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Nissan Sentra 2006 and earlier

2065 messages,  Last post on Mar 09, 2013 at 1:02 PM

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What is this discussion about? Nissan Sentra, Sedan

Messages Page 75 of 207

#736 of 2065 Answer To MDRIVER # 724 by gserep1

May 30, 2001 (3:57 pm)

Thank You for your comments. I normally just fill up the car to the first click off, but when I am on a trip, I DO fill it up to the neck. Filling it to the neck should have no consequence on the calibration of the guage once it starts to move. To have it indicate 1/2 tank and take 10 gallons is obviously not correct. It is not a problem per se, just an observation. This was my first and second tanks of fuel, and I am always hesitant to trust a guage on a new car. This is a learning process for me.
 
  As for the 3 automatic transmissions "slipping", I was as suprised as anyone. But thanks to comments that other Sentra owners gave in this forum, I watched for it when I test drove the cars. At other dealerships, I found cars that worked BEAUTIFULLY, but it was either the wrong color, or the wrong deal, or the car had options that I did not want. There are comments from other owners alluding to the fact that their transmissions had to be replaced soon after taking delivery, so it IS a possibility. I trust Nissan vehicles too, but there MAY be a problem with some of them. They definitely were with the ones I drove this weekend. With 29 years in the automotive industry, I can certainly tell a slipping transmission when I feel one. In fact, my salesman called today and said that he had the vehicles checked, and the transmissions will have to be either adjusted or replaced. Accidents do happen. The shifts were slow on the 1-2 shift going up under part throttle, and when using passing gear from 4 to 3, or 3 to 2. The salesman noticed it too. I just did not want to take the chance, knowing what I know about it now. I REALLY did want the automaric, but now since I have the manual, I LOVE it.
 
  As far as the driver's door scenario goes, I was also wondering about the air build up inside the car, but the situation seems to occur only on the driver's door. If I close the drivers door first, and close the front passenger door last, that door closes beautifully (all the time). I really do have to close the driver's door with more force, even if the windows are down. It is just frustrating to have to reopen the door a second time, or "slam" the door. I have to use a little more force with the door handle on the driver's door when opening as well. Not too much, but enough to know the difference. The door appears to "bind" just a bit right before it reaches the latch. I am hoping that use will cause it to loosen up a bit. The car is definitely air tight, and free from all rattles and wind noise. I hope that it stays that way.
 
  As far as the drive to get the car, my wife drove her Explorer to the dealership, and I got the pleasure of driving my new car back home with her following me. It was a great drive.
 
  500 dollar rebate huh? I FIGURED that as soon as I bought one, the incentives would change. I put off buying it last month...despite the dealers telling me that the 5.9% financing would go away before May 1st. If one incentive ends, generally the deal gets sweeter the following month, until they sell all the cars they want to sell. They give incentives on the Altima ($2000.00 cash back or 3.9% financing) to make room for the new redesigned Altima for 2002. Even though the new Sentra will get a SE-R and a Spec V next year, it took them forever to offer anything other than financing. They seem to sell pretty well without giving away too much money.
 
  I have about 800 miles on the car now, since I drove to San Diego on Monday afternoon. I work in San Diego, so as soon as I get 1000 miles I will change the oil and filter, and drive it for 3000 miles before the next change. I will use Synthetic at either the 7000, or 10.000 mile mark.
 
  In answer to the question posed by gewaltakt on the temp guage, I only noticed the little "dot" after you mentioned it. I will have to look in the manual to see if it mentions it. I am inclined to agree with your sister, because it certainly does cover up the dot when the car is warm. I though it was a speck of dirt on the face at first, so I ignored it.
 
  Thanks for the great comments. Answer soon
GSEREP1

#738 of 2065 A New Honda Civic Owner is Jealous by gserep1

May 30, 2001 (4:46 pm)

Hello again,
 
  I have been talking so much about my new Sentra SE 2.0 5 speed, I could not resist telling this story. I have been driving my car for 2 days here in San Diego. A good friend of mine bought a new Honda Civic EX 5 speed with sunroof. It is midnight black, and is quite pretty. Today he got to see my car for the first time. He could not believe that the Sentra offered so much for less money than he spent. He asked about horsepower, and I said 145, and his eyes really opened up. Then he saw the 4 wheel disc brakes. (disc brakes are not available on a Civic at any cost, or with any package. Poor kid was green with envy. He wanted to take a ride in it. I drove him around a few blocks, and I revved it up to about 5,500 rpms or so, and he was really suprised. When we got back, he said that he should have looked at Sentra instead of just at Honda. Gas mileage is NOT everything, and he mentioned how underpowered the Civic is in comparison to the Sentra. The clincher was when I mentioned that the Honda has a rubber timing belt, and the Sentra does not. NOW he wants to sell the Honda and buy a Sentra. He also does not have aluminum wheels... just hubcaps.I hope that he doesn't trade right now, because he probably owes more than it is worth, considering finance charges. Nearly $18,000 for an underpowered vehicle with no rear disc brakes, and a rubber timing belt.
 
GO SENTRA!!
GSEREP1

#739 of 2065 To gewaltakt by jcu1886

May 30, 2001 (8:35 pm)

I too have noticed the dot to the left of the needle on the temp. gauge. I think your sister is right. The needle at normal operating temp. does cover the dot, at least with my SE.

#740 of 2065 Reply to jealous Civic owner by mdriver

May 30, 2001 (9:27 pm)

I agree with everything you said about the Sentra's benefits over the Civic EX - except for one issue: resale value. As unjustified as it may be, the Sentra has a relatively low resale value compared to the Civic. I calculated this to be about $2000 lower when comparing identically priced new Civic and Sentra, after 2 years and about 30k miles (assuming no rebate on the Sentra which may still be the case for many or all regions). If you intend to keep the Sentra for more than 5 years, then resale is not much of a factor. But, what you gain in value over the Civic(rear discs, alloy wheels, 145HP, etc.), you lose in resale value. I think the trade off is worth it for the SE with PP, but not for the mundane GXE or XE.
 
Does your car have ABS? If it does, you have a rare car because I have yet to see a Sentra SE w/PP 5sp with ABS. In fact, I have only seen a few auto trans SEs with ABS. Most Sentras come without ABS. Even though some dealers have as many as 50 SEs, they may have one with ABS and it's always an auto trans. Too bad because at $699 for ABS with side-bags, it's a steal.

#741 of 2065 Yes As A Matter Of Fact, I DO Have ABS and Air Bags, by gserep1

May 31, 2001 (8:47 am)

Thank you again for your comments,
  Yes I DO have the ABS and Side Air Bags. As you said, this particular dealer had 30 Sentras, and there were ONLY 2 of them with ABS and Side Air bags. Unfortunately, the Radium car had a sunroof, so I passed on that one, and took the cloud white car without the roof. I did notice though however, that the side air bags makes the front seats much thicker, and my first rear seat passengers complained that there was not as much space in back as the cars without the option. My wife and best friend brought it to my attention, as they rode in back while we were test driving the cars. It is indeed a good value for the money.
 
  I bought a 100,000 mile extended warranty, so I intend to keep this car for awhile. You are also right about the resale value. I seriously considered a Honda, but the lack of power combined with the pompous attitude of most of the Honda dealers convinced me to go for the Sentra. There is no comparison on the ride. It feels like a much bigger car. Other than the driver's door, I find little to complain about. The gas mileage is better than the 2000 Beetle that I gave my girls, so I am happy. I have 900 miles on it now, and it has been a struggle to keep the engine speed down. I hope to be somewhat easy on it... (but not all the time.)
 
Thanks to everyone for the terrific comments. I am learning so much about my new car. Does anyone have a clue what the factory shop manuals will cost? I will check today and post the results. I love doing most of my own work, so it is a definite asset to me.
 
Thanks again
GSEREP1

#742 of 2065 Just curious by majorthomecho

May 31, 2001 (9:00 am)

I was just curious as to when the Sentra will be redesigned. If anyone has links to photos, it would be greatly appreciated.

#743 of 2065 not for a while yet by tomcat630

May 31, 2001 (9:38 am)

They just came out with a new Sentra a year ago, so it will probably be another 2-3 years before the next generations come out.

#744 of 2065 by ineto6

May 31, 2001 (9:56 am)

Yup, the Sentra SE is definitely a nice car - I'd say it is just as nice as the current Integra in terms of performance. My brother compared it with the Honda Civic EX and the Toyota Corolla S. The Civic looks more luxurious and the Corolla S looks more sporty on the inside. If you want both of those in the Sentra SE then you have to put more money into the Infiniti G20.

#745 of 2065 2001 sentra ? by bmsory

May 31, 2001 (10:07 am)

Come on please...
We just bought a 2001 frontier CC. My wife and I is very pleased with our new truck. Now it's her turn, she wants to see the 2001 sentra so we went to the dealer and take a look at it for a minute she walk away and say: Man...this sentra is for an
old lady it's so ugly...I agree the 2001 sentra
looks ugly, out of style they should redesign especially the rear end and tail lights. If you like how it looks go for it this guys have a lot of goodies except: The styling...

Messages Page 75 of 207

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