2002 NISSAN ALTIMA Complaints

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE CONTACT EXPERIENCED AN ISSUE WITH HER CATALYTIC CONVERTER. WHEN SHE TOOK THE VEHICLE IN FOR EMISSIONS TESTING, SHE WAS INFORMED THAT THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER WAS FAULTY AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL FOR THIS ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 114,000. UPDATED 06/10/09 *BF UPDATED 06/11/09 UPDATED 06/30/09. THE CONSUMER WANTED TO KNOW THE STATUS OF HIS/HER COMPLAINT. UPDATED 03/01/10 UPDATED 03/05/10

ENGINE STARTED BURNING OIL BEFORE 100,000 MILES. COME TO FIND OUT NOT ONLY DOES THIS VEHICLE HAVE A BAD CATA LYTIC CONVERTER BUT THAT MANY NISSAN BUYERS GOT STRUCK WITH THE SAME DRAMA AND UNBELIEVABLE COSTS THAT NISSAN WILL TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR. NOW MY DREAM CAR IS DEAD IN THE DRIVEWAY AND NISSAN WANTS $4600 FOR AN ENGINE AND I STILL OWE $7900 ON THE CAR. THIS IS A NIGHTMARE. *TR

I OWN A 2002 NISSAN ALTIMA, 2.5L ENGINE. I HAVE HAD MORE PROBLEMS WITH THIS CAR THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE. THE CAR HAS STOPPED ON ME TWO TIMES IN THE PAST YEAR OR TWO. IT CAME TO A HALT IN SEPTEMBER 2007 IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC AND I HAD TO WAIT OVER AN HOUR FOR A TOW TRUCK. AT THAT TIME I HAD THE SENSOR DETECTOR REPLACED BY A NEIGHBORHOOD GARAGE. ON LAST TUESDAY, THE CAR STOPPED AGAIN AND WOULD NOT MOVE BUT I HAPPENED TO BE IN PARKING LOT AND WAITED 3 HOURS TO GET MY CAR MOVED. THIS TIME THE CAR WAS REPAIRED BY A NISSAN DEALER AND THE SENSOR DETECTORS WERE AGAIN REPLACED. I WAS INFORMED THAT MY ENGINE WAS COMING APART INTERNALLY BIT BY BIT AND I WOULD NEED THE ENGINE REPLACED OR RUN THE RISK OF HAVING THE ENGINE STOP ON ME AT ANY TIME. I HAVE CHANGED THE CATALYTIC CONVERTOR, HAVE AN OIL LEAK AND SOME GASKETS HAVE BEEN REPLACED. I PUT OIL IN MY CAR EVERY WEEK BECAUSE THE LEAK WAS NOT REPAIRED. I NEVER SEEN ANY OIL ON MY DRIVEWAY AND DON'T KNOW WHERE IT IS LEAKING. WHEN I CHECKED TO SEE IF I COULD FIND AN ENGINE FOR LESS THAN WHAT THE DEALERSHIP QUOTED ME, I FOUND 400 COMPLAINTS ON ONE WEBSITE AND 99 ON ANOTHER WEBSITE COMPLAINING OF THE EXACT SAME PROBLEMS WITH THEIR 2002 NISSAN ALTIMA WITH A 2.5L ENGINE OF WHICH I AM COMPLAINING. MANY OF THE COMPLAINTS ARE REPORTING ENGINE FAILURE OR BREAKDOWN. THIS IS VERY CONCERNING AND I THINK SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE BY NISSAN AS THIS SEEMS TO BE A MANUFACTURING PROBLEM BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO GO. *TR

2002 NISSAN ALTIMA STALLING OUT WHILE DRIVING. LOSING POWER AND NOT REACHING SPEEDS ABOVE 45 MPH. READ SEVERAL REVIEWS FROM OTHER CUSTOMERS WITH ENGINES GOING BAD AND STARTED OUT WITH THE SAME ISSUES AND PROBLEMS WITH HARD CRANK, AND CATALYTIC CONVERTER GOING BAD AND CAUSING ENGINES TO GO BAD. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE CRANK POSITION SENSORS KEEP FAILING IN HER VEHICLE. IN 2004, THE DEALER REPAIRED THE VEHICLE ACCORDING TO NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 03V455000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). THE CONTACT IS THE SECOND OWNER OF THE VEHICLE AND THE DEALER STATED THAT SHE WOULD HAVE TO PAY $300 TO REPAIR THE FAILURE AGAIN. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 98,000.

PURCHASED A NEW NISSAN ALTIMA IN SEPT. 2002 AND WAS RECENTLY TOLD THAT I NEED A NEW ENGINE. I HAVE AN EXCELLENT MAINTENANCE RECORD. BROUGHT THE CAR IN LAST MONTH FOR A LOUD GRINDING NOISE IN THE ENGINE BUT WAS TOLD THAT THEY "COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG." THEN THE ENGINE STARTED A RACING NOISE AND I IMMEDIATELY DROPPED IT OFF. NOW I AM TOLD THAT I NEED A NEW ENGINE AT THE TUNE OF $4,700.00. I ONLY HAVE 94,000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE. I HAVE FILED A COMPLAINT AND AM WAITING FOR A RESPONSE. I HAVE HAD ALL OF THE NUMEROUS RECALLS FIXED OVER THE PAST EIGHT YEARS. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED NEW IN 2001. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO JIFFY LUBE FOR AN OIL CHANGE AND THE OIL LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL ONE WEEK LATER. SHE CHECKED THE DIPSTICK AND NOTICED THAT THERE WAS NO OIL IN THE VEHICLE. SHE TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO JIFFY LUBE AND OIL WAS ADDED; HOWEVER, THE OIL LIGHT ILLUMINATED AGAIN. SHE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A FIRESTONE SHOP AND THEY FOUND NO OIL IN THE ENGINE. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THE VEHICLE AND STATED THAT THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE OIL WAS ENTERING INTO THE EXHAUST SYSTEM AND THE PISTON RING. THE DEALER FURTHER STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY; THEREFORE, THE CONTACT WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR. A REPORT WAS FILED WITH THE MANUFACTURER AND THEY STATED THAT HER VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 03V084000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THEY WOULD CALL HER BACK. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 111,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 NISSAN ALTIMA. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE BECOMES DIFFICULT TO ACCELERATE. OCCASIONALLY, THE VEHICLE STALLS AND BECOMES DIFFICULT TO START. A LOCAL MECHANIC STATED THAT THE CRANKSHAFT WAS FAULTY AND A RECALL WAS PENDING FROM 2004 FOR THIS YEAR, MAKE, AND MODEL VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE CRANKSHAFT WAS REPAIRED UNDER RECALL IN 2004; THEREFORE, THE DEALER DID NOT HAVE TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE AGAIN. THE CONTACT FEELS THAT THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD PAY FOR THE REPAIRS SINCE THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. HE IS CONCERNED THAT A CRASH COULD OCCUR. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 92,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 91,500.

A MONTH OR SO AGO, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON AND I TOOK IT TO THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP FOR DIAGNOSIS. MY CAR IS A 2002 NISSAN ALTIMA 2.5S, 104,000 MILES AND THE MECHANIC STATED IT NEEDS A CATALYTIC CONVERTER AND POSSIBLY A NEW ENGINE . THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED ACCORDING TO NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 03V084000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE) IN 2004, BUT THAT RECALL HAS NOT CORRECTED THE ISSUE. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED YET. THIS IS RIDICULOUS- THERE ARE HUNDREDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS OF EXACT FAILURES AND NO RECALL??? NISSAN SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED FOR NOT REPAIRING THE MATTER. THE SMALL FIX IN 2004 DID NOTHING TO AVERT THE LONG TERM ISSUE. THE MAINTENANCE RECORDS TO THIS CAR ARE IMPECCABLE. OIL CHANGES DOCUMENTS EVERY 3000-5000 MILES USING TOP GRADE SYNTHETIC SYNPOWER MOTOR OIL. THERE IS NO REASON FOR THIS TYPE OF FAILURE ASIDE FROM DESIGN FLAWS. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 NISSAN ALTIMA. WHILE CHECKING THE OIL IN THE VEHICLE, THE CONTACT NOTICED AN OIL LEAK. HE REPLACED THE OIL WITH AT LEAST TWO QUARTS OF OIL PER WEEK. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP AND THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 07V527000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). THE CONTACT WAS ADVISED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO A LOCAL DEALER FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT OIL WAS LEAKING AROUND THE RINGS. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED FOR THE ECM FAILURE. AFTER RETRIEVING THE VEHICLE FROM THE DEALER, THE VEHICLE FAILED. A TECHNICIAN STATED THAT PARTICLES FROM THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER DAMAGED THE CYLINDER WALLS IN THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED AGAIN. THE CONTACT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER AND WAS INFORMED THAT BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL FOR THE FAILURE THAT HE EXPERIENCED, NO COMPENSATION WOULD BE PROVIDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 160,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 180,000.