2001 Nissan Altima GXE ltd review from North America
"A few problems, but very reliable"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
This is my fiance's car, but I have done the service work on it.
Inner tie-rod end went bad around 45,000 miles. Cost was $30 for the part and a little over an hour to replace it. Got the car aligned afterward.
Replaced plugs, wires, filters and transmission fluid at 60,000 miles, cost around $100. Also replaced headlights and a rear turn signal bulb.
Car started idling rough at 70,000 miles, turned out to be a bad intake manifold gasket (seems to be a common problem after searching Nissan forums on the internet). The EGR pipe runs below the intake to cylinder number 4 and cooks the gasket until it breaks away and leaks. Check engine would come on intermittent and show either "cylinder 4 misfire" or "multiple cylinder misfire" trouble codes.
Easy way to check for this problem is buy a can of carburetor cleaner with a straw and spray where the manifold attaches to the head around cylinder 4 (one closest to transmission) while it is idling. If the engine starts running faster/smooths out, you know you have a bad intake manifold gasket.
I would guess the fix is between $500-600 at a dealer. I bought a Fel-Pro intake manifold gasket set for $6.99 at Pep Boys and it took two of us around 6 hours to install it. I could only get to the 3 bolts on the bottom side of the manifold from a creeper underneath the car... and a 12mm gearwrench helps a lot.
Clutch on AC compressor is slipping, not sure if compressor is seizing or magnet is bad. $300 for a re-man compressor along with new filter/dryer. Hopefully will get it installed and recharged this weekend.
General comments?
Car does decent on gas, between 24 and 30 under most circumstances. Interior has held up fairly well and looks nice complete with fake wood grain. Never had a problem with starting or stalling even with vacuum leak noted above.
Front brakes squealed really bad, but turned out to be pads installed backward. Replaced correctly with new anti-squeal pads and no more squeaks.
Rattling hubcaps are annoying, haven't tried anything to keep them from rattling.
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| Pretty car, but it's a lemon |
|
| Solid, comfortable transportation that can be fun to drive too |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Model year | 2001 |
| Year of manufacture | 2000 |
| First year of ownership | 2006 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2007 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.4 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 7 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 10 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 7 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 5 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 39000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 78000 miles |
| Date of Entry | 28th December, 2007 |