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:

• 

  Dont expect a quality warranty! - 2006 Nissan Murano
  By custservice1 - January 2 - 12:18 am

  The transmission has a poor warranty of 5 years and / or 60,000 miles. My wifes vehicle has always been maintained and driven well but at 58,000 miles (2 1/2 months after the five year warranty expired) the transmission completely went out. The dealership qutoed $3,800 for the repair / replacement. We phoned Nissan directly (and the dealership also contacted them about the issue) hoping they would stand behind their car and help with a portion of the $4,000 bill for an obviously faulty transmission. The Nissan representative took 3 weeks to give an answer and then the answer was no, because oil changes and tire rotations were not done by the dealership! Dont expect them to stand behind it

• 

  Disappointing - 2005 Nissan Xterra
  By Sirgwhiz - December 31 - 3:30 am

  Bought vehicle new; mpg ratings were 16-20. Had an 03 Maxima rated at 24-28 mpg; in 45k miles avged 31.5. Expected Xterra to avg 20 or better. Highest ever was 17. Service rep said it was within specs and offered no help. Dealer couldnt reprogram. Overall it is rugged, manages very well in snow and slush and truly is a stable multiple purpose vehicle. Circuit card for fan and AC burned out, $60; clunking in drive train after 35k miles, dealer replaced front and rear drive shafts did not fix the noise. Spare tire lift mechanism broke ($140 - replaced it myself); jack is cheap and bent in use; leak in tailgate corroded lock; wheel bearing went out at 65000, tow & repair $900

• 

  Disappointed - 2006 Nissan Maxima
  By melr - December 27 - 9:50 pm

  I bought my 2006 Maxima slightly used in late 2006 with 15k miles on it. Everything was great for the first couple of years. Did go through two sets of tires though. At 72k miles the A/C began blowing hot air. A couple of months later, the transmission went out (hard shift between gears). A couple months after that a fuel leak and cracked motor mounts. The good news is Im now at 80k and am just replacing the brakes. There is also a hollow metal sound coming from the car. Fortunately I bought a great extended warranty (that expires in Nov.) that has picked up everything but the A/C. Come Dec. I will likely get rid of the car since its too expensive to repair.

• 

  Wear of the car - 2004 Nissan Sentra
  By joe_c172000 - December 21 - 10:00 am

  My car has 40000 miles and I am disapointed with the resistance of some of the materials: - The steering wheel has started to change color. When I contacted Nissan to get a new steering wheel, they told me that I was driving with rings in my hand, which I dont. - The carpet is worn out. Come on, its my fourth car and I never saw that before. - The paint is definately too fragile.

• 

  Cost Cutting ruins an otherwise great car - 2017 Nissan Sentra
  By Bryan - December 19 - 11:19 am

  With the stick, is very fun to drive despite having the wrong gearing for the powerband and notchy shift action. No limited slip diff for some reason, even though this is the juke powertrain, which comes with the LSD standard. This car looks upscale and the interior is very nice. Unfortunately, this is thin veneer over a very cheaply made car that in my opinion will not last for the long haul. Feels substantially less well put together then the last generation sentra, which feels built like a brick outhouse. This is confirmed in that the 2007-2012 sentra weighs 150lb more despite being smaller than the 2013-up model. I am a mechanic and bought this car not only to improve my credit, but so I wouldnt have to work on my own car, as I spend 60 hours a week most weeks working on other peoples cars. Less than 100 miles into my purchase, I noticed 2nd gear was very hard to engage. Had to bring it to the attention of the dealer 3 times before they confirmed my findings (defective transmission). After that they replaced it with no issues. I have had the car for a year and have put only 5600 miles on it so far, and already the body is starting to loosen up, various squeaks are manifesting themselves. The body simply does not feel very solid at all. My mother owns a 2008 sentra, with over 180k on it and it feels more solid than my brand new car. I know this because I service her car for her. Yes, I test drove multiple 2017 sentras (after I was already committed to mine, unfortunately,) and they are all the same. If I would have known, I would have saved myself over 15 grand and bought a 2012 sentra (the last year for the old bodystyle) from Copart and fixed it, because thats how flimsy this new car feels to me. The car is otherwise great, I average nearly 33mpg average around town and have touched 54mpg on one particular back road trip! My issue is that I dont feel it will last long. Cost cutting abounds everywhere. The interior is about the only place that they didnt try to save coin....it is very nice. Everywhere else the cost cutting monster has had its way. The ride is nice, until you hit the first big bump, and you run out of suspension travel (something the previous sentra did very well was absorb bumps.....) Open the hood or trunk and you are greeted by great swaths of metal that Nissan didnt bother painting body color (to save on paint)...all you see is the base coat. What paint is on the car is very thin and very easily chipped or scratched, which was never the case on previous Nissan products. I already have chips on almost every body panel which are down to the primer. Remember, this is a NINE MONTH OLD CAR with 5600 gentle miles on it. The drivers door already closes with a different sound than the passengers door. It sounds tinnier, as if the weatherstrip is already wearing out. The rear brakes squeal when stopping, i feel like I am in one of those old 1950s TV shows every time I stop. The sunvisors buzz incessantly against the headliner at idle and the package tray rattles. Again, most of this stuff is nitpicking, but still, when a NEW CAR has more NVH problems than its 10 year old sibling, that is saying a lot, especially when the old car has 11 times the mileage. It is a great car to lease, not to buy, in my opinion.

• 

  Cost Cutting ruins an otherwise great car - 2017 Nissan Sentra
  By Bryan - December 19 - 11:19 am

  With the stick, is very fun to drive despite having the wrong gearing for the powerband and notchy shift action. No limited slip diff for some reason, even though this is the juke powertrain, which comes with the LSD standard. This car looks upscale and the interior is very nice. Unfortunately, this is thin veneer over a very cheaply made car that in my opinion will not last for the long haul. Feels substantially less well put together then the last generation sentra, which feels built like a brick outhouse. This is confirmed in that the 2007-2012 sentra weighs 150lb more despite being smaller than the 2013-up model. I am a mechanic and bought this car not only to improve my credit, but so I wouldnt have to work on my own car, as I spend 60 hours a week most weeks working on other peoples cars. Less than 100 miles into my purchase, I noticed 2nd gear was very hard to engage. Had to bring it to the attention of the dealer 3 times before they confirmed my findings (defective transmission). After that they replaced it with no issues. I have had the car for a year and have put only 5600 miles on it so far, and already the body is starting to loosen up, various squeaks are manifesting themselves. The body simply does not feel very solid at all. My mother owns a 2008 sentra, with over 180k on it and it feels more solid than my brand new car. I know this because I service her car for her. Yes, I test drove multiple 2017 sentras (after I was already committed to mine, unfortunately,) and they are all the same. If I would have known, I would have saved myself over 15 grand and bought a 2012 sentra (the last year for the old bodystyle) from Copart and fixed it, because thats how flimsy this new car feels to me. The car is otherwise great, I average nearly 33mpg average around town and have touched 54mpg on one particular back road trip! My issue is that I dont feel it will last long. Cost cutting abounds everywhere. The interior is about the only place that they didnt try to save coin....it is very nice. Everywhere else the cost cutting monster has had its way. The ride is nice, until you hit the first big bump, and you run out of suspension travel (something the previous sentra did very well was absorb bumps.....) Open the hood or trunk and you are greeted by great swaths of metal that Nissan didnt bother painting body color (to save on paint)...all you see is the base coat. What paint is on the car is very thin and very easily chipped or scratched, which was never the case on previous Nissan products. I already have chips on almost every body panel which are down to the primer. Remember, this is a NINE MONTH OLD CAR with 5600 gentle miles on it. The drivers door already closes with a different sound than the passengers door. It sounds tinnier, as if the weatherstrip is already wearing out. The rear brakes squeal when stopping, i feel like I am in one of those old 1950s TV shows every time I stop. The sunvisors buzz incessantly against the headliner at idle and the package tray rattles. Again, most of this stuff is nitpicking, but still, when a NEW CAR has more NVH problems than its 10 year old sibling, that is saying a lot, especially when the old car has 11 times the mileage. It is a great car to lease, not to buy, in my opinion.

• 

  Never again! - 2004 Nissan Altima
  By element - December 14 - 8:26 am

  V6 engine is a +. Interior has a lot of space. Exterior looks very good to be called an Altima. The parts on and in the car is something else. Got my 2004 Altima in Dec. of 2003 and the o2 sensor wend bad @ 1200 miles after that was the left strut at 6000 miles. Then the right at 6800 miles. Over and over. Never ending. Total times struts were replaced is around 7 times for a 2004 Altima w/ 17800 miles. Now Nissan Service has me going in again for a window molding to be repaired for the 4 time now. Nissan Service, and the Altima. NEVER AGAIN! Tips for the ones thinking about the new Altimas. Dont do it. Check all websites w/ info on the Altimas. Wish me luck w/ my lemon.

• 

  Tired of visiting the dealership. - 2008 Nissan Altima
  By Frustrated - December 12 - 3:43 pm

  I purchased my 2008 Altima new in 2008. This is one of my mistakes. I like the style of the car. I have spent more time in the service department than I would like. Recently my car is making a whining noise while driving over 60 mph. It stalled on the interstate and I had it towed to the dealership, they kept my car for 3 days and said they could not find anything wrong with it. I am doing research online at this time.

• 

  Was a great vehicle until it reached over 100K miles - 2002 Nissan Xterra
  By xterra02sc - December 12 - 3:57 am

  I really loved driving my SE S/C 4WD 2002, and it was mostly problem-free except for last couple of years. One owner vehicle. Problems accelerated dramatically after 100K miles.

• 

  MAXIMA IS TAKING ME FOR A RIDE - 2000 Nissan Maxima
  By KIMMY0868 - December 1 - 10:00 am

  ALTHOUGH THIS CAR HAS BEEN FUN TO DRIVE, IT IS STARTING TO BE A NIGHTMARE FOR REPAIRS, BUYERS BEWARE!!!! I BOUGHT THIS NEW AND AT 25,500 MILES THE COILS HAD TO BE REPLACED, WHICH WAS COVERED UNDER WARRANTY.OK, NOW, AT 41000K THEY HAVE TO BE REPLACED AGAIN AT A WHOPPING $780.00. I AM CURRENTLY TALKING TO NISSAN, BUT SAID MAYBE THE NEXT TIME THEY GO THEY WILL FOOT THE BILL FOR THE COST OF THE COILS (80.00 EACH).NOT LABOR. I WILL GET RID THE CAR AS SOON AS I CAN!!!!! HEADS UP PEOPLE, THIS CAR HAD FLAWS AND IM NOT THE ONLY ONE THIS IS HAPPENING TO!! ITS NOT THAT FUN TO DRIVE.