2005 Nissan Altima

UNDERCARRIAGE RUST (2005 ALTIMA 3.5 SE) - THANKFULLY I WENT TO GET MY OIL CHANGED AT A NEW PLACE WHERE THEY USE A LIFT VERSUS JUST SERVICING FROM UNDERNEATH THE SERVICE DECK.ONCE THE CAR WAS RAISED, THE MECHANIC NOTICED MY PASSENGER SIDE FLOOR BOARD WAS COMPLETELY RUSTED THROUGH!! MY UNCLE HAD JUST TOLD ME HE EXPERIENCED THE SAME THING WITH HIS 2004 MAXIMA. AFTER SEARCHING THE INTERNET, THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM FOR US NISSAN OWNERS. I FIND IT SO HARD TO BELIEVE NISSAN WILL NOT ISSUE A RECALL FOR THIS KNOWN PROBLEM. HOW CAN THE CARS NOT HAVE ANY RUST ANYWHERE ELSE, BUT SPECIFIC PASSENGER AND/OR DRIVER UNDERCARRIAGE AREAS?? WHAT A SAFETY HAZARD! PLEASE TAKE RESPONSIBILITY NISSAN AND DO THE RIGHT THING!! *TR

WHILE GETTING THE OIL CHANGED, THE PASSENGER SIDE FLOOR PAN WAS FOUND TO HAVE EXCESSIVE RUST. TOOK THE CAR TO THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP TO GET AN ASSESSMENT OF THE DAMAGE. THEY CONFIRMED THE RUST WAS ABNORMAL AND WAS CAUSED BY IMPROPER WATER DRAINAGE. UNFORTUNATELY THE CAR WAS ABOUT 4 MONTHS OUT OF THE 5 YEAR RUST WARRANTY. THE DEALER WOULD NOT TAKE ANY ACTION AND URGED ME TO CREATE AN INCIDENT REPORT WITH NISSAN CORPORATE. I DID, AND UPON REVIEW OF THE CASE, NISSAN'S REFUSED TO HELP WITH THE PROBLEM AND RECOMMENDED ME TO TAKE THE CAR TO AN AUTO BODY SHOP TO GET REPAIRED ON MY DOLLAR. I UNDERSTAND CARS RUST, BUT THERE IS NO WAY THE RUST HAPPENED OVERNIGHT. BASED ON THE EXTENT OF THE RUST, THE FLOOR PAN WAS MOST LIKELY SEVERELY RUSTED PRIOR TO THE EXPIRATION OF THE RUST WARRANTY. NISSAN SHOULD STAND BY THERE PRODUCT AND REPAIR THE DAMAGE THAT APPEARS TO BE WIDESPREAD AND MODEL SPECIFIC. NISSAN SHOULD NOT ONLY FIX THOSE VEHICLES WHERE THE OWNERS HAVE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED BY A GOOD SAMARITAN CHANGING THE OIL. I FEEL PENALIZED FOR NOT PERSONALLY CLIMBING UNDER MY CAR AND PERIODICALLY INSPECTING IT. SUFFICE IT TO SAY, THERE IS ONLY CARPET SEPARATING THE PASSENGERS FEET AND THE PAVEMENT BELOW. NOT A REASSURING FEELING..... *TR

RECENTLY WHILE GETTING NEW TIRES INSTALLED AT A TIRE SHOP, I WAS INFORMED BY THE SERVICE TECHNICIAN THAT THERE WAS FLOOR PAN RUST ON BOTH THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE OF MY CAR. THIS RUST COULDN'T OF HAPPENED OVERNIGHT SINCE THE RUST IS ABOUT TO BREAK THROUGH THE CARPET AS IF IT WERE A 15-20 YR. OLD CAR. THE RUST IS LOCATED IN THE SAME SPOT ON EACH SIDE BY THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER FLOOR MATS. ON A SHOP LIFT YOU CAN SEE THAT THE RUST INITIALLY FORMED ON EACH SIDE WHERE THE DRAIN HOLES WERE INSTALLED. AT NISSAN'S REQUEST, I TOOK MY CAR (BOUGHT NEW) TO THE NEAREST NISSAN FOR INSPECTION. MY COMPLAINT WITH NISSAN CORPORATE WAS THAT THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL ON FLOOR PAN RUST AS IT IS A SAFETY CONCERN I.E THE SEAT CAN MALFUNCTION AND ALSO CARBON DIOXIDE COULD GET INSIDE THE CAR. I ALSO MENTIONED THAT I WAS AWARE ANY KIND OF RUST WAS OUT OF WARRANTY AND THAT THE REASON FOR THE RUST HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH LIVING IN HIGH SALT STATE. AFTER EXTENSIVE RESEARCH, IT BECAME APPARENT THAT THIS HAS TO BE A DESIGN FLAW BY NISSAN AND THAT THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS ON MAINLY 2ND GEN. ALTIMAS HAVING THIS ADV. FLOOR PAN RUST IN THE EXACT SAME AREAS!! IF THE RUST WAS SPORADIC, THEN SALT WOULD MOST LIKELY BE A CAUSE, AND IF WET SNOWY SHOES WAS THE PROBLEM THEN THERE WOULD BE RUST UNDER THE REAR FLOOR PANS. AS A RESULT, AS NOTED ON THE NISSAN FORUM WEBSITE, A MORE VALID CAUSE IS DESIGN FLAW, DRAIN HOLES WERE IMPROPERLY INSTALLED ALLOWING WATER TO CONGREGATE AND RUST TO FORM. AFTER NISSAN INVESTIGATED MY FILE,THEY STATED THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO TO HELP. NOT EVEN PARTIAL REIMBURSEMENT. I FIND THIS UNBELIEVABLE AND UNACCEPTABLE.THIS 2ND GENERATION ALTIMA FLOOR PAN RUST IS SO COMMON THAT EVEN MY NEIGHBOR'S 05 ALTIMA HAS THE SAME RUST SPOTS AS WELL. WHAT ALSO DISAPPOINTS ME IS THAT I HAVE HAD ALL OF MY OIL CHANGES DONE BY NISSAN AND RUST WAS NEVER MENTIONED ONCE.

FLOOR BOARD ON PASSENGER SIDE FRONT HAS RUSTED SEVERELY. MY CAR HAS BEEN IN FOR SERVICE TO HOFFMAN NISSAN IN WEST SIMSBURY CT AT LEAST TWICE EVERY YEAR AND THEY NEVER MENTIONED A PROBLEM. THIS IS NOW A SAFETY ISSUE. I WAS MADE AWARE OF THE RUST AFTER I HAD AN OIL CHANGE AT THE LOCAL GARAGE WHO RECOMMENDED AN AUTO BODY SHOP DOWN THE ROAD. I HAD THE AUTO BODY SHOP LOOK AT IT TODAY 8/28/13. THEY TOLD ME THAT THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN ONGOING FOR 3 TO 5 YEARS. THEY TOLD ME THAT EVERY TIME IT WAS PUT ON A LIFT IT WAS OBVIOUS. WHAT DO THEY LOOK AT FOR SAFETY?? EVERY VISIT FOR SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE I AM TOLD THAT I NEED ADDITIONAL WORK - ALWAYS OVER $500 WORTH. I AM CONVINCED THIS WAS IS A DEFECT THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN TAKEN CARE OF YEARS AGO. HOW MANY REPAIRS DID I APPROVE THAT DIDN'T REALLY NEED TO BE DONE. SAD TO SAY THAT I WILL NEVER AGAIN TRUST THE HOFFMAN DEALERSHIP. THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALER HAS DONE AN AMAZING JOB AT TRYING TO RESOLVE THE FLOORBOARD RUST BOARD. THE DEALER AND THE CONSUMER CAME TO AN AMICABLE AGREEMENT ON THE REPAIR OF THE FLOORBOARD. *TT

THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE FLOOR PANEL RUSTED COMPLETELY THROUGH FROM THE INSIDE OUT. LARGE GAPING HOLE UNDERNEATH THE CARPET. VEHICLE HAS BEEN GARAGED SINCE NEW. WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING WINTER MONTHS HAVE BEEN MILD. VEHICLE WAS PA INSPECTED DECEMBER 2012 AND PASSED THEN . DEFECTIVE STRUCTURAL SHEETMETAL STEEL. OTHER SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON RECORD THROUGH NHTSA. *TR

THE FLOOR-BOARDS ON THE 2005 NISSAN ALTIMA ARE CLEARLY DEFECTIVE. THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN GARAGED EVER SINCE DAY ONE, AND HAS BEEN TAKEN CARE OF EXTENSIVELY. TWO GIANT RUST HOLES ON THE DRIVER AND FRONT PASSENGER FLOOR-BOARDS HAVE DEVELOPED DUE TO POOR MATERIALS AND DESIGN. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN AND SHOULDN'T BE OVERLOOKED. THE RUST AFFECTS THE VEHICLES CRASH TOLERANCE, AND STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY. NISSAN SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE, AND SHOULD ISSUE A RECALL TO FIX THE DEFECTIVE FLOORBOARDS. *TR