kick under the rear» to open the rear door — it’s a semi crap shoot at times when trying to use it. I mean it works like 80% of the time, just not 100% of the time.
Bonus: Not a car problem. Infiniti intouch app is still garbage and doesn’t update the information all the time or even work all the time.
And of course, I can never duplicate any of the issues when I’m at the dealership.
Overall the car (to me) is enjoyable to drive. It’s roomy inside, plenty of cargo space for daily tasks/chores like groceries, taking your dog to the vet, picking up dry cleaning, etc. But I’m not married nor have children, so I’d imagine my daily needs are vastly different. Maybe it’s not enough room if you have kids? I don’t know, how much room do kids need when in a car??
I feel like some of the electronics were rushed (the majority of my gripes list) and could have been QAd better, but they’re not terrible and are more of a minor inconvenience. I’m happy with it and don’t have any regrets getting it.
If anyone has questions, or wants to see something specific I’d be more than happy to answer/take pics.
Edit 1, 12/22: some months later and I’ve experienced 3 brand new tech glitches. The first one- my navigation got stuck in a city I was leaving? Like .. the map just stayed where I was leaving from and the navigation kept telling me directions that made no sense. It was stuck in the wrong city for like 2 days. I have no idea what triggered it or how it fixed itself.
The second is if your media was set to streaming off Bluetooth or something (like Spotify on my phone) and you turn the car off. When you turn it back on, sometimes your radio stops working completely. Like can’t switch source, no sound comes out. Etc. This one sucks because it randomly happened while I was stuck in traffic on the freeway (had volume all the way down as I was trying to find the freeway — see navigation glitch above).
Third your Bluetooth doesn’t always stay on. Like if your phone was connected, other cars it automatically reconnects. This car, sometimes Bluetooth doesn’t get turned on automatically.
Fucking wild electronic issues. And of course I can’t get any of the problems to happen at the dealership.
2024 INFINITI QX55 Features
The heart of a luxury crossover. The soul of a performance sports coupe. Have it all (and look good doing it) behind the wheel of the INFINITI QX55.
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Innovation That’s Connected To You
Wireless Apple CarPlay® integration
Simply connect your iPhone® to QX55 to access Apple Music®, send and receive messages, make calls, plan your route with Apple Maps and more. [[387]]
Android Auto™
Simply plug your Android device into QX55 to access the familiar, simplified Android Auto interface – all powered by easy-to-use voice commands. [[387]]
Navigation
Arrive in style with real-time traffic information, 3D building graphics and seamless turn-by-turn directions. [[2024_QX55_254]]
Bose® Sound System
Enjoy concert-like audio featuring a professionally-tuned sound stage with QX55’s available Bose 16-Speaker Performance Series Audio System. [[17]]
INFINITI InTouch® with Wi-Fi Hotspot
Keep connected on the Infinite Road with QX55’s standard onboard Wi-Fi hotspot technology. [[387]]
Putting The «Coupe» In Crossover Coupe
QX55’s versatile VC-Turbo engine refuses to compromise performance for the sake of efficiency, instead transforming and changing its compression ratio on the fly to offer the best of both worlds. [[400]]
QX55 comes standard with Intelligent All-Wheel Drive, measuring wheelspin, throttle input and road speed to send up to 50% of available power to the rear wheels for better traction and performance. [[169]]
QX55 Video Gallery
When INFINITI designed QX55, we did so with an eye towards trendsetting individuality, performance-inspired luxury and an absolute sense of cool.
Working and Playing Remotely
Find your inspiration and redefine your expectations of connectivity with forward-thinking features like wireless Apple CarPlay® – standard-equipped in the INFINITI QX55. [[170]]
Take Back the Commute
Get where you’re going in a style all your own with the sport-inspired luxury of QX55 – featuring INFINITI’s standard ProPILOT Assist driver assist technology. [[405]]
Style for the Scene
Turn heads. Set your own trends. Stand out in style wherever you go when you arrive behind the wheel of the provocative QX55.
Luxury For The Real World
QX55’s style and panache are matched only by its comfort and convenience, bringing real-world luxury and confidence to each and every drive through future-forward safety features and driver-assist technologies.
Blind Spot Warning and Intervention®
QX55’s standard Blind Spot Warning helps alert you to vehicles detected in the blind spot area when driving, while the standard Blind Spot Intervention® can actively assist you back toward the center of your travel lane if you begin to move over.[[13]][[14]]
ProPILOT Assist Technology
Experience truly pioneering luxury in the form of QX55’s standard ProPILOT Assist – INFINITI’s unique suite of driver-assist technologies that helps make highway traffic more tolerable and every drive just that much more enjoyable.[[128]]
Head-Up Display Technology
Keep your focus on the drive with QX55’s available head-up display technology: a unique driver-centric detail that allows you to keep your eyes up.[[412]]
Around View® Monitor with Moving Object Detection
Make an impression with your parking prowess thanks to QX55’s available Around View® Monitor with Moving Object Detection and enjoy a composite 360° view around your crossover coupe every time you park.[[11]]
Predictive Forward Collision Warning
QX55’s standard Predictive Forward Collision Warning takes advantage of advanced technology to keep tabs on the distance between you and the vehicle ahead of you – and the vehicle in front of that one, too. [[48]]
QX55 Issues
I’m begining to think that Infiniti cars are not all that well made. I have a 2022 QX55 Essential with the ProPilot upgrades. About 20k miles.
My initial problem was the right front parking sensor firing all the time when it shouldn’t. This took three visits to the dealer, but it got replaced. Still goes crazy now and then, but not consistently. The left front one might be starting to have an issue as well.
My entertainment center started rebooting after I would start driving. That got replaced. It’s starting to do it again.
The driver’s seat now doesn’t always return to the driving position when I restart the car. I thought it was because I took my foot off the brake too soon after starting, but it fails sometimes even when I leave my foot on the break.
My latest issue is the driver’s side passenger door lock doesn’t unlock. Just makes a funky jiggling sound. I have to open it manually.
Sheesh. What else is gonna go wrong?