Nissan Pulsar Review, For Sale, Models, Specs & News in Australia

Nissan Pulsar Q&As

Check out real-world situations relating to the Nissan Pulsar here, particularly what our experts have to say about them.

• What is my 2001 Nissan Pulsar worth?

  Your car is probably still worth around $4000 to $5000 depending on condition and kilometres. The catch is that you won’t be offered that much if you use the car as a trade-in, and the value I’ve quoted would be to sell the car privately, not back to a car dealer. A lack of demand for good used cars is keeping values a little higher (a lot higher in some cases) than they might have been, so even though your car is still worth decent money, you’ll pay a bit extra for whatever you replace it with.

  As far as lifespan goes, that has a lot more to do with maintenance than any other factor. If your car has been serviced by the book, there’s every chance it could last for 200,000 to 250,000km and perhaps even more. But I’ve also seen neglected cars die incredibly young.

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• Why is my car using too much fuel and stalling?

  Modern engines rely on a raft of sensors to inform the computer of what’s going on under the bonnet and what needs to be adjusted to keep the thing running smoothly and efficiently. A car that is using too much fuel and stalling could be having a problem with the sensor that tells the on-board computer that the engine is up to operating temperature. A cold engine needs more fuel to run properly so, if the sensor is telling the computer that the engine is still cold, the computer will continue to inject extra fuel into it. Of course, if the engine is up to temperature (regardless of what the sensor says) that extra fuel will show up as increased fuel consumption and could easily make the engine stall or run roughly.

  However, that’s just one possibility and with the dozens of sensors dotted around a modern engine, the best advice is to have the car electronically scanned to see what fault codes are thrown up. The good news is that these sensors are usually inexpensive to replace and should return things to spot on pretty much immediately. Other suspects would be oxygen sensors and maybe even the stepper motor which controls the idle speed.

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• Why don't the gears shift in my 1996 Nissan Pulsar?

  If the gearbox won’t shift gears, then the vehicle won’t be able to accelerate any further once the engine has reached its maximum speed in the gear in which it’s stuck. That’s probably (I’m guessing) why the car feels like it won’t go any faster.

  There are any number of reasons for an automatic gearbox to remain in one gear and refuse to shift. They start with low transmission fluid and go all the way up to a major internal failure or even a computer-related problem. There’s no real way to diagnose these possibilities remotely, so you really need to get the vehicle to somebody who specialises in automatic transmissions and get them to take a close look and diagnose the problem.

  If it’s a major problem with the gearbox, your decision then becomes one of whether the vehicle itself is in good enough condition to warrant spending the money. A major job such as a new transmission and the labour to fit it could easily wind up costing more than the car is worth. Sometimes you’re better off scrapping the vehicle, cutting your losses and moving on to something newer and safer.

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• Why does the gear stick randomly go into reverse in my 2013 Nissan Pulsar?

  Changing a clutch in any car is a big job and can easily cost the sort of money you’ve been quoted. And when that car is a front-wheel-drive vehicle, there are a lot of things to remove (like the driveshafts) before the gearbox can be removed and the new clutch fitted.

  While I agree that the symptoms you’re reporting do sound like a worn out clutch, I’d like to know what else the mechanic thinks will be wrong. He or she may, for example, be budgeting for the removal and machining of the flywheel as part of the clutch replacement, That can easily add a couple of hundred to the bill. Also, where is the mechanic sourcing the new clutch? You may have found a replacement kit online for the $500 you’re quoting, but is it a quality part from a reputable brand or a no-name piece of rubbish from an internet clearing house?

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