Alternator burned (stator burned-not brush fault!) at 220 000km. According dealer a common problem with 1.6 engines, but NOT on 2.0 engines of this year. Apparently different sub suppliers or design.
Heater was performing very poorly, and according previous owner he had it for service several times for same thing. After some hours of investigation found it a simple problem to correct: The sleeve of the operating wire to the "hot/cold valve" (behind the radio) was only held in place by a clip, so was moving with wire and not allowing full opening and full closing of valve. Tightened it with 2 plastic tie-wraps and got wonderful heating. 1 year ago, and problem not repeated.
Connectors for headlights both burned/ poor connection with a few months apart. Easy to change and just a few Eur.
Overall very happy with the car.
Very reliable and starts easy in the cold Finnish winter.
Engine not powerful, but adequate - fuel economy great! Handles surprisingly well..."too sporty" handling for those wishing a more soft and comfortable ride (like my dad).
Was body coated / tectyl when new, and so far no rust signs (!) Pretty impressive for a 10 year old Japanese car.
I had similar problem with burned alternator, and 1,6 engine. Shop guy told root cause was Nissan designers under-protecting their alternator - alternator starts to overheat when trying to reach nominal voltage for battery... suited perfect with me finding the battery notingly weak for several months before alternator burned... and even needing start help a couple of times... so keep an eye on battery, and don't wait too long (like I did) if it starts to be cranky...
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