2002 Nissan Altima from North America - Comments

My husband and I purchased a new 2002 Nissan Altima. Being a new car it ran smoothly for awhile. We began to experience immense problems after about 12,000 miles. Inititally we found that the windows would fog up and this impaired your vision making it dangerous to drive. My husband also complained about the heat coming from the under cabin driver side during the summer. Several thousand miles later, we began to hear a rattling sound under the hood. We could hear the lifters upon starting the vehicle indicating a low oil level. Upon taking the car to the dealer, they quoted that the book stated the car would burn an extra 1 quart of oil after 1,000 miles over the recommended 3,500 miles oil change. I began to tell my husband that the car did not sound right, he would then call the dealer to make an appt. Once again, they stated they could not find any problem. The check engine light appeared warning us there was a problem. The dealer however stated that it was sensor problem and not an engine problem. The engine light comes on repeatedly and the technican now states, that the problem in sludge in the radiator. We replaced the radiator, only to find that the check engine light is still on. We now have about 83,000 miles on the vehicle and upon another service appt, the check engine light appears again. We have the oil changed at 82,000 miles and at 83,000 miles the sound under the hood is worse and the engine light is on. Taking the car to the dealer again, they now state that there is no oil in the engine. After conversing with them a second day, after they spoke with Nissan headquarters, they state that the cataylic converter breaks and parts are in the motor causing engine failure.

Please do not purchase this car. Share this information with family and friends.

It does sound like the problem is the abysmal standard of servicing applied to this car rather than any fault of the car itself.

A "check engine light" can mean anything from a loose gas cap to a dirty air filter to a major engine problem. 90% of the time it's something minor, caused by an overactive fault setting in the system. This is a common problem in almost every manufacturer's lineup before 2002-2003. Consumer should be advised not to panic or be taken in by unscrupulous mechanics when they encounter this light. If the car is running fine make sure the gas cap is tight (clicks 2-3 times) and drive it for a few days. If it doesn't turn off replace your air filter. If that doesn't work, find a trustworthy mechanic - a dealer will work to diagnose & be wary of any major repairs. Nissan powerplants rarely develop serious problems before 200,000 miles.

I would have to agree that the 2002 Nissan Altima is a Lemon.

I have experienced the same exact problems you indicated with my 2002 Altima 3.5 SE. I bought the car brand new and I have to get the oil changed every 1,000 miles or else the check engine soon light comes on and the entire engines rattles and the car pretty much shuts down. The car just does not burn oil properly at all and my check engine light is CONSTANTLY on. The dealer tells me that nothing is wrong and that it's just a sensor problem as well, but it's definitely not the case. I have a vehicle history a mile long for the check engine soon light coming on.. I pretty much have lived at Nissan.. the car just does not function properly. I am very disappointed with my experience and will never purchase another Nissan again.

Nissan's attitude is OK with me.

I also have had problems with my 54000 miles 2002 Altima with the 2.4 L engine. After 2 CheckEngine episodes, they immediately changed the catalytic converter. About 1000 milles later (and hard driving for 300 miles), there was engine knock and my dealership decided that the engine needed replacement (at Nissan's expense of course).

I still like the car and find it fun to drive. In my case at least, it seems that a responsive dealership solved any problem as it occured, and this probably makes all the difference in the world. I would buy another Nissan.

Come to think of it, the enduring enjoyment in driving the car may cloud my thinking a bit. I have had nagging problems with an inadequate heater. When I first reported the problem, Nissan did not have a solution and did not even admit that there was a problem. I was not advised when they had a fix for this problem about a year latter. Now that the warranty for this type of problem is over, my dealership recently admitted not having advised me in time, but they are reluctant to make the correction. The solution would cost the dealer a few hundred dollars.

I encountered a similar problem with my heat not working. I took it to my local mechanic, who then consulted the Nissan dealer where I purchased the vehicle. Apparently all that needs to be done is a valve needs to be flushed out. My mechanic was able to fix this at a minimal cost.

I agree with the first poster. I purchased my 03 altima late in 03. It's a 2.4 4 cyl engine. I do a lot of highway driving, so I run up a few miles. Proper maintenance is done all the time. At 108000 miles, 3 years of driving, the check engine light came on. I thought it was the transmission because I noticed it surging at the stoplight. I took it right to Nissan and they claimed the cat converter went bad and parts sucked into the engine. I had to replace the engine (my cost). Turns out the cat converter is defective and Nissan knows this. One year prior I had the car checked (recall) and they said the cat was fine, hmmmmm. I now have a used engine in the car and have been back 3 times, this last time was for engine light. They claim the new cat is bad and its 3000 miles out of warranty. Nissan is really starting to get on my nerves.

I purchased my 2003 Nissan Altima in 2002. The engine began to give me problems the early part of 2005. It began with the engine knocking, smoking, and the car stalling and completely stopping in the middle of traffic. Our Nissan dealership said it was nothing, just a sensor out. Finally, it wouldn't accelerate and it needed to be towed into the dealership. They checked it out and it was the catalytic converter and it needed to be shortened and the engine needed to totally be replaced. THAT WAS LAST YEAR...

Today, the car is in my garage inoperatable. Within the last month, the car has gone through the same problem. The engine light started coming on, followed by the knocking of the engine, then the smoke, next the stalling and turning itself off, finally, this past Saturday, my husband went to drive it down the street to see what would happen and it wouldn't even accelerate out of our drive way. We ended up pushing it back into the garage.

I've been in talking to our local Nissan dealership for the past 2-3 weeks (with no assistance from them) and right now I'm waiting to hear back from a Regional Specialist to figure out what our options are in getting it re-repaired so that we can trade this sucker off. So far, all I've been told is that we're on our own with repairs unless we have an extended warranty (which we don't). I can't believe this car has this enormous problem that the Nissan company knew about, but will not provide much assistance in repairing or notifying consumers about it's defect. Since, my car has experienced this defect for a 2nd time I've found out that the 2006 Nissan Altimas have also been recalled and dealerships have had to stop selling them until they were repaired.

I don't think I'll ever purchase another Nissan again either...

Here is my saga on my Altima 2002 2.5SL (purchased in November 2001)

I liked this car very much until about 6 months ago.

Back in November 05 the check engine light came on. I took it to a local mechanic and he replaced the O2 sensors, the mileage was around 70k .

At the same time I was having trouble with the heat. The heater would not work while stopped or in city traffic. Once on the highway at highway speeds the heater worked fine.

First attempt to correct was the dealer advised system was losing pressure and needed a new radiator cap.

That appeared to work for a day or two. Weather warmed up a bit so the lack of heat was not a problem.

May 06 (77K miles) check engine light comes on again. This time it has something to do with a dirty throttle chamber. While the car is in for the throttle chamber I have them try to fix the heating problem. Dealership cleans out the throttle chamber and drains and replaces all the coolant in the radiator.

Around now I start to experience problems starting the engine. Engine will crank, but not turn over right away. This would happen after driving a while, stopping at a store or something and then trying to restart. Engine never stopped while in traffic or (knock on wood) left me stranded.

There is also a problem with air in the coolant system.

Jun 06 (79K) Check engine light is back on. Dealership advises the computer needs to be reprogrammed before they can know what is causing the check engine light to come on. The reprogramming is done at no charge.

When I ask what they think maybe wrong with the car they say it could be something small to needing a new engine. (After reading the other comments I can see why they mentioned the new engine).

After reprogramming the check engine light comes on again (79K miles). Code is for a "Multi Cylinder" misfire. Dealership thinks the engine is burning both oil and coolant. Make a comment that the piston rings maybe worn. Around now they also mention the catalytic converter may be a problem, but since it is not coming up as a code in the computer they are not sure. I am not sure if they ever took the engine apart to visually check the cat converter.

Since the car is out of warranty for the engine and the check engine code for problems with the cat converter were not coming on the engine replacement would be out of my pocket. I cannot believe that a new engine would be needed at 80K miles. Especially since my previous Altima 1993 went well over 120K. I went to another dealership to verify what the first told me.

At this time the car still seems to run OK. The only problems I am having are with the restarting after driving for a while, but after cranking the engine a number of times the car will start and seems runs fine. I do not have any problems starting the car in the morning after sitting all night or when I leave work after sitting all day. I started to add coolant/water about once a week. Never saw any coolant leaks onto the ground.

The second dealership advised the same check engine code - multi cylinder misfire, but they think the problem is with the head gasket and coolant is getting into the cylinders. They also state the engine may need to be replaced not sure if replacing the head gasket will suffice. The coolant getting into the engine would seam to answer the heating problem with the loss of pressure in the coolant system and also air in the coolant system.

I decided to get the head gasket replaced and took the car back to the dealership. (81.7K miles). Check engine light was on again and this time one of the codes indicated catalyst material burning and catalyst material in the oil and in the engine.

The dealership contacted Nissan to try to get the catalytic converter covered by warranty even though the car is 1700 miles above the warranty for the converter and they were turned down by Nissan.

I have contacted Nissan consumer affairs to try to work something out. If they do not give me some kind of compensation or satisfaction, I will never buy or advise anyone to purchase a Nissan. I have three sons and none of them will ever have a Nissan either.

I bought a used 03 Altima 2.5 at 39000 miles and it started stalling out on me one month after I bought it. I have an automatic. In freeway bumper-to-bumper traffic, when I would accelerate, the dashboard warning lights would all flicker and then my engine turned off. I managed to turn it back on or get to the shoulder before getting into an accident.

The first time it happened was while I was driving about 5 miles per hour. I got the engine started, but for the rest of my drive, my entire engine would choke whenever it switched to a different gear. I parked my car and at lunch I went back out and took my car for a drive around the block to an independent mechanic and it worked fine. It did not choke or stop or anything so the mechanic wasn't able to tell me what could be wrong with it.

The 2nd time happened was at around 25 miles per hour, this time the engine worked fine after restarting it. I researched a bit into what might have caused it and found in one of these forums a link to one of the latest recalls that consumers will be notified on Aug 21st. It basically described everything that was happening to me...

http://199.79.180.163/prepos/files/A...6V242-4037.pdf.

It said that the variation in temperature for the ECM might cause it to malfunction and without warning the engine would turn off. To remedy it would mean the dealership would have to reprogram that part.

I called Nissan corporate and they said to get my car diagnosed before fixing the problem based on what I read on the recall. I then called a dealership and they looked up my VIN and found a different recall on my car for the catalytic converter. They said that since the catalytic converter has a piece in it that is like a honeycomb that in high heat, pieces of that part would break apart and get into the gasoline causing damage to the engine. Could that explain why my car was choking every time it would shift a gear? The mechanic went on to say that I would need a new engine. Since it was related to the catalytic converter recall that meant I would get a brand new engine for free. It seemed TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE so I called around to various dealerships and got various responses. Some did mention the catalytic converter recall and some mentioned only replacing that part. Now I'm not entirely sure what I should do?

Does this seem reasonable to have an entire engine replaced based on a recall on a catalytic converter?

Has anyone else had this recall and gotten a free engine or did the dealership only replace the part?

When I mentioned the recall on the ECM and getting it reprogrammed, the mechanic didn't know what I was talking about because this information is still fairly new and the dealerships won't know about it until later this August. He was perhaps the most helpful of all the service departments I called and I sent him the link above. He said that I should go ahead and get the catalytic converter problem fixed first and then when the dealership knew more about the ECM recall that I should come in and get that reprogrammed.

I read other posts about how if I get the cam/crank sensor replaced that it will help with the stalling problem.

I would absolutely love any advice on this subject. I want to keep my Altima around for a long time!

Well, my 2002 2.5SL with 86K miles on it has just been diagnosed with a bad catalytic converter which caused a "thermal wrap" in the engine - dealer said I need both replace. It's burning oil like mad and the check engine light is constantly on (catalytic converter). I'm going to fight this one with Nissan if I have to.

I find it disappointing that Nissan's web site does not invite comments. I too am having heater problems with a 2003

Altima. I will trade this car in and stay away from this product for good. They know there is a problem and if they don't want to address it or make it right they need to go out of business.

I also have a 2002 nissan altima 3.5. I too have experienced the same problems with the heat. I also need my catiltic converter replaced at 80,000. Also I needed to replace the battery. Other than that I've really liked this car especially for its affordable price.

I also purchased a 2002 Nissan Altima 2.5S. I have had many problems with my vehicle. Just recently I had to replace the catalytic converter at 66,000 miles. Two weeks later my oil light came on with a loud knocking engine noise. I checked my engine oil and it was empty. I took it in to the dealer, my catalytic converter was contaminated with oil. They had to replace the engine at their cost. Now I am having problems with the heater not working. Looks like I will have to take it in again.

I also purchased a 2002 Nissan Altima 2.5S. I have had many problems with my vehicle. Just recently I had to replace the catalytic converter at 66,000 miles. Two weeks later my oil light came on with a loud knocking engine noise. I checked my engine oil and it was empty. I took it in to the dealer, my catalytic converter was contaminated with oil. They had to replace the engine at their cost. Now I am having problems with the heater not working. Looks like I will have to take it in again.

I have a 2002 Nissan Altima with a 2.5s and I have experienced the same problem. I was getting ready for a road trip and I checked my oil which I changed 2000 miles ago so it should have been fine I also use synthetic oil. the car has 83000 miles on it. well there was no oil in the car so I put off the road trip and bought oil. I put a cardboard box under the car and drove it for a week trying 2 see if it was leaking. to my surprise it was not leaking and after that week of driving it was empty again. I called my warranty company because I bought the used and an extended warranty. they told me I ha 2 have it towed to a dealer and have it checked out. that's what I did. the dealer could not figure out what was wrong and said I needed 2 do an engine oil consumption test and pay for the dio and oil change. I was upset and did not want to do that, but they said that I had 2. I picked my car up on a sat and drove 100 miles between then and Monday. durnig that 100 miles I had 2 put an additional 9 qts of oil in. I took the car back an told them what happened and gave them the receipts for the oil. they had to tear the engine down. Resulting in the warranty company coming out to inspect the engine. the warranty company said that they would not cover the engine because I had no proof of oil changes for the past year since I bought the car. I contacted corporate Nissan numerous times, but no one ever returned my call. my car is still sitting without an engine in it and I still owe $10,000 on it. Nissan knows about the problems with the 2.5 engines and refuses to do anything about it and that is wrong. I will never recommend a Nissan to anyone nor will I ever buy another Nissan.