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Sedans Nissan Altima Nissan Altima Engine Failures
497 messages, Last post on Nov 21, 2009 at 8:01 PM
You are in the Nissan Altima Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: pure_hp (Feb 11, 2008 8:20 pm) The Altimas themselves are lovely cars and are fun to drive. My daughters 2002 is a dream to drive, she really loves it. I think almost everyone who drives them loves them. It's just the people who have problems with them get disgusted with them, but who can blame them? Since I fixed the engine in my daughters 2002 Altima, it is again a dream to drive. It was a really nice test drive after I put the engine together, I spared it no mercy, slammed it through the gears, blasted to over a 100 mph pretty quick for just a little 2.5L engine! It drives great and handles great. They are great cars, its just a shame that some have these problems. I have been researching the problems with the engine, trying to figure out what the problem is or was, and this research has been ongoing, even until now. I started researching and thinking about this since September 2007, when the cat clogged up on the 2002, and I unplugged the cat. Then I went on to therorize how the oil consumption problem was related to the cat converter failure problem, and they definitely are related. Then I had to tear down my daughters 2002 in Dec 2007 due to head gasket leakage, to replace the head gasket and repair the head. I think that the head gasket problem had to do with the engine overheating more than anything else. But in the process of repairing the engine, I made sure the cats were all unplugged, and they have not been a problem since then. It seems that the oil burning is greatly reduced (I will be able to confirm this in a few months). My daughter is driving it every day, and says it's running great. My thoughts at this time is that the real problem was not in the engine, but in the defective cat, which then causes the problems in the engine. In taking the engine apart and putting it together, I was quite impressed with the design of the engine, and it seems to be built to be quite reliable. I have also continued my research looking at other make and models of engines, and found that the other makes also use the same type of layout and design of the exhaust and cats, and are not having these problems, which further leads me to believe the oil consumption problem in the Altimas was due to bad cats, cats deteriorating, and NOT from bad design. So it seems to me that if the cat is good and does not break down, the engine should last a long time, a normal lifetime. So hopefully Nissan took note of the problem and is putting better cats in the newer cars. The only thing is, the problem will not show up until much later, if it shows up at all. Time will tell. In summary, I think if you buy a new Altima and drive it for a few years, and then trade it in, you should be fine. I think the main concern should be for those used car buyers who are in the market buying 5 or 6 year old cars out of warrenty with about 80,000 or more miles on them. They may not be aware of the problem and buy the car, and then have the engine go out shortly thereafter, a very unfortunate disaster for a young hopeful buyer. Good luck and happy driving, E.D. in Sunny Florida
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Replying to: electricdesign (Feb 12, 2008 8:17 pm) 
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Replying to: pure_hp (Feb 12, 2008 5:15 pm) different people have different opinions and experiences when it comes to reliablitly, but this is my third nissan product. the first one, a sentra, lasted 220k miles with no major repairs, and was traded in still running. My second, a 1998 200sx, has 151k miles, I still own, is still running, and I drive it to and from work (about 50 miles per day) four days a week. in the 10 years I've owned it I've had to put 2 sets of front brakes on it. Thats it. brakes twice in 10yrs and 151,000 miles. those two nissan vehicles are the reason I bought my altima over a camry, accord, or other mid size. |
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let me start off by saying i'm new to this forum....i have a 2002 altima 3.5(auto) with 62000 miles...recently i have had problems accelerating when getting on the freeway or just playing around...it seems to be bogging around 3500rpm to about 4700rpm and then open back up to redline..its very annoying and i'm worried..i do have a couple upgrades like a cold air intake, exhaust and no resonators..i have heard that it can be either the mass air flow meter or tranny problems...has anyone had this problem and what do i do??
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Replying to: altimavq35 (Feb 14, 2008 12:19 pm)
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Replying to: aguarino (Feb 14, 2008 3:55 pm)  .......
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Replying to: altimavq35 (Feb 14, 2008 4:16 pm) |
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Replying to: electricdesign (Feb 12, 2008 8:17 pm) I just bought a 2002 Altima in january with 90K miles and in the first week heat stopped working.......after 3 weeks i had the engine problem and thank god i had the extended warranty so they changed the whole engine.........now i am in a doubt.... should i keep the car or not? ............any suggestions.....please help Thanks once again |
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| ASJ YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS....HOW COMFORTABLE DO YOU FEEL WITH THE CAR? IS THE CATALYTIC CONVERTOR CHANGED? IS THE WARRANTY GOING TO STAND UP FOR ANOTHER ENGINE? DO YOU WANT TO DRIVE IN FEAR OF THIS CAR FAILING YOU AGAIN? ARE THERE ANY OTHER CARS ON THE MARKET THAT YOU YOU WOULD CONSIDER HASELL FREE? IF THE ANSWER IS "YES" TO ANY OF THESE FIND ANOTHER CAR | |
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Replying to: electricdesign (Jan 28, 2008 8:43 pm) Thanks for all the detailed postings and pictures. It’s nice to have you here, knowing the inside of this Nissan engine and the problems with the oil consumption. I have an 02 Altima I purchased new and now has 100,000 miles. Have religiously changed oil and filter between 3-4,000 miles. Have had all the recalls done at the dealership when notified. Car was good to me for five years, requiring routine maintenance and normal wear parts. No significant oil consumption. Mileage got into mid 90’s in late 2007, car started to run rough occasionally, like when there’s condensation in the fuel. Problem was intermittent. Used isopropyl in fuel, but that didn’t fix it. Also, the heater started blowing cool when idle, which made me think low water or weak water pump. Took to my Goodyear mechanic, a good guy and capable mechanic. Looked at computer codes, suggested changing gas cap to clear the codes and radiator cap to see if that improved the heat . He also backflushed the heater core and it got better for a few thousand miles, but it still continued to run rough occasionally for short bursts of time. Then the excess oil consumption started. Maybe 1 quart / 1,000 at first. Took back to Goodyear January, 2008. Replaced PCV valve, but no change in consumption. Back to Goodyear again February, checked water for trace carbon, but zero. Checked oil for presence of water but none. Compression check yielded 149, 151, 150, 149 which he thought was OK (do you agree?). Did leak down test and pressure held good. Pulled the plugs but they were dry, with a little white powder residue. Replaced plugs. Mechanic found oil in line leading from PCV valve so he replaced the valve again in the unlikely event that the new one he installed the first time was bad. Car is now using about 1 quart / 200 miles. Mechanic thinks he should remove valve cover to see if oil return ports are clogged, allowing oil to accumulate in top side of engine, filling to the point where the PCV is located and allowing oil to escape there. I decided to call the local Nissan dealer to ask the Service Manager if this problem has presented with other cars. She indicated that she has seen a couple with excess oil consumption, that the cat was the problem causing the cylinder walls to score. When I asked her if a compression check should confirm her suspicion, she indicated that it may not (what do you think?). I don’t understand this, but she’s the mechanic. She said that if the cat was indeed my problem, a rebuilt engine was the only fix. So, my question to you – is there any merit in pulling the valve cover and checking the oil return ports, or is it a foregone conclusion that I have the dreaded catalytic converter problem? I called Nissan North America to see what they know, but they won’t talk to me until I have the problem diagnosed by their dealer. They said they would entertain Goodwill Assistance, but they needed dealer-provided diagnostics first. Your advice, sir?
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