2002 Nissan Altima SL review from North America

Rattle under the hood, which has been there for 60,000 miles. I have repeatedly brought it up as problematic, but technicians were unable to determine cause or fix it.

Irregular idling has begun happening the past month. When I took it in, they discovered a component was missing and replaced it. It has gotten progressively worse over the past few weeks. Then "Service Engine Soon" light came on. I took it in the next morning. The diagnosis came back that my head gasket was blown at just 76,000 miles! A mere 1,000 miles past my extended warranty --- naturally. Everyone I have talked to about this is shocked that a car with only 76,000 miles can have a blown head gasket.

Took it in because heater fan would come on but blow cold air. They didn't check for coolant level, because they said it was likely in the switching mechanism of the fan. Returned vehicle without conclusion.

I have enjoyed driving this car until recently. It has been in the shop almost every week for the past month. It has gone from reliable to unreliable; from inexpensive to maintain to ridiculously expensive to maintain.

Right now, with the head gasket situation pending and the number of recalls that were issued against this car, I would definitely not buy another Nissan (this is my third one). I've had Hondas, Nissans, and Plymouths. Probably purchase a Toyota next time.

At the time of purchase, I thought it was a beautiful vehicle and I was impressed with what I had read about it. It had just garnered the North American Car of the Year award.