Scene: Ontario, California airport parking lot, 9:28 pm, a rainy night, coming back from business trip.
Motivation: Flight was late, sat next to whiny lap-child for the last two hours, airport burrito not sitting well, had to walk 1/4-mile in the drizzle with no hat or umbrella because the parking lot shuttle is AWOL, your own kids are going to be asleep if you don't get home soon.
Action: With rain coming down a little harder now, use unlock button on key fob as you approach car. Once there, press hatch release button hidden under that lip above the license plate. Hatch pops up a quarter-inch, but does not release. Close hatch and try again. Repeat ten times. Swear through clenched teeth. Something about a mother...
Action (continued): Discover by accident that the small round button on the left will trigger a master lock or unlock of the entire car. Feel bad for swearing before. Try the lock/unlock trick a few times to confirm discovery.
The good karma generated my the resulting easing of the mind (or perhaps the cycling of the lock mechanism) causes larger rectangular hatch release button to work this time. The rain tapers off, too.
Load luggage. Drive home. Problem does not repeat at the other end under starry skies. Unload luggage. Kiss wife. Tuck kids in bed.
*credits roll, music swells*
<record scratch>
Epilogue: Days later, hatch-release problem happens one try out of ten. Not repeatable or predictable. Remind self to notify dealer on next service visit. Swear soundlessly. Something about a piece of something...
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 13,575 miles
wobbly_ears says:
01:11 PM, 10/16/09
Is there ANYTHING Nissan can do right?? Seriously, of all the LT cars in the fleet, Nissans seem to be giving the most trouble.
Did Nissan catch something nasty by schoozing around with Renault?? I knew those dirty french were no good!!! (In Europe, Renaults & other Frenchies aren't known for reliability.)
mikeolan says:
01:56 PM, 10/16/09
@wobby_ears:
Their long term Altima was problem free, and the Infiniti FX has held up pretty well too. Overall, Nissan has probably the best reliability of any major automakers, but their 370z seems to be having some teething issues.
bkochuk says:
02:03 PM, 10/16/09
wtf! You know how first generation cars are...
wobbly_ears says:
02:04 PM, 10/16/09
@mikeolan,
Don't forget the Lemonade that is GT-R.
bkochuk says:
02:06 PM, 10/16/09
or perhaps first-year of a new generation would be a better way to put it...
texases says:
02:06 PM, 10/16/09
"Nissan has probably the best reliability of any major automakers"
Good one! I needed a laugh on the way home!
eblock2 says:
03:04 PM, 10/16/09
They also have the worst reliability of the major Japanese automakers.
jakoye says:
03:05 PM, 10/16/09
I've actually seen this issue mentioned in 370z forums, so it doesn't seem to be just a one-off. Rather minor issue, but certainly annoying.
I don't think Nissan is a "leader" in quality. But I don't think they're the worst either. They're pretty middle-of-the-road, in my opinion. And that's even with me having a 300z in the past that was a complete and utter POS.
But yes, I agree with the other poster that 1st generation cars are bound to have these sorts of little problems.
altimadude00 says:
03:38 PM, 10/16/09
"In Europe, Renaults & other Frenchies aren't known for reliability."
Oh yeah, American cars are ranked a lot higher in reliability studies in Europe. (sarcasm)
If Renault hadn't joined with Nissan, the Altima, 350Z, and GT-R would have never come to be.
mikeolan says:
03:41 PM, 10/16/09
@Wobbly-Ears: Their GT-R had a freak problem and it was replaced quickly. I haven't really hard too many issues with other things going wrong with their GT-R. Quite honestly, I wish the Subarus I owned had the reliability of the GT-R.
I'd say Toyota and Honda have noticeably worse reliability and quality from my ownership experience and anecdotally from what I've read. Subaru is the worst by far, and Mazda seems to have issues that crop up about 2 years after ownership. The real indicator of quality is 4 years into ownership are you sinking $2,000.00 into repairs just to keep it running until you can afford to fix the $6,000.00 of other crap broken in the car. Nissans aren't immune to bugs but I haven't had
uncanny_man says:
05:07 PM, 10/16/09
So the 370z replaced the focus for airport duty?
pezzy669 says:
05:41 PM, 10/16/09
@mikeolan
Hasn't the FX50 lit its instrument cluster up like a xmas tree due to faults in the rear steering system (also deactivating multiple other systems) a couple times since it has been in the fleet?
slickersdrip says:
05:58 PM, 10/16/09
My '99 Camaro had the same issue. It would unlatch fully sometimes, and other times it would just kinda pop and not open all the way, so I had to tug upwards as I hit the hatch release button. This was after 96,000 miles, though...
I fixed it by pulling off some panels in the back and just replaced the release springs with stronger ones. Never had a problem again.
bodyblue says:
05:35 AM, 10/17/09
Wobbly is correct......Nissans are the most trouble prone cars in the fleet, that is a fact.....Get over it Nissan-istas. If the Japanese government and the French had not pumped a ton on money into Nissan about 10 years ago Nissan would have been belly-up. They should have gone the way of GM, and Chrysler should have........out of business if they cant compete.
jakoye says:
10:06 AM, 10/17/09
Well, according to the 2009 JD Power Initial Quality Survey, Nissan's are only slightly below the industry average for initial quality problems, with a rate of 109 problems for every 100 cars (the industry average was 108).
That is obviously below quality stalwarts such as Honda and Toyota, as well as below Ford and Chevrolet, but above such major manufacturers as Acura, BMW, VW, Audi, and Volvo.
So it's like I said: Nissan quality is about in the middle of the pack. They are not the worse, but neither are they the best. There is certainly room for improvement, as Edmund's problems with their Z indicates.
http://jalopnik.com/5299918/lexus-porsche-top-2009-jd-power-initial-quality-survey
yellowmiata says:
08:26 PM, 10/18/09
I've noticed this glitch in the Z. The only way I've found to get around it is to press the trunk release and immediately move my hand to pull the trunk up when it releases. It is annoying and a miss in the Z.
stephen987 says:
10:46 AM, 10/19/09
Nissans in Edmunds' custody don't seem to hold up very well. But at least Nissan builds quite a few cars that are sufficiently interesting to end up in said custody--unlike Toyota and many other manufacturers.
stingray454 says:
12:45 PM, 10/19/09
Edmunds reliability experience with Nissans has been about the same as mine with my '03 Infiniti G35 Coupe, which is to say it was the most problematic new car I've ever owned. I still like their cars though, and my less than reliable experience with them wasn't bad enough to prevent me from buying another in the future, if the rest of the car was great.
jakoye says:
01:45 PM, 10/19/09
@stingray454: I'm actually in the same boat. I used to own a Z (a loooong time ago) and it was a horrible car. It is kind of amazing how many things went wrong with that car. I was poor during my 20's because of that car! :)
And yet, here I am thinking about buying a Nissan again. Why? Well, stephen987 is right that Nissan builds some dynamic-looking cars. As well, the 370z is the best sports car out there in my price range. Nissan definitely got a lot of things right with this car.
So is the average quality too steep a price to pay for the great styling and performance? Probably not! I'll most likely give Nissan another shot and hope for the best.
cr_driver says:
10:27 AM, 10/22/09
Nissan, you are doing great on this website....congrats.
yellowmiata says:
01:38 PM, 10/26/09
I agree that Nissan's reliability on IL is dismal at best. I'd like to remind the reading constituency that a study with one subject is not generalizable to any population - its just a case study. Case studies are good for looking at nuances, but not generalizing characteristics to an entire make or model (or for that matter population). I'm not defending the Z's and the GTR's lack of ability to put power down in a reliable manner without shredding their trannies, rather just that it isn't good practice to judge an entire brand on one or two vehicles. I'm sure there are many stories of lemons by BMW, Honda, Toyota, GM, etc. But those stores don't reflect the average ownership.
That said, my Z is new and hasen't had any problems. I hope for the best and knock on wood hard.
Kevin