Nissan Altima Hybrid

langjie · May 2007

well it's the phrase "I don't want to comment on that yet, as we have not worked out final pricing on my car. The final pricing is worked out when the car is delivered." that irks me when you add in a $500 non-refundable deposit.

let's face it, once you put down the non-refundable deposit, the deal is done, pricing is done. there is no more negotiating.

you always want to work out your deal before you introduce money into it, ALWAYS!!!!

jaxs1 · May 2007

Yes, it was reckless to put down non-refundable cash deposit and arrogant for the dealer to demand it.

It is juts another car coming off the assembly line that has a limited number or color and option choices. It is not as if the buyer could customize it in some weird way that would make it difficult for the dealer to resell. The dealer really has no risk that requires a non-refundable deposit.

happy_hybrid_1 · June 2007

I special ordered my Altima Hybrid 2 months ago. I went to go pick it up yesterday. It was perfect. Sonoma Sunset, Blond Leather, Tech Package. When I got in to take it for a spin it had 8 miles on it. I put 4 miles on it, and returned to the dealer to fill out paper work. While we were waiting for the finance the department, the dealer took the car to the gas station to fill up the tank. In the 1/2 mile between the dealership and the gas station, the person driving the car gets sideswiped. It sounds like it was not their fault. I guess they were driving in their lane, and a Van literally turned into the left rear door, and wheel well. The damage is what I would describe as moderate paint/body damage, but I don't know if the wheel itself was bumped in the accident. I now have 2 options available to me, re-order the car and wait for a new one, or take delivery of the car that has been in an accident after the damage has been repaired. The latter option raises a lot of questions:

Is the car even a new car anymore, or is it a used car now?
If they don't sell the car to me, can they put the car in new inventory and sell it to someone else, or does it have to be sold as a used car?
If it is not a new car anymore, then new car financing is no longer available, right?
At what discounted price does it even warrant consideration to take delivery of the car that has been in the accident?

There are many more questions that could be asked, but lets start there. Please respond with your opinions. Thanks.

stevedebi · June 2007

"Is the car even a new car anymore, or is it a used car now?
If they don't sell the car to me, can they put the car in new inventory and sell it to someone else, or does it have to be sold as a used car?
If it is not a new car anymore, then new car financing is no longer available, right?
At what discounted price does it even warrant consideration to take delivery of the car that has been in the accident?

There are many more questions that could be asked, but lets start there. Please respond with your opinions. Thanks."

Yes, it is new; it has never been regestered to an owner. Once repaired it can be sold as new. A reputable dealer would tell the new buyer about the repairs. A really good body shop can make the repair as good as new.

The financing & etc is the same.

A sideswipe can be fully repaired and should not have seriously damaged the structure of the vehicle. You might ask the dealer to throw in an extended warranty or something.

Personally, I would order a new vehicle, even though the other one is probably OK. It is just that I prefer to damage and repair my vehicles on my own! :surprise:

langjie · June 2007

I would try to not order a new one...but I wouldn't take delivery on that car either. I would try to make them find me one from another dealership via swap because waiting that long for the car just plain old sucks.

IMHO, i don't love a damaged and repaired car as much as a new one. There are some exceptions, like if it needed a new fender (that is an easy fix), but any major body work that required pulling, hammering, sanding, and/or repainting, no thanks!!!!

auntieshoes · June 2007

I bought an Altima Hybrid on Tuesday. I love the look and the feel of the car. The dealer filled the tank for me and I drove it off of the lot. It had 31 miles on it. I then did some city stop and go driving for about 4 miles and then 25 on the highway. My computer showed avg of 38 MPG for that trip. Man, was I excited.

Wednesday AM I drove the 100 miles home on the highway and my MPG dropped to about 35. I found that with the cruise control on, the EV never kicked in, so I shut the c.c. off.

As soon as I got into town I filled the tank again so I could test city driving, and I now have 66.6 city miles on the car (not a lot, I know). My computer reads 30.1 MPG and avg speed of 19.7 MPH.

I live in AZ and it's very hot so the A/C is on all of the time. But I bought the car in AZ, and it was very hot for the first 31 miles of the car's life as well.

I have been actively trying to drive the car so that the battery will kick on but it seems to only be on when I have no gas applied and am just coasting or am stopped.

I just went out to the car, which is parked in my garage, and it's a comfy 80 or so degrees in there, to get the numbers for this post. When I turned the car on it was just battery as expected, but then after just 5 seconds or so, the gas engine kicked on. The A/C was off as I turn it off before I shut the car down. The radio may have been on.

Should the gas engine have turned on in that situation? I left the car in Park.

I did notice a warning light that is a yellow triangle with a black exclamtion point in it. I didn't take the time to look up what that means yet.

Any suggestions on how I can get better MPG out of this car? That was the only reason I switched to a Hybrid. And while 30 is better than the 22 I was getting, it was somehow getting 38 when I bought it, and nothing has changed except the title!

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

langjie · June 2007

First off, the engine kicks on when you first start because of warmup (just trying to get oil running through the engine) so that's normal.

not sure what the warning light is

EV mode will only stay on up to 42 mph and last up to 2 miles.

i average about 35 mpg. i try to accelerate and keep it in EV mode up until about 15-20 mph, and then when the gas kicks in, i start to accelerate faster. seems to work well for me.

i think more than anything, you need to change your driving habits to maximize fuel economy. at least there are plenty of tools to show you how

auntieshoes · June 2007

Thanks for the advice.

No matter how slowly and smoothly I accelerate, the gas kicks in after just a few seconds. Are you saying you can keep the car in EV mode all of the way up to 42 mph? Even with the A/C on? Do you think the A/C makes a difference?

It is also a very heavy jerk when the gas kicks in. I can only get the car to about 8 mph before the gas kicks in. I feel like I should have talked to the dealership about this more before I left. And it's 135 miles away so I can't just stop in to chat with them.

Any suggestions on where to find the tools to show me how to change my habits?

langjie · June 2007

The only time I've ever gone up to 42 mph in EV mode, I was going downhill, so it doesn't happen often. I usually go from 0 to 15/20 mph before the engine kicks in. You get to the higher EV mode speeds when you are decelerating or just trying to maintain a speed. (like if I got up to about 40 mph and I let off the gas pedal a bit, then most of the time it will go to EV mode.)

It sounds like you are sort of hard on the gas pedal. If you ease up on the throttle, I'm sure you can run on EV a little bit longer.

A/C probably play a small part, but I've been running A/C the past few days and it's been pretty close.

The tools I am talking about is the Power meter gauge, and the MPG bar. If the Power Meter Gauge goes all the way down to the end of the Blue spectrum, chances are you are braking harder then what's most efficient (slow long braking is the best for regeneration). The MPG bar is good because you can see how much you are using at that time. I try to ease up to 15 mph, and then I accelerate a bit harder when the engine kicks in, and when I am up to speed, I try to ease up and just maintain my speed and the MPG bar usually is around 40 MPG when I am cruising.

Don't worry, there is definitely a learning curve, this is just what I observed (btw this is my first hybrid) so there are probably better ways of driving the car as well. Find out what works for you. I also log my miles/fuel purchases on fueleconomy.gov. My mpg range is 31-38.

townboy325 · June 2007

there is no way that u always getting 38, right? some time u can get 20 something or 50 something. it really depends on the speed u going and how hard u step on your gas... also u have to let your Engine to break-in in order to get better mileages... frist tank i get was 34.x 2nd tank was 35.34 so it getting better. Also u can't drive a hybrid like u normaly drive oh and the CVT too... give yourselve some time to get used to it.

auntieshoes · June 2007

Thanks for the input. I have decided not to worry about it just yet and just enjoy my beautiful new car. After a few tanks of gas I will pay more attention to what is going on. I will also track my MPG on the website that was listed in a previous post.

townboy325 · July 2007

also, if u want to know more about our car go to and join nissanclub u'll find so many helpful inf.

ny_cajun · July 2007

I picked up my 2007 Altima Hybrid exactly 1 week ago. I had to wait almost 2 months for one to be located up here in the Northeast. Finally one was located with full options including moonroof and NAV package with leather. I was able to secure a deal with the dealership for $2000 below MSRP for a total of $30995. Extremely happy so far. Still on first tank of gas after driving 355 miles of both mixed, some city and rural driving (30% city and 70% rural)and averaging 38 mpg. I have been able to drive distances of over 2.5 miles in EV mode only as long as the speed is kept at or below 40 mph.

ny_cajun · July 2007

There has already been some very good tips and advice given to you regarding maximizing your mpg.

This is my 2nd hybrid vehicle as I also have a 2006 Honda Civic which is not quite the same as the Altima hybrid. I have noticed that if you accelerate very slowly you can keep the car in the EV mode for up to 40 mph during city driving. This is not always practical as cars behind you are usually in a hurry. You can pulsate the gas pedal to obtain good mileage and maximize the EV mode. I am not saying stomp on the gas pedal but you can apply normal pressure to obtain speeds of say 25 to 45, then immediately release the pedal and the vehicle should immediately go into EV mode only (usually at 42mph and below, and with a good battery charge). Then you can use slight pressure to maintain the vehicle speed while staying in EV mode. There is really no reason why you cannot maintain 40 mph and be in EV mode for up to 2 miles especially if there is no hill or grade to the road. You should be able to do this with or without the air conditioning on. All of my driving thus far has been with the A/C on. You are basically going to have to train yourself how to drive this vehicle to maximize mileage.

I am still on my first tank of gas after driving 355 miles. I am averaging 38 mpg (30% city and 70% highway driving)and still have just over a half a tank of gas left. I expect to get up to and possibly exceed 700 miles per tank of gas. I have been able to drive up to 2.5 miles continuous in EV mode only (mostly on level roads and even very slight inclines). The key to this is being very easy on the gas pedal and if you have to speed up quicker then do apply normal or moderate gas pedal pressure, then consider a light foot with slight pulsating of the gas pedal. You also have to remember that since this is a CVT transmission then pulsating the gas pedal is actually better for gas mileage than that of a vehicle with a normal transmission.

jaydee49 · July 2007

I am in the bay area, shopping around for one with technology package. Using CarPerks I was quoted $31500 ($1000 over invoice) on a car that is roughly 33100 MSRP.

I've seen posts here with people getting ones with the convienence package for $1500 below invoice, and have seen newspaper ads listing them for $1000+ under invoice. Is this just a high quote or is the technology package in demand to the point it changes the price?

I was told that this quote is also the same as the Costco quote if that matters. Cars Direct looks like its about 31100 for the same car which would be cheaper. What's the best deal people have been getting with this package?

jaxs1 · July 2007

The Technology package may be somewhat difficult to get for now because there is an apparent shortage.

What makes that really bad, is that you will not get the price premium back at resale. Nav systems and other electronic gadgets do not do well at resale time. People will still want them, but they do not want to pay much for it on a used car and some will be scared away by potential repair costs.

You pay the extra cost of the options, plus lose discounting you would otherwise be able to get. Double cost. Then you lose more at resale. Triple cost.

You pay thousands more when you buy and only get hundreds back at resale after driving the car a few years.

You have to really, really want it.

auntieshoes · July 2007

I tracked down my dealer by going through Costco, and their deal was something like $700 over invoice, which sounded pretty good considering Nissan is not supposed to be selling the hybrids in AZ yet.
But they added on so many dealer mark-ups like wheel locks and pin striping and other nonsense that any advantage in pricing was lost. I was tired of shopping and I had driven 135 miles with the idea of leaving with a new car, so I did not get as good of a deal as I should have.
I am not sure this will help you at all in making your decision.

jaydee49 · July 2007

Thanks for the help. There seem to be quite a few around here with the technology package. I know of 2 within 20 miles of me that have it with the color I want. I'm in no hurry, I might wait a couple months to see if the deals get better.

emgr · July 2007

I am in Pennsylvania and drove the one hour into New York to order one in Jade with Tech package. I expect to have it by the end of July if not before.

Good Luck with your move. I was in no hurry either. I got mine for $2,300 below MSRP. which puts it about $700 over retail

langjie · July 2007

i'm in boston and one of the dealers (clay cars of norwood) has about 12 in stock with tech package

happy_hybrid_1 · July 2007

Thanks for the advice. I still haven't decided what I am going to do yet. I went ahead and ordered another car. They could not find the car I ordered anywhere else. It will be here in the beginning of August. The wrecked car is still being fixed. Apparently the factory in Smyrna, TN that makes these cars was shutdown for 2 weeks for Yearly Summer Maintenance. That sucks for 2 reasons. 1) Delays the delivery of the new car. 2) Delays the delivery of the parts needed to repair the wrecked car. According to a news article I read out of TN, the factory should be back up an running the week of 7/9. If anybody with inside knowledge could confirm that date, I would appreciate it. Also, does anybody know if the cars that start rolling off the line after the shutdown are 2008s or 2007s?

The dealer is starting to frustrate me. I've requested a loaner vehicle out of their used stock because I don't have a car right now. I happened to have sold my Jeep 2 days before my car was wrecked. They are only offering a loaner for 1 week. Why 1 week? If they can offer a loaner for 1 week, why not 2 weeks? Or whenever I take delivery of the car that I choose. So, now I'm having to pick which week is the most inconvenient week for me, and then maybe I'll get a loaner...It is their fault that the car was wrecked...ok maybe not, but its not mine. One of my friends told me that I should rent a car, hire a lawyer, and sue the dealer to recover the costs. That takes the game to a whole another level, and I really don't want to do that. I just want my freakin car! :mad:

I don't know if I will take delivery of the wrecked car. I'm going to go check it out, drive it, and see what they offer. If they offer something outstanding I will think about it, but if they offer something weak I will just wait. Plus, the longer it takes to fix the wrecked car the closer it gets to August, and the new car being here.

langjie · July 2007

even if they say it's going to be there by the beginning of august, it might be mid august when you get your new car. I highly doubt they will give you a much better price for that car....really sucks it was in an accident

auntieshoes · July 2007

The day after I got home with my hybrid, I remembered that no one had explained to me how the road service package worked, that I had read about in this blog and on Edmunds. My salesman told me that Nissan does not offer that, and that he was aware that the information was incorrectly listed on Edmonds.

Did anyone get any information at a road service program?

Also, I have terrible AM radio reception. Anyone else having that problem?

kannikanwo · July 2007

Jaydee, I am in the Bay area and have been shopping for the tech package on the Altima Hybrid for about two months. $1,000 over invoice is the best offer I got out of Santa Cruz. The dealership with the most cars is Boardwalk and I have tried to deal on a tech package with them several times. Each time they would not move one the price even though the car I want is sitting on the lot, unsold for weeks.

If you would like, we could perhaps contact Boardwalk together for something like $500 over invoice. Maybe they would be willing to move on two cars as they do seem to have a lot of slow moving inventory. If I were them, I would want to get rid of these before the 2008s arrive.

Let me know if you are interested. marc_jiang@hotmail.com

Regards

kannikanwo · July 2007

Question for those who tested both the altima and camry hybrids: Is the altima that much noiser? I read a couple of reviews that said it was and a couple of others that said the sound insulation was good. What is your impression? Thanks.

langjie · July 2007

you should just test the altima and see if it's an acceptable amount of noise.

but in general, toyota's > nissan in the sound dampening department

but nissan's are just so much more fun

craezie · July 2007

I am looking to purchase an Altima hybrid, but there are no models with leather in my colors in stock in all of California (and only a couple in ANY color with leather) If I can't get leather in this car it is going to be a deal breaker and I will go Toyota instead.

One dealer I talked claimed to offer aftermarket leather, but another said that you CANNOT put aftermarket leather into Altimas, that Nissan does not recommend it and it will disable the side airbags. I personally think that they just want to sell you a $6k package--although at the moment they can't even do that! I can't find any of the normal companies (like Katzkin) that offer a leather interior package for 2007 Altimas. Is anyone aware of a company that offers this, or have they had aftermarket leather put in? If so, do they accommodate the airbags properly?

jaxs1 · July 2007

There are companies that make leather with break away stitching for airbags, but there is no guarantee they will work properly when needed.

terrri · July 2007

I'm in So. Calif and just got my Altima hybrid yesterday - tech package. What color combo are you looking for? I researched it to death -- which is how I found this site.

By the way, I just love my car!

P.S. I got 'talked into' adding some type of dealer alarm system on the car, with a built in cut off switch, and worry it was a rip off after the fact. Any opinions?

langjie · July 2007

you can order the car in the color combo you want

happy_hybrid_1 · July 2007

Indeed you can, but be prepared to wait for 6-8 weeks.

auntieshoes · July 2007

My dealer was all too happy to hook me up with leather interior through a company they use. In fact they made it part of the purchase price of the car so that I could include it with my loan.

I have not had the leather installed yet and am going to call the company directly that does the work to see what they say about the airbag issue. I really wanted leather, but if it is a safety issue that will definately impact the re-sale value of the car, I will just tell them to give me my money back.

Will keep you all posted.

emgr · July 2007

07's are no longer being built. They are now starting on the 08's. In the Altima, no design changes and other stuff is minimal. I put my order in in Early June and didn't want sunroof but told it would take much longer. There was a car in their pool that had everything I wanted plus the sunroof, So I took it. Hope to have my 07 Hybrid soon.

jaxs1 · July 2007

The installation company is not going to say it is unsafe. They will says it should be fine. However, Nissan isn't going guarantee the airbags will work with the aftermarket seat covers and I'm sure the installer will not guarantee the airbags.

happy_hybrid_1 · July 2007

Are the '07 Altima Hybrid's no longer being built? Or just the conventional Altima's? The representative at the dealer I am working with said that they are continuing to make the '07 Hybrid, but some of the other vehicles on the same line are being switched over to '08. Can anyone confirm that the '07 Hybrid is being rolled to '08? This will greatly affect the financing being offered, and put me in a pickle because my 1st '07 was wrecked by the dealer. Now I'm waiting for a car that is supposed to be built at the end of July and be here at the beginning of August. Will that car be an '08 or an '07? Very important distinction.

emgr · July 2007

My dealer told me that 07's are no longer being built. fortunately there was an 07 in the pool that came close to what I wanted. Since what happened to your car was the dealer's fault, they should make good on the original offer even if it is an 08. But that is just my opinion.

happy_hybrid_1 · July 2007

My dealer told me that '08 Altima Hybrid's will start production in Mid-August.

emgr · July 2007

I was told that it was already in production. Right after the July 4th break.

joha · July 2007

I agree with auntieshoes that the city mileage is disappointing. I wonder if the engine computer on my car is out of whack, because it has the engine running almost constantly to keep the battery charged at 75-80 percent. In my understanding, the battery should be allowed to discharge to 20-25 percent before the engine kicks in to recharge. When the engine runs to keep the battery so highly charged, normal recharge through deceleration is wasted. Some postings claim that their Altimas will cruise at 30 mph on the battery alone. In mine, at any speed over 5 mph on the level, the engine runs. I would appreciate comment from others. The hybrid is not sold in MD, so I doubt that my local dealer can diagnose this.

auntieshoes · July 2007

Joha - I do think things will improve a bit over time, but I do not ever expect to get close to the 42 that was being touted by Nissan. I am learning to become a lot lighter in my touch when I see that the battery is being used, but most of the time I am just not patient enough to get the max benefit out of the hybrid. I am getting at least 50% better MPG's than I was with my 4 cylinder Accord.

I have an embarrassing story to share, as sort of a warning to the rest of the NAH drivers. I went to the movies this weekend and I was running late. I parked the car, and grabbed my purse and got out, pushed the lock button on the door handle, heard 3 beeps which did seem odd, but I went on to the movie anyway. After the movie I went back to my car and I heard an engine running and looked to see if someone was sitting in the cars parked on either side of mine. Nope. It was my car running. I had forgotten to push the button to turn it off, and it sat in the parking lot running for 2 hours.
My MPG's for this gas tank went down quite a bit so the A/C must have been on as well.
And now I know what the car is telling me when it beeps 3 times!

hiwayman · July 2007

We've had our NAH (Tech Package) for about a month now. We too were disappointed with city mileage. In our experience, it's a combo of two things. Thing #1. We needed to retrain our right feet to drive hybrid style (gently, gently). Thing #2. The engine is very tight, and still breaking in. We've noticed as time has passed that the EV mode stays on for longer and longer (the ICE isn't fighting its internal friction as much as it breaks in). Early city mileage was in the high 20's (hiway mileage has always been dead on the EPA estimates of 36). As we've owned the car, the city mileage has crept up to low-30's. We live in hilly Northern California, so I seriously doubt we'll ever hit the overly optimistic 40+ figures, but the car is a good one. Nothing even hinting of regrets on this one!

kannikanwo · July 2007

Dear all, I am on my first tank of gas and getting about 31-32 mpg based on mixed driving. I have not been disappointed in the mileage because I never expected 40 mpg. The 2008 EPA rating is about 34 mpg and that is what most driver's of the Toyota Camry Hybrid claim as achieving on average. The 40+ figures are probably unrealistic unless you drive in a manner, and in conditions, that are optimal for the hybrid.

One thing I did learn and did not know before buying the hybrid is that short trips result in really crappy gas mileage. Apparently the engine needs to heat up properly to obtain optimal gas mileage so my first 5-10 minutes of driving typically result in pretty low fuel economy.

eqsf0226 · July 2007

I think you would need to get your altima checked up. With my altima i can get about 25mph without using the gas engine. BUT, i had also heard that some owners cant get above 10mph.

jaxs1 · July 2007

Is Nissan going to get a plug in hybrid like Toyota plans?
It is supposed to let you drive several miles at street speeds on battery alone.
Sounds ideal for people who have very short commutes.
Just plug it in overnight for a short daily commute back and forth to work, train station or the park and ride lot. You would only use the gas motor if you need to take a long road trip at highway speeds or if you didn't plug it in to recharge.

hiwayman · July 2007

We've had our NAH for about a month now. When we first got it, the hiway miles were exactly as the EPA predicted (36 MPG) but the city miles were abysmal (in the high 20's). We asked our dealership what the scoop was. They told us that as the gas engine (ICE) breaks in and gets looser, the shift over point from electric to gas gets higher and higher on the MPH scale. Sounded like witchcraft to us, but our experience has been exactly that. At times, on a flat road, we now stay in EV mode until well into the 35 MPH range. Still, the city mileage isn't nearly as good as EPA's 46, but it is getting better.

hiwayman · July 2007

It's weird that you can't get leather. We had no trouble here in Northern California. You DO need to pungle up the bucks for the reasonably expensive Technology Package, but you can get it (it comes in blonde and black). Our dark grey car came with black leather. Oddly enough, the headliner is beige. We thought there'd been a mistake at the factory, but have seen other cars set up the same way...

hiwayman · July 2007

We've had our Nissan Altima Hybrid for a little over a month now. Occassionally, lately, when we press the button to start the car, the car gets to the point where all the instrument lights and warning indicators come on, and then everything freezes. No further activity takes place, until we press the button to turn the car off, and then press the button again (somewhat like Nissan's version of CTL-ALT-DEL for rebooting a PC. Anyone else experiencing this?

langjie · July 2007

EPA is 42/36

hiwayman · July 2007

Sorry...Typo

langjie · July 2007

no problem...but i didn't want you to get disappointed with unobtainable EPA numbers

Nissan Altima Hybrid

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