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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  Never buy Nissan again - 2013 Nissan Altima
  By mtello - September 30 - 10:46 pm

  so disappointed in this vehicle, this was my first time buying Nissan, I had heard Nissan was a great and reliable car, so I went for it, big mistake! should of gone with Toyota or Honda, my mother has a Toyota and it has 174,000 miles! my 2013 Nissan Altima has 62,000 and the transmission just went out, its going to cost me $3,750 to replace the transmission, REALLY!! what a joke of a car! they need to recall the transmissions ASAP!! and take responsibility for faulty CVT transmissions. Save yourselves the headache and DO NOT BUY!

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  Biggest regret - 2014 Nissan Altima
  By C. M. P. - September 1 - 1:27 am

  I purchased a 2014 Altima SL fully loaded brand new. My family has always driven Nissans and never had any outlandish problems with them. Within the first year i had issues with the fog lamps loosening therefore not functioning, the infotainment system rebooting while in use, drivers seat would slide back and forward at take off and when braking, a recall on the hood latch and a recall on the airbag sensors causing the car to think no one was in the passenger seat and turning off the passenger side airbags. Second year, A/C compressor was replaced and transmission completely failed on me and was replaced (under warranty, thank god). Im approaching the end of the second year and the transmission may need replacing again. Electrical system is complete crud. And headlights flicker when i drive over the slightest bump. All lamps are loose. I especially regret paying an additional $1000 for the infotainment system because it often doesnt recognize that my phone is connected so i cant play my music or speak on the phone over the speakers. Rear view camera is great when im backing into parking spaces but it tends to glitch like a television using an antenna in the middle of a hurricane. Also, compared to the rear view camera in a 2009 Maxima, the picture quality is bad and almost useless after sundown. The 09 Maxima was very clear and vibrant in color both night and day. The rear view camera is used to determine whether there is someone in your blind spot and i can honestly say that it was wrong 40% of the time. It is also used to determine whether youre too close to the center lines so that it can alert you. This feature is called "Lane Departure Warning" and often didnt work either. A minor complaint would be that any time i have a passenger get out of the car, they have a hard time shutting the door on the first try. You practically have to slam them shut. The horn is weak, sucks if youre a honker like me haha. Navigation system always had a false ETA. For example, last night my ETA was 12:26 but the time was 12:53. Plus the navigation update is over $200+ just fyi. So if you live in a constantly developing area, like myself, the Navigation isnt going to recognize any of the new streets. Not going to drop $200+ every time a new business is put up. Im actually currently looking to buy a 10 year old Acura.

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  Transmission Transmission Transmission - 2013 Nissan Altima
  By Bill Carswell - August 31 - 8:57 am

  Read the reviews and do your research before considering the purchase of a 2013 Nissan Altima. Our CVT transmission was just replaced at 64K, 4k outside the warranty. There are numerous complaints all about the same issue! Shudder and juttering and then it just quits - torque converter locked up. Luckliy for us it happened while we were coming to a stop! Stay clear of this car - it is going to cost you $3k-$4k some day for a transmission. Nissan needs to admit that Jatco (75% ownership by Nissan) has built another flawed CVT transmission and start the recall. They admitted this issue with 2003 -2010 CVT equipped cars. If you have had an issue with your 2013 Altima, we all need to complain to the NHTSA and have our cases logged. www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

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  Defect defect defect! - 2013 Nissan Altima
  By 1unhappycus - July 1 - 9:38 am

  Disappointed from day 1! Got car & had more miles than expected! Paint defects. Who lets a brand new car get to a customer with stickers Under Yes under the paint? Brake light comes on, shutter from transmission getting worse every day, mileage on gas upon fill up changes, sensor in seat never always shows no one is in the seat, heated seats do not work properly, annoying noise from electronic steering getting louder, paint peeling off front bumper= been painted 4 times! Yes & the paint is peeling AGAIN! Went to dealer to get out of this car & they want me to lose 4,000.00. Ha Nissan are you kidding! Wouldnt the news love to see the defects in all these reviews! Shame!

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  DO NOT BUY THIS CAR - 2004 Nissan Maxima
  By 111zzz - May 8 - 11:23 am

  I WOULD STRONGLY RECOMMEND EVERYONE TO NOT BUY THIS CAR. I have read other peoples comments. They are right. I also have met a lot of problems in this car, like jerking, transmission. I will not fix the transmission. Probably I will fix the jerking. I just want to to drive it for a while. Then I will throw it. I am lucky that I did not spend much on this used vehicle. DO NOT TRUST NISSIAN.

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  Id rather take the bus! - 2009 Nissan Rogue
  By Mrs. S - April 5 - 5:23 am

  Leased this crossover last June. Has only 6K miles on it and I have 2 years left on lease. I HATE this auto!!! I hated it after only 1 month! You take your life in your hands when you change lanes in heavy traffic! This car has many blindspots! No pickup whatsoever!!!Takes forever for the car to get warm/cold! Sounds like an angry mosquito when you accelerate! I tell the kids to "lean foward" when I am getting onto the highway...Already have had 2 serious recalls. Now I have an "service engine soon" light that wont go off. I am sure its a gas cap issue, but I cant take a day off to waste waiting around at the dealership! Dont even Sit in this car!Paid top $$$ for this DUD!

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  Bad Product and Nissan did Nothing to resolve - 2017 Nissan Rogue
  By lkservice - January 26 - 8:50 am

  I bought a new Nissan-Rogue family package vehicle 3 months back from Cherry Hill Nissan and basic reason for this buy was - 1. Good gas mileage (Nissan claims it to be 33 on highways and 26 on city roads) 2. Additional seat for occasional usage of my family needs Ever since I bought this car I am getting very low gas mileage and tried to work with local dealer as well as Nissan for resolution but no satisfactory results- 1. I am getting ~ 19 MPG in city driving and getting 24-26 MPG on highway driving which is about 8 MPG lower than what is claimed at the time vehicle is sold or advertised. 2. Multiple visits to dealer and gave them gas mileage readings as per their requirements. Dealer did software upgrade but I dont see they did anything reasonable which convince that it should make it better. After multiple visits and fulfilling whatever they asked for (even waiting for more then 4-5 Hrs. in one occasion) no outcome and dealer asked me to call Nissan customer care. 3. I called Nissan customer care and got Case opened but here also it was completely unsatisfactory 4. Nissan representative told me that based on dealer checks, everything is working as expected and after lot of persuasion she agreed that her supervisor will call 5. Supervisor called me and she told me the same story that as per dealer it is within company specifications. when asked what are company specifications and this is lower than what you advertise, no answer and keep on repeating that this is within company specifications. This was completely unacceptable and no help provided by Nissan and after I told that I have to go to Better Business Bureau, she had no effect. Seems Nissan is very proud of their legal team and a mere customer cant do anything against them. So if you are buying any Nissan vehicle and you are unlucky to get a bad vehicle, my experience is that both Dealer and Nissan will leave you to deal with it. I would recommend to not go with Nissan or Cherry Hill Nissan dealership.

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  hate it - 1997 Nissan Maxima
  By 3333 - January 7 - 2:00 am

  this car has given me nothing but problems since i bought it. i had to replace the whole engine.

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  Replaced Transmission at 120,000 - 2015 Nissan NV200
  By Ls - January 2 - 4:15 pm

  Unfortunately our shop bought 4 Nissan NV200s. Transmission went out in the oldest one already and Im still making payments. You CANNOT rebuild this transmission. Had to purchase a whole new one because of how they are built. Only a 12,000 warranty. My transmission mechanic of 12 years has said he is replacing Nissan Nv200 transmission all the time because they are using plastic pieces now and and cannot be rebuilt. We used to get our old Ford and Chevy Cargo transmissions rebuilt for less than $2400 and Hurst would give a 100,000 mile warranty on his work. I am now looking to dump the rest of these pieces of junk!! I still own a Ford with 350,000 miles that had the transmission rebuilt at 205,000 miles for $1800. Sorry Nissan, if Toyota had a cargo van, I would buy them and replace the NV200.

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  Beware! Engine Power Loss! - 2005 Nissan Pathfinder
  By Disgruntled! - November 22 - 1:13 am

  After testing driving 37 vehicles in search of the new family vehicle, we selected the Pathfinder. I regret that decision. Yesterday, my wife was traveling on a highway when the power to the engine went out!!!! She had to coast off the highway. I took it to the dealership this morning who did the diagnostics and said the accelerator pedal had failed and would need to be replaced. What if this had happened with an 18 wheeler barreling down behind her???? I will be filing a complaint with Nissan Motor Corps so they check into this, conduct a recall to ensure this does not happen to anyone else.