Overview & Reviews

Nissan was born in Japan, and like other marques from its homeland, the brand is known for crafting vehicles that place an emphasis on quality and reliability. The company's roster of products is broad, and includes sporty coupes, family sedans, minivans, trucks and SUVs.

The automaker got its start in 1933 as the Jidosha Seico Co., Ltd. The following year, this outfit merged with another Japanese manufacturer, and the new company was christened Nissan Motor Company, Ltd. Nissan initially marketed its vehicles under the Datsun brand, with the first Datsuns being built in 1934. Postwar, the brand made its presence felt worldwide, building a partnership with the U.K.-based Austin Motor Co. and establishing a presence in the United States. The first Datsuns hit American shores in 1958. Vehicles like the Datsun 1000 were based on Austin platforms.

The '60s witnessed Nissan's merger with Prince Motor Company, a union that helped the Asian manufacturer create more luxury-focused vehicles. In the U.S. it began offering its first vehicle styled for the U.S. market, the Datsun 510 sedan. By the end of the decade, Datsun had exported more than 1 million vehicles. Datsun rose to prominence in the 1970s on the popularity of its 240Z sports car. Powered by an inline six-cylinder engine, the car was coveted for its blend of style, performance and affordability. By the time the '70s drew to a close, the automaker's cumulative vehicle exports had surpassed the 10 million mark.

In 1981, Nissan shelved the Datsun name and began selling vehicles worldwide under the Nissan moniker. The '80s also saw Nissan's launch of a tuning division called Nismo for the development of performance-oriented vehicles and accessories. Nissan also brought its production to American shores, with the construction of a Georgia-based plant.

The early '90s saw Nissan's fortunes rise in the U.S. thanks to fun-to-drive cars like the 300ZX, Maxima and Sentra. But this trend didn't last long and by the late '90s Nissan's offerings consisted of anonymous vehicles. The company's future was uncertain.

After the turn of the new century Nissan bounced back, helped by a 1999 alliance with Renault that boosted the company's finances. Its redesigned Sentra and Altima boosted sales and consumer interest, as did new models like the 350Z sports car, Armada SUV and Titan pickup. Today the manufacturer is known for offering a wide range of well-regarded vehicles, including the popular Murano SUV, the incredible GT-R supercar and the all-electric Leaf.

User Reviews:

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  Fuel Gauge Problem - 2010 Nissan Rogue
  By Nissan Rogue 2010 - July 27 - 8:10 am

  Fuel gauge is totally inaccurate. Fuel gauge does not move until you drive 100 to 140 miles. Moves two notches at 240 miles. Nissan, on two occasions, tried to fix. Nothing changed. Nissan Fix Hot line stated that this is a "normal condition and no further repairs can be made" Forwarding to NJ Lemon Law.

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  I will never ever own a Nissan again! - 2003 Nissan Sentra
  By Vickie - July 26 - 2:10 am

  I bought this car in 2003 as a graduation present to myself, little did I know what a piece of crap I bought. Im not joking when I say my CD player broke about once a month. Something went wrong with my electrical system and my lights would randomly turn off. Just about any replacement parts have to be bought from Nissan (rip off). After my radiator and my head gasket went at 60,000 I got rid of this car. I couldnt afford to keep up with all of the repairs and of course Nissan kept trying to turn everything around on me even when my car was under warranty! I traded this piece of crap in for a Toyota Matrix and 3 years later Im still happy I did so! I swear I will never buy a Nissan again

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  How an Alternator Died at 21,00 Miles! - 2005 Nissan Xterra
  By What Went Wrong? - July 23 - 1:56 pm

  After having a 2000 Nissan Xterra that never ever needed a repair, I purchased the new one in 2005, all two months of them. Now at 21,000- miles, my alternator and idling arm are dead. Go figure. Dealership thought the progressive noise it made was lack of oil! Wrong! New dealership cant explain why it happened. Neither can I or the next dealership I may have to go to,,,probably NOT Nissan!

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  CLUNK! CLUNK! POP! POP! - 2012 Nissan Sentra
  By wanda - July 20 - 7:38 am

  Bought a 2012 Nissan Sentra about 6 weeks ago. Owned several vehicles and this is by far the worst of the worst. Never had bought a Nissan but will never buy another. This vehicle pops on right turns and braking & after turning and straightening the wheel and evidently there are several Nissans that has this as an issue. As I understand there are no recalls and Nissan has not addressed this issue. Will get it checked out with a mechanic on Monday. Hope to get the issue resolved since it is hard to trade with so recent of a purchase.

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  Versa/Kenny Ross - 2007 Nissan Versa
  By Heflynn - July 16 - 12:33 pm

  Bought new with 17 miles on it. I drive it back and forth to work, no off road, nor do I have a passenger the majority of the time. Here is what has been replaced. Strut bearings, struts, intermediate steering column (noise came back so it is going back again) rotors, rotors turned, fuel pressure regulator, oxygen sensor, rear defrost (twice), muffler has rusted off. This part is not covered under my extended warranty and it will cost around 2000.00 to fix. I have had no issue with the dealership that I bought it from, they are great just a bad product to be selling. The servicing dealership Kenny Ross, horrible service. There is not enough space to explain how terrible my experience was.

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  Tranny troubles - 2012 Nissan Quest
  By SadVanMan - July 15 - 12:06 pm

  We enjoyed our Quest for the first five years. The van had a smooth ride. I liked the interior layout with the folding seats and no need to remove large middle-row seats. We could haul large objects without having to remove clunky middle row seats, and we thought we were getting a better quality van than a Chrysler product. With the back two rows of seats folded flat, we had a bedding area for long trips to Florida. The hidden trunk in the back provided nice storage. We were making some nice memories with our van. In the first year or two we started to worry a little when our van would stall on downhill angles with 1/4 tank of gas or less. A technical service bulletin software update fixed that problem with no cost. Routine maintenance generally kept our van rolling along. Second set of tires at just over 40,000miles and that set lasted nearly 60,000 miles. Brakes replaced at about 88,000 miles. Only unexpected repair had been a rear A/C line at 80,000 miles. Well, things began going bad in the last few months. The van began lurching or having RPM surges while driving at speed--especially with cruise set while going up a small grade or hill. Was that the transmission slipping? The problem happened rarely enough that our local Nissan dealer could not replicate it during a test drive. Then after the 105,000 mile service the transmission problems worsened. On a long trip we had lots of cruising on the freeway. The tachometer would bounce while maintaining speed. If we encountered a hill the RPMs might bounce from 2000 up to 2400 with no gain in speed. The bounce lasted a second or two and it occurred on minor inclines. Local driving too and from work seemed fine, but then a short trip to family was the last straw. A couple times on this trip shifting from reverse to drive produced a clunking sound with marginal acceleration. (That cant be good.) We had two or three episodes in which the van took a long time to move from a stop on an uphill grade. (That experience seemed marginally dangerous.) Then the check engine light confirmed our fears. We nursed it back to our dealer. The tranny was dead. We are now two weeks into waiting for a replacement. Five years with the van was fine, but then we learned the error of our ways in purchasing the Nissan Quest with the CVT. Our dealer is still waiting for a replacement transmission while we kick ourselves for not purchasing the Honda, Toyota, or even the Chrysler. While it may not help our efforts to unload this thing in a year or so, buyers should beware of Nissan CVTs...especially in the Quest. A quick contact with corporate produced the expected apology for inconvenience with no real help. Five years old and just over 100,000 miles and the transmission pukes? Please learn from our experience.

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  Horrible Purchase - 2004 Nissan Sentra
  By Horrible Car - July 12 - 3:50 pm

  Within the first year I owned this car, the drive belt had to be replaced and was on back order which tells me this is a common problem with this vehicle, I had to have the cd player replaced because it wouldnt eject my cd, and I have had problems with it starting. The dealership told me it had a "10 second start". That does explain why it tries to start and dies. I will never buy a Nissan again. I encourage all others to take my experience into consideration.

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  That emergency brake HAS to be ON........ - 2017 Nissan Sentra
  By Sally - July 7 - 5:39 am

  I am single and leased the vehicle because the salesperson was great at what he did and helped me get a vehicle even though my credit was not good.From the beginning I noticed that, on acceleration, there was the feeling that the emergency brake was somewhat engaged.......very draggy and dull acceleration. The car lurches at times (automatic transmission) and that is not a good feeling when I need to GO. The interior is black and very cheaply constructed. Just vacuuming it is difficult because nothing wants to release from the fabric. Nylon of some kind. Its awful. The mats and floor carpet are cheap and also are also VERY difficult to vacuum clean. The construction of the drivers seat hurts my right hip. The GOOD parts of the vehicle are the huge trunk, the nice styling of the outer body, and thats about it. It is difficult to get in and out of. There is no odometer to reset once I fill it up. The gas tank is too small, yet it does get good mileage.......have to fill up every few days......and of all the crazy things, the gas tank opening is on the PASSENGER side of the CAR. I am NOT HAPPY with this vehicle, yet am grateful to have it, given my credit situation. But if you can get a Altima or better, do it. I had a 2005 Altima that was still going strong this March when I was hit and it was totaled beyond any hope. But it was an awesome vehicle all the way around, and I LOVED it and am still saddened that it is gone. Altima is great.

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  95000 Later - 2000 Nissan Sentra
  By JayLawII - July 2 - 2:00 am

  Engine light on, friend told me about Head and Cylinder Gasket Problems with Sentra/Altimas. A little worried. Noticed a loss in power and rougher downshifting, could be due to need for tune up though. Brakes still tight- good. Changed tires, still skid and slide under braking. Hard to change 3rd brake light. Speakers blew on stereo. Resale value extremely low, $3500. A fair weather friend. I try very hard not to drive during incliment weather.

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  Bad Experience - 2008 Nissan Rogue
  By BAD Experience - June 21 - 8:50 pm

  I am sorry to say, Our family looked for a crossover vehicle for a while then we found the Rogue the gas mileage was the selling point along with the looks and supposedly the reliability(Not So!) We owned the vehile less than a year traded the vehicle at 16,000 at this time we had already had two transmissions and was in need of the third NO one could explain if there would ever be a fix. I was concerned for the safety of my family so I tried working with the dealer and with Nissan all you get is political answers no one wanted to take the blame for selling a vehicle that did not perform to the standards that the dealer sold it at or would Nissan communicate there concern of there customer