2002 Infiniti I35 problems & reliability
70 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2002 Infiniti I35, alongside 5 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
8 complaints report injuries (15 injured, 11 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2002 Infiniti I35 vehicles were involved in 5 fatal crashes with 2 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Engine and Engine Cooling → | 14 | 20% |
| Air Bags → | 12 | 17% |
| Engine → | 11 | 16% |
| Suspension → | 11 | 16% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 9 | 13% |
| Exterior Lighting | 7 | 10% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 7 | 10% |
| Steering | 7 | 10% |
| Power Train | 6 | 9% |
| Electrical System | 5 | 7% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 127,495 miles (middle 50% between 84,500 and 173,750 miles), based on 36 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“The contact owns a 2002 Infiniti I35. The contact stated while driving 70–75 MPH on the freeway, the vehicle shut off and failed to restart. Additionally, while driving on another occasion, the vehicle shut off but restarted. The check engine, traction control, and ABS warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was…”
Engine · filed Aug 22, 2024
“The contact owns a 2002 Infiniti I35. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 03V455000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer…”
Engine and Engine Cooling · filed Jul 27, 2023
“The contact owns a 2002 infiniti i35. The contact stated that after taking his vehicle to an independent mechanic, he was informed that the lower control arm needed to be replaced. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to nhtsa campaign number: 02v146000 (suspension) however, the vin was not included. The…”
Vehicle Speed Control · filed May 13, 2021
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Engineering Analysis EA21002 · opened Sep 17, 2021 · open
Technical service bulletins
70 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2002 Infiniti I35. The 10 most recent:
CERTIFICATION LABEL AND VIN PLATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION Because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “Certification Label” or “VIN Plate/Label” may be needed. HINT: Certification Label =…
ITB09-063C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 13, 2026
INTELLIGENT KEY NOT DETECTED / ENGINE WILL NOT START This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
ITB13-052E · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 20, 2024
WINDOW GLASS WARRANTY INFORMATION This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
ITB17-009H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 30, 2024
REMOVING FOREIGN MATERIAL FROM THE WINDOW GLASS This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
ITB13-007I · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 30, 2024
WINDSHIELD CRACKING This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
ITB09-039K · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 29, 2024
REMOVING FOREIGN MATERIAL FROM THE WINDOW GLASS This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
ITB13-007H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 27, 2023
WINDSHIELD CRACKING This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
ITB09-039J · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 27, 2023
WHEEL BEARING COLLISION DAMAGE This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
ITB10-067C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 22, 2023
INFINITI; FRONT SONAR PARKING SENSOR SERVICE INFORMATION This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
ITB16-006A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 24, 2021
The information below has been updated to include the INFINITI specific mail volume.
RETAILER SUPPORT · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 30, 2020
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2002 Infiniti I35 has 5 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2002 Infiniti I35?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 127,495 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.