27th May 2015, 07:03
I picked up a Honda Civic 1.6 SE Executive for £500. The car runs like a dream and I haven't had any problems with it, so if you are looking for a good car, I suggest going Honda or Ford; great to run and cheap to sort. Thank you.
24th Aug 2015, 19:45
Bought an 05 Micra a fortnight ago. The engine management light has come on, but the car's still running OK. Took it to the garage I use and he put it on the machine. It said it came up with the cat converter as the fault. He said have you got any black tape on you? I said I had some in the boot. He pulled bit off and stuck it over the EML light LOL!!
29th Dec 2015, 22:51
I just wanted to say something to everyone on here. I bought a Micra S 03 plate for £50 from a scrap yard. It needed a new oil filter, and it had one in the glove box. Since changing it, my Micra has not had one problem; passed every MOT since 2009. The only problem I had was a nail in the wheel (my own fault). It has been a lovely car to drive.
The down points about it are the slow electric windows, and the central locking is shocking - have to press the unlock button 3-4 times for all the doors and boot to unlock, and 1 time to lock, but you get used to it.
17th Jan 2016, 14:40
I have a Nissan Micra. Before that I had a Nissan Almera, one of the most reliable cars I ever bought; changed the clutch cable myself, 30 euro for the parts, 30 minutes to change, changed the oil once in 3 years, I regret selling it.
My Micra has had a few problems:
The boot not closing at times, but a good slam does the trick.
Starting problems, I have almost every winter. Twice I replaced the crankshaft sensor and that did the trick; easy to do yourself, 90 euro for the sensor and it took me 10 minutes to change myself. Having the same problem again, but I know it's not the sensor as it's just new. I will test the starter and solenoid; sometimes it's turning over and sometimes nothing.
I would not go near a dealer garage; a total rip off, replacing parts that don't need replacing.
When I fix my car, I'll post what caused it not to start.
21st Mar 2016, 19:44
Hi, I have just found this post as I am having the exact same problem; starts some days, then other days no. I had it looked at; the diagnostic said cam sensor, but all mechanics say it's the timing chain grrr. I am at my wit's end now. Seems like all it's good for is scrapping or selling for parts; whatever way I am not going to get what I paid for it back. So frustrating... Nissan should take some responsibility for all the used Nissan K12s out there having this problem; they sold a huge number of bad batches; why should we keep suffering?
23rd May 2016, 22:52
This solution really does work I used it on my daughter's Nissan Micra E; as indicated this does turn the air bag light off as long as there is no fault in the system. Thank you.
15th Jun 2016, 18:42
If want something which is reliable and cheap to run, you buy Toyota Yaris. This is our 3rd Yaris in the family. I've had my Yaris for 10 years, bought it second hand with 45000 miles on the clock and now it has 194000, yes 194k. This car seems to be a bullet proof. The other 2 we have also are very reliable. Now my wife bought one which is a 2012 reg. We love Toyota, and will not ever buy Nissan as my brother had 2005 Micra, and it cost him more money and grief. Stay away from Nissan.
25th Oct 2016, 21:29
Works a dream, but may come on after few months again - mine did - simply repeat. It is NOT as easy as it sounds, and must be rehearsed several times. Turn on and off the ignition a few times to observe the airbag light, stays on steady, then after 7 seconds it begins to flash, it's at this PRECISE moment before it begins to flash you switch OFF the ignition -- this is how it's done -- sit in the car, switch on the ignition -- just before the airbag light begins to flash, switch off the ignition -- then count -- ONE LITTLE HIPPY, TWO LITTLE HIPPIES, ETC. UP TO 5 LITTLE HIPPIES. Repeat without any pauses 2 more times... Turn on the ignition, the light should (after 7 seconds) flash at the slower (diagnostic mode) rate -- then turn the key to the OFF position AND count to 5. Turn back on and OXO start your car. REHEARSE -- REHEARSE. The credit for this advice goes to another who shared it elsewhere on the net, BLESS HIS HEART.
19th Jan 2015, 14:55
We have had an 03 K12 Nissan Micra almost since new and we're at 165,000 miles. It's been generally OK for a car of its age, and the problems we've had so far are as follows:
1. Like the poster above, we've had the airbag light problem on and off over the years. It's always the connection under the driver's seat that needs sorting.
2. Boot micro switch failed (probably due to water ingress); I fixed this with a new micro switch from Maplin that cost £1. Pretty easy job; I wouldn't recommend paying lots at a garage.
3. Seals gone around the rear boot hatch, water leaking into the boot. Fixed with a new seal kit.
4. At 115,000 miles the engine management light came on. Fault code was p0300, which is "Cylinder Misfire Detected Random Cylinders"; the symptoms were lumpy running while cold, and when the car had warmed up and the auto choke turned off, it ran fine. The garage jumped on the stretched cam chain issue and advised I needed a new one; I can understand this diagnosis because K12s do have this problem quite commonly (as discussed here), however make sure you get a second opinion. If it's the cam chain, it's highly likely you will hear a rattle on startup, and the timing tensioner will be more than 7 or 8mm out. Our car turned out to have a dirty throttle body.
5. Clutch replaced at 120,000 miles, I would say this is acceptable with the majority city driving we do.
At 165,000 miles of use and over 10 years of service, I don't think the car owes us much. I think we've been lucky not to have the cam chain issue, I have checked the tensioner and it's at 9mm, which is a little over, although the car is still running fine. I'm not sure we will be willing to invest over £600 on getting the garage to drop the engine for the chain swap when the time comes. We'll probably run it until it's unreliable and P/X it; the Fiestas from 08 onwards seem to have a good reputation.