CarComplaints.com Notes: Here's a disturbing trend for the 2002 Nissan Altima: the engine starts burning oil like crazy, the catalytic converter goes bad, the head gasket blows and eventually the entire engine needs replacement. Sound familiar? Like a script from a horror film, these Altimas seem doomed to fail around 95k miles.
2.9
hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
48,103 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Purchased vehicle July 3, 2006. August 8, 2006- service engine light reported multi cylinder misfire, spark plugs were replaced. Feb 07- same code found and spark plugs and O2 sensors replaced. June 07- same code, engine floods twice, car crank but wont start and spark plugs, coils, fuel pump replaced. Nissan tech couldn't duplicate the problem but mentioned coolant was low and so that was why the cylinder misfire and head gaskets need to be fixed. Oct. 07 engine shut off about 4 times while driving. November 07- engine fails. No recourse from Nissan Consumer Affairs nor where Nissan car was purchased.
-the contact owns a 2002 Nissan Altima there is a recall on the fuel pump screen which caused the engine to stall, and the engine service light to remain on. During the diagnosis they found a service engine code pertaining to the catalyst. He took it to the dealership and called Nissan, who inform him that the dealer would fix it, but Nissan called back refusing to cover the cost of the repair. The failure mileage was 74,000, and the current mileage was 80,000. The manifold exhaust was replaced, when the vehicle was in idle, it would surge. The air bag sensor was replaced. Updated 05/22/07.
Repairs required for 3 recalls, replacement or radiator and mass airflow sensor. However, manufacturer is willing to pay replacement of radiator, but won't pay for the replacement of mass airflow sensor.
The first incident was on December 3, 2002 when my car engine ceased to function on the interstate at 70mph. There was no warning and the engine light did not come on. Vehicle was towed to the dealership and the computer was replaced. On January 15, 2003, again on the interstate, the vehicle experienced the same problem. It ceased function and the engine light didn't come on. The vehicle was again towed and this time the problem has been diagnosed as a malfunction with fuel pump. The fuel pump and gas tank are scheduled to be replaced and pieces of metal were found in the gas tank.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Atlanta, GA, USA