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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  Truck Stinks - 2007 Nissan Frontier
  By Kevin - June 20 - 5:30 pm

  I have had nothing but trouble with this horrible vehicle. It has been in service on average every two months costing me lots of money. The latest issue was a short in the wiring harness causing all of the back light to go out. $2.52 for the part and $152 in labor. This truck also had the fuel gauge issue costing me $474 to repair one year ago. Now that there is a recall Nissan has the gall to tell me that my vin falls outside of the range. What kind of double talk is that. There have been so many issues that there is not enough space to write them all. Stay away from Nissan. Bad news!!!

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  Terrible Experience - 2003 Nissan Altima
  By GregoryZ - June 9 - 2:00 am

  Just traded in my 03 Altima for 03 Accord. I owned 2.5S model and regret the day I bought it. Poor build quality, fuel economy is terrible (due to A/C always working - known issue in all Altimas.), reliability and resale value are low. I used to be a loyal Nissan owner, not any more...

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  Dont buy this car! - 2012 Nissan Sentra
  By G. Loya - June 8 - 3:18 pm

  I bought my car 1 year ago with 60k miles. I was expecting to have this car without problems for a while. After six months the car went into safe fail mode not wanting to accelerate at all. I took it to the dealer and they told me it needed a new transmission plus a transmission cooler. The transmission over heating causes it to damage the transmission. The car goes in safe mode when the transmission gets over heated making it very dangerous if you are driving in the freeway and suddenly you loose all power. The dealer said the warranty expires at 60k miles. Nissan knows of this defect. 2013 and up comes with a transmission warranty extension of 120k. It also extended the warranty for 2010 models. 2011 and 2012 warranty were not extended! Never buying a Nissan again!

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  Nissan does not care.... - 2003 Nissan 350Z
  By kbsig106 - June 2 - 2:00 am

  Tires, suspension, alignment. The big "3" problems facing 2003 350z owners and Nissan has not fully addressed the problem.

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  CRAPPIEST Car I ever owned - 2009 Nissan Altima
  By giorgos2 - May 27 - 10:14 pm

  I bought the 2009 Altima in March 2009. It is by far the CRAPPIEST car I ever owned (among 10+ cars). Extremely noisy cabin, gas-alcoholic, rides uncomfortably, issues with transmission, touchy brakes, cheaply-made interior, seals already weathered, very noisy while accelerating, etc, etc. ... and not to mention the much higher insurance-premiums Nissan owners have to pay for such a piece of crap. CVT is totally worthless - it truly subtracts any little value this vehicle has. The only positive attribute I can talk about is the style of the car, and outside shape/contours, which were quite a big factor in choosing it - I still think it has a great look (as most Nissans do).

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  Transmission number 4 - 2013 Nissan Altima
  By Bob white - May 11 - 1:44 am

  We have a 2013 sl 3.5 the original transmission has been replaced twice with only 35,000 miles if you include the one it was made with that makes 3. And the last one is acting up as the first 3 did. Im not sure why Nissan has not addressed this issue extending warranty is great but what happens when it runs out other than transmission it is a great car.

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  Wheel Shimmy Problems - 2005 Nissan Armada
  By KTD260 - May 4 - 1:40 am

  When looking for an SUV this one was top on the list. We have had it for a year and a half and it has been back into the dealer over ten times for warranty issues. Top problem on this SUV is the wheel shimmy. The steering wheel shakes at speeds over 60 mph and going down hills. Each time I take it back into the dealer it is a new story as to what is going wrong and how they will fix it THIS TIME. Repair number 4 has just failed after two weeks of driving. Nissan should be ashamed they cannot fix the shimmy problem that affect nearly all 2004 - 2005 Armadas because they put undersized rotors on these trucks.

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  vibrating ride - 2004 Nissan Frontier
  By agrivated - April 16 - 10:00 am

  Bought this and has vibrated from new.dealer says they all do it.it now has 1900 miles on it ,has had 3 sets of tires.dealer says he wont do anymore to it.im stuck with it.will not recommend this truck and will not buy another.performance very poor.

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  Just dont like it - 2009 Nissan Rogue
  By mom of 2 - April 15 - 12:20 pm

  We kind of got duped into this lease.Heres my list - Im short and the Rogue has VERY cramped leg room for the drive, it actually makes me a nervous wreck, the head room is also tight & the steering wheel barely tilts. The back seats r also stiff and uncomfortable (and I have the leather package), no adj. head rest(which also block visibility) & no seat adj in the back either. The visibility is HORRID and completely unsafe - the blind spots r huge and the rear headrests coupled w/ a small rear widow leave a tiny square of visibility. No matter if you like how it drives or not, it is simply unsafe to drive. This long time Nissan owner can not WAIT for the lease to end & its only 1 mo in!

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  Very Unreliable - 2012 Nissan Versa
  By dannybrown92 - April 13 - 7:28 am

  I purchased a 2012 Nissan Versa SV certified preowned in September of 2013 with 25k miles. For the first seven months, the car was fine, but after that is when all issues started to occur. My brakes were making noises when I would hit them. It was a whistling noise. I paid to my rotors resurfaced, but that wasnt the issue. I needed the rear shoes replaced. About four months later, my transmission failed at 34k miles. Right after that, my starter went bad and right after that I needed new brake calipers. Everything accept rotors were under warranty. The car would make weird noises that went undiagnosed. All of these issues occurred before hitting 36k miles. Traded car in after 1 year.