Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, springs).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1997 Infiniti QX4 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 1997 Infiniti QX4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 11V244000 (Steering, Suspension). The contact stated while driving at 35 MPH and other various speeds over bumps in the roadway, the vehicle was shaking abnormally with the steering wheel becoming difficult to turn to the left or to the right. Additionally, the contact heard abnormal metal on metal grinding sounds particularly while turning the vehicle to the left or the right. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer and was advised that the vehicle had failed a safety inspection and he would be contacted by a third party to buy back the vehicle. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. …
the rear end started to sway and shake ... made the car uncrontrlable, I reacted instantly and took my foot off the gas peddle and gripped the steering firmly like driving on snow...it came back under control as I was braking softly ....what a scary incident ...
At 6:45 a.m car traveling down freezeland road, linden, va at about 30mph. Weather conditions: clear, dry. Road conditions: no defects, oil or other traction faults that would cause accident. QX4 as described by witness to police looked at though rear of vehicle body was acting independent of body frame. At this point driver could not recover, had no time to brake, steering would not respond. QX4 would not respond and continued straight up an embankment, hit large bolder and flipped onto passenger side. Driver was pulled from vehicle by retired emt. Driver sustained right knee injuries including fracture to lower leg directly below knee, ligament damage still being evaluated. Driver was not given citation by virginia state police, due to driver and witness statements. State police indicated that it appeared to be a major mechanical failure. …
Massive rust of frame and unit body suspension components causing a sudden loss of steering, braking and control of vehicle without warning. The cause is no rust under coating, poor design, poor welds, prone to tear loose from firewall and frame causing catastrophic failure and possibly my own death. Then their refusal to compensate in any way for their design errors is unacceptable. There was a sudden drop of my vehicle height at the drivers side wheel almost causing loss of control. A warning letter available in 2011 was never sent to me, possibly making it possible to repair. Updated 03/10/16.
All 1997 thru 2003 frame suspension, suspension body panels were improperly undercoated to prevent rusting. Warning was issued in 2011, as third owner of vehicle, I was never notified. Causing imminent body harm and possibly death. Infinity was totally responsible for follow thru, and should be held responsible for my $20,000 loss, not to mention risk to my life. Thanks a lot you money mongers! You should be held responsible for failure of notification.
My husband and I were involved in an accident on January 24th 2010, while traveling n. On state hwy 87 going towards payson, az although there had been a lot of snow in the higher elevations the roads were clear and appeared dry. The incident began when I apparently encountered a patch of black ice as I began across a bridge. I felt the rear end of the vehicle quickly slide left. Because of my experience in handling this vehicle and how well this vehicle handles, I was extremely confident in my ability to recover from the sliding without incident. (I was the 2nd owner & had it 10yrs) I had complete control of the vehicle through the 1st and 2nd corrections, however at the beginning of the 3rd & what would've been the last correction I felt something break in the front driver's side wheel area. …
I had my car sitting in my driveway detailing it. I've always took exceptional care of my vehicles and one thing I've always done was made sure the undercoating was top-notch. As I proceeded to undercoat the inside of the front fender wells on my 97 QX4 I noticed some rust forming behind the strut tower. Some of it was flaky and some of it was raised rust. I took my scraper and lo and behold found a hole behind the strut tower. I continued to scrape and clean the hole and the area according to the recall campaign from infinity and I'm very concerned about vehicle safety and the rust behind the strut tower on drivers side.I have yet to check my passenger side since the driver side has issues I wanted to go ahead and notify you guys. I know there is a recall for the strut tower on Nissan pathfinders and Infiniti qx4s 96 through 2004. …
I bought a 1997 Infiniti from cars unlimited; owner[redacted] I bought 'as is'. Although dealer owner was non-integral, lied and told me vehicle was in good condition and safe, he is not liable under rule by the as is. Vehicle is extremely unsafe. I have taken the vehicle to over 6 mechanics by now. All tell me vehicle is extremely unsafe. I tried making it safer since I am stuck with it by changing the shocks and the trailer stabilizer bar after I learned it had been in an accident and the passenger side bar was bent. That by no means fixed the earthquake swaying and the awful rear end fish-tailing all over the road. Can't drive it in the rain. Can't get caught in the rain, it slides into other people's lanes. Cops look at me crazy as if I'm drunk. I drive 40 miles or less to keep from getting pulled over. …
Tl* the contact owns a 1997 Infiniti QX4. The contact stated that the rear bushings from the upper control arm deteriorated, causing the vehicle to roll abnormally when accelerating or decelerating. The vehicle was taken in for routine maintenance when the contact was informed of the failure. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer and the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 200,015.
The front driver side strut tower rusted out on my 1997 Infiniti QX4. Part of the strut tower sheared, creating an obstruction that interfered with vehicle steering. I was notified of this problem by my mechanic after I asked him to inspect the shocks and struts to see if they needed to be replaced. My mechanic advised me to park the car until it could be repaired since it was not safe to drive.
Related recalls
Suspension › Front
Nissan is recalling certain model year 1996-2004 pathfinder and model year 1997-2003 Infiniti qx4 vehicles originally sold, or currently registered in, connecticut, delaware, iowa, illinois, indiana, massachusetts, maine, maryland, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode…
Remedy: Nissan will inspect the strut housing and repair the vehicles as necessary, free of charge. An interim notification letter was sent out in May 2011. The second notice was mailed on July 25, 2011.
Suspension complaints in other QX4 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are suspension problems on the 1997 Infiniti QX4?
NHTSA has 20 complaints about the suspension of the 1997 Infiniti QX4, 44% of the model year's 45 complaints. The component named most often is front (3 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1997 Infiniti QX4 suspension problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 11V-244 (front, Apr 20, 2011). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 1997 Infiniti QX4 suspension problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 135,000 miles, and 7% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 3 injuries and 1 death to suspension problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.