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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  Problems - 2002 Nissan Altima
  By Dmitry - December 29 - 10:00 am

  Interior ergonomics design is awful. E.g. dashboard is invisible from passenger site. CD panel is invisible under bright sun because of its angle to the driver. Cruise control doesnt work for speed over 90 mph. There was a problem with transmission when driver over 100 mph - it starts to shift randomly. During hot weather all dashboard guages died while car still ran - happend couple times.

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  Victim of Nissan - 2006 Nissan Sentra
  By victim1 - December 25 - 2:56 pm

  Got the car in 2008 with 28,000 miles on it. These are the things that went wrong in the first month: Every rim was bent or warped, glove box fell out, muffler pipe needed to be replaced, bad battery, the window regulators were obviously starting to fail, and, most importantly, the car does not want to start in hot weather. This last reason is a mountain of a problem because, even though we went through with an extended warranty, the dealership cant get the car to have start up issues. Either thats my luck or theyre lying so they dont have to fix it, despite the fact that I know its the fuel pump. They wont fix it under warranty unless they can "diagnose" it. Nissan is trash.

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  Defective Timing Chain - 2011 Nissan Juke
  By candu238 - December 25 - 12:42 am

  Forget the concept of Japanese quality if you purchase a Juke; because it doesnt apply.

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  Loved it. now I hate it. - 2005 Nissan Xterra
  By FrmXLvr - December 21 - 10:00 am

  Everything I needed in a SUV and the stereo was simply the best. I had 3 trouble free years with the exception of the trailer hitch recall. Then the first of what was to become an endless string of repairs began with the $500 gas sender. Another known defective Nissan part that we the consumer had to eat. 3 months later, new brakes and front U joints. New battery and tires at 40,000 miles. Had the recall for the airbag sensor fixed in early 2010 along with a radiator flush. This September fell victim to the radiator failure/ tranny fry. Im having it fixed independently as Nissan refused any assistance. I am also suing Nissan for my costs. Been a Nissan man for a while. No more.

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  RECALL NEEDED - 2005 Nissan Pathfinder
  By Mommy2Bu2fullBOYS - December 6 - 6:13 pm

  So 2 months ago vehicle started slamming into 1st gear than Im driving home and it starts having trouble switching gears. I go home start researching transmission 05 nissan. I come across this website hear all about the radiator fluid leaking into the transmission. its gets towed to aamco and sure enough transmission is rusted out due to radiator leaking into transmission!!!!!!!! WTF recall this now I have to pay $370 a month for my payments plus $5300 to fix this problem!!! Now im driving my husbands beater to get around and we cant go anywhere as a family because our family vehicle is in the shop!

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  rust above emblems - 2016 Nissan Altima
  By Mike - November 10 - 2:40 pm

  Watch out for rust above the emblems on Altimas. My 2014 Altima SL was rusting above the emblems in the first year and had rust severe enough that it was noticeable from a distance within 3 years. Reading online it seems to be a common problem. Dealers wont help and Nissan wont help.

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  Where are the parts? - 2010 Nissan Versa
  By harrisd9 - November 7 - 7:34 am

  My Nissan Versa has been sitting in the repair shop for over 6 weeks waiting for a gasket for the radiator!! I would have never bought this car if I had know how hard it is to get parts! We have also had it in the shop because it died and needed a fuse. They keep lots of these in stock--must happen often. What a mistake.

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  Blown Tranny - 2007 Nissan Sentra
  By chargerfan92562 - November 7 - 1:03 am

  I bought a 2007 Nissan. I have 53,000 miles on it as I do alot of driving. At about 46,000, I was on a long trip about 6 hours into my travel my RPMs began to fluctuate, power was lost could not go over 20mpg. I pulled over on I-10 near lordsburg. After 20 minutes car started up and made it to Ca. I took car to dealership and was told nothing was wrong. Once again at 53,000 I was driving to Ca. again and once again about 6 hours later same thing happened. This time tranny blew. Fluid was all over. Towed to Tucson, covered under extended warranty. Before this everything on car seem to work. Does a tranny usually go out this quick?

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  Frontier of my discontent - 2014 Nissan Frontier
  By Jvincent - November 2 - 6:42 pm

  Engine idles rough , lot of vibration . Front seat rattles ,dealer repaired , still rattles. Climate control difficult to regulate . Slow to warm in the winter. Wanders from side to side , loud when driving .

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  X The Xterra - 2001 Nissan Xterra
  By Fred Smith - November 2 - 10:00 am

  The Xterra is the most uncomfortable vehicle on the market today. Test drove it for twenty minutes before I bought it. Should have driven it for an hour so I could have found out how uncomfortable it really is. Even took it to an upholsterer to have the seat stuffed with padding...twice. Still felt like I was sitting on steel spikes pointed northward. Im 64" and weigh 225lbs. Actually, I like everything about it, except the uncomfortable front seats.