Q. Looking for your opinion. I have a 2020 Infiniti QX60 and I am the original owner. In July I started hearing a slight hum and thought it was the tires. After a web search, including AI, I thought it might be the transmission. I took it to the local Infiniti dealer where they said the transfer case had to be replaced at a cost of $6,000. I said the car only has 38,000 miles on it, and they told me the vehicle is 10 months out of warranty. They suggested I call Infiniti Customer Relations to see what they could do. After calling them, they basically said sorry, there is nothing they can do. I don’t tow anything and have never driven off-road. What do you think?

A. As always, the first thing I do is check for technical service bulletins. Other than some axle seal leak issues, there are no widespread technical bulletins related to transfer case failures. A transfer case replacement at only 38,000 miles is certainly not normal wear and tear. Before authorizing a $6,000 repair, I would want to know exactly how the dealer determined the transfer case was the source of the noise. Was there metal in the fluid? Were trouble codes present? Did they isolate the noise? If this were my vehicle and there was no evidence of internal damage, I would start with a transfer case fluid change. In my experience, degraded fluid can sometimes cause clutch chatter, vibration, or a humming noise.........

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