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Hello,
I have joined this forum to see if any other Infiniti owners have experienced this problem - - -
I have a 2003 Infiniti G35 sedan (I leased it in Scottsdale, AZ in May of 2002).  I was one of the 1st individuals to drive the new model; therefor, I have experienced a number of recalls through the years.  Luckilly, Infiniti has always impressed me with their customer service and it hasn't been an inconvenience.  UNTIL NOW....  I moved to Houston in October of 2004 and noticed a small slit (or crack) on the roof of my car.  It quickly advanced and the entire roof is rusted and cracking.  I took it to North Houston Infiniti and they turned it over to their regional paint specialist.  The individual quickly came to the conclusion (after viewing digital photos - not the actual vehicle) that it was user error and Infiniti/Nissan would not be responsible.  They claim that an unidentifiable chemical influence caused this to occur - yet no one will tell me what that chemical is.  After several letters to the Consumers Affair department, still NO ONE would help me out.  

Last summer I moved to Dallas and visited Sewell Infiniti.  I was determined to get to the bottom of this, and I had heard that Sewell had a remarkable customer service reputation.  Again, they took digital photos and turned it over to a "new" regional paint specialist.  He too, denied that it could be a paint defect - *** Nissan rarely sees paint defects.  More letters to consumer affairs, and several emails to executive members of Nissan - STILL NOTHING.  

A couple of weeks ago, I brought my car into Sewell to have a recall item replaced.  They introduced me to a NEW regional specialist.  She was shocked to see my car and has never seen anything like it.  My service manager was also shocked to see that the corrosion has developed on 2 additional areas (my hood & my trunk).  All flat surfaces!  They said they would do their best to assist me (I've heard this before).  In the mean time, I contacted the BBB Auto Line to begin the arbitration process.  They sent me the paper work, I got all of the information I needed from my lease agency and spent over 2 hours getting the paperwork together and photo copying all of the emails & letters that I have sent in the last year.  Before the paperwork even arrived to the BBB Autoline, I received a call from someone in the executive department of Infiniti letting me know that "not only will Infiniti not change their position on my case, but that my car does not meet the age requirements for arbitration (my car is a 2003 with 49,000 miles)."  

An insurance adjuster from Farmers Insurance insists that there is no way that a chemical could have created this -
(1) it has only influenced the FLAT surfaces of my car (roof, hood & trunk)
(2) It has damaged 3 separate areas
(3) the areas have corroded at various times over a 2 year period
That would mean someone has been following me around from Scottsdale, to Dallas to Houston...
I feel like they are refusing to help me because my car is a lease.

My lease is up in October and I have made numerous attempts to get this taken care of before I need to turn it in.  It is extremely disappointing since I come from a family of Infiniti's.  I find it interesting that their marketing slogan is "Interested in Winning Customers for Life."  I can assure you, that I will spread the word on their poor customer service and my friends & Family will not be Infiniti customers moving forward.

PLEASE respond if you know of anyone who has experienced this defect.
THANK YOU!  

im really sorry to hear this, and i have never heard anyone ever go through this problem...im surprsied that the car began to rust so quickly...wow  

How long were you in Arizonia for? Was the car kept inside a garage? The sun Arizonia might have got to the hood and the roof. To much sun will eventually start to break down the paint. That is about three years in the sun. I dont know of any other reason why this would happen. Sorry to hear about the poor customer service.  

Thank you so much for your response!
My car was only in Arizona for around 2 1/2 years.  I would be surprised if the sun caused this to happen - there would be over 3 million people driving around with corroded vehicles (but, I am not an expert).  Specialists have told me that 50 year old cars don't rust like this - which is why I believe it has to do with the primer.  I wish I could post a photo!  

you could link a photo, if you have somewhere to upload it to  

that is verystrange seeing as many old car collectors wish they could buy cars from desert areaes because of the lack of moisture most old cars from arizona are more likely to have faded paint than rust, that seems very unusual  

Great idea - let's see if this worked...

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=2AauWrZs1bMXwA  

whoa that's really bad...i wonder what infiniti though you did to have caused something like that.  

wow i have never seen anything like that before, it looks like something was clawing the car  

Edward Scissor-hands!!!  

They can't tell me - they can only say that it looks like it is caused by a chemical influence (type of influence: UNKNOWN).
They said it could be jet fuel - as if I drive behind 747's.
I have asked them to disclose what it is - and they have not even taken a sample of the paint.
The strange part is it is appearing only on the FLAT surfaces (roof 1st, then hood & trunk).  All occurring at differnt times over a 2 year period.  If it is vandalism - someone must be chasing me from Scottsdale to Houston, to Dallas.  

Jet Fuel? now that sounds like a reasonable explanation (sarcasm)  

i think the Edward Scissors Hand was more reasonable but that's just me.  but anyways it looks more like the paint was more damaged by something physical instead of chemical.  granted of course i dont know what jet fuel does to paint...  

just wondering have you taken it to an indendent paint shop to see what they think or have you only let Infiniti look at it?  

Not yet... the next steps are to consult our lawyer & a paint specialist.  It's so disappointing.  Through emails, letters, phone calls & visits to 2 different Infiniti dealerships, I can't tell you how many hours I have put into solving this mystery.  Something you don't expect (NOR should you!) when you purchase a BRAND new car!