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Long Term Reliability of Nissan Altima

65 messages,  Last post on Dec 19, 2011 at 8:47 AM

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What is this discussion about? Nissan Altima, Sedan

Messages Page 2 of 8

#2 of 65 Re: Long Term Reliability of Nissan Altima [bitpoh] by jd10013

Jun 05, 2007 (3:39 pm)

Replying to: bitpoh (Jun 05, 2007 7:48 am)
Well, I can't speak long term for the altima (mine is 2007), but I can speak for nissan reliablilty. First nissan I bought was a 1990 sentra XE. I put 220,000 miles on it over 12 years and traded it in running. in that time, I had to replace 2 cv boots, and one cv joint (about $150) 2 batteries, and a muffler. When I traded it in in 2002, it still had the original belts, hoses, atlenator, water pump transmission, clutch ect. The cv boots and joint were the only mechanical parts i ever replaced.
 
Having been so reliable, in 1998 I bought my second nissan. A 200sx se. It now has 145,000 miles on it, and is 9 years old. In that time, the only work that was ever done to it was
1. same day I bought it had to take it back to have a defective radiator cap replaced. the car still ran, but hot. the radiator cap wasn't properly pressurizing the system
2. was recalled in 2000 (i think) because of a possibly faulty seal on one the windshield wiper motor.
3. Replaced the front disc brakes at 79,000 miles, and 120,000 miles. the rear brakes are still original
 
And that its. One defective part, one recall, and two sets of brakes.
 
Its the reason I stuck with nissan and bought my altima.

#3 of 65 Re: Long Term Reliability of Nissan Altima [jd10013] by bitpoh

Jun 07, 2007 (4:00 pm)

Replying to: jd10013 (Jun 05, 2007 3:39 pm)
Hi jd, thanks for your reply. Certainly makes me feel more comfortable. I am surprise nobody else has responded to my question so far. Maybe they are out driving instead of spending time on this forum .
 
Anyway, any complaints so far for your 2007 Altima?

#4 of 65 Re: Long Term Reliability of Nissan Altima [bitpoh] by jd10013

Jun 07, 2007 (4:34 pm)

Replying to: bitpoh (Jun 07, 2007 4:00 pm)
Not a one. It has actually exceeded my expectations. smooth, quiet, powerfull, roomy, and many more.
 
Oh, and by the way, don't base reliability on used car experiences. some people abuse the hell out of their cars.

#5 of 65 Re: Long Term Reliability of Nissan Altima [bitpoh] by gar01

Aug 08, 2007 (6:09 pm)

Replying to: bitpoh (Jun 05, 2007 7:48 am)
Hi.
I am the happy owner of a 97 Altima, actually purchased new in July of 96. As of eleven years now, I can say that there have only been two instances that my Altima did not start. The first incident was because I accidently left the interior light on overnight, (my own fault). The last incident was the distributor failing at the 139,000 mile mark. I now have 167,000 miles logged on this car. It also has the original timing chain which is supposed to be good for 100,000 miles. How's that for long term reliability?

#6 of 65 Altima reliability by sjv1944

Oct 13, 2007 (2:56 am)

We purchased a new Altima in 1994 and drove it for 13 years and 137,000 miles. We had to replace the speedometer, radiator, and distributor in that time (I've since learned that the original distributor could have been fixed easily and much more cheaply than the $250 + labor that I paid but that is hindsight). The car was still running and driving perfectly when it was involved in a minor collision (some front damage and set off the air bags, $1500 to replace). We donated it to Goodwill and they auctioned it for $700 even with the damage.

#7 of 65 Hey by wildestkabs

Oct 15, 2007 (1:36 pm)

I have had 2 Altimas in the past. The first one, a 1996 model was absolutely trouble free. It got involved in an accident this year but I loved it so much, that I ended up buying a 1995 Altima SE. This one however, had its share of issues. But the main (only) reason for those issues was the extremely poor way in which the owner had handled the vehicle. I had to get some work done on it, but having been a Nissan owner in the past, I knew it was worth it. It now drives like a dream. Its got 135000 miles on it, no isses at all.
 
Actually, a month or so back, I traded it in for a 2003 Honda Accord V6. I had been a huge fan of the Accord and had always wanted it. However, when I kept it for 3 weeks and drove it for 1000+ miles, it was no fun and totally boring. Fortunately for me, the deal fell through and I was able to get my Nissan back..
 
This is just my opinion but I will tell you that I love driving the 1995 Altima more than the 2003 Accord V6. The Altima might not have the same power that the Accord does, but it definitely feels much sportier. I especially love its thick, leather wrapped meaty steering wheel. The leather on the Altima feels different and much better than the one on the Accord's steering..

#8 of 65 Re: Long Term Reliability of Nissan Altima [bitpoh] by ncage1974

Oct 23, 2007 (7:44 am)

Replying to: bitpoh (Jun 05, 2007 7:48 am)
I also have had the same concerns as you but i was looking at the 3.5L engine. Nissan QA seems to have dropped significantly. From what i can tell when they merged/bought out by renault thats when their quality went down. Here is an article back in 04 about it:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_20/b3883053.htm
 
You can not look at older vehicles and compare reliability because from 2000 to 2007 there were so many changes. I looked at reliability at both JD Power & Consumer Reports and, in general the Nissans aren't highly regarded. Even below domestics. Most people not in the know will think Nissan are very reliable because its a Jap car.
 
Its a shame to because i REALLY liked the design and performance of the 3.5SE Altima. I don't know if i would ever get one though because of the worries about QA/long term reliability.
 
Oh and on a side note. I have an 03 ford F150 4x4 FX4 with the 5.4L. Other than a seat sqeak its been 100% reliable. A guy at work has a 05 Nissan Frontier NISMO with a 3.5L engine. He bought his car 2 years after mine and he has had more problems than me (fuel pump went out almost immediatly after he bought the truck). He bought his truck new. Also his truck is not nearly as big as mine yet his gas mileage is the same or worse than my truck and he has to put premium in his.

#9 of 65 Re: Long Term Reliability of Nissan Altima [ncage1974] by hiwayman

Oct 27, 2007 (9:47 am)

Replying to: ncage1974 (Oct 23, 2007 7:44 am)
I have two Nissans. I have a '96 Nissan Pickup Truck. The only odd thing about it is that the paint on the wheel rims peeled off quite a while back. Other than that, the ONLY thing I've needed to do to the truck is replace the belts, which is quite normal. I have used and abused the truck for more than a decade, and it just keeps rolling.
 
I've recently purchased a Nissan Altima Hybrid, so there's no long-term data to be had, there. It seems well made, and only minor bugs have made themselves known. Oddly enough, a rattle developed in the overhead soon after we bought the car. We took it in to the dealer, who found that my wife's sunglasses were rattling in the sunglasses holder
 
It's important when checking for long term reliability of a car to NOT get sucked in by anecdotal evidence. Anecdotal evidence is when you judge a car (or anything, for that matter) based upon a couple of stories, rather than a trend of hundreds of instances. If you have a neighbor who's Nissan is a lemon, that is not a reason to not buy Nissans, any more than the neighbor on the other side who has a Nissan that never needs gas, has gone to the moon and back without a hickup, and can levitate .
 
A good place to go to see long-term reliability is Consumer Reports and organizations like that. While you may not be able to see evidence of your particular model if it's a new one, you can get a general sense of the stable of all the Nissans by looking at the reports. Those reports are gathered through questionnaires sent out to new car and not-so-new-car owners. They're usually pretty good.
 
Nissan's record of reliability has been somewhat spotty for some vehicles, and better for others. Nissan is paying attention, though, and I personally believe they are the hidden gem of brands. Their cars in the past few years have gotten significantly better across the board. They are fighting that legacy reputation, but the quality of their product is now very good.

#10 of 65 Re: Long Term Reliability of Nissan Altima [hiwayman] by jd10013

Oct 27, 2007 (4:50 pm)

Replying to: hiwayman (Oct 27, 2007 9:47 am)
Nissan quality is fine. they did drop a some a couple years back, but it wasn't due to the renault deal. It had a lot more to do with the companies near bankruptcy. But, things are better now. their current so-so reliabilty ratings has a lot more to do with the competition greatly improving than nissan falling.

#11 of 65 Re: Long Term Reliability of Nissan Altima [jd10013] by bitpoh

Oct 27, 2007 (5:48 pm)

Replying to: jd10013 (Oct 27, 2007 4:50 pm)
Wow, this thread has certainly gotten more active lately. Unfortunately I haven't yet purchased my car. Got laid off recently due to company shutting down. So now everything has to wait. . . I have however had a chance to test drive the 2007 Altima 2.5s CVT since my original post and I am liking it quite a bit.

Messages Page 2 of 8

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