AI Damage1996 Infiniti I30: common problems
Owners of the 1996 Infiniti I30 filed 24 complaints with NHTSA, most often about vehicle speed control and tires. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 24
- involving a crash
- 4
What fails most often
- 1 Vehicle speed control 21% of all complaints
- 2 Tires 17% of all complaints
- 3 Air bags 13% of all complaints
- 4 Visibility 13% of all complaints
- 5 Engine and cooling 8% of all complaints
- 6 Seat belts 8% of all complaints
- 7 Suspension 8% of all complaints
- 8 Electrical system 4% of all complaints
- Vehicle speed control: 5 complaints (21% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Tires: 4 complaints (17% of all).
- Air bags: 3 complaints (13% of all), 3 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Visibility: 3 complaints (13% of all).
- Engine and cooling: 2 complaints (8% of all).
Engines and transmissions
US-market versions per EPA. On the right: how many NHTSA complaints name this engine or transmission type.
- 3 L · petrol · 6 cyl
- automatic, 4-speed
- manual, 5-speed
Drive: FWD
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 24 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle speed control | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Tires | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Air bags | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Visibility | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat belts | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Equipment | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
All tires were in excellent condition, there was not a tire blowout. The front was aligned about 6 months ago. The tires were recently rotated and balanced. The right front tire was replaced at that time because the tire had a slight indentation due to possibly hitting a side walk curve.
Had started to slow down when vehicle suddenly accelerated without warning. Before taking off engine was revving. Owner had no control. Vehicle hit another vehicle parked in parking lot. Before taking vehicle to dealership, vehicle was at body shop.
While driving about 40 mph vehicle was involved in a collision . Upon impact, the airbags did not deploy.
During impact at 20-25 mph, the driver's side air bag deployed, causing consumer to sustain burns to the face area. Consumer states that the violent deployment of the air bag has caused neck pain, consumer has to take medication and wear a brace, also may need laser surgery.
I believe I'm the 4th owner of this here vehicle the middle seat belt ripped, I have a oil leak and the transmission keeps slipping and the seats are sun damaged the previous owner had told me that he had many transmission mechanics look at the transmission and they had told him that many things can be wrong with it…
Tl* the contact owns a 1996 infiniti i30. While driving 60 mph with the cruise control activated, it failed to deactivate. Prior to the failure, the contact would depress the cruise control button to deactivate the feature. Currently, the contact had to depress the brake pedal to deactivate the cruise control.
I currently own a 1996 and have owned a 1997 prior and both had rust in the middle of the lower radiator core support. Over the weekend I looked at a 2000 infiniti i30 for a family member considering purchase and noticed the same problem.
Consumer was able to get assistance before blowout. Dealer advised that tire was defective and would have blown out if driven further.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 7,585 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 21% most complained about).
On average one model year of the I30 has 28 complaints (9 years in the data). This year has 24, about average.
What to check before buying
- Vehicle speed control. Accelerator pedal, cruise control, throttle codes.
- Tires. Tire age by DOT code, bulges, wear pattern.
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
- Visibility. Wipers, mirrors, defrosters, cracked glass.
Other years of this model
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 1996 Infiniti I30?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: vehicle speed control, tires, air bags. Total complaints: 24. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: tires: bulges, blowouts (21%), seat belts (8%), stalls while driving (8%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 1996 Infiniti I30?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 1996 Infiniti I30 from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 1996 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.