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Sedans Nissan Altima Nissan Altima Engine Failures
499 messages, Last post on Nov 28, 2009 at 7:05 PM
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I have similar problems with my daugther's 2002 altima engine which caught fire. Of course Nissan North America refuse to do anything about so here is what I have done to get justice: I filed a formal complaint with Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov; click on “consumer protection” then click on “file a complaint” the click on FTC Complaint Assistant” then answer all questions. The form will start out with question about identity theft but keep going because you will get to part to file complaint against Nissan North America. Now, this website: autosafety.org does provide a place for you to check the box if you desire a class action lawsuit. Go the website the click on “file a complaint” then fill out the questionnaire. You will need your vehicles VIN number. I also file a formal complaint to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration nhtsa.dot.gov. This one is important because the more people file complaints the more they will see a need to force Nissan to conduct a recall. Most definitely, make sure you show if the vehicle caught fire or caused a hazardous traffic situation such as stopping suddenly without warning. I went one step further and file a complaint against National Highway Traffic Safety Administration because they keep record of all complaints on a particular vehicle and there are currently 196 pages of complaints regarding the 2002 Altima and the engine problems and nothing has been done. I mailed a letter complaint to U. S. Dept. of Transportation because NHTSA under their jurisdiction. If we follow through then I am sure something will be done but if we chose to just complaint on websites with each other – well – we obviously can’t help each other. |
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Replying to: fedfuzz (Jun 22, 2009 1:28 pm) Now, this website: autosafety.org does provide a place for you to check the box if you desire a class action lawsuit. Go the website the click on “file a complaint” then fill out the questionnaire. You will need your vehicles VIN number. I also file a formal complaint to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration nhtsa.dot.gov. This one is important because the more people file complaints the more they will see a need to force Nissan to conduct a recall. Most definitely, make sure you show if the vehicle caught fire or caused a hazardous traffic situation such as stopping suddenly without warning. I went one step further and file a complaint against National Highway Traffic Safety Administration because they keep record of all complaints on a particular vehicle and there are currently 196 pages of complaints regarding the 2002 Altima and the engine problems and nothing has been done. I mailed a letter complaint to U. S. Dept. of Transportation because NHTSA under their jurisdiction. If we follow through then I am sure something will be done but if we chose to just complaint on website with each other – well – we obviously can’t help each other. |
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Replying to: rondhol (Jul 08, 2009 3:17 pm) Yes, I followed the instructions per the Hayes manual and the alldatadiy site. When doing major work on any modern vehicle, the computer should be unplugged to protect it, due to all the sensor wires that are taken loose and reconnected. There is a possibility of a static electricity charge getting into the computer if it is not disconnected. Disconnecting the computer is for its own protection. If it is not protected, it can cause a problem like you are having, or many other problems. #2 - The spark plug seems to look ok. A lean condition or miss as you descibe could be caused by many different things, computer, MAF, injectors, air leak, vacuum leak, throttle body, head gasket leak, ignition timing, or several of the different sensors.
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Replying to: electricdesign (Jul 12, 2009 4:57 pm) E.D. in Sunny Florida
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Replying to: electricdesign (Jul 13, 2009 7:18 am) Is there any way to clean the combustion chamber without removing the head?
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Replying to: rondhol (Jul 17, 2009 10:34 am) Answer - You could try a couple of things. First you can use a fuel system cleaner or fuel injector cleaner additive that is added to your fuel tank. This may help a little. This should be done on a regular basis anyway, at least at every oil change Second, you can run a small quantity of water through the engine for a short time, while running the engine in Park at about 2000 to 3000 rpm. You can introduce the water into the engine by removing the small hose that plugs into the top of the rubber air tube that runs from the MAF to the throttle body. Place a small funnel into the hole, have a container of water ready, start the engine, have an assistant sit behind the wheel and control the throttle, keeping the rpm at 2000 to 3000 rpm in park and parking brake on, while you slowly pour a small steady stream of water into the funnel, listening to the engine. The engine should continue to run ok, if it starts to choke, stop the water until it recovers, then start again with a smaller stream of water. This may help remove some of the loose carbon that causes the pinging. E.D. in Sunny Florida |
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Replying to: czander (Jan 06, 2008 10:31 am) ************ I have a significant problem. My son purchased a 2002 Nissan Altima with 98,000 miles from a Nissan Dealer off e-Bay in February 2009. Even though the car was sold to us "AS-IS", the dealer was sure to tell us what a great car it was and the only reason they were selling it on e-Bay was because they could not obtain financing for a 2002 vehicle with so many miles. Okay, I accept that. We test drove the car and it was in superior condition. The performance was excellent in every way and we bought the car for $5,250 cash (my son is 17 and had been saving for this car since he was 12). We drove the car home and immediately changed the oil. The honeymoon was over after two weeks when my son took his car into the local mechanic to rotate tires. A routine check of the oil showed it was 2 quarts low. Naturally, we thought the quick-lube place screwed up and we simply topped it off with more oil. After two more weeks, we checked the oil again... it was another 2 quarts low. There was no visual evidence of burning (smoke) and the car passed through NJ emissions inspection without incident... So what the heck??!!?? Our mechanic told us that this problem could be significant, but that there was no way to tell unless the unit was put through an expensive wet-dry compression test. Anyway, we just kept putting oil in the car and assumed that would be the standard (I did it with my Rambler for years)... But the problem got worse. Smoke was beginning to billow from the exhaust. The day before the engine blew out, I took the car to a local Nissan dealer to run a full computer diagnostic evaluation... That's when I got the news that both the engine and catalytic converter needed replacement. Even though the CAT was replaced/serviced under recall from Nissan a few years ago. The cost to me would be over $7,000.00 Here is the problem (and a simple Google of 2002 Altima Engine Problems will turn up hundreds, if not thousands of similar stories). Nissan issued a recall for a faulty sensor within the Altima's catalytic converter. Our Altima was taken by the previous owner in for service under recall shortly after it was issued. This sensor allowed for damage to the catalytic converter, which in turn damaged the piston rings in the engines causing excessive oil burning and ultimately complete engine failure. In cases where Nissan "reprogrammed" the sensor, nothing was done to address the CAT damage and what it was doing to the engine. In other cases, they replaced the CAT, but the engines were already burining oil and headed for doom. The damaged engines, in turn, damaged the new CAT... This is the situation I find myself in now after putting only 4,000 miles on the car since February. Bad CAT, shot engine and Nissan Consumer Affairs telling me "Sorry, it's out of warranty and there is nothing we can do"... The recall should have been for both CAT and engine replacement, but who in their right mind would assume Nissan to do this for tens of thousands of cars. All they did was put a quick patch on a festering wound and waited to address individual complaints as they arose, which is infinately cheaper than doing the right thing in the first place. My sons dream was crushed and Nissan says "tough luck, kid". The car sits dead in our driveway providing a daily reminder of what scum car manufacturers like Nissan can be.
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Replying to: nomorenissan (Jul 20, 2009 12:07 pm) I would recommend that each and every one of you that has been screwed by Nissan to spread the word and tell everyone that you can about this blog and encourage them to read it, This needs to be headline news. Read it from the begining, about all the people who have been so dissapointed and/or devestated by the Nissan Altima, people who wanted to destroy their Altimas or push them off a cliff, or worst. I just can't say enough about how bad these cars are, and how negligent the Nissan Company is to leave so many of their customers stranded with no hope. What they have done should be a crime, and they should pay back their customers dearly for it. E.D. in Sunny Florida
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In 2001, Carlos Ghosn defied Japanese business etiquette, cut thousands of Nissan jobs, shut the first of five domestic plants to help $20 billion debt. So, most of well-trained workers (Japan and Smyrna,TN.) were replaced by cheaper labor (Canton, MI, and Mexico). He is a Hero for Nissan company that has serious financial crysis like GM and Crysler but not for us.
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Replying to: kcvab (Apr 02, 2009 5:59 pm) |
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