12th May 2010, 02:16

I have experienced several of these issues.

1.) Floor boards are rusting.

2.) Passenger doors have been hard to close... A can of your favourite lube will resolve this for the most part.

3.) The car has 123,000 and is beginning to consume a lot of oil. Pulled into the dealership with the car making a diesel like racket because there was no oil in it. My dealership is quietly trying not to acknowledge the problem; the solution as you may know is to replace the engine.

Loved my Alti until now. She has been good to me. Not feeling the love from Nissan.

12th May 2010, 12:03

I have a 2002 Nissan Altima 2.5S with 150,000 miles and I have not had any problems with it. I don't know what you guys are all talking about.

3rd Jul 2010, 16:24

2003 Altima 4 cylinder, owned since new. 57000 miles, never done anything except a set of tires at 45k and oil changes.

2nd Sep 2010, 21:20

I purchased my 2003 used with 32K miles on it. After I had it for 2 weeks, one of the shock absorbers went out, but since I was under warranty, I quickly had the absorber replaced.

It was only after about 1 month that I noticed the wide turning circle on this car. This became increasingly annoying as time went on, especially when it came to parking. I have never driven a car with such a wide turning circle, and I am surprised that Nissan, a reputable company, would put something out like this in production.

Despite this minor annoyance, I decided to keep the car because of its reliability. The car always started whether in rain, snow, heat, freeze etc.

I did have problems with 2 sensors that caused extremely dangerous conditions on the road. One affected the transmission, the other the starter and fuel distribution. Luckily I was able to replace these sensors at a reasonable cost.

One thing I noticed about this car is that it is very cheaply built. The folks at Nissan really cut corners on this one. All you have to do is put the car on a lift and you will see what I mean.

The interior is faux plastic at best, but at least the radio is decent.

Despite all these annoyances, this has been one of the most reliable cars I ever owned. If you like an All-American soft, noisy, smooth and boat-like ride, you will love this car. However, if you like more control and want to feel safer, you might opt for something else.

11th Nov 2010, 18:22

I have a 2003 Nissan Altima SE, and it's been okay for the most part. I have noticed that horrible noise in the drivers window when I'm on the freeway. I have a major problem now. The brakes lose pressure in the AM, or when the car is not used for a few hours. I've had the brakes redone, rotors and all. The master cylinder, brake booster were replaced as well. The dealer cannot figure this problem out. Anyone else experienced the same problem... I've spent 3K already, and nobody can fix it.

16th Dec 2010, 09:36

I have a 2003 SL model Altima, I had to have the rotors turned in 2006, rotors replaced in 2008 and yesterday was told the rotors are so rusted they cannot be turned. So I asked if it were a design problem and he said no and stated that if the car is sitting outside, that is why it gets so rusted. Aren't cars supposed to sit outside?

So I spent 995 dollars in 2008 and now they want me to spend 1000 on new rotors and calipers. This time I am contacting Nissan in addition to the dealer. I hope they do something about this, as I am still paying for this car and am currently unemployed.

17th Dec 2010, 17:29

There is no design flaw in your rotors. Rotors can and will rust if they are left outside. Now, if you drive regularly, they won't have the chance to rust so badly they need to be replaced. However, if you let the car sit for weeks or months at a time, and you live in an area where it rains frequently or you live close to the ocean, then it is possible for your rotors to rust this badly. My guess would be that this is your problem, especially since you stated you're unemployed (a good reason to not be driving).

19th Mar 2011, 13:55

I have a 2003 Nissan Altima 2.5S with this same problem. It started during mid-winter when it began getting well below freezing.

The mirror housing to the passenger door does not seal that well, and this may have let water get into the door.

I lubed the hinges and the black actuator piece, and still no luck. Any ideas on how to make the door easier to open/close?