2003 Nissan Altima 2.5 S from North America - Comments

My wife bought her first 2003 Nissan Altima and she totalled it 15,000 miles later. The car saved her life so she decided to get another one. BIG MISTAKE.

Well the car now has 82,000 miles on it and it has been a nightmare. Not counting the 5 times the car was in for recalls I have had a number of other issues to pay for.

I have had to put 3 sets of brakes on the car and 2 sets of tires. The exhaust manifold cracked and the catalytic converter rotted out and had to pay $1000.00 for it to be replaced. The alternator is starting to go and that is $600.00 to replace.

Now I have had the Service engine light come on and went to Auto Zone and they said it was the Crank Shaft sensor. As someone stated previously $21.99 to replace well guess what it doesn't fix it forever. now I got the light back on and I am told it is the processor. Guess how much that costs. I am still making monthly payments on the car and it is costing me so much extra. Guess what I am getting rid of this car and am never buying anoth Nissan again. POS.

I would agree with you. I am currently going through the same problem with my 2003 Nissan Altima. I have had several recalls repaired and right now my Catalytic Converter has gone bad and needs to be repaired. I have replaced brakes several times. This car does seem to be a nightmare.

Brakes are a wear item. You can't fault Nissan for you wearing out your brakes. Oh, Nissan has issued recalls to fix the problems, so that you don't have to pay for extra repairs. Usually people complain about not recalling something. If you're so unhappy with the Nissan, go buy a Ford and see how happy you are.

Okay, do not buy a Ford, that's drastic. (But he is right, brakes and tires are a drivers issue, not the makers) But you should probably think twice before buying an 02-06 Altima.

The sensor issue has been recalled; do not go buy another sensor, it will not work, the car will still die because in reality there is nothing wrong with the sensor. It's where Nissan put the sensor. It causes it to get too hot for it to function properly, and the computer does not get the correct signal and shuts the car off. (Not cool when on the highway). Because the problem is not with the part, but with the construction of the actual car, all Nissan can do is reprogram your computer to ignore it. (Not cool if something actually does go wrong in the crankshaft). This is free, go down to your local Nissan dealer's service dept. and tell them to reprogram your computer. While it's in, they will (or should) go ahead and automatically correct all other 50 million recalls that apply to your specific Altima.

Many people (including myself) have had problems with major parts wearing out entirely way too soon. From catalytic converters to the solenoid valve that helps control and regulate your transmission (that happens to be my particular issue). These are major and expensive mechanical parts. Things like that should not have to be replaced until the car has over 100K miles on it, and my car certainly did not have that many miles on it.

Look, for the most part I like my Altima. I bought it because it was comfortable and it rode very nice (it still does when everything works properly). It has more power than other makes with a 4 cylinder. But I question the quality of the mechanical parts and the ingenuity of their designers. I probably will not buy another one, because while things do go wrong with every car make out there, I have never had a problem like this (recalls and poor quality parts). If you do buy one, be prepared.