Infiniti service in Abu Dhabi, from AED 525.

Two names for the same car

Infiniti renamed its entire range in 2014, and the old names never went away.

The FX became the QX70. The JX35 became the QX60. The QX56 became the QX80. The G sedan became the Q50, and the G coupe became the Q60.

Both sets are still in everyday use in Abu Dhabi, and our booking records show it clearly: cars arrive described as an FX and cars arrive described as a QX70, and in plenty of cases they are the same generation of vehicle.

If you are not certain which yours is, give us the year rather than guessing. It makes no difference to the price, which depends on whether the car is a sedan or an SUV, but it makes a real difference to ordering the correct parts first time.

Service on the odometer, not the calendar

Abu Dhabi Infinitis cover distance. The E11, the E10, the Al Ain road, daily commuting between the island and Mussafah or MBZ.

The interval is every 5,000 to 10,000 km or 6 months, whichever comes first, and here the kilometres almost always come first. A car covering 1,500 km a month reaches 10,000 km in seven months, and plenty do considerably more than that.

A minor service is AED 525 for a sedan and AED 650 for an SUV, so doing it on the odometer rather than the date is an easy decision.

The CVT question depends on your model

This is where generic advice goes wrong, and it matters more in Abu Dhabi than in Dubai.

Infiniti shares a great deal with Nissan, which is well known here for CVT gearboxes, but the Infiniti range is split. The QX50 and QX60 use a CVT. The Q50, QX70 and QX80 use conventional automatic transmissions.

The reason this matters more here is the driving. A CVT is genuinely more sensitive to heat and fluid condition than a torque-converter automatic, and there is a difference between city traffic, which heats a transmission in bursts with gaps to recover, and an hour at motorway speed in July, which holds it at temperature continuously.

So on a QX50 or QX60 covering Abu Dhabi distances, transmission fluid condition is the single most consequential item on the car. On a Q50 or QX80 it matters but is less urgent. A fluid change starts at AED 350 either way, and we check which gearbox you have rather than assuming.

The V6 is the good news

Most Infinitis here use a version of the VQ or VR family V6, and these are among the better engines to inherit: robust, built in enormous numbers, and well supported for parts because so much is shared across the Nissan range.

Practically, that means the engine is rarely what needs attention. The inspection weights towards the gearbox fluid, the cooling system, the air conditioning, the tyres and the suspension.

What the distance actually wears

On a high-mileage Abu Dhabi car the inspection is the valuable half of the visit.

Tyres first, because sustained speed on hot asphalt is the hardest life a tyre has, and a worn or under-inflated tyre at 120 km/h in July is the most dangerous thing on the car. Coolant condition, because long summer runs are when a marginal cooling system gives up, usually a long way from help. Brakes, measured in millimetres rather than estimated. And the battery, which heat kills faster than age does, generally without warning.

If your Infiniti is all-wheel drive there is also a transfer case with its own oil, from AED 325, which is inexpensive and quietly forgotten once a car leaves the dealer network.

Anything flagged is reported with a price, and if it is a repair rather than maintenance it is quoted separately.

Infiniti models we service in Abu Dhabi

• Most servicedQ50
• Formerly QX56QX80
• Formerly FXQX70
• CVT gearboxQX60
• CVT gearboxQX50
• Now QX70FX
• Now Q50G
• Now QX60JX35
• Coupe rateQ60

Driving a QX56, Q30, QX30 or something older? Start a booking and pick it from the full model list.

Infiniti servicing in other emirates

• Workshop + collectionDubaiCollection available across most of Dubai
• WorkshopSharjahDrop the car at the workshop
• WorkshopAjmanDrop the car at the workshop
• WorkshopAbu DhabiYou are here

Other brands we service

• All makes
• Nissan
• Lexus
• Mercedes
• BMW
• Audi
• Toyota
• Honda
• Chevrolet