Are all the 98 Qs equipped with an LCD odometer?

[tfvesquire]

Hi There:

I am brand new to this forum and will be picking up my first Q (1998 Pearl White) this wknd and driving it back home. I was doing some research and came across a detail that bugs me a little.

It was my understanding that in 1998, Infiniti (and Nissan in general) equipped all of their cars with a digital odometer display and did away with the scrolling mechanical numbers. However, more 98 Q's I saw pictures of had the mechanical odometer and trip displays than the digital. Is this possible? Did Infiniti decide to equip "1998" Qs built in the fall of 1997 with mechanical clusters and then suddenly switch to digital in Jan 1998? Did they also change the dash harnesses?

From the pictures I have of the car I am going to buy, it sure looks as though the cluster is mechanical, but I cannot say for certain. If that is the case, does anyone know whether I can swap out a digital cluster for my mechanical one? Are the wiring harnesses the same for all Qs built for 1998? I was going to contact T3 but I have to catch a train. Maybe I will get a chance tomorrow. I really preferred the digital display I had in my 1998 Maxima over a mechanical one.

If anyone out there knows the answer that would be great. The car has about 75K on it and I have located a digital cluster with about 74K on it.

Thanks and I will post more as I find out.

Ted Downers Grove, IL
Modified by tfvesquire at 7:06 AM 1/11/2008

[elwesso]

its possible they switched to the digital later. The 97s and I thought the 98s had mechanical ones.. I know 99s had them, so maybe part way through the 98 build they moved to digital.

[Haitian_King]

Pearl white? Nice. I'd love to see a picture when you get a chance to snap some.

[tfvesquire]

Thanks for the response and info. I will post some pictures when I get a chance. I've wanted a low mileage pearl white 98 Q for some time and finally found a one owner. Hopefully it is in the described condition when I actually see it in person.

I have not seen an 99s with the mechanical odometer, but I do agree that Infiniti must have switched clusters mid production. I guess they had a bunch of mechanical odometer clusters from the 97s that they figured they might as well use them up.

I am still hoping someone knows whether all of the 1998 Q wiring harnesses are the same. I cannot imagine Infiniti went out of their way to design a brand new wiring harness to work the digital odometer cluster, but it is possible. I was hoping to purchase a 98 digital odometer cluster with similar miles and/or buy one with different miles and have the dealer reprogram the cluster to reflect the curent mileage on my car.

I will try to contact T3 today and the dealer to see whether this will work or if I am stuck with the mechanical odometer.

Thank you and any info would be greatly appreciated.

Ted

[NightRiderQ45]

My car was made in 7/98 and I have an digital one.

[gabe]

Just to verify......my 98 has a mechanical odometer. I'll check the stickers to see when it was built.

[ViruzOne]

I have never seen a digital display. someone post pics...

[Haitian_King]

So would yours be the '99 model? And the ones made in '97 be the '98? You know how the companies do it.

[NightRiderQ45]

So would yours be the '99 model? And the ones made in '97 be the '98? You know how the companies do it.

Exactly. I was wondering that also. It is a 1998, but I think they started switching some of the components over to what the '99+ have.

[NightRiderQ45]

I have never seen a digital display. someone post pics...

Ok, I will. I will snap a pic with my camera. It's very odd now since you have brought that up because I went on ebay and I couldn't find a 98 with a digital odometer. Hmmm

[Haitian_King]

Ah, so yours is one of the mid year builds that received the updated components.

Probably why the '98's built in '97 have the mechanical odometer.

[maxnix]

Post your VIN and we can tell you the model year.

If the last two letters are XT, it is a 1999 MY.

[tfvesquire]

** Update **

I talked to a local Infiniti dealership, the Owner of T3 in Atlanta, another speedometer shop in Atlanta and they all had the same consensus: The 1998 Qs built before 12/97 had the mechanical odometers and Qs built from 1/98 on had the digital LCD display. I then asked all of them whether I could purchase a speedo head unit from a cluster built after 1/98.

T3 said I might be able to do that since there is a chance Infiniti did not create a brand new harness to accomodate the digital display, but they also said I would most likely run into problems with the TCM, BCM and ECU. I was not even thinking about compatability with those units and did not want to get in to deep buying parts.

So as it stands, I think I will just have to live with my mechanical display. Who knows, maybe it will grow on me. At least my "display screen" won't ever burn out.

Will keep you guys posted on my new purchase. I look forward to getting to know the members of this forum and sharing whatever knowledge I acquire along the way.

Ted

[greg_atlanta]

Less digital is a good thing. On my '92 there are two bulbs which power the digital trip odometer and one of them works half the time, the other blacks out entirely now and then (leaving the display blank).

One thing I like about my odometer is that the numbers fall down instead of rolling over.... I assume it's the same in the '98. You'll see.

[gabe]

Sounds like you got pretty good advice. My 98 Y33 was built 12/97 and has the mechanical odometer.

[nicholas54]

Just bought a 98 q45 with a digital odometer. May have been built later in the model year because it has some features listed for the 99's but not listed as standard or optional for 98's. My Q was built for the Canadian market. The odometer was switched to miles from kilometers but the climate control and outside temp are still in Celsius. Is there a way to convert the display to read in Fahrenheit?

[maxnix]

What's your VIN? I wonder if your display was switched with a US model?

Km/M is selectable on the the LCD readout. Havn't tried to convert to Clsisu, but I bet the OM will give you a clue.

[ddrumman]

Sounds like you got pretty good advice. My 98 Y33 was built 12/97 and has the mechanical odometer.

How come then ViruzOne says:

I have never seen a digital display. someone post pics...

According to his sig/avatar he's got a 2000 model