2003 Nissan Altima

I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF A 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA WITH ABOUT 95,000 MILES. ON 9/19, I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO MY LOCAL NISSAN DEALER FOR SERVICE BECAUSE THE "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT WAS ON, THE ENGINE WAS RUNNING A LITTLE ROUGH AND HAD A SLIGHT RATTLE, AND MY OIL LIGHT STARTED BLINKING ON OCCASIONALLY. THE DEALER FLUSHED AND REPLACED THE OIL, AND ALSO REPLACED THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER AND TWO OXYGEN SENSORS, AT A TOTAL COST OF $1700. THE CAR WAS RETURNED TO ME ON 9/23. I WAS AWAY 9/26-9/29 AND DID NOT DRIVE THE CAR. ON WEEKDAYS, I TYPICALLY DRIVE ABOUT 10 MILES TO AND FROM WORK EACH WAY. THE NEXT WEEKEND I DROVE THE CAR APPROX. 150 MILES, AT WHICH TIME I NOTICED THE RATTLE HAD NOT SUBSIDED AND THAT MY OIL LIGHT HAD STARTED TO BLINK ON AGAIN, ESPECIALLY AS I DROVE UPHILL. I ADDED 2 QUARTS TO THE ENGINE ON 10/4 AND TOOK THE CAR TO A JIFFY LUBE ON 10/8. THE JL TECH THAT REPLACED THE OIL TOLD ME THAT MY OIL WAS VERY LOW, SO I BROUGHT THE CAR BACK TO THE NISSAN DEALER ON 10/13. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THE RATTLE AS "INTERNAL ENGINE FAILURE" AND RECOMMENDED A NEW ENGINE FOR $5000. MY CONVERSATION WITH THE DEALER MECHANIC LED ME TO BELIEVE THAT THE CAR WAS BURNING OIL DUE TO A LEAKY CYLINDER, MOST LIKELY CAUSED BY FAILURE OF THE PRE-CATALYST. THE PRE-CATALYST OR 'PRE-CAT' FILTERS EXHAUST BEFORE IT GETS TO THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER. THE PRE-CAT IS CLOSER TO THE ENGINE THAN THE CAT CONVERTER, SO IT TENDS TO GET OVERHEATED. WHEN IT DOES, IT CAN BREAK DOWN, AND LITTLE PIECES OF IT CAN GET SUCKED BACK UP THE EXHAUST SYSTEM THE WRONG WAY, BACK INTO THE CYLINDERS, WHICH DAMAGES THE CYLINDERS & ALLOWS OIL TO LEAK INTO THE ENGINE. BECAUSE OF THE MASSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION, I WAS UNKNOWINGLY DRIVING WITHOUT ENOUGH OIL, AND PERMANENTLY DAMAGED THE ENGINE. I PARK MY CAR IN MY GARAGE & HAVE NEVER NOTICED AN OIL LEAK OR SMOKE FROM THE TAILPIPE. I HAVE NEVER GONE MORE THAN 5,500 MILES WITHOUT AN OIL CHANGE, AND I HAVE A RECEIPT FROM EVERY OIL CHANGE I'VE EVER HAD. THE CAR HAS NO OUTSTANDING SAFETY RECALLS. *TR

I HAVE A NISSAN ALTIMA 2003 3.5 WITH 60,000 MILES AND IT JUST TURNED OFF ON ME AND WHEN I WAS ABLE TO TURN IT BACK ON IF WONT DRIVE MORE THAN 5 MILES LEFT IT UNUSED AND WHEN THE MECHANIC CAME HE TURNED THE CAR ON TOOK IT TO AUTO ZONE AND THEY SAID ITS THE THROTTLE CONTROL ACTUATOR THIS CAR DOES NOT HAVE THE MILES FOR THIS PART TO BE DAMAGED. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE CONTACT SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL, RESTARTED THE ENGINE, AND DROVE TO HER RESIDENCE. SHE CALLED THE DEALER AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT BEING PROPERLY MAINTAINED. LATER THAT WEEK, THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE STATING THAT THE VEHICLE'S ELECTRICAL CONTROL MODULE (ECM) NEEDED TO BE REPROGRAMMED. THE VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO THE DEALER AND THEY REPROGRAMMED THE ELECTRICAL CONTROL MODULE. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE REPAIR, THE VEHICLE STALLED AGAIN AND THE POWER STEERING BECAME INOPERABLE. SHE RETURNED THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND THEY REPROGRAMMED THE ECM FOR THE THIRD TIME DUE TO CONSISTENT STALLING. SIX MONTHS LATER, THE STALLING RECURRED. SHE CALLED THE DEALER AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE RECALL WAS SATISFIED AND THEY WERE NOT LIABLE FOR FURTHER REPAIRS. A DIAGNOSTIC TEST WAS PERFORMED AT A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP, WHICH REVEALED THAT THE CRANK SHAFT POSITIONING SENSOR WAS DEFECTIVE. THE MECHANIC INFORMED HER THAT THE CRANK SHAFT POSITIONING SENSOR WAS SUPPOSED TO BE REPAIRED BEFORE REPROGRAMMING THE ECM. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN ANY RECALLS FOR THE CRANK SHAFT POSITIONING SYSTEM. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 125,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 62,000. UPDATED 10-30-08 *BF UPDATED 11/03/08. *JB

I WAS TRAVELING SOUTHBOUND ON 1-95 AND WAS GOING WITH THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC AT APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH IN THE FAST LANE ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2008. SUDDENLY WITH NO WARNING, MY CAR STOPPED MOVING. IT WOULD NOT ACCELERATE AT ALL. I COULD NOT GET OUT OF THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC. FORTUNATELY, MY CAR WAS NOT HIT AS A RESULT OF THIS. MY MECHANIC CLAIMS THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE DRIVE BY WIRE THROTTLE MOTOR. THE DEALER CLAIMS IT IS A PROBLEM WITH THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER. THE CAR HAS BEEN SITTING IN THE DEALERS LOT WITH NO RESOLUTION SINCE SEPTEMBER 30TH. *TR

THE CAR BEGAN TO HESITATE AT A STOPPED POSITION. IT TOOK EXTRA PRESSURE ON THE GAS PEDAL TO GET IT TO GO. AT SPEEDS OF 60 MPH, THIS SAME THING WAS HAPPENING. IT ALMOST NEEDED TO BE FLOORED TO GET IT TO GO. IT REVVED VERY HIGH WHEN I TRIED TO GIVE IT EXTRA GAS. SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS IN NEUTRAL. TOOK IT TO A REPAIR SHOP AND THEY SAID THE TRANSMISSION SOLENOID PACK NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. ONLY HAS 76,000 MILES. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE IF I NEED TO PASS OR GET RAPID ACCELERATION, I COULD BE IN AN ACCIDENT. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE ENGINE FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS RELATED TO THE CRANK SHAFT SENSOR. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY. ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS, THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR IDENTICAL FAILURES AND REPAIRED FOR THE MALFUNCTIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED FOR THE CRANK POSITION SENSOR RECALL, BUT THE FAILURE STILL PERSISTS. THE NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER WAS UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,570 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 222,000.

NISSAN HAS RECALLED THE 2002 NISSAN ALTIMA'S FOR FAULTY CRANKSHAFT AND CAMSHAFT SENSORS; HOWEVER, THEY DIDN'T RECALL FOR 2003 AND LATER, EVEN THOUGH MY VEHICLE WAS BUILT IN 2002. THE SAME PART WAS USED. AFTER REPLACING THESE PARTS, I NOW HAVE A DEFECTIVE CATALYTIC CONVERTER. THERE ARE SEVERAL PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT ALL 3 PROBLEMS IN THIS VEHICLE. *TR

I HAVE A 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA 2.5 S MODEL WITH A 4 CYLINDER ENGINE. MY PROBLEM IS WITH THE CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR. THERE IS CURRENTLY A RECALL OUT FOR THE 2002,2005,2006 MODELS REGARDING THE CRANKSHAFT SENSOR. NO RECALL IS AVAILABLE FOR THE 2003 MODEL. IF THE 2003 MODEL IS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM AS THE 2002,2005,2006 WHY NO RECALL WAS PUT OUT FOR THE 2003 MODELS. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT ALL THE SAME MAKE AND MODELS SHOULD BE RECALLED IF THE PROBLEMS ARE THE SAME. JUST BECAUSE THE YEARS ARE DIFFERENT DO NOT MEAN THE PROBLEMS ARE DIFFERENT. IT IS CLEAR THAT YOUR AIM IS TO PROTECT BIG BUSINESS. NOT THE CONSUMER WHO SPENT$ 15,000 ON A PRODUCT THAT IS DEFECTED. I AM SURE THAT IF YOU SPENT $15,000 ON A PRODUCT YOU WOULD WHAT IT TO WORK CORRECTLY. LETS BE FAIR! THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT COST 20 BUCKS. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA. WHILE DRIVING BETWEEN 15-20 MPH, THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF AND LOST TOTAL POWER. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE RESTARTS IMMEDIATELY SOMETIMES, BUT CAN TAKE FIVE MINUTES TO RESTART AT OTHER TIMES. ONCE IT RESTARTS, THE VEHICLE RUNS NORMALLY FOR THE NEXT DAY OR NEXT 30 DAYS. THE DEALER COULD NOT DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE INTERNET STATES THAT THE CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR MODULE IS THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 52,000.