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Sedans Nissan Altima Nissan Altima Engine Failures
495 messages, Last post on Nov 06, 2009 at 9:53 AM
You are in the Nissan Altima Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
New to the forum, and have read many posts relating to the Cat Converter. Similar issues, CEL and SES lights. After diagnostic the PO420 code came up. Took to dealer to handle recalls and was told the Cat Converter needed to be replaced. I bought pre-owned, certified w/ 33k miles, now has 85k and I'm being told it is out of warranty. Trying to fight it with Nissan USA, has anyone had any luck doing this?? I am awaiting a call from a "regional customer service" person....any help is MUCH appreciated...thanks...
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Replying to: steinba1 (Nov 12, 2008 8:41 am)  yahoo.com
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Replying to: dev923 (Nov 06, 2008 6:50 am) link title
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Replying to: jd10013 (Nov 14, 2008 5:45 pm) We took it for a second opinion they said that it had something to do with one of the pistons miss firing. This place also informed us that they are pretty sure,there was some sort of a recall on either the engine or someething to do with the engine with the Altima and that we should definetely go back to Nissan. I will take the car to the dealership on Monday and will keep u all updated . I really hope there is a recall..........or else...........I 'm contacting NISSAN US for sure. Cars DO NOT NEED AN ENGINE REPLACEMENT IN 61/2 YEARS.
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Replying to: cdsjavaguy (Nov 15, 2008 8:15 pm) I think there's a reason why most manufacturers only offer 5 years warranty on the powertrain. I know most engines can be last longer than 5-6 years but the chance that something will be broke down is higher after 5 years. |
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Replying to: dmforce (Nov 13, 2008 7:07 pm) |
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Well, they did it. I have a brand new V6 engine, 2 x new pre-cats and 2 x new oxygen sensors installed in my 7yr old car with only 45kmi on it ALL courtesy of Nissan. I have no idea of the final cost (~$6K), but the page of gaskets required must've run $500 or more alone... Acceleration rattle has *finally* gone away! Presumably so too the mysteriously disappearing oil problem... It took them two days to do. (BTW the car passed it's emissions test not 3 months earlier with flying colours, and no lights, no SES, no oil, ever came on) Dealership swears up and down that the new parts have improved formulations and won't suffer the same breakdown as the original parts. ECM was not reprogrammed. I'm going to keep the car, as I still like driving it a lot, and even if it does melt down in another 7 years...I'll probably have got my money's worth. That said, I'm so glad I hadn't packed the miles on it like I used to, or I would've blown the 8yr/130km warranty and be stuck with the mother of all repair bills (like so many on this site)...and be in a bit of a quandary, as in to how to dispose of the car-cass least recklessly... Thank you Nissan for standing by your product (well, to a point). |
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I own a 2002 Nissan Altima 2.5l with 73,000 miles. The SES light turned on 2 days after I had the oil changed and air filter replaced. I was able to find out the error code myself and it was reading ATF temperature sensor error. I then took the car to the dealership and was charged $100 to be told that it was indeed an ATF temperature sensor error and then an additional $200 to have the transmission fluid replaced. The dealership said the computer was reading a solenoid malfunction but when the mechanic checked it he concluded that there was nothing wrong so they just changed the transmission fluid. One week after having the light reset at the dealership and the transmission fluid replaced the SES light came on again. This time the code is p0302 (cylinder 2 misfire). I am not sure what to do at this point because the dealership told me that if the light were to come back on I would have to replace the solenoid which would cost about $600-$700. Although, I am hesitant because the error code is now something else. After reading several post from others with the similar dilemma I am not sure what to do. I feel like this SES light coming on is a chain reaction to many other problems and will only turn out to be money spent on a never ending problem. If someone could please give me some advice, it would be greatly appreciated. I am a girl and feel that every time I go to the Nissan dealership I am hustled and end up paying hundreds of dollars for minor problems all the while the mechanic is ignoring the major problem.
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Replying to: mj4248 (Nov 22, 2008 1:41 pm) First, it is good that you are able to get the DTC's read for you, probably at an autoparts store or friend. Every person that drives a modern car should have or have acess to a DTC reader, one that can read the codes and clear the codes, at the minimum. There are better code Scanners that do more functions for more money, but those Scanners are for people who are more mechanical and work on their cars. I think owning a good Scanner is a very wise investment, I use mine for all my cars, and sometimes my friends cars. Seach for them with Google. So rule one is to be able to read the Codes and be able to clear the codes (turn off the SES light). Second, interpreting codes and repairing the problem can be done by places other than just the dealer. It would not hurt to have someone else look at the car and tell you what is wrong, what needs to be fixed and how much it will cost. A lot of places will take a look at it at no cost, so look around and find a good mechanic shop, and shop the market and the prices. If the car seems to be running ok with no problem, and the code is read and it does not seem to be a critical problem or a life safety problem, then clear the code to turn off the SES light, and see if the SES light returns. If it does, then investigate the problem further. If you have a real transmission problem or a real engine problem , you will be able to FEEL it or HEAR it, So rule two is to shop around. Third, I am not sure why the transmission error code apppeared and then went away. The best thing to do with this is to monitor the situation and see if it comes back, instead of automatically throwing money at it. In fact, just because the SES light comes on, does not mean you have to spend money on it. So rule three is don't spend money on the car just because the SES light came on, check it out and research it first. Google the Code number and find out all about it, and then ask about it on here. Fourth, the PO302 code is cylinder 2 misfire, have you noticed and missing or engine not seem to run right, sluggish, hesitation, stalling, hard starting or anything like that? Reset and clear the code and see if it comes back. This could be caused by several things. If it comes back, you may have to have a mechanic do some general test to find out the general health of the engine and try to pinpoint the problem. Some test may include a cylinder compression test, a vaccum test, a cylinder leakdown test, ignition test, fuel injector test, sensors test, wiring test, etc. After researching the problem, ask back here if you need to. So in general, if the car seems to be running ok with no problem, and the code is read and it does not seem to be a critical problem or a life safety problem, then clear the code to turn off the SES light, and see if the SES light returns. If it does, then investigate the problem further. If you have a real transmission problem or a real engine problem , you will be able to FEEL it or HEAR it, Good Luck, E.D. in Sunny Florida |
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Replying to: mj4248 (Nov 22, 2008 1:41 pm) One dealer ship says we need to replace the engine and another says our cylinder is misfiring. We also went back to the dealership we bought the car from, to check all the recalls and supposedly we've got everythig done and the problem we are having has nothing to do with the recalls. THe dealership, also suggested that we should call the MANUFACTURER, NISSAN USA and explain the problem to them and if they get enough complaints they may HAVE to do something. SO I WOULD SUGGEST, TO EVERYONE HERE ON THIS SITE TO CALL NISSAN 1-800-NIS-SAN1 AND COMPLAIN ABOUT THE PROBLEM WE ARE ALL HAVING. I KNOW, I'M GOING TO CALL THEM FIRST THING TOMORROW MORNING. I think it's rediculous that I have to pretty much get rid of this car and buy a new one, only after 61/2 yrs. I'm not giving up on this easily. Reading everyone's experiences here enssures me that there is obviously a manufactures defect in this model. By the way you should not feel hastled you because you are a girl. I am a girl , I understand how you feel. At this time, I can only suggest that you also make that one phone call to Nissan and lets see what happens. I'm ready to make sure that Nissan has a good explanation for this or they will never hear the end of it. |
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