Topic: Test Drive: 2014 Nissan Altima 2.5 SV

[Autos_Editor]

A quietly impressive family sedan that ticks off all the boxes.

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[WRX_Pilot]

   I'm sorry, the Altima just doesn't do what it used to, maybe it's because everything else is so good now it just gets lost among the noise.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

  I'm sorry, the Altima just doesn't do what it used to, maybe it's because everything else is so good now it just gets lost among the noise.

I disagree.  I think it's still competitive among the ranks of the mid-sizers.  Conservatism can be an asset in this class.  It's also pretty well equipped for the price compared to some of the competition.  Better equipped than an Accord for the price, better handling and driving dynamics than a Sonata.  Style is subjective.

[WRX_Pilot]

I agree, it competes.  I just seem to remember the early Altimas standing a little above the crowd, this one doesn't seem to stand out so much, but that's just me I guess.

[ArticSteve]

These changes include improved sound deadening

And therein lies the major flaw in this vehicle; namely the JATCO CVT.  Perhaps Carlos the Jackal pushed JATCO too far, but the JATCO CVTs are unquestionably second tier.  The noise of this CVT in the Altima is just ridiculous.  Hence the feeble attempt at sound deadening.

Some background:

 Nissan presses Jatco to end CVT glitches


Every time you launch a new CVT you always have some risks." Carlos Ghosn, Nissan


 
Automotive News
December 2, 2013 - 12:01 am ET

TOKYO -- Nissan is sharpening its oversight of affiliated transmission supplier Jatco Ltd. in the wake of quality and customer satisfaction problems that have pinched the automaker's profits.

Launch-related glitches hampered Nissan as it rolled out a string of new models last year with Jatco continuously variable transmissions. Nissan also is expanding and adding plants around the world, and Jatco is hustling to keep pace.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn says his team will be watching Jatco more closely. In an unusual step, Ghosn this year singled out Jatco by requiring it to explain how it will ensure customer satisfaction on any new technology it introduces.

"Every time you launch a new CVT you always have some risks," Ghosn said in an interview at his Yokohama, Japan, headquarters last month. "So we now have a process by which, before we launch any new CVT, they come before the Nissan executive committee to explain all the measures they have taken to make sure there are no surprises."

Next month Nissan will dispatch its most senior North American manufacturing and supply chain executive, Bill Krueger, to Jatco, in which Nissan has a 75 percent stake. He will become executive vice president overseeing the Americas region and chairman of its operations in the United States and Mexico. His predecessor, Tomoyoshi Sato, will return to Japan for a new assignment. Another problem has been customer perception. According to Jatco CEO Takashi Hata, some Nissan owners are not yet comfortable with the way Jatco's fuel-efficient continuously variable transmissions operate. Nissan's entire small-car strategy is based on Jatco's CVTs, and most Nissan vehicles now have one.

Jatco's innovations in CVT performance in friction reduction and operating efficiency have helped Nissan cars rise to the top or near the top in fuel economy in their segments. CVTs are the standard nonmanual transmission for every car and crossover in the Nissan-brand line, except for the electric Leaf and low-volume 370Z and GT-R sports cars.

Nissan dealers have gotten customer complaints and service visits because of unfamiliarity with CVT behavior. Because CVTs have no fixed gears, drivers do not experience the gear-by-gear stepping-up sensation of traditional automatic transmissions -- only a smooth and steady increase in engine revolutions. To an uninitiated driver, the transmission could sound like it is stuck in a single gear.

Jatco itself now plans to work with U.S. car dealers to provide more information about CVTs and gather more customer feedback about its transmissions, Hata says. Last month, Ghosn labeled Jatco one of several "head winds" that are slowing down his aggressive global business plan to achieve an 8 percent operating profit by March 2017.

Ghosn said expensive problems with Jatco had cut into the company's profits last year. He later clarified that he had not meant formal recalls, but customer service issues related to the transmissions.

David Reuter, a Nissan North America spokesman, said the issues were associated with a flurry of new-vehicle launches in 2012. "They're in the past and behind us now," Reuter said.

Krueger, a one-time Toyota manager, helped Nissan bounce back from a rash of quality glitches in 2006 arising from the rapid launch of Nissan's assembly plant in Canton, Miss. This time he will be helping Nissan monitor quality from the supplier side of the aisle.
   

The best play on this vehicle is to LEASE it.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

These changes include improved sound deadening

And therein lies the major flaw in this vehicle; namely the JATCO CVT.  Perhaps Carlos the Jackal pushed JATCO too far, but the JATCO CVTs are unquestionably second tier.  The noise of this CVT in the Altima is just ridiculous.  Hence the feeble attempt at sound deadening.

Some background:

 Nissan presses Jatco to end CVT glitches


Every time you launch a new CVT you always have some risks." Carlos Ghosn, Nissan


 
Automotive News
December 2, 2013 - 12:01 am ET

TOKYO -- Nissan is sharpening its oversight of affiliated transmission supplier Jatco Ltd. in the wake of quality and customer satisfaction problems that have pinched the automaker's profits.

Launch-related glitches hampered Nissan as it rolled out a string of new models last year with Jatco continuously variable transmissions. Nissan also is expanding and adding plants around the world, and Jatco is hustling to keep pace.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn says his team will be watching Jatco more closely. In an unusual step, Ghosn this year singled out Jatco by requiring it to explain how it will ensure customer satisfaction on any new technology it introduces.

"Every time you launch a new CVT you always have some risks," Ghosn said in an interview at his Yokohama, Japan, headquarters last month. "So we now have a process by which, before we launch any new CVT, they come before the Nissan executive committee to explain all the measures they have taken to make sure there are no surprises."

Next month Nissan will dispatch its most senior North American manufacturing and supply chain executive, Bill Krueger, to Jatco, in which Nissan has a 75 percent stake. He will become executive vice president overseeing the Americas region and chairman of its operations in the United States and Mexico. His predecessor, Tomoyoshi Sato, will return to Japan for a new assignment. Another problem has been customer perception. According to Jatco CEO Takashi Hata, some Nissan owners are not yet comfortable with the way Jatco's fuel-efficient continuously variable transmissions operate. Nissan's entire small-car strategy is based on Jatco's CVTs, and most Nissan vehicles now have one.

Jatco's innovations in CVT performance in friction reduction and operating efficiency have helped Nissan cars rise to the top or near the top in fuel economy in their segments. CVTs are the standard nonmanual transmission for every car and crossover in the Nissan-brand line, except for the electric Leaf and low-volume 370Z and GT-R sports cars.

Nissan dealers have gotten customer complaints and service visits because of unfamiliarity with CVT behavior. Because CVTs have no fixed gears, drivers do not experience the gear-by-gear stepping-up sensation of traditional automatic transmissions -- only a smooth and steady increase in engine revolutions. To an uninitiated driver, the transmission could sound like it is stuck in a single gear.

Jatco itself now plans to work with U.S. car dealers to provide more information about CVTs and gather more customer feedback about its transmissions, Hata says. Last month, Ghosn labeled Jatco one of several "head winds" that are slowing down his aggressive global business plan to achieve an 8 percent operating profit by March 2017.

Ghosn said expensive problems with Jatco had cut into the company's profits last year. He later clarified that he had not meant formal recalls, but customer service issues related to the transmissions.

David Reuter, a Nissan North America spokesman, said the issues were associated with a flurry of new-vehicle launches in 2012. "They're in the past and behind us now," Reuter said.

Krueger, a one-time Toyota manager, helped Nissan bounce back from a rash of quality glitches in 2006 arising from the rapid launch of Nissan's assembly plant in Canton, Miss. This time he will be helping Nissan monitor quality from the supplier side of the aisle.
   

The best play on this vehicle is to LEASE it.

Dude, WHAT are you talking about?  I have a 2nd gen JATCO CVT and it makes nary a noise...

[ArticSteve]

I'll let you argue that one with Simon

Mash the pedal and the engine does rev up rather noisily and remains near redline until you back off the throttle, but you get used to this characteristic

Even though they are 2 separate "entities", an automatic transmission and an engine act as one unit.  Even though the  "sound" actually emanates from the motor it's the Jatco CVT that is the cause.

Customers bring these units back complaining about the drone.  "Didn't notice it on the test drive".  Well, tuff beans.  Should have spent a few minutes on google.  What we do for them is run the lastest software update as a placebo and send them on there way.  I don't think it's helpful to tell ppl simply that they will get "use to this characteristic". 

I'd walk across the street and buy a Sonata before I'd buy an Altima.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

So you're complaining about the way a CVT works?  Well, that's fine, but it is NORMAL operation for a CVT for it to hold the revs.  What's more, I don't know about you, but I don't drive around everywhere I go with my foot pinned to the floor, either in a CVT, automatic, or manual car.  When the car is driven 'normally', i.e. like a sane person at sane speed limits, the performance of the CVT fades into the background and is unnoticeable/indistinguishable from a regular automatic.  The only time you notice anything different from a regular automatic is when you're accelerating harder than you normally would.  If you're a lead-footed driver and can't stand the noise an engine/CVT combo makes, then don't buy a CVT equipped car.

If you're complaining about poor reliability history of CVT's, as well as abnormal sounds that they make, that's fine.  But don't go complaining about the normal operation of a CVT just because it doesn't fit within the narrow confines of your image of a car.  CVT's have many advantages over regular automatics, including smoother power delivery, smoother operation, decreased fuel consumption, etc. 

Something tells me you've never driven a CVT equipped car therefore you have NO idea what it is actually like driving one, and you're just regurgitating trash you've read online.

EDIT:  I should add, unfortunately for you, many of the world's top auto makers are seeing the advantages CVT's hold, including Honda, Subaru and Mitsubishi.  Oh, and Toyota and Audi.

[mixmanmash]

So you're complaining about the way a CVT works?  Well, that's fine, but it is NORMAL operation for a CVT for it to hold the revs.  What's more, I don't know about you, but I don't drive around everywhere I go with my foot pinned to the floor, either in a CVT, automatic, or manual car.  When the car is driven 'normally', i.e. like a sane person at sane speed limits, the performance of the CVT fades into the background and is unnoticeable/indistinguishable from a regular automatic.  The only time you notice anything different from a regular automatic is when you're accelerating harder than you normally would.  If you're a lead-footed driver and can't stand the noise an engine/CVT combo makes, then don't buy a CVT equipped car.

If you're complaining about poor reliability history of CVT's, as well as abnormal sounds that they make, that's fine.  But don't go complaining about the normal operation of a CVT just because it doesn't fit within the narrow confines of your image of a car.  CVT's have many advantages over regular automatics, including smoother power delivery, smoother operation, decreased fuel consumption, etc. 

Something tells me you've never driven a CVT equipped car therefore you have NO idea what it is actually like driving one, and you're just regurgitating trash you've read online.

EDIT:  I should add, unfortunately for you, many of the world's top auto makers are seeing the advantages CVT's hold, including Honda, Subaru and Mitsubishi.  Oh, and Toyota and Audi.

Audi dumped the whole CVT program on the A4.  They had issues.

I think a lot of the issues could be resolved if Nissan took a slightly different approach to the programming IMO.

As a Nissan fan, I'm a little disappointed in their quality in the past 5 years.  My wife's Rogue with 114k kms appears to make a clunk sound while turning.  I think I have narrowed this down to the left side CV joint.  You'd never hear of this failing on a Honda/Acura in such low mileage.  Heck, my old rust bucket Mazda Protege never had a CV joint go bad after 338k kms, despite being run hard on the street, track and autocross.

Aside from the GTR and 370Z, I am sad to say no other Nissan branded product interests me.  Infiniti, yes.  Maybe the new Titan or Frontier, especially with a diesel.

[ArticSteve]

Do you think this has anything relationship to why Nissan has turned into such a dog from it's previous glory days 

Nissan Motor Co. (7201) Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn earned more than $10 million last year, putting him on track to become the best-paid Japan executive for the fourth time in five years.

GM was paying that moron Wagner 7 MILLION plus, the same year that it collapsed.  Seeing a parallel ppl.     

[Fobroader]

I had an Altima, a 2005 3.5 SE. I went and drove a 2012 or 2013 with the CVT. Horrible, the car lost all of the fun that mine had. The tranny was clumsy, noise and completely ruined that beautiful V6 that was strapped to it. Now, really, the only cars in Nissans lineup that even remotely interest me are the GT-R, Micra and....I hate to say it, the Juke. The rest of their lineup has been bested by pretty well every other manufacturer. Id take a Fusion or an Elantra over an Altima any day.

[johngenx]

Right now my fave in the category is the Accord - I really like the subtle exterior and the interior is great.  One reason I've never owned a Nissan is that we have horrid dealers that have turned me off within about 30sec of entering the building.  Too bad as they have had some interesting stuff.  I'd have to see the Altima in person to pass judgement, but the car seems nice enough in reviews, but the Accord's exterior is more to my personal liking.

[Frontier1]

These changes include improved sound deadening

And therein lies the major flaw in this vehicle; namely the JATCO CVT.  Perhaps Carlos the Jackal pushed JATCO too far, but the JATCO CVTs are unquestionably second tier.  The noise of this CVT in the Altima is just ridiculous.  Hence the feeble attempt at sound deadening.

Some background:

 Nissan presses Jatco to end CVT glitches


Please dont feed the troll.

Every time you launch a new CVT you always have some risks." Carlos Ghosn, Nissan


 
Automotive News
December 2, 2013 - 12:01 am ET

TOKYO -- Nissan is sharpening its oversight of affiliated transmission supplier Jatco Ltd. in the wake of quality and customer satisfaction problems that have pinched the automaker's profits.

Launch-related glitches hampered Nissan as it rolled out a string of new models last year with Jatco continuously variable transmissions. Nissan also is expanding and adding plants around the world, and Jatco is hustling to keep pace.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn says his team will be watching Jatco more closely. In an unusual step, Ghosn this year singled out Jatco by requiring it to explain how it will ensure customer satisfaction on any new technology it introduces.

"Every time you launch a new CVT you always have some risks," Ghosn said in an interview at his Yokohama, Japan, headquarters last month. "So we now have a process by which, before we launch any new CVT, they come before the Nissan executive committee to explain all the measures they have taken to make sure there are no surprises."

Next month Nissan will dispatch its most senior North American manufacturing and supply chain executive, Bill Krueger, to Jatco, in which Nissan has a 75 percent stake. He will become executive vice president overseeing the Americas region and chairman of its operations in the United States and Mexico. His predecessor, Tomoyoshi Sato, will return to Japan for a new assignment. Another problem has been customer perception. According to Jatco CEO Takashi Hata, some Nissan owners are not yet comfortable with the way Jatco's fuel-efficient continuously variable transmissions operate. Nissan's entire small-car strategy is based on Jatco's CVTs, and most Nissan vehicles now have one.

Jatco's innovations in CVT performance in friction reduction and operating efficiency have helped Nissan cars rise to the top or near the top in fuel economy in their segments. CVTs are the standard nonmanual transmission for every car and crossover in the Nissan-brand line, except for the electric Leaf and low-volume 370Z and GT-R sports cars.

Nissan dealers have gotten customer complaints and service visits because of unfamiliarity with CVT behavior. Because CVTs have no fixed gears, drivers do not experience the gear-by-gear stepping-up sensation of traditional automatic transmissions -- only a smooth and steady increase in engine revolutions. To an uninitiated driver, the transmission could sound like it is stuck in a single gear.

Jatco itself now plans to work with U.S. car dealers to provide more information about CVTs and gather more customer feedback about its transmissions, Hata says. Last month, Ghosn labeled Jatco one of several "head winds" that are slowing down his aggressive global business plan to achieve an 8 percent operating profit by March 2017.

Ghosn said expensive problems with Jatco had cut into the company's profits last year. He later clarified that he had not meant formal recalls, but customer service issues related to the transmissions.

David Reuter, a Nissan North America spokesman, said the issues were associated with a flurry of new-vehicle launches in 2012. "They're in the past and behind us now," Reuter said.

Krueger, a one-time Toyota manager, helped Nissan bounce back from a rash of quality glitches in 2006 arising from the rapid launch of Nissan's assembly plant in Canton, Miss. This time he will be helping Nissan monitor quality from the supplier side of the aisle.
   

The best play on this vehicle is to LEASE it.

Dude, WHAT are you talking about?  I have a 2nd gen JATCO CVT and it makes nary a noise...

Please dont feed the troll.

[Frontier1]

I had an Altima, a 2005 3.5 SE. I went and drove a 2012 or 2013 with the CVT. Horrible, the car lost all of the fun that mine had. The tranny was clumsy, noise and completely ruined that beautiful V6 that was strapped to it. Now, really, the only cars in Nissans lineup that even remotely interest me are the GT-R, Micra and....I hate to say it, the Juke. The rest of their lineup has been bested by pretty well every other manufacturer. Id take a Fusion or an Elantra over an Altima any day.

The car competes in a no fun segment >>> try a Camry 

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Right now my fave in the category is the Accord - I really like the subtle exterior and the interior is great.  One reason I've never owned a Nissan is that we have horrid dealers that have turned me off within about 30sec of entering the building.  Too bad as they have had some interesting stuff.  I'd have to see the Altima in person to pass judgement, but the car seems nice enough in reviews, but the Accord's exterior is more to my personal liking.

I agree with you there.  The Accord IS a nicer vehicle, both outside and in.  Where it falls short a little is in content and price.  The Nissan is just a little bit cheaper when new, and they don't hold their value as well on the used market, which makes it a more attractive used buy than a used Accord.  For the same price I had a choice between a 2010 Accord with 80 000kms, or a 2011 Altima with 55 000 kms.  The Altima had more content, too, with push button start, heated power seats, tinted windows, etc. 

BUT, if shopping for a new car, I probably would have spent the extra $400 for an Accord Sport over an Altima S.  Both are very similar vehicles executed very similarly, the Accord is just executed a tiny bit better.

[mixmanmash]

Right now my fave in the category is the Accord - I really like the subtle exterior and the interior is great.  One reason I've never owned a Nissan is that we have horrid dealers that have turned me off within about 30sec of entering the building.  Too bad as they have had some interesting stuff.  I'd have to see the Altima in person to pass judgement, but the car seems nice enough in reviews, but the Accord's exterior is more to my personal liking.

Accord FTW.  And yes, dealer support is a little lacking on the service department side imo, but Sherwood Nissan is decent.  Had bad experience at Ericksen and Mills (both go auto).

[pcsp]

ArticSteve: "Customers bring these units back complaining about the drone.  "Didn't notice it on the test drive".  Well, tuff beans.  Should have spent a few minutes on google."

WHAT!!!!??? You're advising buyers to surf the web rather than an actual test drive? I'm one of those who does both - I tested the Altima when I test drove my Juke. No issues whatsoever; like many are saying, it's a competitive offering. Too large for me and my tastes and needs (and no AWD). Also, no issues with the CVT. 95% of the time people accelerate moderately and do not floor the vehicle. CVT is just fine under this circumstance. When it's floored, there is a constant rush of power and accompanying engine revs (I won't say noise) that is actually kind of cool. You want power in any vehicle, you will get a soundtrack.

[ArticSteve]

WHAT!!!!??? You're advising buyers to surf the web rather than an actual test drive?

Read a little more carefully !!!!!!!!      Naturally customers test drive the vehicle at our store and they go out unaccompanied unless for some reason they need assistance.  However, most ppl are so distracted by all the functions inside the car, the meandering route that they take, and all the other inputs and distractions they never give it the gas. 

This new Altima's CVT/powertrain combo just sucks.  They have tried to make good on their ridiculous highway mpg claims by messing with the CVT and it's programing.  The car runs like a bag of crap.  Owners that can actually drive a vehicle found this AFTER purchase.  Spending a wee bit of time on the NET and they would have been more informed because this drone and related lousy running was apparent right after launch and it hit the complaint boards fast.

If one is a wimpy driver they probably will never experience it.  Ignorance being bliss in this case.

[Fobroader]

Right now my fave in the category is the Accord - I really like the subtle exterior and the interior is great.  One reason I've never owned a Nissan is that we have horrid dealers that have turned me off within about 30sec of entering the building.  Too bad as they have had some interesting stuff.  I'd have to see the Altima in person to pass judgement, but the car seems nice enough in reviews, but the Accord's exterior is more to my personal liking.

Accord FTW.  And yes, dealer support is a little lacking on the service department side imo, but Sherwood Nissan is decent.  Had bad experience at Ericksen and Mills (both go auto).

Ill second Sherwood Park Nissan, i bought it there and brought it in for a few issues, always, prompt, quick service. The guys in Millhoods were absolutely horrid.

[EV-Light]

had a Nissan Rogue and sold it due to many quality issues...the CVT drone is ridiculous and irritating after some time. This issue wasn't fixed because the Altima I rented last year had the same irritating drone...