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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  Engine literally FELL out of car driving 35 mph - 2009 Nissan Versa
  By Leslie W - April 21 - 11:31 pm

  The CVT transmission went out around 96k. No problems until then. Warranty was extended and transmission fixed. However, approximately 10k miles after transmission was fixed, the engine literally fell out of the car while I was driving down a side road, hanging 2 inches off the ground. Neither corporate nor the dealership who originally repaired the car wouls take responsibility. Either a mechanic made an error putting the engine back in, or Nissan is making such cheap cars, your engine may fall out when you hit a pot hole. Very dangerous! What a horrible thing to do to a customer. Ill never buy Nissan again.

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  Stranded - 1995 Nissan 200SX
  By Jennifer Wolberg - April 18 - 10:16 am

  Ive had my Nissan for 12 years and its a great car except for the fact that I have had it in the dealership twice because of some type of short in the system that causes it to shut off driving down the road usually at below freezing temps. Ive replaced the alternator and I have to replace the battery every year and the dealership still cannot figure out what the problem is. I would buy another Nissan if someone could figure why I keep having this problem. Very dependable in summer time!

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  Buyer Beware!!!!!! - 2005 Nissan Altima
  By Chelsey - April 18 - 8:36 am

  Be careful about the reviews, this car starts giving you ALOT of trouble about the third year, crank shift sensor replaced THREE TIMES, fuel pump replaced in 2008 and again this week in 2009. Rotors went on back brakes at 42,000 miles. Two sets of tires. From what I have read this has happened to many owners of the Altima. This car is a major lemon! This was my first and last Nissan. I am trading it in this weekend as from what I read the catalytic converter and transmission are the next to go.

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  A Fool is born everyday - 2008 Nissan Versa
  By kpcole - April 16 - 8:01 pm

  Yes, Im the fool. I wish I could go back and get the Honda Fit I originally wanted but didnt get b/c Honda wouldnt come off $1,000 from the price. I purchased the 2008 Nissan Versa and have hated it from the 1st week of ownership. 64,000 miles and the windows wont go up and down smoothly, When accelerating going up an entry ramp to the hwy, I lose MPH and the RPMs redline. I have to pull over on the shoulder of the highway at 5:00pm traffic, put it in park, then back to drive to reset it. Only to have it happen again going up a hill slowly. Sometime I have to push the petal to the metal (floorboard) just to get it to move! And the steering wheel gets loosey goosey when I lose the MPHs.

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  Great looking SUV, questionable quality - 2017 Nissan Armada
  By J Leon - April 7 - 12:39 am

  I evaluated a Yukon Denali and couldnt justify the 14K extra that was going to cost. I have bought GM products in the past and have not been pleased with the fit and finish, trim pieces falling off, leaks, electronics that stop working, etc. I am towing a trailer so need maximum towing capacity, so Armada seemed like the right choice. I liked the look and interior of the Armada. After having driven for a while there has been some issues. The interior lighting had a broken ground wire, the radio keep rebooting itself, the transmission kept losing power under acceleration. The last two required a software update from the dealer so remains to be seen whether I will encounter the issue again. The dealer has been good, but a car that is nearly $60K should not have issues like this.

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  Problem Vehicle - 2001 Nissan Frontier
  By 77 - April 6 - 10:00 am

  This is not a well built truck. I had 27 trips to the dealer for major repairs such as brakes, the ABS system failed twice, and I still have problems. Dealer support is almost non- exsistent, and contacting Nissan directly was useless.

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  Constant Transmission problems - 2008 Nissan Sentra
  By SD - April 5 - 1:46 pm

  Bought a new 2008 Sentra S back in Feb and have had an ongoing issue with the transmission. Any time I ease off the accelerator in 4th, 5th and 6th gear, I can hear a high pitched whining sound. Started noticing it before 1,000 miles and brought it to the dealership. They test drove the car and told me it was normal. The sound kept getting louder and the dealership agreed to replace the transmission at 2,500 miles. The sound was still their after the swap, just not as loud. 6,500 miles on the car now and whine is back. Nissan says it is normal once again and refuses requests for additional work on car.

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  Loved it... Until the dreaded radiator leak/transmission failure - 2005 Nissan Xterra
  By kaja91 - April 5 - 11:35 am

  I bought it used @ a dealer & immediately was planning my next purchase of a NEW X-Terra (in several years). Spent $2k in repairs, then @ 95k miles the tranny failed due to the now well-known radiator leak into the transmission. Nissan wont help & Nissan dealers (who all know of this NISSAN design flaw/defect) cut the trade value in 1/2, which leaves the once loyal consumer stuck with a car they cant afford to fix, but are too upside down to trade in affordably. Boo on Nissan for its lack of remediation on a defect which statistically fails well after their 80k mile warranty. Lost a loyal customer. These should not be allowed for resale w/out a documented fix preventing fail. BEWARE LEMON!

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  Maybe I got a lemon? - 2001 Nissan Altima
  By Bob Snodgrass - April 2 - 9:26 pm

  I bought this car used from a dealer with only 40,000 miles on it. It ran great for about a year, up until about 60,000. Then we had some major mechanical problems - things you would not expect to go wrong so soon. The first thing was the air conditioning went out - cost $2400 to replace. Then something weird went wrong with the instrument panel that caused the cruise control to fail - another 600.00. Now the intake manifold gasket is gone (a problem these vehicles have) and the car idles poorly. Were tired of soaking money into this car- Our other Altima (a 96) was reliable which is why we bought this one. Were going back to Toyota.

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  Good & Bad - 1996 Nissan Altima
  By QMAN - April 1 - 10:00 am

  I had this car since 97 and i had no problem with it for the first 3 years and then alterantor went out twice, battery died twice, radiator leak, odometer stopped working, horn stopped working, dash light does not work. Last time i am buying a Nissan.