1994 Nissan Altima Consumer Reviews

The only new car I've ever bought was a 1997 Nissan Altima GXE; I picked it up at the dealer a couple of days before my birthday in July 1996. I owned the car for 19 1/2 years and it's likely that the only reason I still don't have it is that a 23 year old kid in a BMW ran a red light as I was coming home from the grocery store in Feb 2016 and smashed into the passenger side of my car. Over the years my Altima was generally reliable with only a few significant problems that were a result of its basic design : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Being a front-wheel drive car my Altima had 'constant-velocity joints' transferring power from the transmission (I had the 5-speed manual) to the two front tires. At around 10 years age the CV's got cracks in their rubberized covers (that shield the greased joints); first one CV, and then the other, got cracks in the covers and had to be replaced .... almost a thousand dollars each (installed) as best I remember. - The 2.4 L engine had the distributor mounted horizontally and that meant that gravity wasn't assisting in keeping engine oil out of the distributor electronics (my previous cars had been German Fords that had V6 engines with their distributors mounted vertically). At about 80,000 miles (as I was coming home from a camera shop one Saturday) the car simply sputtered a few times and died (I managed to coast into a parking lot off the street). When I got the car to the shop (it had to be carried on a wrecker) I learned that engine oil had migrated into the distributor housing after a seal (in the base of the distributor) had worn out (not mentioned in the car's maintenance items) and ruined the electronic ignition parts. A replacement distributor (installed) cost me about $ 700. The same thing happened some years later at around 140,000 miles. - The 2.4L engine has a gasket that keeps oil from seeping-out and contaminating the area around the spark plugs (the 4 plugs are sunk down from the top of the engine). Oil contamination around the spark plugs wouldn't kill the engine but it would begin to misfire. If I'd remove the plugs and get a rag down the narrow opening, where the plugs came out of, it was possible to get most of the oil cleaned-up, reinstall the plugs, and the engine would be OK for a few months before more oil seeped-in and began to short-out the plugs again. Finally I got tired of that and paid to have the engine gasket replaced ... that cost about $ 300. - At about 19 years age the engine mounts began to show signs of deterioration; I had them replaced ..... that cost about $ 850 (installed). The shop had some difficulty locating one of the four mounts as it was unique to Altimas with the manual transmission (the other 3 mounts attached to the engine and were the same for Altimas with either the automatic or the 5-speed manual transmission. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Things that never went bad (in 19 1/2 years and 173,000 miles) : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - The engine (other than the gasket) - The 5-speed manual transmission - The air conditioning system (it never lost Freon and continued to work every summer) - The basic car body (my Altima was a silvery-gray). Though I kept the car in the garage when home it spent long hours every work-day in the parking lot at my job (I put up a Sun screen inside to try and block the light and heat from cracking the dash). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In-town, with the manual transmission, the car got around 23 - 28 MPG. Out on the open-road (highways) I typically got 32 - 34 MPG ( I thought that the car could've gotten better highway mileage if the manual transmission had a more favorable gear ratio for 5th gear (at 2,000 RPM the car was going about 54 MPH). My 1997 Altima wasn't a perfect car but it was mostly reliable (considering that I had the car for 19 1/2 years) .... I still miss it.

It's in tip top shape mechanically

daily use

It is definitely a very solid vehicle. Great gas mileage. If you take care of it will easily get you to 200,000 miles.

Like an ever ready battery, this honey keeps on going and going and going. It runs like a dream and I would drive it anywhere on a moments notice. All the repairs have been minor and expected after years of use. What was not expected is the durability of this car. They dont make them like this anymore It is definitely worth taking time to take it for a drive.

Hello all, alternator gave out at 150,218; 127 dollars at a local parts store. Installed part, problem solved. A few weeks later, engine would start to misfire then die at stoplights, wouldn't start for about 15 min. By the time the tow truck showed up, it starts and runs smooth ! Drove home 15 miles with no issues at all. Again, car acted up a few days later, same symptoms. I pulled a spark plug wire and had a friend crank the engine. No spark. Spent 107 dollars on a new distributor. two months later, still running good, no reliability issues since then. Conclusion. If your Altima randomly dies without warning, doesn't show a check engine light and your mechanic can't pinpoint the cause, your distributor could be the culprit.

My Altima has 256 miles and I love it. We purchased it new. It has been so reliable. However, about a month ago it missed a couple of times in a row. We took it to our longtime mechanic and he could find nothing wrong. We brought it back home and 3 weeks later I left home and was about 1/2 mile away when without warning the dash lights came on and the car coasted to a stop. No sound -- just stopped running. I tried starting it with no success a few times. After about 15 minutes it started and has driven perfectly ever since. We took it back to our mechanic and he is totally stumped. The checks he has done show nothing is wrong and there is nothing in his history. If anyone has any idea what might be going on I would be forever grateful. I love my car and want to keep it.

Purchased at a dealer August 2015, 126000 miles . Fast forward December 2015. 132000 miles.. Averaging 29-34 mpg city/hwy . Engine developed a miss a month after purchase. Replaced injector #2 and has ran well since. The trunk is roomy for a car of its class. Front legroom I will warn you is cramped for a 6 foot guy like me, with seat adjusted all the way back. Turning radius is comparable to my mother's 2001 Crown Victoria,Handling is decent, ride quality is a little harsh even with newly installed high end struts and suspension bushings. Despite those flaws, has strong and predictable acceleration and doesn't require periodic timing belt replacement; has a timing chain. . Mine has the 5 speed manual. Overall though, Nissan reliability, parts are still easy to find and inexpensive to maintain.