1997 Nissan Primera SE from UK and Ireland - Comments

- Severe rattling from the dashboard - Nissan dealer could not fix it with 3 visits, fixed by myself.

- Fuel system recall by Nissan.

- Faulty alternator.

- Noisy steering on full lock.

- Shattered 5th gear cog, gearbox rebuild.

- Problems with the handbrake releasing.

- Driver's seat mountings are loose.

- Air conditioning smells 'like urine' when turned off.

- Severe knocking noise from the front suspension, happens every 15,000 miles after links replaced at £250 a time. This is not acceptable unlike what Nissan say.

A potentially good car has been let down by poor quality parts and workmanship - my series one that was made in Japan was perfect but the British cannot make a decent car these days, where the newer ones are built..

The suspension problems and dealer failure to notice a loud cracking sound. Even suggested that the dealer technician gets a hearind aid! (Dealer was Evans-Halshaw of Reading - avoid this dealer!) It is obviously a design flaw which shows that Nissan didn't test their prototypes properly.

Buy German !!!

If you're spending this sort of money, buy a Passat or an A4 - I'm going to!

I agree with what you say. Nissans that are made now in England are nowhere near as good as the old Nissans and Datsuns made in Japan. England just doesn't seem able to make a decent car.

Absolutely, I used love Datsuns and Nissans but I bought a 1999 Primera and it's piece of junk. I rather drive a 1978 Datsun Laurel.

I drive a Primera GT limited edition and I think it is the best front wheel drive car I have ever driven. Although the uk can't build the car properly, the one I bought was imported from Japan and pushes out a whopping 298 bhp.

I wrote this original comment. Thanks to you guys who have also added comments. After dealing with Trading Standards and Nissan HQ, I have managed to get some free service services, etc. to keep my mouth shut. But, I'm not keeping quiet, the UK driving public have a right know what rubbish is out there. The suspension is starting to make 'cracking' noises yet again after just having it 'fixed' and this really upsets me. I have had this car serviced regularly at Nissan dealers and I have looked after it well. Most of my driving is on the M4 and we have few speed-bumps or anything else that causes this damage in this area. I hate this car so much and I want it gone! It's for sale now at £4,500 (97/P 63,000 miles) and the first 2 'buyers' walked away after noticing the severe suspension noises even after dropping to £4,000.

NISSAN if you're reading this, I've had enough of your rubbish and will be pursuing litigation, see you in court! I am also going to write to my local newspaper and to watchdog. Just to let you know that you have lost sales by the way I have been treated. I will NEVER touch a Nissan again and nor will any of my family, friends or work colleagues. I told them the facts not lies. I want some compensation back - I have had 4 years of hell with this monster! (Then I'll keep quiet)

I'm really a nice, pleasant guy when I'm not thinking about this. I'm looking forward to having some German quality in my garage next time! When I get my next car, I'll be happy to add another review with a yellow smiley face this time.

Thanks to this site for it's excellent and honest reviews.

Hey, I feel for you: I can imagine what hell it must be to pick a rotten apple like the one you've been munching on for 4 years. These things happen. The bad news is that it even happens with a VW or an Audi too, if you're handed out the wrong number. Just check out the complaints on this site (and others).

So you think the Primera is a bad car then? I had a 1998 Ford Mondeo 2.5 V6 Ghia X, a 20,000 car when new and that, on every MOT kept failing on the front suspension Lower wishbones being worn out, all Mondeos are the same, the front suspension is a very bad area.

I also had a Renault Laguna, which was always needing work on the front suspension top mountings as they wore out very quickly and started knocking against the top of the turrets.

I also had a Peugeot 406, and this had continual problems with the rear brakes which used shoes and discs, the handbrake shoes kept getting stuck to the drum if the car was parked up for longer than a week and then getting wrecked when driving off.

My cousin has owned various BMW's and these have all suffered with recurring problems with suspension and electronics failing.

It does not matter what brand of car you buy, they will all have their own particular niggles, and if you want to buy German, then buy it, but I hope you have a VERY fat wallet, because when they go wrong, you will need it! BMW, Audi, Mercedes and VW are very expensive for parts and labour.

If anyone is to blame for all our suspension woes, it is Gordon Brown and all his road safety campaigners who are plaguing this country with speed humps and un-maintained roads full of potholes. All you people who campaigned for traffic calming, must now pay the price, along with all the rest of us for our frequently damaged and worn suspensions, which I believe is mainly down to these wretched speed humps everywhere. I have had broken springs, damaged mounting rubbers, broken balljoints - the works, and not just on my Nissan Primera. Get used to it, because its not going to get any better - this Government is totally anti-car, and wrecking our suspensions is just part of their agenda to get us out of our cars.