I hate to be the one who tells you, but your aftermarket extended warrantee is probably not worth the paper it’s printed on.
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The effects of exhaust restrictions
While the typical nature of exhaust system restrictions is largely irrelevant to the main topic of this article, the practical effects of exhaust restrictions and the symptoms they produce are not. For instance, a no-start, hard-start, or rough/erratic idling condition on a vehicle that is not fitted with exhaust pressure sensors* could be caused by any number of things, but even in the absence of air/fuel metering, ignition, and/or related electrical fault codes, the cause of the condition might not be immediately ascribed to a very dense exhaust restriction: think rodent nest, a collapsed/clogged silencer, or a partially melted catalytic converter core.
Since the engine can be revved over 2500 RPM’s with the exhaust disconnected, says the exhaust is restricted.
If it were in limp mode, the engine wouldn’t rev over 2500 RPM’s, exhaust disconnected or not.
Tester
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A quick look on the internet suggests that Indiana follows “horse trader” traditions of buyer beware, just like Illinois. Sounds like the car came from a dealer in Lake County Indiana. Cars registered in Lake County have to pass emissions inspections every two years, but I see no requirement for them to pass upon title transfer, and sellers of cars sold “as is” are not required to certify that the car will pass emissions inspection when they sell it.
I’m currently sitting in the car with my foot on the brake while in Drive. The idle shaking is pretty rough.
Are very poor mileage and erratic RPM’s common with restricted exhaust? Or is that more a result of bad timing?
Reading all your responses is very informative and I appreciate everyone chiming in. You do learn something new every day.
This is definitely a learning experience.
It isn’t clear yet whether you bought the Infiniti from the previous owner or from a dealer. If you bought it from a dealer, the CEL issue and the disconnected Y pipe are completely unacceptable, and the dealer should be in the hook for them, no matter whether it was an as-is sale or not. If it was a private sale, get the CEL checked out. If it was disconnected, the. The previous owner was hiding something, and he should still be responsible for cheating you.
No, shaking while idling is not a symptom of obstructed exhaust. Some of us suspected obstructed exhaust when you said that the limp mode did not recur during the period while the exhaust had a big leak. However, it may be that the exhaust leak caused the car to run open loop (i.e. default settings, computer not really controlling engine) due to the massive exhaust leak, and that was why it did not go into limp mode during that time.
Try putting your hand at the exhaust pipe opening at the back of the car while the car is idling. If you can feel the individual bursts of exhaust, the exhaust is not obstructed.
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It was a thread on this forum with a guy who bought a car with so much rust in the frame that it was unsafe and would not pass inspection, and he successfully persuaded the selling dealer to unwind the deal. The argument was that the dealer likely obtained the fraudulent inspection sticker on the car, as by no reasonable means it would pass inspection properly.
I would suggest @thebomb470_174858 to entertain the idea of confronting the seller with demand to buy it back, but it would need to happen soon-ish and will require some homework on the legalese side.
Most likely dealer does not want to be dragged into some kind of legal proceedings demonstrating clear wrongdoing around CEL, but proving that in the court of law may be either too expensive or even impossible for the state where sale occurred, so if is it possible to find some kind of middle ground between where lawyers and police are not yet involved, yet the threat of that scenario happening is convincing, it might be the easiest way out, even if some money are lost in the process.
7-years old Infinitiy is not a bucket of flowers by itself, in terms of costly maintenance/repairs likely to be required, but having all the other mods and hidden problems… sounds like a money pit about to unravel.
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UPDATE
It’s been about 48 hours since I’ve had the Y-Pipe Fixed and a full Synthetic Oil change done.
I’ve noticed the car stopped having a rough idle and is way more smooth. Feels normal. The RPM’s are not as wonky and over the place. Everything for ‘now’ feels like it is running normally. The only thing I notice is that my mileage is still very poor. I’m not going to forget about all the other problems, but it seems like some fresh oil is helping clear some things up.
Who knows, the dealership said the car received an oil change when it got on the lot in Feb, but they might’ve lied about that. There was no service history backing that up. I do know there was no oil on the dip stick so could be I needed an oil change very badly.
I Will still have the codes read. I will update if anything does re-occur. I really do appreciate everyone’s feedback and insight!
That could mean that you should be checking your oil level at least every week before you start your car , say every Saturday . As for the poor mileage how does it compare to the EPA rating . This is not a vehicle that was noted for great MPG .
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Noted, I’ll start double-checking the oil level more often.
My car’s computer is telling me I’m averaging 15mpg. I do know the MPG is supposed to be somewhere around 23mpg (combined). Is my reading normal?
Yes, but that was definite evidence of somebody–or a few people–not checking the oil level for an extended period of time. Please don’t confuse oil changes with the need to monitor the oil level on a regular basis. With any vehicle that is new-to-you, you need to check the oil at least once each week until you have a good idea of its rate of oil consumption.
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If you are doing a lot of in town stop and go with short trips then 15 mpg might be normal . Plus that dash readout will not be accurate that is why we tell people to check the old fashioned way to really know what you get.
Edit: The rating for a Q50 is up to 20 city /up to 29 highway . The key words are ’ up to ’ .
One of our vehicles the city driving readout never matches but straight highway is within 2 miles of the readout .
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I would say I drive mostly city miles 2/3, but I do have a good amount of highway miles 1/3.
I really am pretty naïve when it comes to the car world, but it interests me. I also want to make sure that I keep my car in the best condition and keep up with maintenance. I am a sponge, soaking in all of this helpful info you all provide. I really do appreciate it.
… and the two biggest factors in achieving optimum gas mileage are driver behavior and vehicle maintenance.
In this case, both are unknowns for forum members, and even the OP may not know how well this vehicle was maintained.
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your CEL is still not able to warn you if you have any condition damaging your engine this very moment, you simply do not know
your car is relatively new, model year-wise, so all these lights are LEDs and no way they would “burn out” on their own
I recall somebody’s report that CEL was simply covered with a piece of electric tape under the protective front lens - it’s not that hard to take thing apart and do that, this is how some people change the way their gauges look
in your shoes, I would not treat this situation with any less attention just from the recent “seem to run smoother” report
I completely agree, and when I went to the dealership to try and resolve some issues and see if they would cover any repairs, I was met with hostility and an unwillingness to work with me. They were rude and barely wanted to offer any help. I bought the car “as is” so I’m not sure if I would have any legal grounds to support me… it feels like I’m in the hole.
As for the CEL, I asked the GM of that dealership and he simply said " I doubt there was tampering because it’s very hard to get behind the dash" … I personally thought that answer was BS.
The most they’ve done for me is to verbally agree to “reimburse me” for the Y-pipe repair. I’ll wait for that check to arrive, if it ever does.
On the dash, I see the outline of the CEL shape. So I know there isn’t any tape or anything like that but I’d imagine the bulb was disconnected/removed, etc. I really want to peacefully resolve this with them, but it doesn’t seem likely.
Thank you for your feedback!
around 9:00 he removes the semi-transparent film where you see the outline of CEL, around 11:00 you can see the actual LEDs as small bricks on the circuit board
now, imagine if one puts a small piece of electric tape over one of LEDs and assembled everything together, would you see the difference other than no CEL illuminated ever?
the same guy has another video where it took him 1 hour and 20 minutes to get the instrument cluster to his table, where he removed probably 3 times more components than needed to accomplish the task, plus blah-blah-blah in the middle
I would estimate that entire “squash the CEL” mission could be accomplished in under 2 hours, including a break for coffee and doughnuts - quite reasonable to turn a super-cheap CEL-illuminating trade-in into a profitable hot ride ?
Vehicle bought 'As Is ’ from a different state . I am surprised they are even going to reimburse the Y pipe cost. Just move on and plan on replacing this thing when it is feasible for you to do so.
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back to early 2000s, I used to live next to VW dealership, which was selling their new shiny Touaregs like hot cakes…
one guy was lucky enough to buy a car, where engine disintegrated within few first weeks or so and he tried to get a warranty service, but was shown to the door
at some point, as I was getting to work, I’ve seen him with a big “my VW Touareg is a LEMON!!!” poster walking and waving next to a busy road in the front of a dealer… and it’s like a middle of business center… with a couple of dealer employees trying to hush him down and stop spoiling their business 
so, I watched that for few minutes, smiled and went on my way… but local TV station and then a newspaper picked up the story, so it was not an end to it apparently, and the guy actually returned his lemon for a full refund in the end
not sure how much that helps you, but sometimes that kind of stories have a better end
You originally said you had a warranty and now you said you bought the car “as is”. That is a big difference and you seem to have done everything wrong from the get go. Luxury cars get cheaper to buy as they age but their repairs and maintenance don’t get cheaper, only more frequent. Unfortunately, experience is a costly teacher.
The worst place to buy a used car is from a used car dealer. Any cars that get traded in that are in great condition are sold by the dealership that took them in trade. The not so great ones are taken to auctions where used car dealers buy them.
Since you know nothing about cars you should have a car checked out by a mechanic you pay. Used cars for sale by owner are usually cheaper and since you did not get a warranty there is no advantage by buying from a dealer.
By the way, if you are buying a car, get in and turn the key without starting it. If the check engine light does not come on, just get out and keep looking.
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