The Daily Nightmare: Nissan Cefiro (1998)

The Positive Side
When the first Nissan Cefiro entered the Philippine market, it created a stir with the enthusiasts because it offered a 2.4-liter inline-6 engine wrapped around a sporty four door body. However, because of its steep price, the original Cefiro did not become a huge seller, and alas, it disappeared. In the in-between years, Nissan tried and failed to introduce such models as the Nissan Bluebird, Bluebird Altima and the Cedric to fill in the gap that the Cefiro left.

In late 1996, much to the delight of the Philippine motoring press (us included), a new Nissan Cefiro was launched. It was the first car in the Philippines to have such gizmos as automatic climate control system, keyless entry, electromagnetic trunk and gas tank releases and a 6-disc CD changer for a price less than one million pesos. A great offer, indeed. We bought a silver one ourselves, but we soon noticed that it was not a great offer after all.

Less than 3 days upon using our new car, we quickly noticed several missing / ill-fitting trimmings that could have resulted from a bad assembly line: things such as the trunk place cover (to prevent metal cuts), center wood grain panel cracks and ill-stitched plastic on the center console. However, despite these rather ‘small’ defects, we found the car to be pretty flawless. In fact, we considered it was one of the best value for money cars in the Philippines.

Nissan’s 2.0-liter VQ engine is a very refined power plant. The power of its 24 valve V6 is masked in an aura of silence whether at idling or even cruising on the South Express Way. The sound is nearly as whisper quiet as the air con fan setting of 1. Moreover, the engine is not only whisper quiet, but it also feels even. The engine tone does not break its wonderful voice within the normal revving / driving range. The boys at Nissan must have done a lot of overtime to get this much refinement and quietness from a V6 engine, an engine regarded by most experts as the hardest to balance. However, despite being quiet and refined, the Cefiro lacks the pulling power to blast away from stoplights and the like because of the relative heaviness of the car’s body as well as the lack of immediate response from the VQ engine.

The brakes and the suspension seem to complement the engine in one way or the other. Although the Cefiro may seem bulky, it is very much an agile car. Thanks to the neat suspension geometry of this car, it is capable of getting into tight corners and spaces with relative ease. The ride generated by the trademark Multilink beam rear suspension is quite jittery especially in uneven concrete surfaces. However it is quite adequate in adsorbing humps and potholes with relative ease. The braking force provided by the four wheel discs is huge. Sudden stop and steer maneuvers can be done with relative ease with this car. Brake feel is only good as it feels a bit spongy on the first few travels, but gets firm and solid when floored.
The interior is huge, although a bit bland. The Nissan Cefiro can very well seat five people in great comfort, and will have the ability to squeeze in six. Safety is one top priority with this car as it comes with a driver’s side airbag and Emergency Locking Retractor seatbelts. The controls are ergonomically placed on the dash and center console. However, the driving position is not quite good because of its relatively lower seat height and the steering wheel adjustment cannot be adjusted to our liking. The power window switches situated on the triple rubber sealed doors (most cars have only two), are illuminated which give them a touch of class and at the same time make them better seen during the night. Other technological stuff inside are push button release for the trunk and gas tank; a great 6-speaker sound system and 6-disc CD changer; front and rear fog lamps and lastly electronically adjustable headlamp beam adjusters.

The Negative Side
However, don’t plan to own a Nissan Cefiro for more than six months (that’s when the warranty starts to go), as it still behaves like all other Nissans. The first problem we’ve ever noticed was a weird knocking sound when we would accelerate heavily from an uphill climb or when we would shift into the wrong gear. The sound was different from the usual wheezing sounds, but when we checked it at Nissan Valley in Cainta, Rizal (also our dealer); they dismissed it as ‘engine timing problems’. We also encountered some trimming problems as the wood paneling on the driver’s and front passenger sides came loose and rattled. Again, we brought it in and Nissan Valley re-glued them both.

At around 15,000-kilometers, we noticed that the suspension would squeak whenever the doors are slammed hard (any of the doors). We brought the car to Nissan Valley, where they replaced the car’s pulley assembly mechanism under warranty.

When the car was around the 20,000-kilometer mark, the clutch suddenly made weird, horn-like noise (we bought the manual version). Whenever we would climb uphill and rev the engine to 2,000 rpm and then release the clutch slowly, the transmission would blurt out a loud sound. The problem would come and go, but at some point, the noise would even come out at a level ground. At the same time whenever we closed the doors a weird squeak will emit from the suspension. We brought the car into Nissan Valley and complained, they said that ‘ the clutch problem couldn’t be found and that it was only temporary’.

After the clutch gave way at the 20,000 mark, the aircon’s thermal-computer device gave way at 22,500 kilometers. Even if we set the temperature at a low 21 degrees Celsius, the car would tend to be sweaty hot and humid, as if the car was letting out warm dog breath rather than a cool breeze. Worse of all, even if we tell the car to set the fan to the main vents, it would change the setting, putting them all at our feet. The aircon was going crazy and we had to bring it in again! The result: a month of wait and they replaced the computer device.

After a short while (around an additional thousand kilometers), both the clutch and the aircon gave way again! We brought the car We took the car into Nissan Valley, but they said that the problem with the clutch was ‘because of our driving’ and not the car. We felt very pissed off at their remarks and felt that this was the last straw: we will take the car somewhere else where the service personnel are at least competent. The aircon’s refrigerant was replaced, but still the problem remains unsolved.
We then took the car to Nissan Gallery Ortigas, a few days before the two-year warranty was about to expire. At this point, the clutch, aircon, fuel knocking and handbrake problems were either still there or had developed. The Gallery said that they would be doing the best they can, but said that the clutch is not part anymore of the warranty, and we had to be billed for any part replacement. Okay, its really part of the warranty booklet, but still for the clutch to turn to dust in a period of two years?! That’s un-Japanese like quality. The aircon would be checked once again, and they said that it should be covered under warranty, and so is the handbrake. The biggest surprise was the fuel knocking sound. They traced the problem to a faulty ECU (Electronic Computer Unit) inside the engine. Nissan reasoned out that the cause for this was that the fuel compounds here in the Philippines are different from Japan, and thus they forgot to re-program the ECU to take on the new type of fuel. The result: the knocking sound when accelerating we have been hearing since we bought the car.

Here’s an additional tip for Cefiro owners: beware of small stones. The laminated windshield is very weak and couldn’t stand up to the same forces as other kinds. Thus they are crack prone. Ours cracked twice already.

The bottom line: The Nissan Cefiro is once great car. It has a lot of features, amenities and technological brilliance that would make its predecessor proud. However, like all other Nissans, the durability of the car still remain in question. There are loose ends everywhere and well, this is could spell disaster for anyone who would be selling their cars in two years time. Servicing is also quite hard. Centers like Nissan Valley in Cainta, Rizal remain incompetent ever since we bought the Cefiro . Will I buy this car (if I had the chance of knowing what’s to come)? Never. Will I buy another Nissan? Never. They had two chances with us (Maxima and Cefiro), but miserably failed in both.

By Frustrated Owner | Photos courtesy of Nissan Motors Philippines