I was troubleshooting my COP issue and my neighbor owns a 2004 Nissan Altima with a QR25 and also a small possible 2000 Honda Civic. He stated to me that he's really a Honda guy and he's never had so many problems with a car til he got the Altima....I was pretty unsure what to say cause I'm a Nissan Guy. I've never owned a Honda but I've worked on a few Honda(s )they are excellent cars that have problems too like any other car. What's your take if you've owned both brands?????

 

I own Hondas in addition to my Infiniti. In my experience, each brand has certain weak points.

Nissan/Infiniti cons:

- Crank/cam sensors, ignition coils.
- Issues related to the timing chain.
- UOAs show their engines & trans are very hard on oil for some reason.
- Calipers, especially the rears.
- High pressure power steering hose has been a problem on several gens.
- More rust prone, i.e., floor pans, rad support, exhaust.
- Have heard from friends that 4-cyl Nissans aren't as easy to work on as 4-cyl Hondas.

Honda Cons:

- History of automatic trans problems.
- Annoying timing belt on many models.
- Crappy paint.
- Issues with variable cylinder management (VCM) and oil burning.
- If the car doesn't start, it's likely a spark issue, not fuel delivery.

 

My impression has always been that Nissan cars were a bit less reliable than Honda/Toyota, and a bit more interesting. This is often the case, eg see German cars for the extreme.