Nissan Pulsar C12 (Hatchback) (2013-2017)

I have a 2013 C12 hatch, I am impressed on how frugal the engine is, even when pushing the engine a little harder than usual (7.9 l/100 kms). It is also not too noisy in the cabin, very roomy for a hatchback. Bought it second hand with 100.000 kms on the clock, now 250.000. The only problem I have had with it is that the air con belt and… Read more

compressor had to be replaced. (about $3.000 at 180.000 kms). Considering this car is used by everyone in the family to do all sorts of errands and I barely do minimal maintenance to it, I am impressed. Mine is a CVT, they are sealed from factory, but if you buy one it is a good idea to service the gearbox to preserve it better. Build quiality is not very good, plastics squeak a creek a lot.

BEWARE Transmission issues on all Nissan Cars. Only last 100,000 – Do not purchase any Nissan cars. I’ve been trying to make a claim with them all year in regards the the faulty parts which they continue to put in their transmissions. Once it hits 80,000 your car will jolt and rev the gears. We been trying to make a claim through Nissan and had to use the local Nissan dealer, they never made any claims through… Read more

head office and just keep sending us in a wild goose chase lying about the claim which was not in fact processed. I’ve had to escalate claim through head office in Sydney. I’m now at 95,000 km and can’t drive up hills, on hwy or long distance. Just local small trips and very slow otherwise car has major issues. The car isn’t not going to last longer and needs to be fixed. (yet our mechanic says the new one will only last another 100,000km also) We are at the point of making a class action against Nissan in Australia being conducted by Bannister Law. Please beware and do not purchase any Nissan cars.

Third transmission after only 130,000kms – 2014 pulsar auto. transmission packed in after 70000. Nissan replaced it under warranty. New transmission packed in after 50,000. I hope they will replace but I don't think they will. 3 transmissions and only travelled total 140,000kms. Personally I'm keeping well away from Nissan in the future. Dreadful cars. Show details

Stay away from this car – This little car is very soft to drive, specious and comfortable and has a nice soft suspension, however has a HUGE problem......GEARBOX IS SUCKS. I have gone through 8 weeks fight and battle with the used car dealer to force him fix the big problem with noise and shake and after all stress he spent $4700 on a used gearbox and swap it with mine… Read more

and still it was rubbish. Eventually I sold this cancer for cheap and through it away and Never Ever go close to any Nissan in my life anymore. Stay away from all Nissans.

Transmission faults – My nissian pulsar is used for getting to and from work I was unaware of transmission fault with this car it is a factory fault.my car transmission blew after 6 years.I would not buy one of these unless has had gearbox overhaul. Show details

2014 st-s hatch Auto – Took a risk on buying this car has it was an x rental but was so cheap I decided to go for it as car came with full service history and a list of all issues it ever had. Brought her in 2017 with 45000k’s 3 years later she has now done 88000 and other than regular servicing we have not spent one extra cent on anything. The car has good power… Read more ·  1

considering only 1.6, the roomiest back seat of all the hatches and uses around 8ltrs per 100k’s. So for $10000 it’s been a fantastic buy and we couldn’t be happier.

Great for the price but CVT went Kaput just like many others – I used this car for almost 4 years as a commuter special and it has plenty of up and go but it didn't inspire me with 100% confidence around corners, better tyres made a big difference. Fuel Economy was 7.5 litres on mixed freeway/city driving. It has a huge back seat which was a big plus for the kids and passengers but the negative is the boot… Read more

it's a little small compared to others in the class. It was heavily discounted as they sold quite poorly. It was serviced every 10000ks and everything was going well until the weak link showed it's ugly head and that was the Transmission. The CVT is a piece of junk, Nissan knows it and towards the end of my ownership it was a spluttering mess. I now own an i30SR which was a little more money but I feel it's a little better put together, has better fuel economy and handles like a dream.

beautiful car – We own a 2013 sss pulsar - automatic - only issue we have really had that has stopped it driving was a flat battery(which was my own fault) fantastic amount of power, handles well and is fuel efficient! We would only sell it to upgrade to something with more seats  Show details

CVT FAILURE AND TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE – Hi, where do I start. I brought our Nissan Pulsar in for a check about a month ago and told the dealer (Lander Blacktown) that I already knew what it was through a lot of research I have done. It was a CVT faulty issue. Whilst there I was told by the staff member that this was a very common issue (which I was already aware of) and that… Read more

Nissan will fix it every time in his experience. Through emails with people in similar cases from forums online I had also known about the good will repairs of the CVT transmission.

So I left the car with the service centre and a day later I had heard nothing back so I called and they said “oh sorry we were about to call you the car is ready, we’ve updated the computer on the CVT”. I went in to pick up the car and they charged me $165 or so and said this should of fixed the issue.

As I was driving home the car was much worse than it was when I brought it in. I couldn’t believe they gave it back to me like this, the gearbox didn’t know what it was doing, and I just missed getting t-boned at a round about due to the gearbox malfunctioning and not taking off!

I brought it straight back the next morning and I was told that they will put in for a good will repair on the CVT and that I will have an answer within a few days.

A few days passed and I called to check up and was told by the same staff member “oh didn’t I tell you, Nissan has approved and ive ordered the parts”. Finally some good news. I believe that the calls were recorded and if recordings are available of the phone calls you can check yourself.

2 weeks pass and we still are without a car so I call up and speak to the same person only to hear “oh didn’t I call you, we cant do it till September” then I said what do you mean you told me your doing it now? Then he replied something along the lines of “sorry mate that was another car, your one hasn’t been approved from Nissan yet”.

I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. Then he tells me “didn’t I get you a loan car?“ “can you call Nissan and hurry them up as I have a lot on and ask them for a loan car”

The next thing I do is call Nissan customer service only to hear that they have no record of the car being put through for a CVT repair!! This is unacceptable.

I am ready to go to fair trading and a current affair with this as it has been the worst experience I have ever had. My family and I have been stuck without our family car for over 3 weeks now.

Gearbox is crap – Car looks but gearbox is broke down at 40000km. Shame on Nissan How u reliable car to break down and only 4 years old [email removed] Car is spacious and alright Bluetooth keeps disconnecting. Average car cheap finishes. Not recommended to buy buy Toyota is heaps better  Show details

Good but not great! – Overall happy with the purchase, all the positive points mentioned in other reviews are the same for me. Only issues I'm having is CV Joints are clicking away and sound on the way out after 70,000 kms plus the internal rear mirror has fallen out of its mount, the plastic pieces inside just crumbled away, very brittle and was quoted $300 to replace… Read more

from Nissan so going warranty claim for both. The standard front rotors are rubbish if pushed hard so I've upgraded to DBA T2 on the front and rear with better pads.Still handles like a bus even with the rear swaybar but could easily improve with some coilover suspension. It's a shame it's discontinued and was never touched by NISMO.

Huge value for money – It drives well and have lots of space. I like the soft touch interior as oposed to the black hard plastics the toyota and civic come out with. Nissan got the interior right. Great on fuel economy. Need a space to put your cellphone ander other small stuff. Great value for money, cant beat the price  Show details

Spacious car – Performance is not bad and good driving experience, never had any issues. The car is pretty spacious for a small car. I used it to move house and it did a good job. I even squeezed a double size mattress inside the car. The running cost is not too much, quite economical.  Show details

Ok car with good acceleration thanks to turbo for a lil 4cyl hatchback – I find that the general handling of the car is good. I however purchased seat cushions as I don't find the leather ones very comfortable at all- particularly on longer trips. There is no where near enough storage space- the sunglasses but for eg doesn't shut with even my daily glasses in there and they are slim frames. The accessories plug doesn't… Read more

work well with phone if manual as it prevents gear changes should it slip down but it has the USB and Aux type in the small centre console. fuel consumption seems to be approx 11L/100kms on the hwy and in 6th gear sits on about 3000rpms. The manual is nice to use though with shifts smooth and soft. Car fuel tank is small and filling costs between $45-53 and gets about 500kms per tank- country living.

The hatchback is spacious enough in the back for three car seats. The boot space is fabulous- especially with the seats folded down. Car servicing is always maintained and with that it's affordable via Nissan. Reliability of the car has been outstanding with nil issues with it at all since my ownership. The aircon and heater work great. Overall the sss pulsar digiturbo hatch is a great little car to own & aesthetically pleasing. I recommend having one despite its few disadvantages.

NISSAN GPS MAP UPDATES - NISSAN PULSAR AND OTHER MODELS – Updates for some Nissan are free with service... www.nissan.com.au/Owners/Owner-information/Complimentary-Map-Update Spoke to Nissan today re daughters 2-14 Juke maps... and advised also have 2016 Map update for my 2013 Pulsar SSS ... BUT cost $400.. maybe if enough people complain may get free with next service like other model owners... My… Read more ·  1

daughters Juke is a 2014 model and shown on the Nissan site as free map updates BUT apparently this is not correct and showed my a page by service centre today which indicates that the word 'CAMERA' on button on bottom left of unit has to have a rectangle around it (different model units-should have just stamped model numbers on them,,,) for the update.

Had call after email from Nissan ...very quick emailed today and phone call back this afternoon (08/05/2017). ANYHOW CHECK THE LINK AND IF NOT THERE EMAIL/RING NISSAN AUSTRALIA AS I DID ... AND FOUND THERE ARE ALSO MAPS FOR MY 2013 PULSAR SSS...BE IT AT A COST OF $400. I had asked service centre and they were not aware of this update for my pulsar...

Disappointing!!! – I am extremely disappointed with Nissan , I have mostly owned Toyota and thought it was time to try a different brand. The car was not long out of warranty being a 2013 model and still had low Km's. I was driving when I noticed the car was not changing gears correctly and the next day couldn't drive. Took it to mechanics to find out it needed a… Read more

new gear box/reconditioned. Nissan had such bad customer service and would not help in anyway. This cost me $5000 to repair. I would NEVER NEVER NEVER buy a Nissan pulsar!!!!

Fantastic little run about – Purchased as a cheap runabout with some performance with out drawing attention. This is a fantastic little car, the turbo engine in standard form is a cracker for the price point with pretty amazing fuel economy ~6.5L-8L/100 depending on driving conditions, revs cleanly, minimal lag. They can be easily modded for more power, but for me standard… Read more

is enough. It can punt through traffic nicely or cruise behind in the slow lane if you want (but it is hard with that engine). Very room interior, heaps of rear leg room if needed. Road noise is there but not intrusive. This is basically the reasons I bought it over the other Corrolla, Mazda etc. Yes the 6spd gearbox is a bit notchy, yes it has fuel gauge calibration problem with the low fuel warning come up a bit too early, yes it has a couple of rattles in the rear on some bumps,yes it does not corner that well, yes the interior is a bit ordinary. But for an everyday drive which attracts no attention,cheap to service and maintain it is good enough, and the engine compensates for any loss in my books. It is not fire breathing performance car, more of a swift drive, but considering the price at $15K with 7000klm + 2 yrs of factory warranty, why not. It is a car underrated and easily over looked. Sure, there are plenty of other cars that are styled better, faster, better made etc, but I cannot park them without wondering if anyone will mess with them. All the benefits of a MazToy but more room and grunt. I have to fight the wife for who gets to drive it. The only thing I would asked to be improved is the engine hang on 1-2 gear changes, oh well everything has a compromise somewhere. Pity they stopped importing them (Hatches). Not for everyone but suits me just fine.

I love this car – I bought a SSS C12 in 2014 for work. Have just done the 50,000k service (actually done about 56,000 now). It's been brilliant. I'm a car guy. I also own a Series 2 C34 Nissan Stagea with a ton of mods and a 1971 Datsun 1600 with lots of work as well as a 2005 CBR1000. I have no issues with my Pulsar and love driving it, even though it's an… Read more ·  1

auto (CVT with ability to select "gears"). It's fast, comfortable and everything works well. The only criticism I have is the in dash screen is pretty poor. It's colour and stuff, and does what it needs too, but I think cars at this price point should be much more comprehensive with HD sceens. The leather seats are wearing well, although the wear on the steering wheel is a little excessive (well known Nissan problem). I really wanted a Juke but the back seats are tiny with ZERO leg room. The Pulsar is positively cavernous in the back. My mates are all big guys, welll above 6ft (some around 6'3) and they have no issue in the back. My friends Falcon has more room across the seats but less fore and aft. It's a comfy car for four people to do distance trips in. Turning circle is a bit big for a small car, but that's not really a problem. Fuel economy is OK. It's not great but that's likely down to the type and style of my driving (stop start with a heavy foot). Other running costs have been fine. Tyres are ~$160 a piece for decent rubber, servicing costs have been capped. I highly recommend one of these cars if you're after a fun warm hatch (it doesn't quite achieve hot hatch status).

Great little car – Great little car, very cheap to run, highly recommend for a teenager or young families, very good size inside , just love it. We own his big bother th nissan x-trail St . Very happy with both, highly recommend, must see and check them out, As I mention, highly recommended  Show details

Can't Do Without The Satelite Navigation And Dvd Player – Smooth quiet driving. Looks small but is spacious inside, nothing ever goes wrong with it, only fill up every two weeks first time with navigation, so easy, takes stress out of finding new places. The dvd has a good picture and is a bonus, when waiting for somebody, just to watch the dvd. The car radio automatically turns down when reversing,… Read more

the reverse camera is so safe, I just stare at it when reversing and you can see more in shopping car parks.

Another car with Sat Nav issues – Bought the 2014 - 2013 build Nissan SSS Heritage Hatch new from Sunshine Coast Nissan Dealer and could not find any in Brisbane (only 50 made). This was in December 2014 and I noticed that the Navigation maps in the Sat Nav were 2012 year maps... Asked the dealer about updates and told when I take the car to Nissan Dealer for 1,000 km service… Read more

that the maps would be updated.

Anyhow during this period found that the rubber surround for the side skirts was coming away.

Other than these two issues vehicle was good except even fora turbo vehicle the power output was way below other manufactures similar vehicles. The wheel and tyre sizes also smaller compared to these other vehicles.

I was also disappointed that Nissan had the all wheel drive system fitted to the Juke but left the Pulsar with front wheel drive.

Leg room in both front and rear seats was excellent compared to other manufacturers similar vehicles.

On the visit to the Nissan Dealer at Browns Plains advised that they would have to order in an update for the Sat Nav. As for the skirts they advised that they previously replaced the skirts on a similar vehicle only to find that this did not fix the issue.

Apparently Nissan do not make the rubber surround by itself and if it has to be replaced you need to replace the entire skirt kit which comes with them... you can not buy them separate and then fit.

So I emailed Nissan and some months later received a phone call advising they were still working on the skirt issue and that Nissan only did one Sat Nav update a years and the dealer would handle this.

Next time I attended the dealer was advised still no fix for skirts and no update up GPS.

So sent another email to Nissan and got no reply. So sent an email to Dealer and advised that would look into matters (again) and get back to me. Anyhow still no joy so did some research myself on line and found that map updates available for Pulsars in Europe etc. BUT none for Australia.

Further checks showed that the multi media unit fitted was a Bosch unit and that the Bosh software etc. was no longer being updated... since 2012 and no AU maps had been produced for the unit since then.

Advised dealer of this and again advised they would contact Nissan and that in regards t the skirts that that were getting a new set of skirts to fir to the vehicle (now you may recall they did this to previous vehicle... and it did not work.).

So once again I sent a 'dirty' email to Nissan and very surprised by their reply:-

Good Morning Laurence,

Further to your web form we received on 29th May 2015 stating:

“MAPS1. What model Multi Media Unit fitted. 1. NISSAN map - https://www.whereismaps.com/cars/nissan.htmNissan joined other manufactures, sell car do not care after.Maybe I will get a reply IN 1 TO 2 DAYS!” (sic)

I attempted a call on 0418 158 568 at 10:42 AM on the 1st of June and left a message on the voicemail system that is attached to that line.

With regard to your web form 28th July 2015, the Nissan Pulsar SSS is advertised as including satellite navigation & satellite navigation is supplied installed in the vehicle. Nissan advertising does not refer to any map updates. In relation to map updates we do not have a pre-arranged calendar of when updates are to be released, we recommend discussing this with your Nissan dealer when attending for a service.

Kind Regards,

____________________________________________________________

Shawn

Customer Service Consultant

Customer Experience

Nissan Motor Co. (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

www.nissan.com.au

SO you can see once again Nissan has passed the buck back to the Dealer who has no idea about map updates and also not aware that the sat nav/multi media system fitted to the car can't be updated. SO now I understand why when I bought the car in December 2014 it only had 2012 maps fitted. (I also check a new 2015 Nissan X-Trail in the Dealers yard which ha 2013 maps fitted?

Why would a vehicle manufacturer put a multi media unit with sat nav in a vehicle which was not capable of having the unit itself updated OR the GPS maps updated? Maybe there were run out models and they got them very cheap.

Looks like I am getting the run around by both Nissan and the Dealer. So appears I will now have to contact Nissan Japan and also Fair Trading...

The car is good BUT the sat nav/multi media unit is rubbish and needs replacing and service from BOTH the Dealer and Nissan id basically no existent. It is now 8 months and nothing has been done.

With Ford and Holden packing up shop in Australia there is a push for consumers to by direct from overseas, but dealers are say we would not get any support if this occurred... well nothing will change then as support is non existent now.

Manufacturer and Dealer support when buying a new car is essential and without that the car is basically worth nothing. Just imagine if their was a more serious issue, map updates range from 100 to 300 depending on dealer.

Anyhow my suggestion... go somewhere else if you are looking for a small to mid size hatch.

Nice car pity about the fuel gauge – Had the St S now for bit over 12 months, the car is easy and fun to drive thanks to the turbo. There are a few annoying rattles that shouldn't be there with a new car, but the fuel gauge has not worked properly as you would expect from new. Has been back and forth to the dealer, they have replaced the sender and run other checks. The gauge drops… Read more

to 3/4 after only 50km from full. The Low fuel light comes on showing 50km to empty, once the needle is at the bottom and the light flashing saying you have no fuel, you fill up putting in between 35 and 40 litres. The tank holds 50. Spoke to Nissan Australia today and they informed me, "that's normal, they don't want you to run out of fuel". Well if the fuel gauge was accurate, you wouldn't.

With an attitude and build quality like this why would you buy a Nissan.

Yes it may only be a small thing but if I had known from the start that the fuel gauge could not be trusted, I wouldn't have brought the car. It's a shame, as the car is fun to drive and has a lot of go and loves to show you what it can do. It's a real pity

2013 Pulsar Hatch ST Manual 1.8 – I bought this car new 12 months ago and have done 15,000klms. Overall I'm very pleased with it. It's quiet and comfortable, ride and handling are quite good. The engine pulls strongly from 2,000 revs and the gearbox is a pleasure to use. Fuel consumption is a nice surprise at 6.2L/100 klms and has now improved to 6.0 since fitting new Yokohama… Read more

tyres (I wasn't happy with the original Bridgestones). The new tyres also improved steering, handling and some suspension jiggles over our uneven North Coast roads.

Back seat legroom is great but it's a shame the seat doesn't fold down flatter. I like the uncluttered dashboard but would prefer a little more reach adjustment in the steering wheel since I have long legs.

Generally I'm a very happy owner. Great engine/transmission combo. Quiet and comfortable ride. Steering wheel reach, back seat doesn't fold flat.

Great Features But Very Sluggish – Hired a 2013 Pulsar through Hertz. Actually I have had both the hatch and sedan in the past couple of months and found both of them are VERY sluggish. Has a lot of great little features on the dash like petrol usage, temp outside etc however it felt like I was driving with the hand brake on. All the little bells and whistles VERY Sluggish Show details