Nissan reliability has cratered since the early 2010s, driven primarily by the Jatco JF011E/JF016E/JF017E CVTs in Altima, Sentra, Versa, Pathfinder, Murano, and Rogue. Multiple class-action settlements (Batista v. Nissan, Madero v. Nissan) extended warranties but did not solve underlying durability. The QR25DE 2.5L engine has timing chain stretch issues. Bright spots: Frontier, Titan, and Z still use proven Jatco / Aisin automatics with V6/V8 power.
Consumer Reports ranks Nissan in the bottom third of major brands. J.D. Power's 2024 dependability study placed Nissan below average.
Aisin 9-speed automatic + 3.8L NA V6. No CVT.
5.6L Endurance V8, 7-speed Jatco auto. Strong drivetrain.
VQ V6 / VR30, 6-speed manual or 7AT. No CVT.
Simple EV; battery longevity decent in mild climates.
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Class action settled 2024. Whining, hesitation, $4,000 transmission failure.
Same JF011/16 issues. Buyer beware past 80K.
Two big issues stacked. Cheap on the used market for a reason.
Jatco CVT failure (most of the lineup 2013-2019), QR25DE timing chain stretch (2007-2019), brake booster vacuum pump failure (Murano, Maxima 2015-2018), and ProPilot software glitches.
Average $500/year per RepairPal. But CVT failures (commonly $3,500-$5,000) make total lifetime cost much higher. Resale value is poor.
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Trucks (Frontier, Titan) and Z cars are reliable. Anything with a Jatco CVT (most of the sedan/SUV lineup) is below average.
Jatco CVTs in Altima, Sentra, Versa, Rogue, Pathfinder, and Murano shudder, slip, and fail. Multiple class-action settlements over the past decade.
2013-2019 Altimas with the CVT are a known risk. 2020+ models still use CVT but have better cooling and software.
A Titan or Frontier can hit 250K. A CVT Altima or Rogue commonly fails by 120-150K.
Yes, on long-term reliability. The CVT issues set Nissan far behind Honda or Toyota.
On a CVT model, yes. Nissan extended the CVT warranty to 84 months / 84,000 miles on many affected vehicles via class action.