2002 Nissan Altima 2.5S from North America - Comments

I purchased my Nissan altima 2.5S in January 2002. It was my first new car that I purchased so I was excited. But my excitement turned into a nightmare. The first couple of months the car was holding up pretty well. But then my Black molding along side of the top of the doors started coming off so I had to get that fixed. Then into the 2nd year of owning the car my engine went and Nissan said that the engine did not have any oil and seized and it would be my responsibility. but I got the oil changed less than 2,000 miles ago. I wanted to cry when I had to give out $2,500 for a new engine.. then shortly after that my left head light assembly went out and had to be replaced.. Then came the heating system which failed on me. Had to get that fixed... then my rear-view which has the temperature and the auto dimming at night gave out started to go crazy and would the work properly. The steering wheel is also just pealing and it looks so horrible. I am so scared to see what will go wrong next…

The car was seriously the worst thing I could have gotten myself into... I cannot believe, still till this day that my hard earned money is going to this unreliable automobile... I would never in my life purchase another Nissan again. I just feel as though I have been ripped off!

Thanks for your comment on Nissan Altima! I was all fired up to purchase one this upcoming weekend because I thought they were reliable cars. Now I will be checking another type of car to purchase.

Our '02 Altima 2.5S makes my blood boil.. and not in a good sense~~ The Service Engine Soon lite has been on since Feb '06 (7 mos.) and after 4 service visits to our trusty (I use that term loosely) Nissan dealership, it still twinkles merrily on the dash. We have had 2 service visits regarding the AC blowing warm air.. neither resolved this problem, even though we doled out ~$360.00. They gave us some story about coolant leaking, head gaskets,..and that we should keep adding coolant as needed. Just one more thing to carry around.. first oil..now coolant! (yes..it burns oil like a fiend.. but there are no leaks..) We chose to live with "warm AC", as we couldn't afford to keep throwing $$ into this vehicle, to no good outcome. The recent problem is the starting.. or rather NON starting issue. When we do get it going, we never know where we'll be stranded that day. The car will also stall while trying to enter traffic on the interstate.. only because you try give it more gas. It bucks and sputters,..then dies. Not safe. We towed it to the dealership late Aug. They told us "contaminated fuel". I was doubtful, as we use the same gas for another car, and it had no problems. But, they were adamant. So they draied our gas, removed the tank, cleaned it out.. charged us $575..And the same crap happened the next day..sputtering, stalling, vibrating. The dealership is not accepting any fault. I sent letters off to Nissan Corp, consumer complaints, D.O.T. -National HiWay Traffic and Safety, safety investigations, and BBB. I doubt anything will be done though. This should be a mass recall.

Nissans are made in America by $10/hr. people in poor rural communities (check into it). You're better off buying a Dodge or something, at least you can get it fixed when it breaks.