Infiniti: Infiniti Q45 sun visor repair (not replacement) due to suspected engineering flaw

How can I REPAIR (not replace) both sun visors on my 1990 Infiniti Q45
(125K miles)?

I've already REPLACED both visors (over the years); yet, both are
broken again; in the same exact spot!

The visors' soft aluminum hollow post has an extremely strong steel
spring held on by the tiniest of margins (about 2 or 3 mm) with a
sharp spring steel clip. Over time, the steel clip simply slips off,
gauging out the soft hollow aluminum post, causing the visors to pop
down in front of my face while driving (sometimes just by going over a
bump in the road)! The aluminum post has no meat left on it for the
steel clip teeth to sink into.

I think this is one of the very few engineering flaws in the 1990
Infiniti Q45; but, judging from a quick search on Google, Yahoo, &
Nico, not many people seem to have the problem I do (maybe I'm not
gentle enough on the visor release button, but, it's too late if
that's the case).

I'm tired of shelling out the dough for replacement visors. Does
anyone have a REPAIR IDEA?
Do you know of I can enlargen that hollow visor post? Or, can I get a
smaller visor spring clip to hold?
Has anyone any success REPAIRING the Infiniti Q45 sun visors?

I have complete photos of the engineering flaw; but I don't know how
to post them to this forum (please let me know how).

Thank you,
Alora

This was posted to nico (www.nissaninfiniticlub.com) with many
pictures (and other ancillary helpful hints); but, for the USENET &
YAHOO crowd, here is the FACTORY suggested R&R of the 1990 Q45
Sunvisor Assembly:

1. Remove the driver-side front and rear door Kickplates (see 1990 FSM
pages BF-22) by prying on the metal cover plate & removing the #2
phillips screws holding the kick-plate plastic to the doorway
threshold.

2. Move the driver-side front seat bench and back-rest as far forward
as both will go (so as to clear the way to the B Pillar Garnish).

3. Pull the driver-side shoulder mounted seat belt as far out as it
will go, securing the end so that the seat belt hangs loosly (out of
your way).

4. Remove the B-Pillar Garnish by prying first at the top to pull the
two horizontally parallel metal clips away from their holes in the
B-Pillar ... then prying at the middle of the B-Pillar Garnish to
remove the middle set of two horizontally parallel metal clips ...
then at the bottom to remove the last two of the six metal clips
holding the B-Pillar Garnish to the B-Pillar. Lastly, unhook the
B-Pillar Garnish from the kickplates in each driver-side doorway (if
you did not previously remove the front and rear driver-side kick
plates).

5. Lay the B-Pillar Garnish across the floor in front of the rear seat
of the Q45 (the seat belt is still attached so you will not remove the
B-Pillar Garnish from the car).

Note: You really do NOT have to remove the kick plates nor do you have
to remove the center & bottom portion of the B-Pillar Garnish ... just
the top portion needs to be pulled outward about 3 inches ... but the
sunvisor R&R job is easier if you remove the entire B-Pillar Garnish
(as stipulated in the FSM). Remember, I'm showing you the ritualistic
domino method here, as stated in the FSM & TSB (as stated in prior
NICO posts, you could get away with just cutting the wires being the
vanity mirror since a REPAIR entails cutting the wires anyway).

6. Remove most of the driver-side doorway cloth-encased two-ply rubber
weatherstripping by pulling it away from the door frame with your
hands. You can stop at the dashboard as you do not need to go lower
(to remove the A-Pillar Garnish).

Note: It helps to have removed the front and rear driver-side doorway
kickplates (as stated previously); but it is not required.

7. Remove the A-Pillar Garnish by pulling, one by one, on the 6 metal
clips (you'll likely break one or two in the process), starting from
the B-Pillar and working your way toward the A-Pillar and eventually
down to the top of the dashboard for the last of the 6 metal clips and
a single plastic post which fits into an alignment hole in the
A-Pillar itself.

8. Place the A-Pillar Garnish on the back seat of the Q45 to prevent
damage.

Now move your attention to the front seat center console roof-line
components. (Remember, all you're trying to do is remove the Front
Roof Garnish with the sunvisors attached.)

9. Gently pull off the small 6 x 2 inch plastic centerline sunvisor
off the rear-view mirror assembly horizontal J hinge.

10. Pry off the square plastic escutcheon over the rear-view mirror
attachment point in the center of the Front Roof Garnish.

11. Remove the hinge for the centerline sunvisor by removing two #2
phillips head bolts (the only bolts in the entire R&R procedure)
holding the J-hinge to the rear-view mirror assembly.

12. Remove the rear-view mirror assembly by removing the three #2
phillips screws holding the rear-view mirror to the roof.

13. Pry off the Sunroof Control Panel Switch Assembly and disconect
all three connectors ... one white connector will be for the driver &
passenger front map lights, another white connector will be for the
sunroof mechanism, and don't forget the all-important third black
connector which is for both sunvisor vanity mirror lights (this black
connector is NOT attached to the sunroof mechanism; but the hole left
by removing the sunroof mechanism allows you to access this black clip
which is located just above the rear-view mirror in the space between
the Front Roof Garnish and the Roof).

Note: If it wasn't for this black connector, and the desire not to cut
the sunvisor vanity mirror wires ... you wouldn't be removing all this
trim in the first place.

14. At this point, repeat all the trim-removal steps for the
passenger-side of the Q45.

Note: If you are replacing only one sunvisor, you can get away with
not removing the entire Front Roof Garnish; which means you do not
have to remove the kick plates, B-Pillar Garnish, doorway
weatherstripping & A-Pillar Garnish of the opposite side; but, I
repeat, the proper ritualistic domino-theory of the FSM stipulates to
remove the Front Roof Garnish with both sunvisors still attached
(that's why they say it's heavy) on each end.

15. Remove the small plastic escutcheon covering the J-hook for both
the driver side and passenger side sunvisor horizontal post.

Note: The sunvisor J-hook is the small plastic hook on each side of
the center of the Front Roof Garnish which keeps the sunvisors in
place when swiveled down.


16. Remove each sunvisor J-hook by removing the one #2 phillips screw
holding it to the roof.

17. Finally, remove just the two larger #2 phillips screws holding
each sunvisor (both driver side and passenger side now) pivot point to
the roof of the Q45.

Note: Leave the smaller pivot point #1 phillips screw alone; this
screw only holds the sunvisors to the Front Roof Garnish (not to the
roof itself).

16. Back to the B-Pillars, pry off the 1-inch diameter white plastic
anchor clip holding the Front Roof Garnish to the B-Pillar.

Note: This puny clip, one on each side of the car, is why you had to
remove all that B-Pillar & A-Pillar trim!

17. Now the Front Roof Garnish is ready for removal (with both
sunvisors attached). At this point, the FSM & TSB admonishment about
the garnish being heavy should be taken to mean the weak garnish, by
virtue of it's material and the holes cut out in its centerline for
the rear-view mirror and sunroof control switch, is VERY WEAK IN THE
CENTER, expecially with the two sunvisors on the opposite ends
exerting downward pressure on the weak garnish.

So SUPPORT both sunvisors (which are still attached to the Front Roof
Garnish in this classic factory-stipulated ritualistic R&R process)
while you maneuver the Front Roof Garnish around.

Note: You now have only clips (nothing bolted or screwd in) holding
the Front Roof Garnish to the roof.

18. To remove the Front Roof Garnish, first pull horizontally BACKWARD
toward the rear of the Q45 with both hands on the Front Roof Garnish
and your body sitting in the driver's seat leaning across the center
console (take aspirin as a prophylactic against lower back pain before
this step).

This horizontal backward maneuver will unclip the four evenly spaced
three-fingered spring clips holding the Front Roof Garnish to the roof
via the sunroof ledge. (Note, because of these 4 three-fingered clips,
you can not remove the Front Roof Garnish by pushing horizontally
forward!). You just have to know this.

19. Then, to finish the removal of the Front Roof Garnish with the
sunvisors still attached, you now have to change your motion to a
horizontal side to side yank and pull so as to clear the B-Pillar
attachment points (which are those white 1-inch diameter butterfly
clips previously removed).

Note: The Front Roof Garnish is not clipped in at the windscreen
point. It merely fits into a groove provided for it at the roofline.
Also note, if you forget to remove a single screw or clip as described
above, you will NOT be able to remove the Front Roof Garnish. Lastly,
if you forget to unclip the aforementioned three harness connectors,
you will also have a problem removing the Front Roof Garnish.

20. That's it (whew!) You now have the Front Roof Garnish removed with
the two Infiniti Q45 sun visor assemblies still attached, as
stipulated in both the FSM and in the TSBs.

Very Important Note: The 20-step removal detail described here is
vastly more complete than the six-step process outlined in page BF-26
of the 1990 Q45 Factory Shop Manual; and it's even more complete than
the more detailed nine-step ritualistic domino sequence outlined in
the aforementioned TSBs.

Note: Reassembly is the reversal of disassembly (literally, just work
backward from above).

Note: I was going to post my detailed photos of each of the steps
above; but you can see why (at least tonight) that would take me HOURS
to complete. Also note, I REPAIRED (not just replaced) both visors,
running into a host of issues all by themselves - one of which was the
el cheapo metric die set I originally bought made a royal mess of the
passenger side sunvisor aluminum post - so I had to run to Sears to
purchase a better Craftsman set ... they only had English in stock -
so I cut the passenger side to 5/16 x 24 inch (with the driver side
cut to a metric 8 x 1.25). Call me unbalanced if you will.

Additionally, I learned the DEALER was a CHEAT! They had replaced the
passenger-side sunvisor INCORRECTLY! Yup. All they did was CUT THE
WIRES in the roofline (as I noted in my el quickie not-recommended
shortcut on NICO prior). The nerve of them. They didn't even cut the
wires unevenly; nor did they even solder them. Heck, they had more
than one inch of copper intertwined together (there should only be a
few millimeters). I replaced their crappy twisted-wire connection with
a set of soldered press connectors (as will be explained some other
day). Sigh. If you can't trust the dealer, whom can you trust? (Nico
???)

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