Nissan - Are they in trouble?

andre1969

I'm now a Nissan owner. Well, co-owner. A buddy of mine bought an '06 Xterra over the weekend, and I co-signed with him.

Now I'm not much of an SUV person, but I kinda like it. But it's not without its faults. For one, I don't like the transmission. It has the 5-speed automatic, and for the most part it revs really low. For instance, at 60 mph you're only pulling around 1700 rpm. But when I drive it, I can't even feel it shift! Now I know some people would think that's a good thing, but I tend to associate it with NOT shifting, so my first thought is that there's something wrong with it!

Now I know that all you have to do is put it into Drive and go, but I just like to know what gear it's in! Also, something that I thought was kinda odd is that the moment you take your foot off the gas, it just doesn't coast very well. Seems to slow down pretty quickly. And it doesn't seem like it's aerodynamic drag or the tires, but it just feels like the drivetrain is dragging on it. I'd think that with something that loafs along at a low rpm, it would coast better.

Lessee, what else can I pick on? Handling and ride, I'd put about in the same class as my '85 Silverado, just without the squeaks and rattles. It definitely lets you know it's a truck. It goes around corners pretty well, but truthfully, the biggest thing that holds my Silverado back is the seat! My butt will lose traction on that slippery, flat vinyl seat before the truck will! The Xterra also doesn't seem to track very straight down the road; you have to keep making minor corrections to keep it between the lines, but that might be because of the wide 265-series tires. My Silverado started doing that a bit when I went from 235- to 255-series tires. Now naturally, with something like 265 hp, performance is awesome. And even though the engine has a timing chain, it doesn't sound all rattly like Nissan's 4-cyl models do.

Inside, it has more cheap, hard plastic than anything GM probably ever threw together. I don't like the position of the power window buttons. When I put my arm on the armrest, the switches are actually back up under my wrist, instead of at my fingertips, where they are in something like my Intrepid. And the windshield wipers and headlight stalks are downright alien to me in their location and operation. I've accidentally knocked the windshield wipers on when making a turn, because of the bad location.

The seats are made out of this fabric material that looks both cheap and durable at the same time. Kind of like outdoor lawn furniture. It's actually pretty comfortable. It gives me better lower back support than most modern cars do. And for being Nissan's smallest SUV, I'm impressed with the backseat room. I'm 6'3" and fit fine back there, even with the front seats all the way back. Entry/exit is hard though, with the way the rear wheel arch cuts in.

Outside, I think it's a good looking truck, but again there are some cheap details. The paintjob is horrible. It's nice, deep, and shiny, but there's so much orange-peel that you almost want to look for the "Grown with Pride in Florida" stamp! And the window seals look like something that AMC might have done back in the 70's.

So overall, it's a decent SUV, especially for the price. But it's not without its faults. I think they need to work on their interiors and paint quality mainly, but could they do that and still keep the price reasonable? And without cutting corners somewhere else? Sometimes these things are kind of like a Catch-22.

carguy58

"For some reason the new Almtima and Infiniti G35 don't really look like all-new cars, but more like facelifts of the current models. Seems like a cheapout redo IMO."

Exactly, I understand your point about the Altima and G35 which both will be all new for 2007. The 07 Altima and 07 G35 look "evolutionary" rather than being "revolutionary" in the styling department. It looks like they took a page out of Honda's playbook from the 1990's making evolutionary changes to their new cars in terms of exterior styling cahnges. It worked for Honda than but will it work for Nissan now? Only time will tell. I myself don;t know if making "evolutionary" styling changes will work for Nissan because they are a company that prides themselves on styling. One thing is for sure Nissan did make upgrades to the interior of the 07 Altima.

I will be excited to see though how the next generation Altima will go up against a next generation 2008 Accord and an unpgraded next generation 2008 Mazda 6.

socala4

The 07 Altima and 07 G35 look "evolutionary" rather than being "revolutionary" in the styling department.

And that's a smart move, being that both styles were successful in their respective segments. There's no reason to start fresh when the last styles were successful.

IMO, the styling knife needs to be applied to both the Sentra and Maxima. I haven't checked on retail sales to see how they fare compared to prior models, but in comparison to their rivals, they seem to be short of appeal in comparison to its most successful competitors. Perhaps the Altima should serve as the new benchmark for the styling Nissan-badged sedans, using it to define the family look for the next Sentra and Maxima.

merc1

I guess that is what they did, an evolutionary change. This kinda ties in to what socala4 is saying too, maybe they decided to just fix what needed fixing - the interiors as opposed to the exteriors.

Still though I think its going to take a lot of advertising, especially with the G35 for people to even know the car is new.

M

andre1969

a guy came in and bought a fleet of SIX Sentras! He was running some kind of business like a Mailboxes ETC or something like that, and just wanted to use them as cheap runner cars.

Oddly though, as much flak as the 2004+ Maxima has taken for its styling, it seems to be selling well. Personally I can't stand its styling, but there's an old saying that handsome is as handsome does.

mirth

I own an '02 Maxima and I was pretty happy with it until I had two repairs in the first year out of warranty that totalled $1500 ($800 for a mass air flow sensor and then a few months later $700 for two O2 sensors). And the first one left me stranded 20 miles from home so I had to dole out an additional $50 for towing (would have been more but he first 5 miles were free through AAA). I sent Nissan a letter complaining about two high price repairs right out of warranty and they dutifully called me back to tell me basically "too bad, so sad". Kind of soured me on Nissan. My Max is a fun car to drive, but I will not be getting another Nissan product any time too soon. Just one man's experience.

andre1969

I remember the mechanic I used to go to (old Mopar guy, since retired) had a '95+ Maxima in the shop one day, and they had to replace some kind of valve or sensor (I want to say the EGR valve, or maybe an O2 sensor?) that they actually had to take the intake manifold off to get to! I think the part was only about 30 bucks, but the labor was pushing it into the $800 or so range.

ryancey

I'll admit there are cars out there that may be more stylish and modern, but for the price nissan has the market. I come from a family that has been driving Nissans since 1990, with my sister buying a sentra and driving it problem free until she totaled it in 97. My parents bought a sentra in 98, which gets 40mph highway 36 city, and drove it problem free until 2004 when i bought it from them and have continued to drive problem free. We bought a 94 pickup in 99 and drive that problem free until today. My father bought a 98 frontier in 02 and has driven it problem free until present. I bought a 94 pickup in 04 for only $800 "It was beat," and with only $70 in a few parts I have driven it for 2 years.

My point is in all of my experience Nissan is the most reliable vehicles out there on the market for the price. I will continue to buy Nissan over and over again. I dont have to worry about my car dieing. They are great vehicles.

PF_Flyer

I'm with you there. We've been driving Datsun/Nissan vehicles since 1979 and have averaged about 175,000 miles per vehicle.

I have a '96 Sentra that's closing in on 229,000 miles. I had to fill up the other day and got 37 mpg with no trip longer than 15 miles on the tank.

Our 2001 Altima is at about 110,000 so it's a bit early to tell

My '91 Sentra had 230,000 on it when I replaced it with the Altima

The only "major" issue I've ever had in all that time was a head gasket going on a 4x4 king cab pickup at about 80,000 miles.

We keep to the regular service schedule, that's about it.

One time, I might think I was lucky. Eight times tends to make me believe in the reliability.

andre1969

I took my Grandma down to see my Mom. Happened to check out the odometer on Mom's '99 Altima. 200,5XX miles.

Now when they got that car, I had a low opinion of Nissan, because they had a '91 Stanza that was getting pretty crappy after around 90,000 mostly highway miles. And then the '99 Altima crapped its tranny around 35,000 miles. For awhile I was thinking that these things were proof positive that they don't make 'em like they used to!

But, after the second tranny went in that Altima, it was relatively troublefree. Needed a new battery around 90,000 miles and that little issue left my Mom & stepdad stranded when the car cut out on them (I thought this was odd, because I've had plenty of cars where you could pull the battery out while it was running and it would keep going...maybe newer cars draw the battery current more?) but otherwise I don't think it's needed anything major.

So, my family experience has been 50/50. A '91 Stanza that wasn't so hot, and a '99 Altima that's proven itself in the long run. Still, I'd say that their highway driving and my stepdad's obsessive-compulsive attitude toward maintenance is more of a key factor than whose badge is on the grille. After all, they had an '84 Tempo make it to 160,000 miles, before getting traded on the Stanza. And Mom had an '86 Monte Carlo that she gave to me with 179,000 miles on it and still running strong. I got t-boned in it around the 192,000 mile mark.

Still, I wouldn't be afraid to own one.

chrisducati

We bought a 1994 Sentra for our oldest daughter when we sent her off to college. She had it until it had about 110,000 miles before she totalled it. In that time we had to replace the distributor cap, plugs and wires. She called and said it had died. I had it towed in and that was the problem. The dealer service manager said it had fouled the plugs with oil. I asked how could that be and he stated that the engine was badly sludged by looking in the oil fill hole and at the dip stick. I called my daughter and asked at how many miles did she have the oil changed. She said she had it changed twice. !!!! twice in 100,000 miles. Of course I fell out of my chair. So the car had a total of 3 oil changes its whole life.I then asked her if she had to add oil she said yes she had been adding. Now before you say anything I had shown her how to check the oil and told her that she should change it every 3000 miles. That was thrown out the window I guess. At any rate the poor car was put out of it's and my misery when she rear ended someone. Children. :sick: Good car to be able to last as long as it did.

ryancey

I was at work today talking to some of the guys. One of the guys came in talking about his Ford powerstroke van. He said it keeps sputtering out and so on. My other co-worker said his truck did that awhile ago and it was the cam sensor. Plus he had to change the injector and so on. I mean common. He has had to pay over $5000 on his truck. I hear people saying oh this and that about nissan. That is a bunch of crap. You can not tell me that "American" vehicles are better than Nissan, or Japanese. Simply put Americans are to cheap and in a hurry to build it right. All the GM, Ford, and Dodge vehicles I've seen and hear of have their problems or wear out to fast.

Nissan lasts, Nissan is reliable, Nissan gets the job done.

carguy58

"Simply put Americans are to cheap and in a hurry to build it right."

Really(laughing!) Americans are too cheap and in a hurry to build it right! Don;t tell the plant workers in Tennesee that build the Nissan Altima's that.

"Nissan lasts, Nissan is reliable, Nissan gets the job done."

Nissan has a good history of reliability despite their glitches of late with the Amarda, Titan, and Quest. My parents have owned Domestics. Sure they have had a couple bad apples but what automaker doesn't. Every automaker is not immune to problematic cars.

ryancey

"Don;t tell the plant workers in Tennesee that build the Nissan Altima's that."

I never said Nissan wasn't assembled in the US, Canada, or Mexico. But the engineering and some of the manufacturing still happens in Japan, and Nissan has their regulations for quality control, which some american auto makers just simply dont want to pay for.

As for the Armada, Titan, and Quest this is a whole new area for Nissan and sure they are going to have glitches in the first few years. But im sure in the next year or two they will be up to speed and have the glitches worked out and be just like thier Altima, Sentra, and Fronter.

Engineering a V8, and totaly re designing their whole platform the be "american size" is not an easy task. Ford, GM, and Dodge still have their problems, and they have been doing it for many many years. So I dont worry about the breaks recall, or anything, because Nissan fixed the problems and has a history of be quality.

Nissan lasts, Nissan is reliable, Nissan gets the job done.

mirth

When Nissan moves to Nashville this month, they are going to lose about 60-70% of their white-collar work force. These guys aren't going to be able to manage what they want for lunch, much less a bunch of new product launches. I wouldn't buy a Nissan for a few years.

How do pronounce Ghosn? (BOON-DOGGLE)

cti

Nissan lasts, Nissan is reliable, Nissan gets the job done.

According to JD Power's latest long-term study Nissan is well below average. Industry average is 237 problems per 100 cars. Nissan is at 275. No vehicles in the top three of any category. Nissan had over 40% more problems reported than Toyota.

Infiniti did quite well, though. 178 problems and a sixth place finish. And two vehicles placed third by vehicle category.

For comparison, all the big manufacturers (Ford, Chrysler, Chevy, Toyota, Honda) did better than average.

scape2

Don't forget Nissan was aquired by Renault. Renault bailed Nissan out and breathed new life into Nissan. Nissan has put out some great products. Altima is nice, Maxima, Frontier. The new Sentra is sounding pretty good too. With Renault at the helm, and with Renault deep pockets.. Nissan will be fine..

ryancey

According to JD Power's latest long-term study Nissan is well below average.

I would like to read this so called report that you say Nissan scored so low on. Please tell me where I can read this at, Because I went to the J.D. Power consumer reports website and what I found was vehicles like the Frontier, Xtera, were not even evaluated. How can they give an over all report of Nissan if they have not evaluated all their vehicles.

One reason why their report was a bit average was because they did have a problem with the Armada and Titan with their breaks the first few years. Which is a problem, but Nissan has recalled the faulty parts and have fixed it.

So what I have to say about JD Power's review is that it is inconclusive, inaccurate, and is full of holes. From my personal experience and the experience of everyone I know who owns Nissan is Excellent, Excellent, Excellent!

Nissan lasts, Nissan is reliable, Nissan gets the job done.

varmint

http://yahoo.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_24/b3988071.htm

No real news in the article, but it addresses the central issue of this thread.

carguy58

According to JD Power's latest long-term study Nissan is well below average. Industry average is 237 problems per 100 cars. Nissan is at 275. No vehicles in the top three of any category. Nissan had over 40% more problems reported than Toyota.

Infiniti did quite well, though. 178 problems and a sixth place finish. And two vehicles placed third by vehicle category.

For comparison, all the big manufacturers (Ford, Chrysler, Chevy, Toyota, Honda) did better than average.

Yeah also Nissan's 2nd tier competition like Mazda, Hyundai, and Subaru did power in that JD Powers surevey than Nissan did even though those 3 manufacturers were a little bit below the industry average.

In Consumer Reports latest issue Nissan is still rated as one of the best brands reliability wise even though CR has rated the Quest, Aramada, and Titan bad reliability wise.

I did read some of the business week articles that the lsat poster on this board had links too. In my opinion the new Sentra is dissapointing looking. Also Nissan relies alot on truck sales to sustain their sales growth in the US. Declining truck sales in the US are hurting their sales performance in the Us market right now.

cti

I would like to read this so called report that you say Nissan scored so low on.

http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/news/releases/pressrelease.asp?ID=2005089

I'm not surprised you didn't find it. It's under press releases and not easy to find. But here you go.

Personal experience may be nice. But as the saying goes, the plural of "anecdote" isn't "data".

Of course, no one buys a company's entire car line. What I would like is if JD Power (or someone) would release this numbers by car model.

ryancey

What I would like is if JD Power (or someone) would release this numbers by car model.

Consumer Reports does release a vehicle by vehicle report on reliability and integrity. The vehicles, like the Sentra, Altima, Fontier, Xtera, and Pathfinder, all scored within the top 2 to 3 ranks, competing with Toyota and Honda, as well as both their luxury versions, Lexus and Acura.

I would not hesitate to buy a Nissan over a Toyota or Honda. The price is cheaper, the Warrantee is just as long, and the reliability is there. Nissan takes the cake for value!

rsholland

The Nissan Canton, Mississippi plant has been a real sore sore spot for the company. It sounds like they're got that problem now under control.

http://blogs.edmunds.com/Straightline/1114

Bob

carguy58

"Oddly though, as much flak as the 2004+ Maxima has taken for its styling, it seems to be selling well. Personally I can't stand its styling, but there's an old saying that handsome is as handsome does."

My mom likes the way the Maxima looks. I myself don't think the current maxima looks good. I met a young kid once in this early 20's he owned an 04 Maxima so I guess he liked the way it looked because he owned one. In conculsion I guess you can either love or hate the way the current Maxima looks.

ryancey

Good news for Nissan as their quality rating with the most recent J.D. Power "Initial Quality Study," has improved. This is especially true of their Canton, Mississippi plant (Titans, Armadas, Quest, QX56) which had been called the worst car factory in the USA in terms of quality. Now that plant is on a par with their Smyrna plant.

Like I said, there was a few issues with the Titan, Armada, and Quest. Nissan has resolved this issue. This is also why J.D. Power rated nissan below average because of thier flub in thie plant. I live on the west coast so our vehicles must be manufactured somewhere else because I dont see the problems J.D. Power talks about. A hickup in the system can really mess up a companys repuation. Hopefully Nissan can recover.

I still stand by my statement

Nissan lasts, Nissan is reliable, and Nissan gets the job done!

rockylee

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060628/BUSINESS01/606280380/10- 14

Rocky

scape2

about Nissan and its new troubles. Nissan almost died back in early 90's and was rescued by Renault with its deep pockets. I am surprised their sales have been falling.. The Altima and Maxima along with its Xterra are pretty nice vehicles... :confuse:

mirth

...that Nissan saved itself through more stylish vehicles and cost-cutting. Unfortunately that cost-cutting cut into the muscle and the quality went down. Now their American operations are all messed up because of the move to Tennessee. In short, not good.

nishonbaru

The problem is Renault. Renault like everything the French do is crap. They are bringing the same work ethic or lack thereof to Nissan. Sure make something that looks good and get the customers in. However, reliability will win in the long term. Americans remember Renault. The LeCar, Fuego, Alliance, all peices of crap! Sure that was 25 years ago but Renault has the same mentality today as they did 25 years ago. They are bringing it to Nissan. It will ruin them.
Just hope that they don't get ahold of GM. The only thing that could screw up GM more than the UAW already has is Renault.

My Nissan Quest is a :lemon:

carguy58

about Nissan and its new troubles. Nissan almost died back in early 90's and was rescued by Renault with its deep pockets. I am surprised their sales have been falling.. The Altima and Maxima along with its Xterra are pretty nice vehicles..."

No, Nissan didn't get rescued in the early 90's by Renault. Renult resecued Nissan in 1999 not the early 90's.

Your surprised about their sales falling? I;m not since the Altima is old 5 years old and the Sentra is 6 years old almost since came out early in 2000 for the 01 model year. The Sentra has been delayed because the exterior styling for a new generation model didn't do well in focus groups so Ghosn sent Nissan designers back to the drawing board on the exterior styling. The current G35 is a 5 yewar old design as well. I don;t know how well Nissan's SUV's are selling but sales of SUV's have been down overall industrywide because of high fuel prices.

carlisimo

Man, the French aren't that bad!

Renault paid for its mediocrity and nearly died in 1984. Its emergency turnaround boss DID die, assassinated because of his workforce cuts. But in the early '90s they came out with stylish and fun-to-drive cars. Like all the French companies, they're very brave with styling. And (as far as the European market is concerned) they invented the minivan! And then they invented the MPV (Mazda5-type vehicle)!

They've also been the first to build a small car that scored 5 out of 5 stars in the EuroNCAP crash tests, and did the same for a couple other vehicle classes. They now have more 5-star cars than anyone else in Europe.

They've changed, a lot.

merc1

Nissan IMO, isn't in "trouble", they're merely experiencing a slow down. Remember that they introduced a lot of new models in a very short period of time and no automaker can sustain that pace except maybe Toyota or GM. They have enough models to always keep something new being introduced. Well in the case of GM if they had the money to update all their car lines. With companies as large as Toyota, GM or Ford by the time you finish a bunch of new models from design to production, it is time to concentrate on some others that have aged during that same period of time. Nissan has been for the last few years on fire with new models for both Nissan and Infiniti, but now it is time for some updates and/or new models so I think'll they'll bounce back.

Now the real issue is whether or not they can grow into a size where they've always got something new coming out, or do they even want to get that big. Also very, very important is keeping a product relevant and competitive in a particular segment while working on its replacement or totally new unrelated models. You can leave a car in a segment for 5 years with no major changes anymore. GM and Ford are good for this.

GM would be just like Toyota if they built cars that people actually wanted because they always have something upcoming. Toyota introduces one hit after another and the money keeps flowing to fund the re-design of existing models and/or totally new models. It is a brilliant cycle, or a vicious one in the case of GM, too many models and not enough money and talent to keep them all relatively fresh and competitive.

Now if Nissan wants to get themselves into trouble by messing around with trying to save GM or letting GM's ways rub off on them, that is their choice.

M

rockylee

With GM deal off, another one likely

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061005/BUSINESS01/610050334/10- 14

Rocky

rockylee

Nissan Motor Co. Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn introduces Japanese automaker's Murano crossover sport utility vehicle during a press unveiling in Yokohama, west of Tokyo, in this Sept. 2, 2004 file photo. Nissan has begun recalling more than 130,000 vehicles globally _ including 80,000 in North America.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061019/UPDATE/610190436/1148- - /AUTO01

Nissan recalls 80,000 vehicles in North America

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061019/NEWS99/61019002/1014/BU- SINESS01

Rocky

rockylee

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061221/UPDATE/612210438/1148- /AUTO01

Rocky

rockylee

http://blogs.edmunds.com/Straightline/2013

Nissan, gives us another ugly duckling. :surprise:

Rocky

qbrozen

in a quick run through the link you provided and the link in the article, I can't find anything aside from that one side pic. Not nearly enough for me (or anyone else, for that matter) to judge its looks.

seminole_kev

My family has had its fair share of Nissan's over the years, but really, I have to say that their modern styling is pretty awful in my opinion. Obviously a completely subjective thing, but I really don't like much at all save the Versa (oddly enough) and that's because I can see it's that way to maximize space.

qbrozen

i'm all over the spectrum regarding their lineup. i'm not a fan of the altima's or sentra's styling, and i find the tails of the g35 sedan and m-class pretty horrible. Everything but the tails on the infiniti sedans are tolerable. The g35 coupe is adequate all around, as is the Murano. The Maxima is OK on the outside, but I find the inside awkward and uncomfortable. On the other side of the spectrum the 350Z and FX are 2 of the most beautiful vehicles on the road, IMHO, and the versa is cute.

merc1

My family has had its fair share of Nissan's over the years, but really, I have to say that their modern styling is pretty awful in my opinion.

I agree completely. From the Versa to the Sentra to the Maxima there isn't a single looker in their range. The new Altima just looks so much like a warmed over version of the previous car. The Versa in particular is really ugly. The 350Z looks like an overweight something.

The Infiniti M and G are about it on that side of the house. Oh and the FX.

At least they're making their interiors better now.

M

lemko

...my brother-in-law has a black 1997 Altima he uses as a beater car. It passed the 250K mile mark this week.

rockylee

That's pretty impressive. Has he had any problems with it or has it been ultra-reliable like all japanese cars supposably are ?

Rocky

lemko

Well, the car looks every bit of its 250K miles for one. My 1988 Buick Park Avenue looks like a Pebble Beach Concours classic compared to his ride. I wouldn't say it was ultra-reliable as he pretty much replaced the entire braking system, radiator, alternator, power steering pump, and a few other pieces. Still, for 250K miles, I wouldn't complain.

carguy58

" agree completely. From the Versa to the Sentra to the Maxima there isn't a single looker in their range. The new Altima just looks so much like a warmed over version of the previous car. The Versa in particular is really ugly. The 350Z looks like an overweight something."

Yeah they messed up the Sentra redesign. I actually like the 01-03 Sentra bodystyle better than the 04-06 or the 07 model. The Maxima its gotten uglier with each redesign. The last time I liked the Maxima exterior design was the 97-99 bodystyle. The 07 Altima I don;t like that bodystyle either. The 02-06 Altima bodystyle was pretty nice looking though even though I wouldn;t buy it. The Versa looks like something Toyota would design on the back end styling anyway. The 350Z's exterior design is alright.

The GM and M are not my style at all. The FX is not my style either.

"At least they're making their interiors better now."

Yeah their interiors are pretty good now.

The way I figure it Nissan is selling more cars now than they did in the mid 90's which was their peak period in the US sales wise previuosly so they must be doing something right.

rockylee

Well yeah it does sound like its been a good car.

Rocky