Surviving (and Loving) Our JDM Suzuki Jimny’s First Long Road Trip

I’ve written about how a vehicle has to earn my trust. When we first got our Suzuki Jimny, it had an oil leak caused by an old crankshaft seal (fitting, considering this website’s name). Then there was a coolant leak and brake issues. During all of this, we were also building up the vehicle for added capability and practicality. And just when I thought we wouldn’t be able to take it to one of our favorite events, the Northwest Overland Rally, I threw a Hail Mary to the Car Gods, and lo and behold, we got a touchdown. We did a 500-mile Suzuki Jimny road trip and, thankfully, it went well.

Fixing Problems Before Hitting the Road

Weeks ago, I replaced all the rubber coolant hoses (all but the heater hoses had to come from Japan), yet still had a leak from the upper hose. Thankfully, the fix was simply moving the hose clamp closer to the water inlet. Fixed!

We also noticed the left-front wheel was warmer than all the others, an indicator of a dragging caliper. Unfortunately, the front calipers are Jimny-specific, so there wasn’t any running to AutoZone for a set of remanufactured units. (Two-door Sidekick/Tracker calipers might fit but I haven’t tested this.) I pulled the front caliper apart, greased the slide pins, cleaned everything up, and slapped a new set of genuine Suzuki Jimny pads on (these came with the vehicle). I did the same for the driver’s side because, why not?

Another successful fix! Remember to keep those slide pins well lubricated, folks.

It might be rolling the dice a bit to take it on a 500 mile road trip, but hey, it’s got to leave the driveway sometime. We’d take our Mitsubishi Delica as a camper for the event anyway, and we’d bring a tow strap in case.

Last-Minute Jimny Modifications

The WARN R60-S winch was already on. We’d added smaller 215/75/15 BFGoodrich All-Terran KO3 tires. We installed the Front Runner Dometic Slimline II roof rack. The last mod we’d do was a big one, and that was a full XPEL wrap. We had the job done at Roadrunner Protective Films in Portland. Owner, Dave Ball, added PPF (paint protection film) to previous cars, but we’d never had a full wrap done. Knowing he’s a master at his craft, we dropped the Jimny off for a color change.

We opted for Moss Green, part of the new XPEL COLOR PPF line. As anticipated, Dave did an incredible job. You’d be hard-pressed to know this wasn’t paint. He’d taken much of the vehicle apart to wrap it, including bumpers, headlights, door handles, mirrors, and more. We also had the XPEL protective windshield film installed because a Jimny windscreen isn’t easy to get in North America, so we’d better protect the one we have.

If you’re looking for a great wrap guy and are in the Pacific Northwest, we can’t recommend Dave at Roadrunner enough.

With the wrap done, we added the rest of the Frontrunner accessories, which included a double jerry can holder, a Wolf Pack Pro box holder, and a traction board holder to accommodate our MAXTRAX Minis.

With all this done, we were ready to take the Jimny up north.

Driving The Jimny Long Distance

A long-distance drive is relative. But a 500-mile round-trip drive would be the first longer road trip for this Jimny. Plus, there’d be lots of elevation change. Would the Jimny make it?

We started out on Interstate 84 through the Columbia River Gorge. Knowing the vehicle’s performance limits, we cruised at 65 MPH and under. We stopped a few times to check for coolant leaks and brake temperature. After a couple stops, my handy mechanic work was holding up.

Mercedes and I jumped on US Highway 97 north towards Ellensburg, WA. Here would be our first elevation test. While the Jimny wasn’t rapid ascending hills (neither is the Declia), the engine temperature stayed cool.

We stopped in Ellensburg, 226 miles into the trip, and things were still going great. We only had 71 miles left until we got to our destination. However, there was a severe 30 MPH headwind. The block-shaped SUV did not like the wind. Mercedes radioed back to me asking me to jump ahead of her in the Delica to act as a wind block. This did wonders for the little 1.3-liter-powered SUV.

We rolled into the iconic field at Plain, WA for the 2026 Northwest Overland Rally triumphant. The Jimny held together, and my pride was intact. The Jimny Wide was a total hit at the event. So many people hadn’t ever seen a Jimny; many thought this was a new Jimny.

Taking The Long Road Home

We knew getting up to Plain, WA was only half the trip. We reversed course four days later, doing all the grueling passes, including Blewett Pass, Manastash Ridge on I-82, and the climb on HWY 97 out of Toppenish, WA. The Jimny did great! And I’m happy to report our Jimny made the 500-mile round-trip journey without issue. Good job, little guy!

The trip to the Northwest Overland Rally was a great first foray into longer-distance travel for the JDM Jimny. Hot temperatures, wind, and elevation didn’t phase the little rig, and it’s gaining our trust. These are typically reliable little trucklets. So far, so good. We’re looking forward to some future mods—lights, mud flaps, and rock sliders—to add further capability and protection.