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Nissan Altima Engine Failures

683 messages,  Last post on May 08, 2013 at 10:43 PM

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What is this discussion about? Nissan Altima, Engine, Sedan

    
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Messages Page 16 of 69

#145 of 683 2002 Nissan Altima Oil Burning / Engine Failure & Replacements by czander

Jan 06, 2008 (11:34 am)

If we all take actions, in 3 months we should hear something. I have read and heard at least 25+ complaints about 2002 Altima to-date from websites and from Buick and Dodge dealer servicemen. Clearly, Nissan won't do anything until someone else does. I have a 2002 Altima S as well, also had the same engine/oil problem in September 07. I changed my oil on 9/4/07, had to refill it again on 9/10 and again on 9/19. I was out of town for five days, a friend of mine drove the car (had her 8 yr old daughter with her at 8pm in the evening on a highway) then the engine blew. It cost me $2000. How ridiculous that there are Nissan is not stepping forward to recall this vehicle. WHAT TO DO: Write the Better Business Bureau and the Illinois Attorney General. Remember to: 1) include reciepts and written testimony from mechanics, 2) Print as many complaints from others you can find on blogs, exchange boards, etc. and include them; and 3) write the number of hours and inconvenience and any safety concerns.
Regards, C Zander

#146 of 683 Re: 2002 Nissan Altima Oil Burning / Engine Failure & Replacements [czander by gooddeal2

Jan 06, 2008 (12:05 pm)

Replying to: czander (Jan 06, 2008 11:34 am)
I have read and heard at least 25+ complaints about 2002 Altima to-date from websites and from Buick and Dodge dealer servicemen.
 
First, you don't need to post the same messages 2 or even 4 times to make your point.
 
Second, I just don't see why Nissan should pay for your repairs as your car isn't under warranty any more. I think it's a problem if they try to deny to fix your car if the car is still under warranty. There're defect cars with any manufacturers. Cars are not designed to last forever that's why most manufacturers only offer 5 years warranty.

#147 of 683 Re: 2002 Altima oil burning /engine failure problem [czander] by electricdesign

Jan 06, 2008 (7:24 pm)

Replying to: czander (Jan 06, 2008 10:55 am)
czander, you don't need to post 5 messeges to say the same thing, just draft one messge, preview and edit it, add to it or subtract from it, preview it again, and when it finally looks like it says everything you want to say, hit the "Post My Messege" button. While you are drafting your messege, you can preview it an endless number of times, to be sure that it is exactly the way you want it. Even after you posted the messege, if you see something you want to change or add, you can still edit the messege for 30 minutes after you have post it.
 
That being said, I understand your frustration, as all the Nissan Altima owners here with problem engines are equally upset. I'm sure everyone here expects the engine in their car to last over 100,000 miles if taken care of properly, regardless of the warrenty. I always expect my engines to last over 200,000 miles, and they do, because I always fully research and buy only vehicles that are known to be RELIABLE, and I take exceptionally good care of them. I DID NOT buy this 2002 Nissan Altima 2.5s, my daugther did, and I am trying to help her out. Her fight is MY fight! The Factory Warranty is needed to protect the customer because in mass production, there are bound to be some mistakes, and the warranty should protect the customer from such mistakes. But I believe that all modern vehicles have a "reasonable lifetime" based on the modern design practices, materials and technology of today. But the responsibilty of the Manufacturer ends at the end of the warrany, unless some sort of legal action could prevail against them (I'm not an attorny, so I can only give my opinion on that). I have been on many Web Sites about this and I have not yet heard of any attorny, action or court case prevailing against Nissan concerning these beyond warranty Altima engine issues yet. Nissan is apparantly NOT going to do anything about the problem, other than to tell you to check your engine oil level, maintain all required service and to keep the engine oil filled up to the proper level to "avoid an engine fire". How comforting that is! So, to build a case against Nissan, it would seem to me that you would have to prove a reasonable expectation of how long the engine should last, and somehow hold them to that, even if beyond the warrany period. The warrany period is legally defined, and as far as Nissan is concerned, that is how long the engine, transmission and the rest of the car is supposed to last. I am hoping that a sharp attorny, or team of Attornys will arise and file a class action lawsuit for the Nissan Altima Owners against the Nissan Corporation and prevail in this case using something like a basis of Nissans faulty design of the Altima's engine and exhaust sytstem, causing damage and suffering to it's customers. I have suffered enough with my daughters 2002 Nissan Altimas 2.5S, it has caused me much pain, suffering, time, money and has changed my life forever. This problem is now occuring on many of these Altimas everywhere, I am hearing about it every day all over the internet, more and more every day. If this gets large enough, I'm hoping it will attract national attention, and that some sharp attorny, or team of attornys will take an interest in persuing a lawsuit, if it looks like he or they might be able to prevail. I've been ready to jump on the bandwagon for a long time.
To all that are reading these current posts (messeges), much has been said and posted here about all these problem engine issues in this Forum. If you have not done so, please read all the posts in this Forum from begining to end. That's going to be about 147 posts in this Forum so far. I started posting in this Forum with Messege #75 and on. Please read them if you can.
I sincerely wish good luck to all of you. May the Force be with you!
E.D. in Sunny Florida

#148 of 683 Altima engine problems by blackaltima

Jan 08, 2008 (9:16 am)

I have a 03 Altima S and am having the same problems. I just talked to Nissan about it yesterday and they are telling me there is nothing they will do about it.
 
Nissan told me the cause of the problem is the catalytic converter went bad and the internal parts started breaking down into very small pieces. After that happens once you start the engine the initial suction on the exhaust system sucks the small pieces into the engine. If you don't have the converter replaced immediately after it goes bad
it will damage the engine thus leading to oil consumption, noises, and possible loss of power. Nissan told me the only way to fix this problem is to have the engine replaced.
The service tech on the phone admitted this is a common problem with these vehicles.
Something needs to be done about this and Nissan needs to deal with it.

#149 of 683 Re: Altima engine problems [blackaltima] by czander

Jan 08, 2008 (10:01 am)

Replying to: blackaltima (Jan 08, 2008 9:16 am)
Thanks for your email. I did learn from another website (automotive dot com) that some who works at a law firm has already began a Class Action Law Suit.
So write your Attorney General and inquire if there is something already in progress so you can be included. Also include your story, your receipts and any statements, storys or websites that have posted complaints by others you can find on the internet. Good luck ~
 
Clearly, Edmunds needs to have a database that also generates letters automatically to these state agencies and business bureaus. Many associations and lobbiests use these types of sophisticated sharable/exchange databases. I'll write Edmunds with my suggestion -- it certainly would be word $9.95 per letter just to be heard!

#150 of 683 Re: 2002 Altima oil burning /engine failure problem [electricdesign] by czander

Jan 08, 2008 (10:11 am)

Replying to: electricdesign (Jan 06, 2008 7:24 pm)
Thanks so much for the information! I also located someone on automotive dot com that has a Nissan Altima, and works for an attorney. He has already began compiling a Class Action Suit.
 
I will take your thougths into consideration when constructing my letter to the Attorney General (and copy Nissan) and inquire if there is something already in progress. Also will include your whole story, receipts and any other statements, stories or websites that have posted complaints by others.
 
I've recommended to Edmunds -- to offer a database that services this process and generates letters automatically to state agencies, business bureaus, etc. Many associations and lobbiests use these types of sophisticated sharable/exchange databases. It certainly would be worth $9.95 per letter to have some confirmation that the information we are spending minutes compiling would be put in the hands of those who could do something with it sooner than later.
 
thanks again ~

#151 of 683 Re: THREAD FOR ACTION! Nissan Altima 2002 oil burning/engine failure [czander] by mrsbryant1976

Jan 08, 2008 (2:16 pm)

Replying to: czander (Jan 06, 2008 10:59 am)
I am having the same problem. On Janurary 2, 2007 my car wouldn't start. I had it towed to Nissan they reprogrammed the ECM and replaced the headlights which was another recall. When I got my car back my car was smoking they said it is possible I have cracked heads. I had no problem until it wouldn't crank. It drove fine on the first. Now Nissan is telling me I will have to pay to get new heads.

#153 of 683 Posting contact information by pat

Jan 08, 2008 (3:42 pm)

Just a note about posting personal contact information - for your own safety and security, please do not do that.
 
You can contact each other through your carspace email accounts and/or you can make your email address public in your profile. Doing either of those things provides you with a much higher degree of safety than posting any information on a public webpage such as this.
 
Please also understand that we can't support solicitation for class action suits. We understand that there are reasons you'd like to be in touch with each other, but please don't associate it with anything that can be construed as solicitation for legal action. Take it off the boards.
 
Thanks!

#154 of 683 Re: THREAD FOR ACTION! Nissan Altima 2002 oil burning/engine failure [mrsbryant1976] by electricdesign

Jan 09, 2008 (7:47 am)

Replying to: mrsbryant1976 (Jan 08, 2008 2:16 pm)
What engine does your Altima have? I noticed that you said "Now Nissan is telling me I will have to pay to get new heads". If you have more than one head, you must have the 3.5L V6 engine. I think the discussion here about the catalytic converter and oil buring is referring to the 2.5L I4 engines. I am not sure of how the catalytic converters are arranged on the V6 engine setup. The 2.5L engine has the pre-catalyst built into the exhaust manifold. I do not know it the V6 pre-catalyst is built or designed the same way. If someone reading here knows about this, please let us know.
Concerning you car smoking, I assume that this smoke is coming out the tailpipe. Has this been verified to be smoke and not steam? Usually a cracked or leaking head will cause radiator coolant to leak into the engine, causing steam out the tailpipe, and cause combustion gas to leak out the radiator and also cause the radiator coolant level to go low, with the radiator coolant mysteriously disssapearing without any noticable leaks. I just had to remove and replace the head on my daughters 2002 Altima 2.5S, the head was warped and had to be milled, but no cracks in the head, just leakage past the head gasket due to the clyinder head warpage of .005". It may be possible for a cracked head to cause oil to leak into the clyinder, but it is not common for that to happen. If they pull the heads off, BE SURE that they are sent out to be checked by a reliable machine shop to check for any cracks or warpage. They can detect any cracks by doing a special pressure test and vacuum test on the head. Have Nissan VERIFY that the heads are bad BEFORE they replace them. After the heads are replaced, the cooling system must be flushed clean and new coolant added. The cooling system must be checked to be sure it is operating correctly, including the radiator, hoses, water pump, cooling fans, and cooling fan controls. On the Altima 2.3S I4 engine, the radiator fans come on when the coolant temperature reaches 203 degrees, and the radiator fans cut off when the coolant level falls to 188 degrees.
Let us know what happens with your car.
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF

Messages Page 16 of 69

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