2003 Nissan Altima

WE PURCHASED A 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA IN JANUARY OF 2005. AFTER HAVING THE CAR APPROXIMATELY 2 MONTHS THE CAR BEGIN STALLING WHILE DRIVING AND IT WOULD HAPPEN PERIODICALLY. WE TOOK THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY STATED THAT THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR, THIS HAPPEN SEVERAL TIMES AND WITH MUCH BOLDNESS. WE TOOK THE CAR BACK AND DEMANDED THAT THE PROBLEM BE FOUND. BECAUSE SOMEONE ALMOST HIT US AND MY CHILDREN COULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED DUE TO NEGLECT OF NISSAN/DATSUN. THEY INITIALLY TRIED TO GIVE US THE RUN AROUND AND STATED THAT THEY COULDN'T FIND ANY PROBLEMS, THEN AFTER THE TECH, DROVE THE CAR FOR APPROXIMATELY 40 MILES THE CAR STALLED AND THEY DETECTED THAT IT WAS A SENSOR AND WE HAD TO PAY FOR THIS. I KNOW THAT NISSAN SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS, BECAUSE THIS IS A MANUFACTURE DEFECT. I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS HAPPENING MORE THAN REPORTED, I JUST FOUND THIS SITE AND I KNOW THAT IT WOULD BE A DISSERVICE TO OTHER PEOPLE THAT MIGHT HAVE THIS DEFECT AND HAVE NOT HAD SYMPTOMS YET OF THIS POSSIBLY FATAL DEFECT. THANK GOD WE WERE NOT HARMED AND NO OTHER DRIVERS. *JB

RE: ACTION NUMBER RQ06001 MANUFACTURER: NISSAN NORTH AMERICA I HAVE EXPERIENCED ALL FOUR PROBLEMS WITH MY 2003 ALTIMA THAT NISSAN NORTH AMERICA CITED AS REASONS FOR THE RECALL OF THE DEFECTIVE PART. SERVICE RECORDS DOCUMENT THAT THE PROBLEM THAT MY CAR WOULD NOT CRANK WAS REPORTED AS EARLY AS 23,619 MILES WHEN I HAD TO HAVE MY CAR TOWED IN TO THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT. SINCE IT WAS AN ONGOING PROBLEM, OTHER RECORDS SINCE THAT TIME REVEAL THE SAME COMPLAINT. EACH TIME THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT REPORTED THAT THEY COULD NOT LOCATE THE REASON FOR THE PROBLEM. THE CAR WAS TAKEN IN RECENTLY BECAUSE IT BEGAN CUTTING OFF ABRUPTLY WHILE TRAVELING - AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION. NOW THAT THE WARRANTY PERIOD IS OVER, WITH OVER 60,000 MILES, THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT NOTIFIED ME THAT THE PROBLEM WAS IN THE CRANK POSITION SENSORS AND THEY BOTH WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THEY ALSO INFORMED ME THAT DUE TO THE MILEAGE, IT WAS MY EXPENSE TO HAVE THE PROBLEM CORRECTED. I CALLED NISSAN CONSUMER AFFAIRS ABOUT THE SITUATION REMINDING THEM THAT THE PROBLEM BEGAN BEFORE THE WARRANTY PERIOD WAS OVER AND THAT I HAD READ THEIR INFORMATION REPORTED TO NHTSA. I WAS TOLD THAT MY 2003 ALTIMA WAS NOT AMONG THOSE PRODUCED JUNE 1, 2001 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2002 AND THEY WOULD NOT PAY TO HAVE THE CAR REPAIRED. OBVIOUSLY, MY 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA IS ALSO ONE IN WHICH DEFECTIVE CRANK SENSORS WERE INSTALLED AS EVIDENCED BY THE ON-GOING PROBLEMS AND THE CONCLUSIVE DIAGNOSIS GIVEN ME BY THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT. THE CESSATION OF THE ENGINE WITHOUT WARNING WHILE TRAVELING THE INTERSTATE "COULD" HAVE COST MY LIFE. JUST AS MY CAR HAD A DEFECTIVE PART CREATING THESE PROBLEMS, THERE MAY BE OTHERS LIKE MINE THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. I NOTIFIED THE DEALERSHIP ON YESTERDAY TO REPAIR MY VEHICLE. I WAS TOLD THAT THIS WOULD INVOLVE REPLACING THE TWO CRANK POSITION SENSORS AT A COST OF $115 FOR THE SENSORS AND $225 FOR LABOR ($340) PLUS TAX. I ASSUME THE OLD PARTS WILL BE AVAILABLE. *NM

MY 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA 2.5 S (75,000 MILES) WAS BROUGHT IN FOR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE. FOR A WEEK OR TWO THE CAR HAS RUN ROUGHLY AND HAD A STRANGE ODOR IN THE DRIVES COMPARTMENT. IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE RADIATOR HAS A CRACKED SEAL AND IT HAS BEEN LEAKING FLUID. IT WAS BELOW THE MINIMUM LINE WHEN IT WAS BROUGHT IN. THE FUMES IN THE DRIVERS COMPARTMENT WERE THE FUMES FROM THE ANTI FREEZE. NO SERVICE ENGINE WARNING LIGHT EVER CAME ON AND THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE NEVER MOVED. THERE WAS NO INDICATION THAT THE CAR HAD A PROBLEM. *JB

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 70MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. AFTERWARDS, THE VEHICLE INTERMITTENTLY RESTARTED. IN OTHER STALLING INCIDENTS, THE ENGINE WOULD HAVE TO REMAIN IN THE OFF POSITION SEVERAL MOMENTS BEFORE RESTARTING. AFTER THE INCIDENTS OCCURRED, THE "CHECK ENGINE SOON" LAMP ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION AND REPLACED THE CRANK SHAFT SENSOR. THE VEHICLE OPERATED NORMALLY. THERE IS A NHTSA RECALL, # 03V455000, REGARDING THE ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING. THE VEHICLE HAS THE SAME PROBLEMS AS INDICATED IN THE RECALL; HOWEVER IT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL DUE TO THE VIN.

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON & OFF , ENGINE WAS CONSUMING OIL FASTER THEN NORMAL . STARTED HAVING ENGINE NOISE , DEALER MECHANICS SAID SOMEONE LEFT OIL CAP OFF THEREFORE OIL WAS LOST , ENGINE NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. HAD CAR CHECK OUT BY OUTSIDE MECHANIC SAID CATALYST WAS FOUND TO BE DAMAGE INSIDE ,WHICH CAUSE COULD OIL TO BURN OFF. NOW THE ENGINE IN A 2003 ALTIMA NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. ON NISSAN WEB SITE THEY HAVE RECALL ON EXHAUST HANGER PIN WHICH COULD CAUSE PROBLEM TO CATALYST THEREFORE COULD DAMAGE ENGINE. *JB

FOR THE PAST FEW DAYS, CAR HAS BEEN STALLING AND REFUSING TO START UP. ONCE, IT HAPPENED ON THE FREEWAY AND LUCKILY THE TRAFFIC WAS NOT HEAVY, SO COULD MANAGE TO TAKE IT TO THE SHOULDER. MANAGED TO RESTART THE CAR AFTER A FEW MINUTES OF TRYING. SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT TURNS ON, AND THERE IS HARDLY ANY POWER WHEN YOU PRESS THE ACCELERATOR. TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC, AND HE TOLD ME THE CRANK POSITION SENSOR NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. SEARCHED ONLINE AND FOUND THAT THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THIS EXACT SYMPTOM, BUT WHEN I CALLED THE DEALER, MY VIN # DOES NOT HAVE A RECALL. THAT IS SO STRANGE. I HOPE NISSAN REALIZES THAT THERE ARE OTHER ALTIMA'S FROM 2003 THAT HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. *JB

LAST MONTH, AS MY '03 ALTIMA 2.5S WAS NEARING 65,000 MILES, IT WOULD INTERMITTENTLY STALL WHEN STOPPING AT RED LIGHTS. AFTER IT HAPPENED 4 TIMES, I TOOK IT TO A LOCAL MECHANIC AND THEY FOUND NO PROBLEMS WITH IT. 2 DAYS AGO, IT HAPPENED AGAIN IMMEDIATELY AFTER I STARTED THE CAR. IT TOOK SEVERAL TRIES TO RESTART THE CAR. THERE WAS NO WARNING PRIOR TO THE ENGINE STALLING. *JB

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE ENGINE INTERMITTENTLY STALLED. THIS ALSO RESULTED IN NO START CONDITIONS AT VARIOUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP FOR INSPECTION. THE DEALER DISCOVERED THE CRANK SHAFT SENSOR NEEDED REPLACED. SINCE THE REPAIR WORK WAS COMPLETED, THE VEHICLE OPERATES NORMALLY.