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Sedans Nissan Altima Nissan Altima Engine Failures
498 messages, Last post on Nov 23, 2009 at 6:40 PM
You are in the Nissan Altima Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
I've just found this website and am in the very same boat with the rest of you!!! My 2002 Altima started having problems a couple of years ago, they performed all the recalls on it and it's been constant problems for the last year. They replaced the catalytic converter last April, then in Nov. we were astounded to learn that it's sucking oil at incredible rates. We are prepared to "dump it" as soon as possible, but it angers me to think that Nissan has produced such a horrible product. How can a car with 58,000 miles on it be ready for the trash??? Has anyone gotten ANY satisfaction from Nissan?
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Replying to: gp0137 (Jan 07, 2009 1:05 pm) BEWARE. After the engine was replaced, I suddenly needed a new $800 MAF (mass airflow sensor) to cure stumbling problems on accelerations and a lot of unburnt gas smell on cold startups. I actually think the failed MAF was the root cause of all of this, as the excess unburnt fuel would be dealt with primarly by the pre-cats which would lead to premature breakdown (dealership told me the method of failure of the catalytic material is micro-detonations in the honeycomb structure...well blobs of fuel spraying out with hot exhaust gases ought to qualify). My biggest beef is that no warning light ever came on, not for the low oil, not for the failed MAF and O2 sensors, not for the failed pre-cats. As I stated in my post (Nov 23?) above I did get full satisfaction in terms of an engine replacment...though I only had 45kmi on it.
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Replying to: fboner (Jan 08, 2009 7:56 am) Again, thanks
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Replying to: gp0137 (Jan 08, 2009 9:00 am) Good Luck E.D. in Sunny Florida |
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Replying to: jdiggityd (Oct 25, 2008 11:37 am) |
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There is some fantastic information here, I really appreciate all of the work E.D. and others have put in! My mechanical knowledge is very limited, so I've tried to absorb what I've seen here and apply it to my situation. I have some conflicting information on my particular Altima, so I thought I would request advice. My 2002 2.5 had the SES light on a couple of months ago, so I took it to my local dealer and it was just a gas cap/tank issue (replaced the cap, and repainted inside the tank door.) They suggested not trying to top-up on fillups (stop when the nozzle first stops) to avoid reoccurrence. This month, my SES light came on again. Not worried, it went away after a fill up. A week later, it was on again and wouldn't go off. I took it to the dealership after another week (this last Friday), and was shocked to hear that the failure was P0420, that the precat was breaking apart/missing, the oil was low, the new noise I was hearing was the timing chain, and the engine would have to be replaced!!! With a couple of extra things like a new clutch, estimated cost for engine assembly, etc. $5900 CDN plus tax. So, I spent all weekend doing research on the problem, expecting that I would have to scrape around to get another used car. I'm trying to move overseas sometime this year - this would really hurt because I will want to get rid of it just before I go in 6-8 months and need it for work until then. I paid off the car a few years ago and have had it serviced regularly at Nissan. They did regular service, and the noise I had heard was gone. IMO, it was likely the low oil and the engine complaining. I took the car in today to a local mechanic, and gave them the story. They would perform a diagnostic for a second opinion, and could probably find me a new engine somewhat cheaper than the dealer (though still not super cheap). Their results - they said the cat was plugged, but they didn't think it blew into the engine! Spark plugs reasonably clean. Compression tests were ok (150's on all), and they noticed no noises from the timing chain or otherwise. No blue in the exhaust. Their suggestion was to replace the cat and flush the engine to clean out any residue.  Any suggestions on which way to go?
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Replying to: unitedcigar (Jan 26, 2009 9:24 am)
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Replying to: dmforce (Jan 26, 2009 11:09 am) I'll post again after I see how it goes. |
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Replying to: unitedcigar (Jan 28, 2009 6:25 am) Here is what I have to say for you, your option #2 is probably the best thing for you to do at this time, but may not be the cheapest though. I don't know what State you live in and what the emission testing requirements are required there, but if allowable, you can take off the Precat and hollow it out, instead of buying a new one. That could save you hundreds of dollars, and you could do it yourself, even without having to remove it from the car. Before you start, run the engine and check to see if you have good exhaust flow out the tailpipes, if not you might have a restriction in the 2nd Cat to check for. Let the car cool down, then jack up the car safely on sturdy safety stands, and get under the car and separate the exhaust pipe from the bottom of the Precat, remove both of the oxygen sensors so that they won't get damaged (buy a special oxygen sensor socket for this), then through the bottom opening of the Precat, you can use some metal rods or screwdrivers to break the material inside the Precat apart and let the materal fall out the bottom opening. You might need to fabricate a metal wire hook to pull some parts out, like parts of the metal screens, and you can start the engine for 2 seconds to blow out loose pieces. Once it is hollowed out, reinstall the upper oxygen sensor, and you would have to put the $5 O2 cheater on the 2nd oxygen sensor to keep the SES light from coming on. Also, while the exhaust pipe is loose, it is a good time to check the second Cat that is under the car before the muffler to be sure that it is not restricted. In my case, the stuff from inside the Precat all came loose, blew down the exhaust pipe and plugged up the second CAT. That is why I had to hollow out both the Precat and the 2nd Cat. See message #256, that I have copied for you below. #265 of 356 Re: How do you avoid this? [lnesomdove] by electricdesign Apr 27, 2008 (7:58 am) Replying to: lnesomdove (Apr 25, 2008 5:46 am) "what do you do to insure that yours isn't one of those 5% if you choose to keep this car? " First, you have to be sure that the engine is not too far damaged, and using too much oil. Once it is using more than a quart per 1000 miles, it is probably too late. My daughters 2002 Altima was using about 1 quart in 1500 miles when I worked on it in Decenber 2007. The first Cat blew itself clean out and the second Cat was plugged up. Now it is running fine with both Cats hollowed out and a new head gasket. I estimate that it is now using 1 quart of oil in about 2500 to 3000 miles. We don't have an emissions inspection here in Florida, so we can run it that way. To keep the "Sevice Engine Soon" light from staying on, I put the "$5 02 Cheater", mentioned in previous posts, on the second oxygen sensor, and it works fine, keeps the light off. That's the way to keep the engine running fine, if yours is not too far gone. If the engine is too far gone & using too much oil, nothing will fix it but a new engine. If you start to get the problem and the engine is not too far gone, and you live in an emissions testing state, you would need to put on a new Precat/Exhaust manifold at the very first sign of the Cat going bad, before the engine is damaged. A new Cat will NOT fix a damaged engine. Owners and buyers Beware, Check that CAT at every service and check the oil level often, at least once a week. This is a known problem, so look out for it! Good Luck, E.D. in Sunny Florida
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Replying to: electricdesign (Jan 31, 2009 10:31 am) I have an '05 Altima S, w/ I4 engine and 64K miles, with no know problems mentioned thru these posts YET, except cold heat air temp at idle {which I will address w/ burping technique in service bulletin see NTB02-047b (2002-2003 Altima: Poor Heater Performance) and possible thermostat replacement's }. My state presently has no emissions testing done and I wish to gutt the precat and leave the 2nd -main cat converter in place. Needless to say, neither Nissan dealers, nor most repair shops will do this work for me. I will be trying to find some competent young neighborhood shadetree mechanic to help me with this extra-legal workaround. My question relates to the removal of Pre-CAT, and resolution of the required difference between the voltages of the upstream and downstream O2 sensors. Several sources and discussion groups talk of an aftermarket replacement/ and modified O2 sensor, cheater plug to augment the difference, lengthened wiring to aid in the voltage diff., etc..This is the same motor/pre-cat setup as the Nissan Sentra, and here is a link to a discussion in one of their forums elsewhere on the web regarding cheaters, and outright removal with an aftermarket header replacement, albeit the header solution is more work: http://www.b15sentra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=135241 Does anyone know of a specific source/ supplier of these O2 sensor parts and the custom tool for removal that electric design used in his engine work (so laboriously photographed and posted on Snapfish. Thanks for any help, aquatect1951.
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