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.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
72,040 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.

2003 Nissan Altima suspension problems

suspension problem

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2003 Nissan Altima Owner Comments

problem #3

Oct 112009

Altima

  • 76,119 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I bought a Nissan 2003 Altima 2.5S from drive time on 10-09-2009, and as soon as I began to drive the cars I started to feel and hear a vibration and loud knocking sound coming from the front left tire. I took the car to a mechanic and was told that the problem is the front strut mount kit that is rattling and make loud bang which make the front left tier shack violently as if it was going to come off the car. This happens every time I drive on even roads or bumpy roads. The remedy is to replace the strut mount kit completely the cost with labor is $360. I just bought this car from drive time and they refuse to fix the part. They say that it's not a safety issue, but I as the drive feel it is, when the tire feel like it's about to come of the car. As of yet there has not been any accidents, but I feel that if not corrected this may lead to a crash and or a fatality.

- Ocoee, FL, USA

problem #2

May 162009

Altima

  • 110,000 miles
My 2003 Nissan Altima stalls at lights, going slow, does not restarts sometimes, surges forward while driving. The dealer told me the crank sensor needs is faulty, cost 225 dollars with labor. I see some 2003 Altima with a different engine has a voluntary recall from Nissan, but not mine. On the Nissan help.com website there are 40= pages of complaints regarding the same thing on many years of these vehicles with alot of safety concerns. I think all their sensors are bad and all these years Altima vehicles should be recalled.

- Hartland, WI, USA

problem #1

Sep 022006

Altima 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 30,000 miles
My husband's 2003 Nissan Altima crashed him into a parked car when the front suspension bar cracked. It break off was a perfectly straight line. The axel and tire couplings were still intact. Thank god no one was else was hurt, it happened on a busy, narrow village street and the parked car stopped his car from going into a store front or a passerby!

- Farmingdale, NY, USA

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