2018 Infiniti Q50: True Cost, Problems & Verdict
42 NHTSA owner complaints · 3 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Editor's note
Avoid the 2014 Q50, which has 169 owner complaints and a score of 37, and the 2015 car, with 125 complaints and a score of 44. Buy a 2016 or newer car: complaints fall to 39, then 62, 42, 30 and 3 through 2020, with scores of 79, 66, 79, 87 and 94. Read the full note on the model page. 2018 specifically: a year the record favours — 42 complaints, score 79/100. The caveats in the note apply to other years of this nameplate more than to this one.
Read the guide
Used Infiniti Q50, QX60 and QX50: the years to avoid, including 2018 — written and signed by Adir Trabelsi, 2026-09-16.
Owner complaints: 42 filed with NHTSA
Complaints per year on the road: 5.25
What owners say
Verbatim reports filed with the United States safety regulator (NHTSA) by owners of this exact model year. Public record.
The contact owns a 2018 Infiniti Q50. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the front passenger seat and passenger seat belt needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Infiniti Q50. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) sensor became inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the front passenger OCS sensor had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure …
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2018 Infiniti Q50. It was discovered that there were three separate mileage discrepancies. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 50,370; however, at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage had been rolled back from 54,000 to 28,630 miles. The mileage before the vehicle was purchased was 47,650.
Recalls: 3 campaigns (1 severe)
| Campaign | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 19V654000 | Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera | Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Nissan Altima, Armada, Frontier, Kicks, Leaf, Maxima, Murano, NV, NV200, Pathfinder, Rogue, Rogue Sport, Sentra, Titan, Titan Diesel, Versa Note and Versa Sedan vehicles, as well as Infiniti Q50, Q60, QX30 and QX80 vehicles. |
| 24V470000 | Power Train:Driveline:Driveshaft | 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. |
| 17V476000 | Fuel System, Gasoline:Delivery:Fuel Pump | Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Infiniti Q50 and 2017 Infiniti Q60 vehicles equipped with a 2.0L engine. |
What it costs to buy — and what owning it really takes
Class-level estimates, priced as a mid-size premium car of its model year, re-priced to your country. Not a quote, not a valuation of one specific car — condition, mileage and options move it. How these are computed.
What it costs to run
EPA combined 23 MPG · estimated annual fuel cost $3,300
Re-priced automatically from your country's retail fuel, electricity and parts indices — change country in the bar at the top. Estimates; see methodology.
What this car's problems cost to fix
Ranked by the components owners of this exact model year actually complain about. Each figure is flat-rate labour hours x the local shop rate plus a parts band — an estimate of what this kind of failure costs, not a quote, and not a prediction that this car will need it. Formula.
- Engine17 complaints · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair (6.0 h labour + parts)$1,040–$2,220
- Air Bags8 complaints · typical job: Airbag module, clockspring or sensor replacement (2.5 h labour + parts)$600–$1,700
- Fuel/Propulsion System6 complaints · typical job: Fuel pump or injector replacement (3.5 h labour + parts)$680–$1,620
- Electrical System5 complaints · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement (3.0 h labour + parts)$540–$1,310
- Unknown Or Other5 complaints · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair (2.0 h labour + parts)$360–$940
- Back Over Prevention3 complaints · typical job: Reversing camera or park-sensor replacement (2.0 h labour + parts)$420–$940
Other Infiniti Q50 years
FAQ
What is the most common problem with the 2018 Infiniti Q50?
The most-reported issue in NHTSA complaint data is Engine (17 complaints in our indexed sample).
Is the 2018 Infiniti Q50 a good used car to buy?
Our data verdict is BUY with a reliability score of 79/100, computed from 42 NHTSA complaints and 3 recall campaigns. See the verdict card for the top reasons.
How much does it cost to fix the 2018 Infiniti Q50's most common problem?
17 of the NHTSA complaints filed against the 2018 Infiniti Q50 sit in the Engine group — more than any other component on this model year. The representative job there is cooling-system or timing-drive repair: about 6.0 hours of labour plus parts, roughly $1,040–$2,220 at a US independent shop and re-priced to your country at the top of the page. It is an estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote for this car.
What does a 2018 Infiniti Q50 cost to run per year?
About $5,189 a year in fuel or energy plus the maintenance band — roughly $25,948 over five years, before purchase price, insurance and depreciation. Figures come from available EPA fuel-economy data and industry maintenance averages, and are re-priced to your country.
Does the 2018 Infiniti Q50 have recalls?
Yes — NHTSA lists 3 recall campaign(s) for the 2018 Infiniti Q50, 1 of them touching fire, crash or stall risk, the most recent recorded 12/09/2019. Check this car's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy.
Compare with
Other luxury midsizes of about the same age.
What will a 2018 Infiniti Q50 really cost YOU per year?
Fuel, maintenance band and depreciation — computed from public data in 10 seconds.
Open the true-cost calculatorData sources
Complaints & recalls: NHTSA ·
Fuel economy: EPA fueleconomy.gov ·
Scoring: our published methodology.
Maintenance bands are industry-average estimates (AAA Your Driving Costs, CarMD index) — labeled estimates, not measurements.
Last updated: 2026-10-04.
Thin evidence — 42 complaints, 3 recalls on record
- 42 NHTSA complaints on record (5.2/yr of exposure) — worse than a typical year of this model (4.1/yr)
- 3 recall campaigns, 1 touching safety-critical systems
- Thin complaint record — this score is held close to the model's own average rather than read as evidence of quality