Thanks to NICOClub’s help, TrueDelta is able to provide excellent coverage of Infiniti and Nissan models. So, when Greg (AZhitman) asked if I could write an article for the site, I instantly agreed.

TrueDelta promptly updates these results four times a year, so they’re by far the most up-to-date on the Internet. The current set includes owner experiences through the end of September, 2008.

Infiniti coverage begins with a sore spot: the new EX35. We’ve got a new “traffic light” indicator, and the EX gets a rare “red light” owing to a stat of 136 successful repair trips per 100 vehicles per year. This is well over twice the average. The culprit: common fuel pump failures, and some minor electrical issues.

Once Nissan gets the fuel pump issue resolved—I’d be surprised if recently produced vehicles are affected—the EX35 will have an average repair rate. Doesn’t sound like much? Well, this is all it takes these days to earn a poor reliability score.

Why are other sources still showing stellar reliability ratings for the EX35? Because they use data from last winter or spring, before the fuel pumps started to fail.

Moving on to the G35 and G37, repair rates are moderate at worst, and are generally low. The 2007 G35 sedan had a rough start last year, with common problems involving a piece of sunroof trim that tended to fall on people as they drove and defective seat heater wiring. But after those problems were fixed with the early cars, there haven’t been many others.

We have sufficient data on only one year of the M, the 2006. Repair rates are low.

Moving on to Nissan, we have sufficient data on one year of the 350Z so far, the 2003. Would you be shocked to learn that the moderately low repair rate is almost identical to that for the 2003 G35? I didn’t think so. And if the first year of the design isn’t bad…

Three years of the Nissan Altima are fully included in the results. Repair rates are low for the 2005, not so low for the 2007, first year of the current design, then very low for the 2008. If you want to avoid repairs at all costs, it often pays to wait for the second model year—no news here. But the data do suggest that the problems with first-year Nissans are most common when they’re new, and as they age they don’t have that many more problems than subsequent model years.

We have a little data on the 2003, 2005, and 2007 Nissan Murano. The first two years appear to be a bit better than average, the third year much better than average. The real news is the 2009 Murano, which has a low repair rate despite being the first year of the new design.

Same for the 2008 Nissan Rogue. It’s an all-new model, but repair rates have been low. So not all Nissan designs are spotty in their first year, just some of them.

We have sufficient data for only one year of the Sentra so far, the 2008. This is the second model year of the current design, yet the reported repair rate is high, earning only the second “red light” for Nissan and Infiniti. Renault’s influence?

The 2007 Versa launched with a high repair rate. Common problem areas included the remote fuel door release and the TPMS system. But, now that those repairs happened over a year ago, they no longer affect the results. The 2007 Versas in the study have had much fewer problems recently, and now get a “green light.”

The 2008 Versas are still in their teething phase. A “yellow light” for them.

The 2008 Sentra could go down the same path as the 2007 Versa. Or not. Time will tell, beginning with the next update, in February. We should have additional Infiniti and Nissan models in that next update, but in the end this depends on how many of you sign up and participate.

For the full set of the latest results, and to sign up to help: TrueDelta Vehicle Reliability Survey results