2002 NISSAN ALTIMA Complaints

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 NISSAN ALTIMA. WHEN THE CONTACT STARTED THE IGNITION, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED INTERMITTENTLY ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. HE ALSO HEARD A LOUD NOISE COMING FROM THE FOUR CYLINDER ENGINE, WHICH WAS NOT OPERATING PROPERLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS RELATED TO AN OXYGEN SENSOR THAT WAS REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED ACCORDING TO NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 03V084000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE); HOWEVER, THE REPAIR WAS INSUFFICIENT. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR THE SAME FAILURE ON THREE OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED AGAIN. THE CONTACT WAS CONCERNED OF THE SAFETY RISK INVOLVED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 81,286 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 95,500.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE CONTACT'S VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 03V084000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE), ALTHOUGH THE FAILURES WERE IDENTICAL. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT SMELLS BURNING OIL. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 78,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 88,000.

OIL IS CONSUMED AT A RATE OF APPROX. 1 QUART EVERY 200 MILES, MECHANIC HAS INFORMED ME THERE ARE NO NOTICABLE LEAKS. AROUND THE 80,000 MILE MARK OIL BEGAN TO RUN LOW BUT THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN INCREASING. *TR

I WENT THROUGH INSPECTIONS IN DELAWARE AND THE CAR FAILED FOR CATALYTIC CONVERTER. ENGINE MAKES A VERY LOUD RATTLING NOISE WHEN THE OIL IS TOO LOW. I THINK THE CAR DEALER WENT OUT OF BUSINESS. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE? *TR

MY 2002 NISSAN ALTIMA 2.5 BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE ENGINE FAILURE IN DECEMBER OF 2007. IT STARTED WITH AN ENGINE CODE . REFERRED TO THE CATALYST CONVERTER. I HAD BEGUN SEARCHING FOR EVIDENCE OF A BIGGER PROBLEM PRIOR TO TAKING IT TO THE DEALER. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE ON DIFFERENT FORUMS DESCRIBING THE EXACT SAME SYMPTOMS FOR THE SAME CAR. NOT IRONIC, DISTURBING. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN MAINTAINED PROPERLY AND PREVENTABLE MAINTENANCE PERFORMED REGULARLY. I ALSO HAD HARD TO START PROBLEMS . RECENTLY TOOK MY VEHICLE INTO THE NISSAN DEALER BECAUSE I COULD NOT FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS GOING ON. I KEPT LOOSING COOLANT AND OIL AND I DID NOT HAVE ANY WITNESS MARKS ON MY DRIVEWAY TO PROVE THAT IT WAS LEAKING. AT TIMES YOU CAN SMELL THE SWEET ODOR OF ANTIFREEZE INSIDE THE VEHICLE. AFTER NISSAN SERVICE VISIT, THE SERVICE REP SAID THAT I NEEDED A NEW ENGINE..CATALYTIC CONVERTER BROKE UP AND WAS SUCKED BACK INTO THE ENGINE. HERE IS WHAT THE INVOICE READS. INVOICE: ECM RECALL COULD NOT PERFORM RECALL VEH HAS E-LIGHTS THAT NEED TO BE CORRECTED?MULTI POINT VISUAL INSPECTION ONLY?INSPECTION PERFORMED REC ENGINE ASSY AND CAT RELATED PARTS A/C LOW PRESSURE HOSE?CUST STATES VEH LOSING COOLANT AND HAS A MISS CK DIAG AND CHCK OUT TIME ONLY?CUST STATES VEH HAS COOLANT LEAK AND MISS1.00 INSPECTION VEH FOR COOLANT LEAK BUT FOUND NO VISIBLE LEAK. MISFIRE FOUND INSPECTED PLUGS AND FOUND THEY'RE FOULED OUT AND HAVE CORROSION TYPE SUBSTANCE ON THEM?VEH POSS BURNING COOLANT. INSPECTED CAT AND FOUND IS COMING APART. REC ENGINE CAT AND RELATED PARTS CUST DECLINED REPAIRS? NOTE HAS REPLACED O2SENSORS, SPARK PLUGS. I ASKED THE SERVICE REP WHY NISSAN WOULDN'T PAY FOR THIS IF THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY A DESIGN PROBLEM. SHE SIMPLY RESPONDED BY SAYING THAT ALL THEY WOULD DO IS THE WORK BUT I WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR EVERYTHING. THEY TOLD ME TO CONTACT NISSAN HEADQUARTERS IF I HAD A COMPLAINT. IT DOESN'T SEEM THAT MANY OF MY FELLOW ALTIMA OWNER?S HAVE HAD MUCH LUCK WITH THAT. NISSAN BE RESPONSIBLE. LIVES MAY DEPEND IT. *TR

LIKE THOUSANDS OF OTHER 2002 NISSAN ALTIMA 2.5 OWNERS, NISSAN HAS LEFT EVERY ONE OF US HANGING OUT THERE AND ALL THEY CAN RECOMMEND IS TO REPLACE THE ENGINE. NISSAN CREATED THIS PROBLEM AND IS VERY AWARE OF THE OIL CONSUMPTION, CATALYTIC CONVERTER BREAK UP AND OXYGEN SENSOR FAILURE. THEN THERE IS THE EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION AND LET'S NOT FORGET THE HARD STARTING AND FAILURE TO START. I WILL NOT BUY ANOTHER NISSAN AGAIN AND IT DISGUSTS ME THAT NISSAN IS WASHING ITS HANDS OF THESE ISSUES. I COULD UNDERSTAND THEIR RELUCTANCE TO LOOK ANY FURTHER IF THERE WERE ONLY A HANDFUL OF OWNERS WITH THIS PROBLEM BUT THERE ARE THOUSANDS AND WE ARE ALL FED UP WITH THE WAY NISSAN HAS HANDLED THE ISSUES. THEY KNEW AFTER THEY ROLLED OUT THE 2002 NISSAN ALTIMA, IT HAD ISSUES BUT THEY HAVE BURIED THEIR HEADS IN THE SAND. WHENEVER YOU CALL NISSAN DIRECT, THEY JUST BLOW YOU OFF AND ALL THE DEALERSHIPS CAN RECOMMEND IS A NEW ENGINE. THEY ARE TREATING THEIR CUSTOMERS AS IF THEY ARE STUPID. IT ANNOYS ME THE FACADE NISSAN IS PUTTING ON AND TREATING ANY NISSAN ALTIMA CUSTOMER AS IF THEY ARE THE ONLY ONE WITH A "LEMON" WHICH NEEDS A NEW ENGINE. MY NISSAN HAS DONE 145,000 MILES AND SHOULD NOT NEED A NEW ENGINE AFTER YEARS OF REGULAR MAINTENANCE. NISSAN ISSUED A RECALL IN DEC 2006 WHEN I THINK THEY KNEW THEY HAD A PROBLEM. THEY DID NOT REPLACE THE OXYGEN SENSORS AT THAT TIME. THEY JUST CHECKED THEM. IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE REPORTS LIKE THIS GO TO WWW.MYCARSTATS.COM, WHICH IS WHERE I GOT THE LINK TO SEND YOU THIS COMPLAINT. I WOULD APPRECIATE IF THE NHTSA WOULD AT LEAST INVESTIGATE WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ALL 2002 NISSAN ALTIMAS. DID I MENTION THAT MY "ENGINE SERVICE LIGHT" HAS BEEN ON FOR OVER A YEAR - SINCE THE LAST TIME IT WENT INTO A NISSAN DEALERSHIP. I REST MY CASE.N *TR

NISSAN ALTIMA 2002 OIL CONSUMPTION PROBLEM. PROBLEM CAN LEAD TO CAR FIRE. DEALERSHIP ADMITTED TO DEFECT IN ENGINE. SEE: HTTP://FORUMS.AUTOMOTIVE.COM/70/1106267/NISSAN/2002-NISSAN-ALTIMA-OIL-DROPPING-AT-108000MILES-I-W/INDEX.HTML. I HAD TO PAY $5,000 FOR A NEW ENGINE. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 NISSAN ALTIMA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE ENGINE STOPPED RUNNING WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT MADE SEVERAL ATTEMPTS BEFORE THE ENGINE FINALLY RESTARTED. THE ENGINE WAS RUNNING ROUGHLY AND THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER, WHO STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS RELATED TO THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. RECENTLY, THE ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AND REMAINED LIT UNTIL THE ENGINE WAS TURNED OFF. THE FAILURE WAS SIMILAR TO THE ONE MENTIONED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 03V455000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); HOWEVER, THE VIN WAS EXCLUDED FROM THE RECALL. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 130,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 131,000.

EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION IN MY NISSAN ALTIMA 2002 MODEL. WHEN I CONTACTED THE LOCAL NISSAN DEALER, HE SAYS THAT THE PROBLEM IS BECAUSE OF THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER BEING SUCKED INTO THE ENGINE AND THE ENGINE MIGHT BLOW UP ANY TIME. AND THEY ARE ASKING $6000 FOR FIXING THE VEHICLE. THIS IS TOTALLY SUCKING THE CUSTOMER OF ANYTHING THAT ONE CAN LIVE OFF EVEN. AS A SMALL FAMILY WITH MEAGER EARNINGS, THIS IS GOING TO HIT OUR FAMILY IN A MAJOR WAY AS THIS KIND OF SPEND IS NOT SOMETHING WE CAN AFFORD. THIS PROBLEM IS BEING FACED BY THOUSANDS OF OTHER ALTIMA OWNERS ALSO. REQUEST THE GOVERNMENT TO HELP US OUT IMMEDIATELY. *TR

PRE CATALYTIC CONVERTER FAILURE. CONVERTER COMES APART, GETS SUCKED INTO THE ENGINE, AND CAUSES ENGINE DAMAGE. CONTACTED NISSAN AND WAS TOLD MINE WAS AN ISOLATED INCIDENT. NOTHING DONE TO CORRECT PROBLEM. *TR