2006 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V from North America - Comments

Nothing large or expensive has gone wrong with my Spec V. I've taken it in a couple times to have them:

Tighten my seat (driver-side).

Tighten my spoiler.

Tighten my shifter.

It seems weird to me that all those items could be loose at the same time. One of the mechanics told me that the reason the shifter is loose is because that's how they're designed. I still don't really believe that Nissan would design a shifter that's more loose in gear than in neutral.

When I took possession of my Spec V it had around 300 miles on it. I was leery about how the car would perform.

To my surprise, the car is very quick off the line.

The anti-roll bars and strut tower bar keep the car's feet permanently attached to the road at all times.

The car is light, which also helps with performance and handling.

The race-inspired seats are comfortable for short drives, but driving for any longer than a hour and a half can start to hurt.

After six months of driving this car, I am very impressed.

This car impressed me in the same way when I first got it.

However! after 1 year I had nothing, but problems every month it was at the dealership.

I thought on the 2006 model, Nissan would have fixed all the previous problems. I was wrong!

2006 has a known issue of oil consumption and then the engine catches on fire.

The car handles like its on rails, is quick and the sound system WAS great.

From 2001 - 2006 the Nissan Sentra has had nothing, but problems. The 2.5 litre engine is built poorly.

In 2001 this car was fast now in 2007 the car can't compete against other cars around the same price. Mazda speed 3, Cobalt SS, Ion Redline, VW GTI, Subaru WRX and the Dodge SRT-4 just to name a few that will blow the doors of the Spec-V. The only good thing is that you can still smoke a 2007 Civic SI easily. Despite that, because of the cars known problems it does not hold its value.

I really wanted to have a Nissan instead of a Honda and every time I got a kid in a done up Civic at a light to show him what real power is. Ya I smoked a lot of Civics, but while they still have there Civic with no problems I had to get rid of my lemon of a Sentra.

Good luck I hope Nissan has fixed all known problems for the 2008 model.

I agree with you whole-heartedly about the handling, but what do you expect from a rally car?

My cousin who I live with owns a 2006 Spec-V. He loves the way it handles and the power off the line, which is why he bought it. However, he wants nothing more than to wrap it around a tree. Because of ALL the electrical issues that it has. He bought the car back in December '06 as a pre-owned, and is already looking to get rid of it.

It has been in the shop more times than I care to count. It has started to shut-off while going down the road, which is not good on the interstate. He told the local Nissan dealer about it and they told him that it was most likely a fuel issue and to bring it in so they can change the fuel pump. They also told him that it would take a day-and-a-half to do it; however, changing the fuel pump in that car only takes a hour.

So yes the performance of the car is superb, but the quality of the car is seriously lacking for it to be labeled Nissan.

I love my Sentra. It is amazing in every way and I plan on keeping it for years to come. When I was shopping for cars I read about the problems with the Sentra so the first thing I did when I got it was replace the oil rings (a sub 100 cost that completely gets rid of the engine fire problems) and had a local shop check it out for any other defects. Since then I have never had any problems. I drive about 50 miles a day and occasionally go to the local auto cross track and have a ton of fun. I recently started to upgrade the engine and WOW. An exhaust, intake, and header increased the power to over 200 HP and now it is SCARY fast when redlined. There are the occasional rattles from the cheap plastic, but soon those will be removed anyway. I highly recommend this car to any buyer. If you have qualms about the rumored issues, just replace the oil rings and check the fuel lines. Otherwise it is a well-built and fun little car. My only complaint is that the gas mileage is WAY lower than what the window said (best ever was 25MPG).