2006 Nissan Altima Special Edition review from North America
"Good car, questionable reliability"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
This car was recalled 1 week after we bought it for engine oil problems, and possibility of engine fires. The dealer and Nissan North America did not have a recall plan in place for nearly 12 months. Their advice was "keep checking the oil, and put a quart in if it's down". We ended up checking the oil level every gas fill up. Only had to add three quarters over 12 months and 20k miles of driving.
Car refused to start 2 months into owning it, dealer could not figure out why. Did an oil change (and charged $40), started just fine.
Dealer finally got a refurbished engine from Nissan North America and installed it over 2 days into the 12 months old car with a 100k mile warranty.
Or local dealer was not very friendly nor helpful with the ordeal - so we chose to trade it in for a 2008 Volkswagen Passat Wagon.
General comments?
Good car overall, I'm sure the new 2007 and 2008's have resolved any recall issues. Saddened to hear from out dealer that Nissan will not be offering any more Hybrids.
I don't think we'll be buying a Nissan again. Toyota, Honda, VW or BMW from now on.
Recommended reviews
| Powerful, nimble, near perfect for the price |
|
| The car ran great, until a defective part started causing dangerous serious problems |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Model year | 2006 |
| Year of manufacture | 2006 |
| First year of ownership | 2006 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2008 |
| Engine and transmission | Automatic |
| Performance marks | 8 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 2 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 5 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 1 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 6 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 8 miles |
| Most recent distance | 31000 miles |
| Previous car | Toyota Camry |
| Date of Entry | 6th August, 2008 |