What I am showing above summarizes my opinion, but
I have evidence on hand to substantiate my opinion.
But don't get me wrong. My sister owns a 2001 Nissan Sentra
GXE with the remarkable 1.8 lts engine. I have a 1993 Nissan Sentra with the 1.6 GA16DE engine and its is close to 160,000 miles, all by me since it was new, and I feel the new 2001+ Sentra
has a better refined engine than the GA16DE.
But, I have to be honest. The belts of my sister's 2001 Sentra GXE were replaced at around 30,000 miles, the two of them, as a precautionary measure of the dealer because of really minor interior cracks. I think both belts could have lasted thousands of miles more maybe up to 60,000 miles or more because those belts don't break that easy.
And here is my point. My 1993 Sentra has a three belts system, that was substituted by Nissan with a new two belts system
with a tensioner. I spoke with a technician who used to work at the main Nissan dealer, and he explained to me that the new system is more efficient for service because the two belts system is easier to replace or to install, and the tensioner is suppose to adjust automatically.
The "old" three belts system was more difficult to replace in service, requiring more time for the techs., and with the proportional extra expense for the time of the tech.
Seems like everything is in a favor of the tensioner right? NO!
The two belts replaced by a local dealer here in Puerto Rico are presenting what can be called "old car noise", with disturbing noises coming from the belts area, on a less than 36,000 miles 2001 Sentra GXE! Some people around me, including the technician I talked about, told me that the tensioners have a tendency to fail in cars, early!
And now, the thing that made me mad, trying to search here for that smile with the face and the rifle firing hard!!!!
The technician told me: "the ones who started all this about the tensioners, were the Americans. That system saves them millions of dollars in total production per vehicle. In the case of Nissan, right now they use one belt less, and the service for the techs. like me, is easier"
Since when the Japanese have to imitate the Americans to make 4 cylinders cars better?
One more proof. I live in a hot climate, with hot temperatures all year. I replaced the three belts of my 1993 Nissan Sentra 1.6 lts
when the car was more than 96,000 miles old, and I have it since it was new!! I replaced the three belts because I thought it was already too much mileage, not because any of the three was broken!!!!
My sister has 2001 Nissan Sentra 1.8 lts that has a better engine overall than my 1993 Nissan Sentra 1.6 lts, but why she has to deal with "old car noise" on a Sentra that is a long way before its 60,000 miles powertrain warranty expires?
Now, she has to make an appointment with a nice service advisor, to see if they will honor the warranty in this case, if she and her husband have to pay for this, or if there is an internal bulletin/recall for this problem.
Why sacrifice quality, changing things that work great?
In one of the other posts threads here I read Nissan is a cheap company, but I refuse to believe that fully. (even after things like this) Maybe, they have to save money with no other choice, but Nissan should look at other options. Even Porsche had to do it with its 911, in order to continue production.
Better for me, is to sacrifice dash draws, lighted vanity mirrors,
maybe some colors like Mazda did with its MazdaSpeed Protegé,
but the quality of the vehicle should not be sacrificed, never.
They are risking their reputation with those moves!
Thanks for reading and your opinions
Do you like the belt tensioner? I don't like it!!
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