1994 Nissan Sentra XE review from North America

Three months after purchasing this car new I had it in the shop, the door locks were not working properly. Also the steering wheel developed a bad squeak when turning. Second gear starting becoming difficult to shift in to. The dealer checked it out and ended up rebuilding it under warranty. (Why not replace with new one?) Car was good for a while.

Car was hit in 1997 and it was taken to the Nissan body shop. They did a terrible job. Replaced one of the parking lamps with the wrong color cover and the bumper was not fit properly so there was an obvious gap between the bumper and grille. Ended up replacing the alternator twice and the alternator bracket, which kept breaking, three times. Next, the CV boots tore, clutch went out and replaced the starter.

Shortly after this, something in the front suspension came loose and was clanging around, so I had it tightened, but a year later it came loose again. Again a year later after this again the Nissan built starter went out again.

Oh, I forgot to mention a few other things. The clutch cable was replaced three times during the life of the car. Water kept getting inside the cable somehow and rusting it out. I also had a problem from starting in 1997 where the engine would just die when coming to a stop. (maybe that's what killed my starters) The dealer could never find any fault. I also kept getting an infrequent check engine light showing up. First time they replaced the O2 sensor, but that only fixed the problem for a while.

Toward the end of my ownership the car started running hot and losing some power.

This is the last of Nissan's Econo boxes. The XE model comes with a decent stereo, cruise control and AC. Definitely the best package for the money and a major step up from the standard model. Power comes from a small, but willing 16 valve 1.6 liter engine. Don't expect too much excitement here, but it does provide brisk around town driving. High speed passing does require some effort. The manual transmission is notchy and the clutch can be stiff. The 13" tires make all kinds of noise on the freeway and does limit the traction a bit. The seats are uncomfortable on long trips and the back seats are cramped for adults. A college car that does require maitanence. If you have to have a Japanese car go with the Toyota Corolla, I think it's a much better car overall.