2016 Infiniti Q50
Hybrid Gas Midsize car
The 2016 Infiniti Q50 is sold in the U.S. as a hybrid and gas midsize car with 10 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Q50 Hybrid, is EPA-rated at 30 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of D. Owners have filed 39 complaints, most often about engine.
Specs & fuel economy (EPA)
| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q50 Hybrid | Hybrid | RWD | 3.5L 6-cyl + 346V Li-Ion | 28 | 33 | 30 | $2,600 |
| Q50 Hybrid AWD | Hybrid | AWD | 3.5L 6-cyl + 346V Li-Ion | 27 | 30 | 28 | $2,750 |
| Q50 | Gas | RWD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 23 | 31 | 26 | $3,000 |
| Q50 AWD | Gas | AWD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 22 | 28 | 24 | $3,250 |
| Q50 | Gas | RWD | 3.0L 6-cyl turbo | 19 | 28 | 23 | $3,350 |
| Q50S | Gas | RWD | 3.0L 6-cyl turbo | 19 | 28 | 23 | $3,350 |
| Q50 AWD | Gas | AWD | 3.0L 6-cyl turbo | 19 | 27 | 22 | $3,500 |
| Q50S Red Sport | Gas | RWD | 3.0L 6-cyl turbo | 20 | 26 | 22 | $3,500 |
| Q50S Red Sport AWD | Gas | AWD | 3.0L 6-cyl turbo | 19 | 26 | 22 | $3,500 |
| Q50S AWD | Gas | AWD | 3.0L 6-cyl turbo | 18 | 26 | 21 | $3,700 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.
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Recalls (4)
Power Train
highProblem: Nissan North America, Inc. (INFINITI) is recalling certain 2011-2013 M56, 2012-2013 M35 Hybrid, 2014-2018 Q50, Q70 Hybrid, 2014-2019 Q70, and 2015-2019 Q70L two-wheel drive vehicles. The driveshaft can fatigue and break.
Risk: A broken driveshaft can result in a loss of drive power, or a vehicle roll away when the vehicle is in park without the parking brake applied. Both scenarios can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the driveshaft, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 13, 2024. Owners may contact INFINITI's customer service at 1-800-662-6200. INFINITI's numbers for this recall are R24A5 and R24A7.
Fuel System, Gasoline
highProblem: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Infiniti Q50 and 2017 Infiniti Q60 vehicles equipped with a 2.0L engine. Incorrect Fuel Pump Control Module (FPCM) software may allow the fuel level in the main tank to be too low to supply fuel to the engine, causing the engine to stall while driving.
Risk: An engine stall can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and Infiniti dealers will reprogram the Fuel Pump Control Module (FPCM) with corrected software, free of charge. The recall began August 29, 2017. Owners may contact Infiniti customer service at 1-800-662-6200.
Steering
highProblem: Nissan North America, Inc.'s (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Infiniti Q50 vehicles manufactured December 26, 2012, to December 11, 2015, and Infiniti Q50 Hybrid vehicles manufactured December 10, 2012, to December 17, 2015. The Direct Adaptive Steering system may experience an error at vehicle start up altering the vehicle's steering responsiveness and turning radius.
Risk: If the vehicle does not steer as the driver anticipates, there is an increased the risk of a crash.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Direct Adaptive Steering ECU software, free of charge. The recall began on August 12, 2016. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
Air Bags
highProblem: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crash
Risk: If the passenger frontal air bag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury.
Fix: Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy par
NHTSA investigations
Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds (closed)
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matt
Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005
Owner complaints
39 complaints filed
1 involved a crash, 0 a fire, 1 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.
Filed by year — 2016: 2 · 2017: 4 · 2018: 4 · 2019: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2022: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2026: 5
Most-cited components
- Engine — 10
- Electrical System — 8
- Steering — 6
- Air Bags — 5
- Power Train — 4
Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.
Crash ratings
| Configuration | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 DR AWD | not rated | not rated | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | 10% |
| 4 DR RWD | not rated | not rated | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | 10% |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.
Other Q50 model years
2024 Q50
0 recalls · 0 complaints
A2023 Q50
0 recalls · 8 complaints
A2022 Q50
0 recalls · 1 complaints
B2021 Q50
3 recalls · 4 complaints
A2020 Q50
0 recalls · 3 complaints
A2019 Q50
1 recalls · 30 complaints
B2018 Q50
3 recalls · 43 complaints
D2017 Q50
4 recalls · 62 complaints
Sources & method
Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 37250, 37251, 37350, 37351, 37419, 37468, 37420, 37348, 37349, 37469). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.