2003 NISSAN ALTIMA Complaints

DT: THE CONTACT STATED VEHICLE STALLED AND OPERATED AT A REDUCED SPEED. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS WHEN THIS OCCURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP, AND THEY REPLACED THE THROTTLE SENSOR TWICE. *AK UPDATED 1/25/2006 - THE VEHICLE LOST ALL POWER AND WOULD NOT GO OVER 5 MPH. THE DEALER REPLACED THE THROTTLE BODY AND KNOCK SENSOR. *NM

DT: THE CONTACT STATED THE BRAKES LOCKED IN COLD WEATHER. THE DEALER INFORMED THE CONTACT THEY COULD NOT FIND THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. THE MANUFACTURER HAS NOT BEEN CONTACTED. THE CONTACT WAS CONCERNED IT COULD HAPPEN AT ANY SPEED, EVEN THOUGH IT HAS ONLY HAPPENED AT SPEEDS UNDER 40 MPH. *AK

MY 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY INTERSECTION. I HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED 85 MILES, BACK TO THE NISSAN DEALER IN DEVON, PA. AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO START THE CAR, IT FINALLY STARTED, BUT WHEN I TRIED TO DRIVE IT, IT HAD NO POWER WHEN I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR. ALSO, THE CAR JUMPED ALL AROUND, SO IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO DRIVE IT. I WAS AWAY ON VACATION IN NJ, SO I WASN'T EVEN NEAR MY HOME. DEALER DETERMINED IT WAS THE 'CRANK SENSOR', AND REPLACED IT, BUT CHARGED ME $180. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL ITEM! *NM

I HAVE A 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA, I PURCHASED IN 03 WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE IT WOULD JUST STOP. AT ONE POINT WHILE TURNING IN FRONT OF HEAVY TRAFFIC CAR JUST QUIT, AND EVERY TIME I CRANKED IT WOULD QUIT, WHICH COULD HAVE CAUSED MAJOR ACCIDENT FOR ME AND MY 5 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER. I WORK VERY FAR FROM HOME AND , TO GET ON A BUSY FREEWAY AND CAR WOULD JUST QUIT IS NOT SAFE. I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION NISSAN IS A GOOD CAR AND RELIABLE, BUT THEY HAVE FAILED ME. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP THAT DUE TO 69,000 MILES IT WOULD HAVE PROBLEMS. I HAVE A FRIEND WITH SAME 03 ALTIMA, AND OVER 100,000 MILES, SHE HAS NO PROBLEMS AND CAN DRIVE OUT OF TOWN. WHEN I AM DRIVING UP TO SPEED THE CAR WOULD START STALLING OUT OF CONTROL, AND THEN EVENTUALLY JUST QUIT ON ME. I CAN NOT EVEN DRIVE MY CAR OUT OF TOWN, DUE TO THE FACT I CAN NOT DRIVE IN TOWN IT MAY NOT CRANK. I NOTICED THE PROBLEM WHEN I FIRST GOT THE VEHICLE, BUT DON DAVIS NISSAN SAID IT WAS A RECALL ON STARTER. I CAN SAY DON DAVIS NISSAN SERVICE DEPT. WAS VERY HELPFUL, IT DID TAKE THEM A FEW DAYS TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM, BUT THEY WERE VERY HELPFUL AND FRIENDLY. I MISSED MANY HOURS AT WORK, AND COULD NOT WORK BECAUSE CAR WAS NOT DEPENDABLE. THE SERVICE DEPT. AT DON DAVIS NISSAN ASSISTED ME WELL, I JUST RECEIVED MY CAR BACK AND THEY SAID IT WAS THE CRANK SHAFT SENSOR INOP. THEY HAVE A RECALL ON THE 2002 BUT NOT THE 2003, GOOD THING I BOUGHT EXTRA WARRANTY, BUT I FEEL THIS IS A PROBLEM AND SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN PAID FOR THRU MY WARRANTY, I THINK NISSAN SHOULD HAVE TAKEN CARE OF IT. I GUESS IT'S JUST THE LOOK OF THE VEHICLE, I WILL NOT PURCHASE ANOTHER ALTIMA AGAIN. *JB

2003 NISSAN ALTIMA 2.5 STALLED ON THE HIGHWAY. CAR HAD BEEN IDLING VERY ROUGH AND ENGINE VIBRATION AS WELL AS INTERMITTENT POWER LOSS 24 HOURS PRIOR TO ISSUE. AT TIME OF FAILURE, THE POWER STEERING AND BRAKES LOCKED UP WHILE TRAVELING AT 70 MPH ON BUSY HIGHWAY MOUNTAIN PASS. I WAS ALMOST KILLED AS CAR DRIFTED WITH NO CONTROL INTO OTHER TRAFFIC. CAR WAS ABLE TO BE RESTARTED. TOOK CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE MOTOR STARTED SHAKING ON DRIVE BACK TO DEALERSHIP. DEALER FOUND THAT THERE WAS A SCREW LOOSE. THEY FOUND THE SCREW MISSING HAD COME FROM THE POWER VALVE INTAKE IN THE POWER VALVE. THEY HAD TO THE REMOVE THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD TO GET THE SCREW OUT, THE DEALER HAD TO REPLACE THE MANIFOLD INTAKE/VALVE AND CYLINDER #4/ 02 SENSOR/ THE GASKET EXHAUST/GASKET ADAPTER, AND THE GASKET MANIFOLD AS THE SCREW HAD SHOT TROUGH THE ENGINE DESTROYING MOST OF IT. THE DEALERSHIP STATED THAT THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM, BUT ONLY ON SOME 2004 AND 2005 MODELS, NOT MY 2003. THIS PROBLEM IS DOCUMENTED IN OTHER 2002 AND 2003 MODELS ON THIS ODI WEBSITE AND ON INTERNET FORUMS AS PER MY RESEARCH. NISSAN NORTH AMERICA REFUSES TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS IN THE 2002 AND 2003 MODELS AS I HAVE ATTEMPTED TO WORK WITH THEM IN A REASONABLE MANNER. THIS IS A POTENTIALLY FATAL ISSUE AS NOTED IN DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCE THE SAME PROBLEMS WITH ENGINES CATCHING ON FIRE OR CAR STALLING AND LOCKING UP IN TRAFFIC. INTERESTED IN PURSUING A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. ODI HAS DONE NOTHING TO MAKE CONTACT WITH ME OR OPEN AN INVESTIGATION. PROBLEM STARTED ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2005. *JB

DT: WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND WHEN PUSHING ON THE GAS PEDAL VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE, AND IT DOES THIS WHEN TRYING TO PRECEDE ON FROM A STOP LIGHT. IT MIGHT GO 2-3 MPH. THIS FIRST STARTED HAPPENING AROUND SEPTEMBER 1, 2004 AND THIS HAPPENED INTERMITTENTLY. THERE WAS NO FORE WARNING AND THERE WAS NO NOISE. *AK *JB

CAR CUTS OFF WHILE DRIVING. HAS CUT OFF SEVERAL TIMES. NISSAN DIAGNOSTICS TEST SAYS NOTHING IS WRONG, BUT CAR CONTINUES TO CUT OFF. THE VEHICLE IS GETTING HARDER AND HARDER TO RESTART AFTER THE ENGINE STALLED OUT. ONCE WHEN MAKING A LEFT TURN THE ENGINE STALLED AND ALMOST GOT HIT BY AN ONCOMING VEHICLE. THERE WAS A RECALL ON AN ENGINE SENSOR FOR NISSANS MANUFACTURED 2000 TO JULY 2002. MY CAR WAS MANUFACTURED OCTOBER 2002, AND THEY WILL NOT CONSIDER THAT THIS COULD BE THE PROBLEM. A CAM OR CRANK POSITION SENSOR WAS REPLACED TO CORRECT THE STALLING PROBLEM.

CAR STALLED, STOPPED WORKING AND THEN HAD DIFFICULTY STARTING. ENGINE LIGHT STAYED ON. ROUGH STARTING UNTIL FIXED, WITH STALLING. TURNED OUT TO BE CRANKCASE SENSOR. THE CAR INVOLVED IS A 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA, AND THIS WAS A RECALL ITEM ON THE 2002 ALTIMA.

WHILE DRIVING AT ALL SPEEDS VEHICLE JUST DIES. CONSUMER HAS NOT RESOLVED THIS PROBLEM. *TS WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE STALLS UNEXPECTEDLY. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER NUMEROUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE ALSO HESITATES INTERMITTENTLY. THE TRANSMISSION INTERMITTENTLY SLIPS OUT OF GEAR WHEN THE CONSUMER WAS ACCELERATING FROM A RED LIGHT. *NM UPDATE: CALLED THE LISTED NUMBER BUT WAS TOLD NO ONE LIVE THERE BY THAT NAME.

1) THE POWER VALVE SCREWS LOCATED IN THE ENGINE INTAKE VALVE ON MY 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA 2.5S HAVE STARTED TO COME LOOSE, CAUSING POWER LOSS IN THE ENGINE. ONE OF THE POWER VALVE SCREWS ACTUALLY CAME LOOSE AND WAS SUCKED INTO THE ENGINE, DAMAGING THE CYLINDERS, THUS RUINING THE ENGINE. THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD, O2 SENSOR AND OTHER COMPONENTS IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT HAVE BEEN DAMAGED ALSO. THIS HAS RESULTED IN SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS WORTH OF DAMAGE, ANYWHERE BETWEEN $1500 TO $7500+ WORTH OF DAMAGE. 2) THE FAILURE IS THAT THESE POWER VALVE SCREWS HAVE COME LOOSE AND STARTED BEING SUCKED INTO THE ENGINE CAUSING HIGH DOLLAR VALUE DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE. MORE IMPORTANT IS THAT THE LOSS OF POWER AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENGINE DURING DRIVING ALMOST CAUSED A FATAL CRASH THAT WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN MY DEATH AND THE DEATH OF OTHER INDIVIDUALS ON THE HIGHWAY. ADDITIONALLY, EXHAUST IS ESCAPING THE ENGINE AS A RESULT OF THIS PROBLEM BECAUSE THE POWER VALVE SCREW, AFTER BEING SUCKED INTO THE ENGINE AND CAUSING DAMAGE, WENT INTO THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD AND CRACKED IT. EXHAUST FUMES WERE LEAKING FROM THE CRACK IN THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD POLLUTING THE ENVIRONMENT AND CAUSING ME PERSONAL DAMAGE FROM THE FUMES AND OTHER COMPLICATIONS. NISSAN NORTH AMERICA IS ALREADY AWARE OF THIS EXACT ISSUE IN THEIR 2004 AND 2005 NISSAN ALTIMAS WITH THE SAME ENGINE AS MINE, WHICH IS THE 2.5S ENGINE. THEY ARE IN THE MIDST OF CONDUCTING A SERVICE RECALL RELATED TO THIS ISSUE. HOWEVER, THEY ARE NOT ADDRESSING THE ISSUE IN MY 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA. 3) NISSAN HAS DONE NOTHING TO CORRECT THIS ISSUE. MY DEALER, WOODMEN NISSAN OF COLORADO SPRINGS HAS WORKED TO COMMUNICATE WITH NISSAN NORTH AMERICA TO MAKE THEM AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND ADD THE 2003 MODEL TO THE RECALL. HOWEVER, NISSAN NORTH AMERICA HAS DECLINED BOTH MY AND THE DEALERSHIPS REQUEST TO ADDRESS THIS COSTLY AND SERIOUSLY DANGEROUS/FATAL FLAW IN THE AUTOMOBILE. *JB