I have taken my car to the dealer of purchase six times and to another Nissan dealer once. The dealer can't find or replicate the problem, so they say. It's at the dealer now and they have had it for two full days now. The chief mechanic drove the car instead of his own car and just called me to say that he can't find anything wrong and the smell is not there and that I can pick up my leased vehicle (voice mail). I am working also with my second agent from Nissan Customer Affairs with this same issue to no avail.

My next call is to an attorney and the Illinois State's Attorney General because this is totally unexceptionable the way that they are handling this matter. I driving around in a rented gas greedy mini van because it was all that they had when I dropped off my Altima for service. I politely informed the dealership of their options; 1 find the problem and fix it; 2 replace the vehicle with one similar or 3; Keep it!

Update from May 20, 2015: Turns out, the trouble was with the ac system. Water that was supposed to drain from the ac and end up outside of the vehicle, was somehow recirculating through the vents resulting in mold buildup. Nissan actually did not make me aware of this condition. After I got my vehicle from them on my final repair visit to their dealership, the tech told me to periodically spray odor eliminating air freshener into the vents, which he gave me a free can to take with me. About two weeks later I was preparing to do as he said and when I paid closer attention to the can, on the label in small print it said ,"also kills mold and mildew". I immediately took the vehicle to another (non Nissan) mechanic and explained the trouble to her. The mechanic not only knew that I had a faulty ac system (clog/faulty condenser and drainage issues), but she also proved it by showing me the problem within 15 minutes of arriving at the shop. She also opened up sections of the venting and cabin filter area to show me the mold and mildew buildup. I returned the vehicle to the dealership, but not before documenting my experience with the Illinois Attorney General and also visited my family doctor for an exam. I did this just in case I experience any future adverse health complications due to the neglect of Nissan. They gave me the run-a-round for over 18 months. Needless to say, I gave them back their lemon.

I purchased a 2012 Nissan Altima brand new in March 2012. This past summer my car's cabin started to smell badly while the a/c was running and sometimes while it was off. Once while I was driving, I could hear what sounded like water dripping on the passenger side of the car! I took the car to Nissan of Newport News. Twice they said they could not find the problem. I started having breathing problems and went to the ER where they discovered that I have bacteria growing in my lungs that I inhaled. Where did it come from the a/c in my new Altima!!! I spent 6 days in the hospital in isolation!!! I had someone take the car to an independent repair shop. We explained the problem and the mechanic said that it is a design flaw with Nissan whereby by condensation collects in the a/c unit. Mold and or mildew begins to grow. He said the same problem happened with his wife's late model Nissan SUV (except she didn't get sick). I had the car taken back to the Nissan service dept. Once again thus time after tearing down the dash board they said they still can't find the source of the problem! I got a lab kit from a lab in town. The a/c vents were swabbed two weeks later the lab results found five types of bacteria and three types of mold living in the a/c vents of my car!!! Seriously??? I opened a complaint ticket with Nissan Customer Relations and the service writer at the dealership did as well. They sent a rep up from Tennessee. He wanted to say that the particles under my dashboard is pollen. The lab results didn't say any pollen was present! Two weeks after his visit I got a call from Nissan Customer Relations and I was told that they will not buy back he car because I didn't bring it in to the service department enough times. I brought it in three times for the same complaint! So, basically they are ignoring the fact that I was hospitalized for their faulty HVAC system, they're ignoring the lab reports, and the opinion of a well known service repair shop?! WTF- I guess it is time to lawyer up! I will NEVER buy another Nissan product again!!!