A Nissan car salesman had the worst possible test drive experience with a customer imaginable: the car shut down.
A Texas man, Ruben Marquez (@rubermarquez9560), recorded the unfortunate incident while driving through a busy intersection. Stopped right at the light in front of him is a late model Nissan sedan. In the ride’s license plate holder is the name of the dealership: Nissan of Lewisville.
The sales rep can be seen standing outside of the vehicle with its hood popped open. He then slams it shut before walking towards the front passenger seat. Marquez’s text overlay appended over the short clip encapsulates the situation with a blunt quip. “Bro is not making the sale,” he jokes.
And while this may seem like a nightmare scenario reserved for a scene in a schadenfreude-type comedy, apparently it’s happened to others. That’s because several folks who replied to Marquez’s video said they experienced the same exact thing during test drives of their own.
'Happened To Me…'
One person wrote that while they were taking a Nissan Altima out for a spin, the vehicle’s internals erupted. “Test drove a brand new Nissan Altima. Rode with the salesman. We got onto the highway and I began to accelerate and the RPMs shot to red. And then a large pop. Engine and transmission went boom,” they penned.
Another person said that their “first sale got returned the next day with smoke coming out of the hood.”
Whereas another person highlighted an experience identical to the unlucky Nissan sales rep featured in Marquez’s clip. “Nissan salesman here. Happened to me on a test drive on a Pathfinder. 9 miles then kabloomy,” they wrote.
Others said that instances like this are indicative of a massive decline in the Japanese car brand’s quality control. “Nissan has been a joke for years. Nothing released in the last decade has been something remotely worth buying. Besides the base versa solely for the price,” one said.
Someone else said that they used to work at this particular car dealership and that this is a recurring phenomenon due to sluggish sales.
“I worked at Nissan of Lewisville for 6 months and quit January this year. And all I can say is its most likely dead or bad battery from experience … 90% of the inventory on their lot requires a jump start before showing. Or an occasional battery replacement from how long their cars sit,” they claimed.
Even someone claiming to be the sales rep in the video chimed in, saying, "That’s me! And I in fact still sold it." When asked what was wrong with the car, he joked that it was "low on blinker fluid."
Gallery: Nissan Altima Through The Years
Is A Nissan A Bad Buy?
According to Consumer Reports, Nissan is in the number six spot when it comes to new car reliability for 2026. This places it below Toyota, Subaru, Lexus, Honda, and BMW.
When it comes to purchasing one used, the research group placed Nissan at 8 out of 26 automakers. And for maintenance and repair costs, it’s one of the more affordable brands out there, again, coming in sixth.
But other factors, according to Consumer Reports, drop Nissan’s overall score to #13. Road test and owner satisfaction assessments put Nissan close to last at 25th and 23rd placements.
The independent testing authority wrote that Nissan’s offerings yielded “inconsistent quality” across different cars, meaning that some of its vehicles were less roadworthy than others. So, buyers interested in getting a Nissan should perform their due diligence on particular model types to ensure they’re getting one with a demonstrable history of dependability. Speaking of which, Consumer Reports added that the brand’s lineup “typically [has] average reliability.”
Nissan Sales Slump Continues
While the automaker reportedly saw folks buying more of its cars in late 2025, S&P Global wrote that its fortunes haven’t exactly reversed. Projections throughout 2026 show a 4.6% year-over-year revenue decline. The bulk of the precipitation is in the U.S. market, which accounts for 2.6% of lost revenue potential.
Unfortunately for the car manufacturer, those prognostications proved to be correct. Yahoo Finance wrote just two months later that the company’s global sales figures dropped 7%. This could explain the overstocking qualms the brand’s been facing for years. And if dealer lots are indeed filled with cars they can’t sell, that could explain dying car batteries. After all, self-discharge due to lack of use is a real phenomenon.
Motor1 has reached out to Nissan of Lewisville via email and Marquez via TikTok direct message for further comment. We will update this story if they respond.
