18th Jun 2008, 07:57

We're still averaging 30mpg. The car has been excellent at just over 12,000 miles on the odometer. No problems to report yet. Mighty easy on the wallet in these days of near $4.00 gas. We'll see how reliable it is as the miles add up.

17th Jul 2008, 16:27

No trouble to report (15,000 miles on the odo.). With the summer warm-up we're using the A/C more, and consequently getting 1 less mpg on average (29).

Our old 04 Civic EX manual commonly got 32 on the highway (70-75mph). That's not a very big sacrifice in economy when relative size, comfort, and power are factored in.

We had the dealer re-balance the tires a while ago, but the car still has a very slight shake. It was mitigated somewhat by a tire rotation. It's so minor that only the driver can feel it anyway.

Some on this website have talked about an odd side to side swaying problem and soft paint, but I have experienced neither. The paint is similar to any of the other cars I've purchased new, and the only times it sways side to side is when there's a side wind or a road imperfection that the car is simply telegraphing.

So I just have to shrug and say my car is performing the way it was advertised to. No major problems; no recalls.

The only minor complaint (that I was aware of before I bought it) is that while the engine is quieter than some competitors' engines (quieter than Accord, similar to Malibu) I think it could stand a bit more refining and quieting.

Cheerio for now.

13th Sep 2008, 22:23

The car now has 21000 miles on it with no problems. It seems to have settled into about 29mpg average now that the engine is well broken in. This is a mixture of driving with the A/C on most of the time. One oddity I've noticed lately is a slight tugging feeling when I'm accelerating slowly as though the CVT transmission computer is having trouble choosing the best "ratio" for the situation. If it turns into anything, I'll post more about it. All but perfect so far. Changed over to full synthetic oil. Saw no change in fuel economy.

16th Sep 2008, 16:05

This is a good review, and the follow up comments are a big help to those trying to assess a vehicle's performance and reliability. I look forward to more updates. Although the Armada and Titan have been nightmares for Nissan, the Altima seems to be a pretty good car.

29th Sep 2008, 07:40

Thank you and I'll try to keep up to date on the postings.

No problems still. Still getting around 29+mpg. Still like the car very much.

31st Oct 2008, 19:29

I've got 23,300 miles on now with no trouble to report. I'm still really impressed by the power to mileage ratio in a non-hybrid vehicle. It amazes me that the mileage is so close to that of many compacts.

The tires look about half worn out. If I get 50,000 miles out of them, I'll be happy. FYI -- They are Continental Contipro Contacts.

For most real world drivers (as opposed to car mag auto-journos) there are very few vehicles as good (in my opinion, of course). I do really like the new Chevy Malibu LTZ 4cyl/6spd. It's very similar mileage-wise. There might be others too. This has been a very competitive segment. Anyway, I guess there is nothing else to report.

7th Dec 2008, 17:39

We've had this car for about a year now and its been excellent. Good mileage, good looks, solid reliability, and strong performance. I would recommend this car to anyone who's in the market for a good family car. At least its been good this year. We'll see how it holds up over time.

23rd Dec 2008, 20:32

We just bought and installed a set of snow tires. The original tires just don't get much grab in the winter. Last winter they were barely OK. This winter they had worn enough so there was a safety issue in snow. So they can wait for spring. If you get a Nissan Altima and are in snowy country you'll likely want snow tires too. Just FYI.

13th Jan 2009, 07:26

I should point out a flaw that Nissan should address. The "key" has a shape that makes hitting the buttons by accident likely. This happens in my pocket all the time. Minor I know, but if you live in the city, you may have trouble with returning to an unlocked car with the windows down (its happened to me a few times). It helps if there isn't any other keys or anything else in your pocket.

22nd Jan 2009, 18:01

By the way... this is an 08 model, not an 07. I bought it at the end of 07 so this site calls it an 07.

2nd Feb 2009, 16:37

Nissan informed us of a recall involving defective seat cushion mounted airbag sensors. Apparently there were some cars that had a problem with these sensors getting an incorrect reading which would keep the airbag from deploying. They tested my car and there was no problem. The problem must be fairly rare. They hadn't found a bad one yet. I also had them put in a new battery in the proximity sensing fob because it wasn't opening my trunk anymore. Quick, easy, courteous service. Got a car wash out of the deal too.

2nd Jun 2009, 10:43

One small issue we wanted fixed before the warranty expired; the driver's seat had a tiny bit of play. There was a bulletin on the issue and it was fixed at no cost. 34,000 miles. Great car! Fun to drive.

3rd Jun 2009, 00:59

Are there any issues with wear on the leather seats? I looked at the 2.5 SL and the leather did not seem as firm and supple as that on the Maxima. Just curious.

30th Apr 2013, 09:52

I changed to synthetic as well. My Altima has 100k kilometers (about 65 thousand miles) and I saw no improvement in fuel economy. The only thing I noticed that improved when I switched to full synthetic, was that during cold starts (especially in Toronto), the car warms up a lot faster and the engine operates a little quieter. Aside from that, I do not see any differences; I guess it's just for added protection, or in case I go over by a thousand or two past the recommended oil change (6000 KM/3750 miles) from Nissan.

I still do not understand that as well; synthetic is made to last up to 10,000KM, but why do Nissan make you change your oil at 6000KM, even with synthetic and dino oil? Never understood that!