2016-2022 Infiniti Q60 Brake Caliper Problems and Replacement

By Core Brake Parts Tech Team — Circleville, OH warehouse

Most Infiniti Q60 caliper complaints come down to one of two things: a caliper that drags because its slides or piston have stopped moving freely, or a caliper that leaks fluid past a worn seal. The fix is usually a replacement caliper on the bad side, fresh pads, a rotor check and a full fluid bleed. The first step is knowing which brake package your Q60 has, because the base and Red Sport 400 cars use very different calipers.

Which Calipers Your Q60 Has

The current Q60 coupe arrived as an all-new model for 2017, and Infiniti fitted two distinct brake systems across the run. Every version uses ventilated discs at all four corners, aluminum calipers, four-channel ABS, electronic brakeforce distribution and Brake Assist. The parking brake is mechanical and foot-operated, so there is no electronic parking brake motor to put into service mode when you work on the rear calipers.

The sport brakes are easy to spot: Infiniti paints those calipers red on the Red Sport 400, and the front rotor fills most of the 20-inch wheel. Calipers, pads and rotors are not interchangeable between the two packages, so confirm which one you have before you order anything. If the car has been modified, measure the front rotor diameter to be sure.

Symptoms of a Failing Q60 Caliper

A caliper problem usually shows up on one corner only, which is the biggest clue that separates it from normal pad wear.

• Pulling to one side under braking. One caliper is gripping harder or later than the other.
• A hot wheel or burning smell after a drive. A dragging caliper keeps the pad on the rotor. That wheel will be noticeably hotter than the others and often darker with brake dust.
• Uneven pad wear. One pad much thinner than its partner on the same caliper points to sticking slides or a sticking piston, not normal wear.
• Fluid on the inside of the wheel or tire. A leaking piston seal or bleeder leaves a wet, oily film. Brake fluid attacks paint, so it can also stain the caliper.
• Brake warning light. The Q60 owner's manual explains that the brake warning light also means low brake fluid. A leaking caliper that drops the reservoir below MIN will turn it on, and the manual says not to drive until the system has been checked.
• Soft or sinking pedal. This is more often air in the lines, a worn hose or the master cylinder, but a leaking caliper can cause it too.

Don't confuse a caliper problem with the pad wear warning. The Q60's disc pads have audible wear indicators that make a high-pitched scraping sound, first only when you press the brake pedal. That means the pads are due, not the calipers.

What Makes Calipers Stick or Leak

A caliper has to do two things when you let off the pedal: the piston retracts slightly, and on a floating caliper the body slides back on its guide pins. Anything that stops either motion makes the pad drag.

• Dry or corroded guide pins. The rear floating calipers on standard-brake cars ride on slide pins. When the grease dries out or the boots tear and let water in, the pins bind. Floating caliper pins take silicone brake grease, never general-purpose grease, because petroleum products swell rubber boots.
• Corroded piston or torn dust boot. Once the boot splits, moisture and grit reach the piston surface, which rusts or scores and then drags on the seal.
• Old, wet brake fluid. Brake fluid absorbs moisture over time, which leads to internal corrosion in the caliper bore. The Q60 manual calls for Genuine NISSAN Super Heavy Duty Brake Fluid or an equivalent DOT 3 fluid.
• A collapsed flex hose. A hose that has collapsed on the inside can trap pressure at the caliper and act just like a stuck piston. The caliper gets blamed, but the hose is the real fault.
• Heat. The Red Sport 400 has 400 horsepower and the sport calipers get very hot during hard driving. Repeated heat cycles harden seals and boots faster than on the base car.

How to Confirm It Is the Caliper

Before you buy parts, rule out the things that act like a bad caliper. If a car pulls to one side under braking, inspect both calipers for binding slides or pins, check that the brake hoses aren't collapsed or restricted, and check the steering and suspension. A worn bushing or an alignment problem can cause a brake pull as well.

1. After a normal drive, carefully compare wheel temperature side to side, ideally with an infrared thermometer. One clearly hotter wheel means that corner is dragging.
2. With the car safely supported and in neutral, spin each wheel by hand. A dragging corner will be noticeably harder to turn than its partner.
3. Pull the wheel and look at the pads. Compare the inner and outer pad thickness and look for a wet caliper, hose or bleeder.
4. On a floating caliper, remove the caliper and check that the pins slide freely in their bores. A pin you can barely move is your problem.
5. Open the bleeder and see whether the piston relaxes. If it does, suspect the hose. If it doesn't, the piston is seized in the caliper.

The Fix: Replace, Rebuild or Just Service?

If only the guide pins are dry and the piston moves freely without leaking, cleaning and re-greasing the pins with new boots fixes it. If the piston is seized, corroded or leaking, replace the caliper. On a daily driver, a quality replacement caliper is usually a better choice than rebuilding it yourself, because a pitted bore can't be fixed with a new seal. Browse replacement brake calipers and match the part to your brake package and to the correct side of the car.

Replace calipers in axle pairs when both sides are old or corroded. It keeps the braking balanced side to side, and the second caliper is often not far behind the first. A single new caliper is fine when damage is limited to one side on a low-mileage car.

What to replace at the same time

• Pads on both sides of the axle. A dragging caliper overheats its pads and can glaze them. Always replace pads as an axle set. For the standard-brake front axle, see our 2016-2022 Infiniti Q60 front ceramic brake pads, or browse all brake pads.
• Rotors, if they are heat-damaged. A caliper that drags long enough can blue or warp its rotor. Measure thickness against the minimum stamped on the rotor, and replace anything below spec or badly scored with new brake rotors.
• Hardware and flex hoses. New abutment clips and pins cost little. If a hose was the cause, or is cracked or swollen, replace it from our brake hoses.
• Brake fluid. Opening the system is the right time for a full flush. Use a DOT 3 fluid that meets the manual's spec, or the fluid type printed on your reservoir cap, from a sealed container.

How Hard Is the Job?

Replacing a caliper on a standard-brake Q60 is a moderate DIY job for someone who has already done a pad change. It involves the banjo bolt or hose connection, the caliper and bracket bolts, new sealing washers and bleeding afterward. Torque every fastener to the value in the factory service manual, because caliper bracket bolts are safety-critical. The sport-brake calipers are larger and heavier, so take extra care not to hang one by its hose.

Bleeding is where most DIY caliper jobs go wrong. The Q60 has four-channel ABS, so bleed the new caliper completely and then flush the whole system, following the service manual's bleed order. If the pedal is still soft afterward, have a shop bleed it with a scan tool that can cycle the ABS unit.

Keep up with the maintenance so it doesn't happen again. For severe driving conditions, including short trips, stop-and-go traffic and salted roads, the Q60 manual calls for inspecting the pads and rotors every 5,000 miles or 6 months and replacing the brake fluid every 10,000 miles or 12 months. Fresh fluid and clean, greased pins prevent most sticking calipers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there any recalls for Infiniti Q60 brake calipers?

NHTSA's recall records for the 2017-2022 Q60 list campaigns for fuel pump software, rear seat belts, the rearview camera display and engine control software, but none for the calipers or brake hydraulics. Caliper problems on these cars are wear and maintenance issues, not a known defect. You can check your own VIN on nhtsa.gov.

Do Red Sport 400 calipers fit a Q60 Luxe?

Not on their own. The sport calipers are sized for the larger 355 mm front and 350 mm rear rotors, so converting a standard-brake car takes the rotors, pads, calipers and brackets as a set, and wheels that clear them.

Can I drive with a sticking caliper?

Only as far as a safe place to fix it. A dragging caliper overheats the pad and rotor, can boil the fluid and causes the car to pull. A leaking caliper can drain the reservoir and cause a loss of braking.

What brake fluid does the Infiniti Q60 use?

The owner's manual specifies Genuine NISSAN Super Heavy Duty Brake Fluid or an equivalent DOT 3 fluid. Always use new fluid from a sealed container, and wash off any fluid that gets on paint right away.

Should I replace both calipers or just the bad one?

Replacing one caliper is acceptable if the other side is healthy, but most techs replace both on an older or rust-belt car to keep braking even. Pads always get replaced as an axle set.

Sources

1. INFINITI USA - 2022 Q60 Press Kit - rotor sizes and caliper piston counts by grade, mechanical foot-pedal parking brake, ABS/EBD/Brake Assist
2. INFINITI USA - 2021 Q60 Press Kit - 2-piston/1-piston vs 4-piston/2-piston calipers by grade, red sport-brake calipers on Red Sport 400
3. INFINITI USA - 2017 Q60 Press Kit - all-new 2017 coupe, metric rotor sizes, aluminum calipers
4. INFINITI - 2019 Q60 Coupe Owner's Manual - DOT 3 fluid spec, brake warning light, pad wear indicator, severe-service intervals
5. NHTSA - Infiniti Q60 recall records - recall campaigns on file, none for brake calipers
6. Cardone - Disc Brake Caliper technical FAQ - brake pull diagnosis, silicone grease on caliper pins, use OE-spec fluid