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Comments
year and model? I need a strong second
car for school/work. Thanks for your input.
JODY
The rest of the car is adequate and I felt the ride was good for a smaller car. The only major defect I found was a major air leak in the driver's door seal. I have driven a Toyota Corolla on the same route and it is a much better car with the automatic. If you like Sentras and need an automatic then the SER automatic with the 2.5L engine should be a must drive before you buy.
Must be a "Canadian" thing...lol
Did you know it was basically the same vehicle as the other?
Why did you choose it over the other?
Please submit your response to jfallon@edmunds.com no later than Wednesday, May 15.
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Share your vehicle reviews
Have you seen the Letter from the Town Hall Manager on the Town Hall Welcome page? If not, you might want to follow that link to have a look.
And hang on to your seats. Change is never easy - for any of us - but resolving the Search problems we've had will be worth the pain.
Pat
Sedans Host
A " REPUTABLE" DEALER WOULD LIKE TO KNOW OF ANY MAJOR PROBLEMS WE MAY BE LOOKING AT. AUTO HAS 63K
ON IT. ALSO CAN ANYONE TELL ME ABOUT THIS ANTI
CORROSION BOX THEY INSTALLED (ITS A BOX HOOKED UP TO THE BATTERY THAT IS SUPPOSED TO KEEP THE
CAR FROM RUSTING) I ALMOST DIED WHEN MY DTR SHOWED ME THE CHARGE FOR INSTALLING IT $689.00
I recently decided it was time to start maintaining my own cars again; to that end, I purchased the necessary items to change the oil and some filters on the two cars this weekend.
Well, here's what I found:
2001 GXE:
- Overfilled with oil by a significant margin
- Oil drain plug severely overtightened (could not get it off; have to have dealership break it loose
- It appears that the support plates on top of the front suspension towers may be missing on both sides (need to verify, as my only evidence is the presence of these plates on my 2000; if they are missing, I assume it occurred during a recall repair to the front end).
So this annoyed me...but THIS really made me angry:
2002 GXE:
- Windshield washer resevoir open
- Most of the battery caps loose, one so loose that I touched it and it came off
- Oil dipstick HAS NO DIPSTICK! Whoever broke the dipstick off in the engine (or broke it while it was out of the car) put the yellow dipstick ring back on the dipstick tube, but there's no metal blade attached.
I have to blame the dealer for these things, as the last service was to change the oil/filter and check the fluids.
My question: has anyone else had an experience like this? I'm still fuming.
To the "1997 Nissan GXE" person -- I'd do a Google search (www.google.com, just in case you don't know) for 'electronic anti-corrosion device "Total Protection"'. You might be interested in what you find. I don't know if the product in question is a "Total Protection" device, but I suspect the information you find on Google will go a long way in educating you on the usefulness of similar products.
Here are some of the problems I had with it....
-2 days after I bought it.....clicking noise coming from drivers side, front wheel
they said it was nothing but there was a recall that finlly took care of the problem about 3 months later.
-Trunk WOULD NOT CLOSE this was an on going problem. it would bounce back a good 3 or 4 times before it caught.
garage said it was a latch problem and was replaced....funny........it didnt work.
trunk was "misalligned"
-Breaks pulsated....which I brought the car to the shop and I signed a paper, (which i asked what it was and was told it was just for permission to work on the car, when in fact it was a warrenty waiver) SCREWED AGAIN BY NISSAN.
Rotors were worn, but not the break pads *intresting* machanics said it was warp from highway driving when the car heats up and than hitting a puddle and it cools quickly *rolls eyes*
anyways, it was covered under the lil thing they like to call "warrenty" and I was told they had replaced the rotors, but when in fact i found out that they had only been turned down, not replaced when the breaks went again (see below)
-wouldnt start......
-after a long road trip the hubcap melted to the rim.
-belt squeeled. Took to Bennington Motor Car, and they tighted it, but apparently to much cuz when I got to Massachusetts, it broke off cuz it was TOO TIGHT!!! Car had to be towed.
-belt tensioner broke
-belt to loose, fell off
-starter went at about 14,000 miles
-breaks went again- had to replace rotors, no break shoes though.......this time it wasnt under warrenty and you can only get them through NISSAN MOTOR INC....so I was screwed with those prices...
$340 for new rotors.
-seat belt broke
-lost lighting to dashboard, what told it was an "out bulb". Replaced worked fine, but lost shifter lights about 5 hrs after driving it off the garage lot. Replaced that too....than 2 days after getting that replaced, the radio lost its lighting, and the dome light wasnt working now. GOOD JOB!!! They deined it was ever an eletrical problem.
-Factory CD players EJECT button broke off...GOD DAMN IT!!
-Alarm would go off randomly. This is intresting seeing as the ALARM SYSTEM NEVER WORKED IN THE FIRST PLACE
-trasmission was sticking...seemed to always get stuck in 2nd gear
-Over drive broke...
-Oil leak...faulty seals
-motor in passengers side door broke
and than there was the RECALLS....
I think that there was about 4 or 5 of them on my car, which I hear issnt that bad considering FORD FOCUS has about 7.....which BENNINGTON MOTOR CAR ALSO SELLS.
I have owned a Ford Escort, and it was a POS but I dont think that it compared to the Nissan.
Luck would have it that i totalled it with 38,000 miles on it when I plowed into a car stopped in front of me at about 65mph. THANK GOD ITS GONE!!
Oh yeah, and in the accident....NO AIRBAGS!!!!!!
Not a single one. Lemme remind you that I hit a stopped object head on, at 65mph. Smashed the frame to hell, along with the entire front end, nope no airbags, no airbag light, no nothing, but an ambulace ride to the hospital and pounding headaches, and a $500,000 lawsuit on NISSAN.
One other thing that turned me off to nissan was the fact that I was just ignored everytime I tried to call NISSAN OF AMERICA....no returned phone calls, no updates, no nothing. I can be sure of one thing. Never again will I own another nissan.....anyone considering this car, i strongly advise against it, and trust me, im not the only one....a friends sister, as just as many issues with her 2001 sentra gxe.
Closing I will say this.....Your better off buying an American Product, but personally....id rather buy the New 2002 HYUNDAI ELANTRA GT.
(at the same price, better warrenty, leather, moonroof, cd, cruise, power everything, awesome sound system, much much more, and much sportier, and betting looking than the ghetto boody nissan sentra)
David
Espero que sea un buen auto y que dure muchos años. La verdad que me gustaria estar preparado sabiendo cuales son las piezas que primero se dañan para ir ahorrando y preparandome para cambiarlas.
Gracias
(ask for the version in English at carlo_garcia@hotmail.com)
We are an English-only site, so if you could repost in English, that would be much appreciated!
I'm sure lots of us would like to know what you have to say about your new Sentra, but most of us do not know Español and it's not very community-friendly to ask us to email you for the translation.
We are pleased to have you as a new member here and we hope that you will enjoy our community. Please drop me an email if I can help you find your way around!
Pat
Sedans Host
"On July 20 for the first time I bought a Nissan (car). Its true that the Sentra has been so recommended, and for this reason I chose (it). Having completed 3500 miles, I am relieved and it runs like a champ.
I hope that it is/will be a great car and that it will last many years. It is true that I would like to be prepared, knowing which are the parts that will need repairing first so I am ready to change(fix) them."
I may have butchered that. But I tried. I think this person is intending to ask about Maintenance and the Sentra, to which I would tell him/her to check out the maintenance section of edmunds.com.
~alpha
PS-When will we get pricing for next years 2.5LE model, with the Altima engine?
New to boards...My husband and I both have 2001 Nissan Sentra SE's fully loaded, Alloy, ABS, Moon roof, etc...including paint clear coat--paid mid $17k. He got his in Jan 2001 and I got mine in March 2001, so it's different productions, but saw both the cars come off the new car carrier at the dealer. Luckilly, I have had no problems with mine and I am for the most part happy, but coming from an Accord, I'm missing some power, but expected it when I downgraded to a lower HP engine. He on the other hand has had problem after problem. Aside from the small squeaks and rattles that occur randomly ever so often, that dealer has fixed, he has this on again off again horrible grinding sound when he steps on the brakes with medium to hard pressure, regardless of speed travelling, road conditions or weather. Sounds like when the rotors are grinding and pads are worn, but they aren't. He has done all scheduled maintenance on time. Dealer is very responsive to compalins and shoves us in on Saturday's when we call with no notice. Dealer service dept says that nothing is wrong and inspected brakes, rotors, pads, etc...several times and finds nothing, but replaced pads once to see if it would help--it didn't. This has been happening since the car was about 6 months old with just under 10k, car now has 22k, warranty up in 11k. I saw the above posts about people crashing, some with airbags not deploying, and I am very concerned. This past weekend on Friday night, car wouldn't start...key goes in, wont turn, and steering wheel and brake pedal locks. Tried his key, my key, valet key--nothing. Had to be towed to the dealer...dealer paid...only 22k miles and still under warranty so they had to. Dealer says starter and ignition need to be replaced and will be covered free of charge under warranty. 3 days later (tuesday) the part came in from the factory and they are installing this afternoon, hope to get the car back tonight. Does anyone else have these problems? Husband is going to keep it to about 30k, then selling it before the warranty is up so we don't have to spend our savings repairing the thing. I'm also looking to sell as well before any problems start--got the 5 year, 60k extended warranty, but I'm not waiting, and I'm going back to get another honda accord.
I only want to comment on airbags not deployed. If you read the post where girl complained about it, you would find something interesting. She claims that she had a crash at 65MPH, airbags didn't deploy and she walked from it?! It is either Sentra a heck of a strength or she was below 30MPH and then it is normal that bags didn't work.
Anyway, good luck with your decision and next car.
In response to venlevi: Every brand of car experiences what you have with your Sentra. Honda, Lexus, Audi, - you name it, and you can find people who have had one of those products fail repeatedly. On the whole, the Sentra's reliability is above average. But I can certainly understand your frustration with the car. Having a dealer that is responsive helps, though. I had a crummy Oldsmobile Alero, but a great Olds dealer - who also sells Nissans. My Olds was returned to the manufacturer under "lemon law", and the manufacturer and dealer wanted to trade me into another Olds - NO WAY! I lost confidence! Most Olds Alero owners have minimal trouble with their cars, but it will take some time for me to trust any GM car again. Now I have a great Sentra SE-R.
The rear drum brakes are supposed to self-adjust. I think it works something like this: a ratchet mechanism in the rear wheel is activated whenever you pull up the e-brake handle, moving the shoes toward the drum a little. I suspect what happened is mine weren't even close to proper adjustment as it came from the factory. So I tried pumping the e-brake handle repetitively, maybe 40 times or so, until the feel changed. Sure enough, the braking feel was much different then, and I no longer get the feeling they are substandard brakes.
We own a 2000 GXE Automatic, and a 2001 GXE 5-Speed. We had a few minor problems with the 2000, and so far not a hitch with the 2001 (which is more than a year old).
On the other hand, I have experienced dealer problems up the wazoo, which is something that seems to be a trend on this and other Sentra-related forums.
Happily, there are many dealers in my area, so I can pick and choose. Still, after having an oil change at one dealer that left me with a broken dipstick and the battery ports all unscrewed (five loose, one just sitting on the battery), I am not surprised to hear that some dealers are unable to repair serious problems (like 01sentragxe's brake adjustment issue).
A final note on this: for many reasons, Nissan is not the only manufacturer with dealership problems.
Ultimately, your best defense against bad dealerships is knowledge and options. Take the time to learn about cars (or befriend someone who already has) so you'll know what you're talking about, and make sure there is more than one dealership in your area so that you have options.