What actually makes the G38 worth your time
The G38 is Infiniti's midsize luxury sedan, produced from 2013 onward as the successor to the G37. It shares its platform with the Nissan Maxima and some other Nissan-group sedans, which means you get a lot of car for the money but also inherit a few of the same quirks. The basic layout is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive setup with an optional all-wheel-drive system. Most versions come with a 3.7-liter V6 making around 330 horsepower, though there was also a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 in the later Q50-rebadged models that we'll get to. Here's what most people don't tell you about the G38 before they buy one: the interior materials aged poorly in certain climates. I had a 2014 model that sat in Arizona for roughly eight years, and the leather on the driver's seat bolster had developed fine cracks that no amount of conditioning could really hide. It wasn't catastrophic, but it was noticeable. If you're looking at a high-mileage G38 from a hot climate, inspect those seats thoroughly. The passenger side tends to fare better since it gets less sun exposure and less abrasion from entering and exiting the car. The real advantage of this platform is the underlying mechanical simplicity. The 3.7-liter V6, codename VQ37VHR, is one of the better naturally aspirated engines Nissan has made in the last decade. It's not the most refined engine in the world, and it drinks fuel compared to modern turbo four-cylinders, but it's durable if you maintain it. Oil changes every five thousand miles or so, check the valve clearances around 100,000 miles, and keep an eye on the timing chain tensioners. Those are cheap fixes if caught early and expensive nightmares if ignored.
One thing beginners miss about the G38's transmission: the seven-speed automatic, the Jatco model, is generally solid but has a known sensitivity to fluid degradation. The manufacturer interval says something like 60,000 miles, but that's optimistic if you drive in city conditions or tow anything. I recommend changing the fluid at 40,000 miles regardless of what the manual says. The difference in shift quality between a fresh fluid and a degraded one is immediately obvious, and it costs about three hundred bucks at a independent shop versus the kind of money you'd spend rebuilding it later. Here's an edge case that tripped me up on my first G38: the Intelligent Emergency Braking system, which was available on higher trims, would sometimes engage unexpectedly at low speeds. It happened mostly when approaching intersections or parking garages with certain lighting conditions. The fix isn't a software update that Nissan pushed out universally. What actually worked for me was adjusting the sensitivity through the vehicle settings menu, turning it to the lowest setting. If you can't find that option, disconnecting the forward-facing camera unit behind the rearview mirror and recalibrating it properly sometimes resolves the false triggers. You need a proper calibration tool for that, so a dealership or a well-equipped independent shop is necessary. The all-wheel-drive version uses a torque-vectoring system called ATTESA E-TS, which is the same technology Infiniti borrowed from their racing programs. It works well in wet conditions and light snow, but it's not a substitute for proper winter tires. I've seen people try to use the AWD G38 as an all-season year-round car in places like Upstate New York, and they end up disappointed. The AWD system sends power forward when it detects slip, but it can't create grip where there isn't any. Snow tires on all four corners will transform this car's winter capability more than any AWD badge ever will.
One counter-intuitive point about maintenance: the G38's cabin air filter is notoriously difficult to access on some model years. On the 2013 and early 2014 models, you have to remove part of the glove box assembly and sometimes trim pieces just to reach it. It takes maybe twenty minutes if you know what you're doing and forty-five if you're figuring it out for the first time. Later models moved the filter to a more accessible location. If you're buying a early-year G38, factor in that this small inconvenience when you're doing your own maintenance. The ride quality is genuinely comfortable, especially on the models with the adaptive damping system. That system reads road conditions through sensors and adjusts the suspension in real time. It's not as sophisticated as Mercedes' Air Body Control, but it does a respectable job of smoothing out highway imperfections. On rougher roads, the trade-off becomes apparent: the suspension can feel a bit vague during hard cornering, and body roll is present even in Sport mode. This is the inherent compromise of a comfort-oriented RWD sedan built on a Nissan platform. If you're considering the 2017 facelift, the main changes were cosmetic mostly. The grille got redesigned, the headlights lost some of the sharp angular styling, and the interior got some material upgrades. The engine lineup stayed the same for the V6 models. The real story with the 2017 refresh is that Infiniti essentially gave up on the G38 nameplate and rebranded it as the Q50 starting in 2014 for most markets, but in the US the G38 badge persisted alongside the Q50 for a couple more years before the G38 was fully phased out around 2019.
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Resale values on the G38 are lower than you might expect for a luxury sedan. That's actually an opportunity if you're buying used. A well-maintained 2015 to 2017 G38 with under 80,000 miles can often be found in the twenty to thirty thousand dollar range, sometimes less depending on condition and options. Compare that to a comparable BMW 3 Series or Audi A4 from the same era, and the G38 offers significantly more car for the money. The depreciation has already happened, which means you're not taking the biggest hit. There are a few known failure points worth knowing about. The water pump on the VQ37VHR engine is driven by the timing chain, which means if it leaks, you're looking at removing the timing covers to replace it. That's a significant job, easily a thousand dollars or more in labor. Some owners have had success with aftermarket water pumps, but I'd stick with OEM or a reputable brand like Aisin. The engine control module can develop corrosion on its connectors, particularly in humid climates. If you experience random stalling or no-start conditions, checking the ECM connectors should be one of your first diagnostic steps. The Infiniti InTouch infotainment system in the G38 is about what you'd expect from mid-2010s technology. It's functional, the screen is decent sized, but it lacks modern connectivity features like wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. If those matter to you, you're looking at an aftermarket head unit installation, which runs anywhere from four hundred to eight hundred dollars depending on the product and whether you want to keep the factory steering wheel controls and backup camera integration. Some owners simply use a phone mount and accept the limitation.
Overall, the G38 is a sensible luxury sedan choice if you prioritize comfort and value over driving dynamics and brand prestige. It won't embarrass you at a country club, and it certainly won't bankrupt you maintaining it compared to German alternatives. Just do your due diligence on the specific example you're considering, and don't skip the pre-purchase inspection by someone who actually knows these cars inside and out. That single inspection could save you two thousand dollars or more in unexpected repairs.
