The Cima Show, And There Can Be Only One: Members’ Rides

Welcome to Members’ Rides, thanks for tuning in! In case you missed it, last week, the Modern Leper shared his Italian addiction with us, and we were all drooling over his fantastic Alfas, including one that was imported from Europe and was not sold here. This week, we’re going to stick with the theme of imports and take a look at an imported Nissan, as well as the reliable daily. We also get to peek behind the curtain a bit and meet the person behind Jatco Xtronic CVT.

Members’ Rides is where we share the cars and stories of Autopian Members. The potential to be featured here is a perk for Autopian Members of every level, from the ultra-affordable “Cloth” tier all the way up to “Rich Corinthian Leather.” Click that link and join today!

Tell us about yourself

Well, strange though it seems, I am actually a human being living in South Carolina, not a sentient transmission. Sorry guys, but there is a Jatco Xtronic CVT in my brain, and occasionally when I forget to drink a quart of Nissan genuine CVT fluid, it stops running properly, and I get a break. Of course, the withdrawals bring me back to the bottle, so I’d better be quick. Shockingly, I don’t even own a CVT at the moment.

How did you get into cars?

I got into cars at a pretty young age. My dad was a mechanic, and my grandfather was a Lexus master tech before him, so I spent a lot of time around cars and garages and the like. My family had a lot of half-done project cars in my early childhood, notably a Chrysler LeBaron that overheated and seized on its first track run. Circumstances unfortunately brought the shenanigans to an end and proper car choices had to be made, but I’ve still had a love for cars ever since I can remember. When I was entering my teenage years, I remember I stopped thinking of cars as much, stopped enjoying them as much as I’d used to, likely associating that interest with being “uncool”. It wasn’t until I was learning to drive that I really picked up my love for cars again.

One moment, I need a quart really quick.

How long have you had the Highlander?

I’ve owned the car for about two and a half years now. I bought it in January of 2023 to replace my problematic Nissan Altima that kept leaving me stranded, sometimes in the roadway. I’d decided enough was enough, and looked to buy a reliable car to daily while I fixed the Altima in my spare time. I intended to sell my Highlander and hopefully make most of my money back on it after the Altima was fixed, but nearly 40,000 miles later, I still own the Highlander, and the Altima is gone.

What other cars did you consider when you were shopping for this?

I had found two other vehicles, both a little cheaper: a 2003 Nissan Xterra with a manual, and a 2009 Nissan Cube with a manual as well. Both were a little rougher than the Highlander I bought, but both had a stick shift and were more affordable, so I was tempted. What kept me away from the Xterra was the awful gas mileage they get, as well as it having 175K miles.

The Cube was a decent little car, a gas saver, only 140K miles, and I’ve always had a soft spot for them anyway. But the interior was pretty beat, and it would have been slower than my Altima, and I didn’t want a power downgrade, so I went with the Highlander. It was in reasonable condition for a sixteen-year-old car living in the desert. The owners had upgraded to a Rivian R1T, so they just didn’t need it anymore. I was able to talk them down in price due to a small power steering fluid and engine oil leak, and it was mine!

Has it been as reliable as you’d hoped it would be?

That depends on who you ask! I’d say so. It’s needed work, but truth be told, it hadn’t received particularly great care during its 8 years with the previous owner, so it’s excusable. So far, I’ve had to replace the power steering fluid reservoir, which turned out to be the source of the leak for the power steering fluid.

Then the spark plugs and coils were due, the front CV axles, the front wheel bearings were in terrible condition, and the brakes. It does leak a small amount of oil in the winter, but it’s mostly ignorable. I just change the oil a little more frequently so it doesn’t get low. The next service that’s coming up is a transmission fluid change and an A/C recharge, since it seems to have started leaking a little since last summer.

What’s the best thing about this?

That I can just get in and drive. It’s such an easy car to live with and own. My commute is about 60 miles to work and back, so it being able to eat up miles and do it all over again the next day without complaint is very valuable to me. It’s also very practical thanks to its shape. I know this is an enthusiast site, and the crossover is the least enthusiast-minded type of vehicle out there, but it’s been extremely useful. With the seats folded, it can haul a lot of stuff around, and it can go on some pretty bad dirt roads without having to worry about scraping up my bumpers. I moved across the country with this car and a trailer.

Anything you don’t like about it?

Well, besides the absolute blunder that is the choice of transmission, it’s a little boring. I suppose that’s the trade to be made for practicality and reliability at this price point, but it is just such a dull car to drive. No drama, no thrill, it’s only just quick enough to get you moving but without being exciting. It’s a good and bad thing depending on the day. It also isn’t great on gas. I average about 21 miles per gallon combined. A problem that would be immediately rectified by the installation of a Jatco Xtronic CVT!

How long do you think you’ll hold on to this one?

This little crossover’s been so good to me, I’ll probably keep it until it doesn’t make sense anymore. It’s a good car, does everything I need it to, and that’s all I need from a daily driver. I might change my mind if a major lifestyle change happens, but as it stands, I’m hoping it’ll last 300K miles without too much trouble.

What do you think you’d replace it with?

Honestly, I’d either go full SUV with a 2nd-gen Xterra, or full minivan with a Sienna. I really liked the Xterra I got to test-drive, and the 6-speed would be nice. A Sienna is just the most practical Toyota out there, and I’ve always liked the way the ~2015ish SE models looked.

Is this your daily?

For sure. I try not to take the Cima out and about too often, but it’s so nice that I do sometimes take it to the grocery store just because. It’s also fun to just cruise around town in.

How did you find the Cima?

I was just browsing Facebook Marketplace, as I’m sure many other readers do, when I saw a listing for it! I’d been looking for a clean, low-mileage Infiniti Q45 of the same generation, so when I saw this Cima, I knew I had to at least look at it. It’s got a few scuffs and spots on it, but it was otherwise in fantastic condition, especially the interior, which looked (and still does look) almost perfect. I knew I had to get it. The owner had a Crown Majesta as well, and simply didn’t want the Cima anymore.

What US car is it similar to?

It’s the car the US-market Infiniti Q45 is based on. The Cima is a little different from the Q45, however, mostly for regional preferences and tastes, with the Cima generally having more features.

The Cima also seems to sit in a weird position among its siblings (of which there are many), not exactly being meant to be driven around in (that was the Nissan President’s job), but not quite being the sporty one. It seems to be the personal luxury car, meant to be driven by the buyer, and that seems to hold true when I look at the car and how it was designed. I’m sure someone in the comments will know better than I!

What were you looking for when you found this?

Some sort of large luxury sedan, because they’ve always been very appealing to me. I counted out the Lincoln Town Car, since I didn’t like the styling and the interior looked way too bland, and I’d heard all the horror stories about the German sedans that I didn’t want to experience myself, so I set my sights on the LS430 for the bigger engine it had over the LS400. Immediately, I realized how much a nice one might cost me.

Eventually, I saw a 2001 Infiniti Q45 touring, and I immediately fell in love with the looks. It reminded me of a cross between Mercedes and Marauder. When I test drove it, it drove great, it wasn’t slow, and it was very comfortable without making me seasick. I couldn’t buy that car, but I knew the Infiniti was the one I wanted. Unfortunately, they seem to be pretty rare cars, because not too many good examples seem to exist out there. When I saw the Cima and its resemblance to the Q45 I liked so much, and figured out what it was, I knew I had to take my opportunity.

Have you always wanted a JDM import?

I kind of have always wanted one, but never thought I’d get to have one. When I was a kid, my favorite Hot Wheels car was a R34 Nissan GT-R, so it probably all started there. I later became interested in the R33 GT-R, the Nissan Stagea, and vans like the Mitsubishi Delica or the Toyota HiAce Super Custom. My dream car is still a Toyota Century V12. The only reason I own a JDM now is that I couldn’t find the US equivalent of my JDM near me.

Any mod plans or anything?

For now, I’m enjoying it stock, but I think it’d look a lot nicer with some new wheels. I was interested in getting air suspension for it right up until I saw the cost and difficulty of doing such a conversion. I’d also like to freshen up the exterior some. It’s definitely seen some sun in its life, and the painted plastics are beginning to fade, and one of the two previous owners didn’t seem to be too careful backing this car places, because the rear bumper has definitely seen some action.

How often do you drive it?

I drive it more frequently than I probably should! It only has 28K miles on it currently, so I’m trying not to add too many more. I know cars are meant to be driven, but it almost feels disrespectful to this vehicle to spin the odometer too much. I drive it around once or twice a week on average.

Which engine does it have?

My Cima has the 4.1-liter V8 engine. There is also a 3.0 V6 turbo engine, but I don’t feel like a VQ is particularly befitting of a luxury car such as this one, so I’m glad it has the V8 instead. It’s a very smooth engine, almost a little too quiet, making the torque a little higher in the rev range in typical Nissan fashion. I don’t rev it up much when I drive it, but it redlines at what looks to be 6600RPM.

Are the CRT touchscreens in these pretty good, or are they getting trouble-prone in their old age?

I’ve heard they absolutely can. The previous owner actually told me he had to fix the display during his ownership. I can’t remember exactly what part broke, but it works flawlessly as of now. It’s a pretty cool piece of antiquated technology, and it works very well, so I’m inclined to keep it. It’s definitely a conversation starter at meets.

My main complaint with it is that Nissan, seemingly getting ahead of the current trend, put many of the A/C controls in the screen, so I couldn’t really swap it out even if I wanted to.

Has it given you any issues?

I’ve not owned it for a particularly long time yet, but not so far! I’ve heard these are very reliable cars, so I’m hoping there won’t be too many issues in the future.

It needed new hood struts when I bought it. The nice part is that since it’s so similar to the US Infiniti Q45, you can use most of the parts from that car on this one. They’re getting rarer, though. I’m looking into buying backup ignition coils while they’re still available as well, but so far, it’s been very reliable, so no parts have really been needed yet. I’m thinking the electronics will be what gets me in this car, because most of the electronic gadgets on the Cima are not shared with the Q45.

Do you think you’ll have a hard time finding folks to work on this?

When it comes to working on my cars, I do most of the mechanical work myself if I can, but I did ask around if anyone could do touch-up paint, and the few places I asked said no once they heard it was a JDM. The paint seems to be unique to the car, and silver also seems to be difficult to match.

Do you think you’ll be holding onto this one for a while?

I’m not sure, actually. I really like this car. I generally tend to hold onto my things for a while in general, and this Cima also looks to be a long-term commitment for me. I’m planning to keep it as long as I can afford to keep it nice.

Thanks, Jatco Xtronic CVT!