Buyer Research

2014 Infiniti Q50 — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $9,000–$14,000. There are 2 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 10 Infiniti Q50 years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

The first Q50, and the first production car with steer-by-wire — Infiniti's Direct Adaptive Steering — and that one option is the record: 46% of 169 complaints are steering, five of them crashes, backed by two recalls, one of which had cars towed to dealers because the software could shut the steering off in freezing weather. The 3.7L V6 and seven-speed automatic underneath are proven Nissan parts, but the seven-speed's valve body and a driveshaft recall on rear-drive cars fill out the file. Our honest advice: a 2014 without DAS (check for it — it was optional on most trims) with the driveshaft recall done and a smooth-shifting gearbox is a lot of car for the money. A 2014 with DAS is a car whose steering has a software history; buy it only with both steering recalls closed and a cold-start test that shows the wheel working from the first second.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 169 owner complaints for the 2014 Infiniti Q50, and 5 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 46% of them are about one thing — steering. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

5 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2014 Infiniti Q50

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Direct Adaptive Steering can lock, pull, or fail at startup — two recalls, five crashes in the recordHigh — wallet impact

Seventy-eight complaints, nearly half the file. DAS has no mechanical link between wheel and tyres in normal operation; a clutch closes the column if the electronics fail. Recall 13V588 was the emergency: the 2014's steering software could disable the electric assist when the engine bay hit freezing, and Nissan told owners to stop driving and had cars towed in. Recall 16V430 covers DAS cars built December 2012 to December 2015 for an error at startup that leaves the car steering differently from what the driver expects — a reflash. Owners describe the wheel locking daily in cold weather with the dealer's software update not fixing it, the car pulling erratically to one side, DAS and collision-braking faults appearing together at startup, and one 2019 report of all power, steering and braking going at once. Both recalls are free reflashes and both must show closed on the VIN. Then do the test that matters: start the car cold, turn the wheel lock to lock in the first ten seconds, and drive it looking for any pull with the wheel centred. A DAS actuator or ECU out of warranty is a dealer-only repair and the quotes owners report run to four figures.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $1,500–$4,000 for DAS actuator or ECU replacement outside warranty — about 35% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (78); 5 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

InTouch twin screens that go black, warning cascades, and steering faults filed as electricalMedium

Forty-two complaints and one fire. Roughly a third of this cluster is the steering story again — owners whose DAS fault showed up as the wheel suddenly going heavy with a warning light, filed under electrical rather than steering. The rest is the 2014's launch-year InTouch infotainment: both centre screens, navigation and audio dying at once, sometimes for five minutes while driving, sometimes for good after a car wash. Infiniti pushed several software updates for InTouch in 2014–2015 and a unit that has had them is usually stable; one that has not will reboot, freeze and lose Bluetooth. A couple of rough-idle complaints sit here too, with owners who replaced plugs, sensors and gaskets and still had it. At the car, run the screens for the whole test drive, pair a phone, and make sure the display unit has the current firmware — the dealer can tell you from the VIN.

Repair cost (estimate): $0–$300 for InTouch software updates; $900–$2,000 for a display control unit outside warranty

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (42).

Driveshaft can fatigue and break on rear-drive cars (recall), and the seven-speed's valve body fails near 90,000 milesHigh — wallet impact

Recall 24V470 covers 2014–2018 rear-wheel-drive Q50s: the driveshaft can fatigue and snap, which means a sudden loss of drive at speed or a car rolling away in Park with no handbrake on. One owner in this file had it break under them on the road. Dealers replace the shaft free; letters went out August 2024. All-wheel-drive cars are not on it. The other half of the 19 power-train complaints is the seven-speed automatic: the valve body and speed sensors failing so the car will not shift out of second or third, codes P0720 and P0500, one owner thrown from seventh to second at 75 mph. The valve body is a known weak point on this Nissan gearbox and it is a four-figure repair. Check the VIN for the recall, then drive it in traffic and on the highway looking for a shift that flares, hunts, or bangs — and ask whether the transmission fluid has ever been changed, because most have not.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $1,200–$2,500 for a valve body, $4,000–$6,000 for a rebuilt transmission — around 52% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (19); 5 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Passenger airbag can be switched off by the seat sensor software — two recallsMedium

Two campaigns, both free reflashes: 14V138 updated the occupant classification software that could decide an adult in the passenger seat was a child or an empty seat and switch the airbag off, and 16V244 reprogrammed the airbag control unit and sensor again for the same fault across 2014–2017 Q50s. Four of the 16 airbag complaints are crashes, and non-deployment after a crash is not something a buyer can inspect for, but a passenger airbag OFF light with an adult in the seat is: sit someone in the passenger seat, start the car, and watch the indicator on the overhead console. Both recalls should show closed on the VIN lookup.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under airbags (16); 5 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Violent shake under braking from 40 mph, and the Hybrid surging as the brakes blendMedium

Fourteen brake complaints and eleven under speed control. The common one is a vibration through the wheel and the whole car when braking from highway speed — the Q50's front rotors warp readily and the fix is rotors and pads, not a defect, but it is a $500 job the seller should have done. One owner had the ABS unit replaced after every warning lit and the brakes went. On the Q50 Hybrid, owners describe the car pushing forward for a moment as it decides between regenerative and friction braking — a blending quirk that turns up on the 2014 Hybrid specifically and is worth feeling for on the drive. Brake from 50 mph three times on the test drive; a pulse through the pedal or wheel is a negotiating point, a car that surges is a Hybrid you want checked by a dealer.

Repair cost (estimate): $400–$800 for front rotors and pads; $1,500–$3,000 for an ABS actuator — about 26% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the brakes (14), throttle and cruise control (11).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Either steering recall (13V588, 16V430) or the driveshaft recall 24V470 open on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✗Wheel that is heavy, locked or off-centre in the first seconds after a cold start
✗Car pulling to one side with the wheel held straight on a flat road
✗Seven-speed that flares, hunts or slams between gears on the highway
✗Centre screens that go black or reboot during the drive
✗Shake through the wheel when braking from highway speed

Good Signs

✓All five recalls shown closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓A car without Direct Adaptive Steering, confirmed on the window sticker or by the dealer from the VIN
✓Driveshaft replaced under 24V470 with the dealer invoice
✓Transmission fluid changed with a receipt and smooth shifts from cold through a highway merge
✓InTouch firmware current, both screens live for the whole drive and a phone paired first try
✓Front rotors and pads replaced with an invoice, and a straight, smooth stop from 50 mph