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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  Dangerous Car - 2006 Nissan Pathfinder
  By driver1962 - February 2 - 7:26 pm

  I bought a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder with 50,000 miles on it. In about 2 years the car started shaking and vibrating on the highway. I started researching and found out this is a serious problem with Nissan Pathfinders 2005-2011. The Radiator fluid mixes with the transmission fluid and causes damage and puts i you in danger in the middle of the road. The estimate today from Nissan dealer, $10, 088 and I owe $10, 000 on the car! Do your homework. The frustrating entries about this car are all over the internet, including class action lawsuits!

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  Dont be Fooled by the Appearance. Dont Buy Nissan!!!!!!! - 2005 Nissan Pathfinder
  By byebyenissan - February 1 - 9:00 am

  We had the same leaking radiator problem like many people with our 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. The vehicle was 2000 km over the extended warranty limit. We would bring the vehicle to Nissan dealership if we were made aware of the defect sooner. We asked Nissan for assistance. After many phone calls, emails, time spent collect past maintenance record requested by Nissan Canada and months of waiting, we finally got a reply. Below is my response to their reply. "Thank you [Nissan Customer Service rep] for passing the news that Nissan would not do anything for our loss and their defective automobile, and for wasting our time. I can assure you we will spread our words about the quality of Nissan vehicle, so less people will experience what we have experienced. I am happy to report that after this incident we have traded in our Nissan for a Toyota which we have been very happy with, and my dad has sold his Nissan for a Lexus. Even though the resale Nissan worths less than other vehicle of similar type and age, its wonderful to got rid of our headache and future headaches. I will look forward to the day Nissan disappear from this world. Best of luck to all of you working for Nissan." We traded in the Nissan after replaced the radiator. Transmission was still working at the time, but we didnt want to take a chance of keeping a time bomb. The problem is well known among dealships of other car makers, so we got only $8000 for the trade in, but this is better than having to pay $5000 later on repairs. We had so many problems with this vehicle since we purchased it new from a dealership - noises, signal problem, gauge problem, etc. - and spent a lot of money fixing them including getting scammed by dealership (asked to pay for an item under warranty). What we experienced with Nissan is bad vehicle, bad service and ignorance. This is our one time experience with Nissan. Lesson learnt.

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  Never going Nissan again - 2008 Nissan Versa
  By Pissed in Idaho - January 23 - 11:50 am

  My first car was a 1985 Nissan Maxima and I ran it to death from the years of 2003-2008 when I bought our Versa. Since then we have had the fuel pump replaced THREE TIMES and it keeps failing. We recently had it replaced but notified Nissan of us declaring lemon when the part breaks again, I just hope I get all the money I put into it as we are a few hundred dollars off from paying the entire 16k we paid for it.

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  Great Car if it had a Real Transmission - 2013 Nissan Altima
  By Scott Anderson - January 20 - 3:35 am

  I bought this car and have loved the car it is comfortable good gas mileage. It is a 2.5 so I dont expect a fast car. But at 25,000 miles it got more sluggish then at 39,000 miles the transmission totally went out it started jerking on take off and would stall then jump forward pulling out from a stop light or in traffic it was just dangerous. I dont let my kids drive this car for fear for their safety. The poor transmission makes it NOT WORTH BUYING After 10,000 miles on the new transmission the car is starting to have stalling problems when I accelerate from under 25 miles per hour it randomly stalls for over a complete second and then moves slowly making it hard to calculate when changing lanes in traffic or crossing an intersection. You cant depend on it going or not. This is the same problems I had with the first transmission only the new one gets lower gas mileage and does not accelerate as quick. I have owned 3 Nissans and would advise against buying one with a CVT transmission

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  Built to a price - 2010 Nissan Altima
  By wbed - January 20 - 3:31 am

  I am getting increasingly worried about keeping this vehicle. At 74,000kms/50,000 miles I have incurred a repair bill of $2,400 for the replacement of the power steering pump and rack. It was conveniently just out of warranty. Never in an accident. The transmission reliability scares me as Nissan go out of their way to make it impossible to have anything fixed under warranty. Nissan has slipped down the JD Power survey to the high teens as they are building cheaper and cheaper cars. You now get the reliability of a domestic with the parts cost of a Japanese car. Worst of both worlds. Be prepared for negative equity as theres a flood of these on the market - resale is really low.

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  Nothing but problems - 2004 Nissan Armada
  By Wazzzup - January 5 - 10:00 am

  I purchased the Armada a month ago. In this short time Ive noticed a constant rattling of the overhead console and cracks in the console which eventually lead to the console breaking loose and hitting my son on the head. The rear hatch locking and automatic opening/closing system sucks. It is constantly beeping on accelerations and over bumpy terrain. The beep is to indicate that the hatch is not closed properly. Ive removed the mats in the event they may be in the way but that doesnt help. The locking mechanism for the center glove box is made of plastic with slight pressure on the handle it pops open so dont leave your valuables inside.

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  Bad Transmission - 2007 Nissan Sentra
  By consumer00007 - December 27 - 2:43 pm

  This company produces an awful product and completely lacks in customer service when making a superficial attempt at remedying the money drain of a vehicle they created for consumers. I bought my first Nissan, a 2007 Sentra with the defective CVT Transmission. Nissan acknowledged the defective transmission by doubling the warranty, instead of recalling like they should have, causing consumers to be stuck with the extremely expensive repairs when the defective transmission goes out shortly after the warranty is up. The warranty covers up to 120,000 miles, my vehicles transmission went out at 120,815 miles.

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  RUN RUN RUN Away!!! - 2006 Nissan Altima
  By jimbodwb - December 25 - 3:03 am

  This car has been nothing but problems from the very beginning. Should have returned it when I only got 5 miles from the dealer and the engine started spewing smoke. A hose was not clamped properly tranny fluid sprayed all over the engine. Then the speedometer is off like 5 mph but the dealer says "it is normal for this vehicle". Stereo had to be replaced for scratching cds. Front brake rotors were warped and replaced at 18k after fighting with the dealer and contacting Nissan directly. Bringing back this week for rear rotors falling apart! Yes pieces of the rotor have rusted causing the pads to shred. Transmission slips since I got it but dealer says nothing wrong. This is the worst car ever!

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  shame of American Nissan - 2005 Nissan Xterra
  By zeus48 - December 22 - 9:39 am

  I bought a 2005 X-Terra because I very much like the VQ engine series and their automatic transmissions. The first thing was the cheap interior seats began to shred. At 60K the paint is flaking off the roof and the factory knows it had white paint problems (no roof clear coat) at the factory and sold the vehicles anyway. No help from the dealer or factory. I bypassed the radiator w/a tow external cooler. The gas guage sender is failed, the fuel vapor recovery sytem is failed and now the loop cam chains need replacing along w/ the tensioner. I love driving this truck but it is a mess considering its age. I believe the responsibility rests with American Nissan management and cheaper is better

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  2003 2.5 4 cylinder Altima - 2003 Nissan Altima
  By bclark_1 - December 18 - 3:36 am

  This is the worst vehicle I have ever owned. I feel I got scammed. The engine used oil from the day I bought it, with only 33,000 miles. The massive oil consumption only got worse. I took it to the garage and was told the catylatic converter had fell apart and went into the engine causing it to destroy the engine. I was informed this is a common problem with this vehicle, due to the recall on the sensor that causes this to happen. Obviously this is a factory defect. I contacted Nissan to make them aware of my problem and received no reply. Be aware of this problem.