2002 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL from North America - Comments

I bought my 2002 Nissan ltima 2.5 in the december of 2001. I drive a ton of miles, so I am now up to 146,000 miles on the car. There are positives and negatives with this car; I will list them: Positives-cosmetically, the car is beautiful in and out. The stereo system is solid, and the ride is acceptable. Now, the negatives: The handling is disappointing; I've had to change both 02 sensors, I've had 10 or so recalls (annoying), I am now experiencing the heating loss and oil burning that is mentioned in other posts. Also, the catalytic converter needs to be replaced (they want $400 for the part and as much in labor; are you kidding me?) I have also noticed a bunch of altimas with the issue I have with the gas/tank release lever-it's broken and the gas tank access door has to stay open. I'm unsure if I'd get another Nissan; Honda seems to have less issues for the comparative costs.

I own a 2002 Nissan Altima with the 2.5 liter 4 cylinder engine. It has 67,000 miles on it. When it wouldn't start one morning I had it towed to the Nissan dealership. They later informed me that I would need an engine replacement that would cost me $4,300.00. The dealership believes it's my fault therefore the warranty doesn't cover the repair. I went approximately 9,000 mile since my last oil change (my fault) and the oil was down approximately 2 quarts according to the dealership. It didn't leak any oil or give any indication that it was burning oil i.e. smoke coming from the exhaust nor did the engine sound different in any way.

The oil light never came on as well.

Is going 4,000 miles over an oil change enough to blow an engine? I don't believe so. So I did some research on line and found the following link.

http://www.nissanclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=185326

It's page after page of individuals having the exact same problem I'm having with my 2002 Altman. Some of it stems from a recall that required the catalytic converter to be changed. Apparently, the defective catalytic converter has a metal screen inside the unit that breaks down from the heat and is sent back into the engine eventually destroying it. My records show that my catalytic converter was changed on a recall at 34,000 miles ironically when I was having a routine oil change.

When I bought this car I bought with it the Platinum Plus extended 100,000 mile warranty. It cost me approximately $1200.00 at the time. A Nissan Regional Specialist has reviewed my case and informed me that Nissan will not even share in the cost of repairs and I've been a loyal Nissan customer for 20 years exclusively. Not any more.

I have a Nissan Altima 2002 2.5 SL and just had the engine and exhaust replaced at the cost of Nissan. The car has 119K miles on it. The car is in great shape and one day it just bogged out on me. After getting it to the dealer, I was told I would have to replace the cat convertor and resonator at the cost of maybe $1600 just to get it running. They said there was no oil in the car even though I had just changed it 1k miles earlier! On the advise of someone at the dealership, I called Nissan Consumer Affairs and filed a complaint. It took a month to get my car back, but I ended up paying only $120 for the plugs and fluids required when replacing my engine. It would have cost me at least $3600 if Nissan didn't cover it. It seems my heater problem is worse than before and now I have to do another recall for the rear sub frame!! What the heck??? My Step-Brother had his engine replaced at 58k miles for the same thing! He was under warranty. I guess I am one of the lucky ones!!!

Thanks a lot for me to read these TOO LATE. I just bought a 2003 Altima with 51000 miles. If I would have known about the new Altima's problems, I WOULD NOT HAVE GOT IT. Thanks Nissan. Now YOUR car better be OK to me, NOW THAT I GOT IT (and will not be able to get out of it any time soon).

NOW can any of you tell me, WHAT THE HECK does the stupid catalyst have to do with engine getting ruined. The catalyst is on the exhaust, NOT in the intake system. IT MAKES NO SENSE TO ME. If the catalyst was going to fall apart, the parts of catalyst should be blown out through the tail pipe, NOT SUCKED into the engine. How does that happen? IT MAKES NO SENSE TO ME!!

CAN anyone tell me what I can expect from my 03 Altima? I have driven 1000 miles since I bought, I have been checking the oil. I have NOT lost any oil as of now, NOT EVEN A DROP so far. Engine DOES purr like a kitten. Will my Altima be a good one???

This car sucks. I purchased the 2002 Altima brand new in February 2002. I have nothing, but problems from the headlights (I finally was reimbursed) to the 02 sensor going out last year. I will never purchase another Nissan in my life, I should have purchased the Honda.

I want to learn how to change the oil in my Altima 2002???

Can you give me tips please??

I am just another victim in the problem. I purchased the 2002 Nissan Altima 2 years ago. My Nissan stop working 4 months after I purchased it. I had to change my engine due to the catalytic converter going bad. It jumped and threw smoke worse than my grand fathers tractor. I purchased an extended used warranty (thank God I got it) it was $3,588 to replace my engine.

The 02 Altimas has two catalytic converter one under the car and the other attached in the lower front side of the engine and it has two sensors which activates the computer to control your intake. Your engine loses power and starts to make a cracking and shaking noise. That is where the problem begins. Another bad side to it, it has a cheap plastic, everything starts braking if you are not extra careful. It burs light bulbs like crazy.

It is a beautiful car, it's roomy, when it’s in good conditions it speeds up really good being a 4 cylinder. But I do not recommend it at all. My friend that bought a 2003, 0 miles has the same problems I’m having. I wish I had listen to him when he told me to get a scion TC.

I purchased my 2002 Altima in July with 50k on it. So far it has been a reliable car. The only problem I have had was the heater only working above idle. So far it seems as if flushing the cooling system and replacing the thermostat will fix it (I hope). It is a very roomy and nice car all the way around. Most of the problems listed seem to be caused from a faulty catalyst. A WORD OF ADVICE TO MOST IS EVERYTIME YOU GET A NEWER CAR, TAKE IT TO THE DEALER AND CHECK FOR RECALLS. DOING THIS WILL PROBABLY ELIMINATE MOST PROBLEMS. I like Nissan and like ALL car companies will have recalls. A NICE CAR FOR THE PRICE.

I bought a used 2002 Altima 2.5SL with 56,000 miles and as soon as the odometer hit 80,000 I started burning oil, lost heat, went through bottles of antifreeze and on top of that both headlights failed within a week of each other. All this and no check engine light. What gives? It finally decides to show a week before my engine fails.

I did a recall search and found a few (too numerous to list) that could cause these problems. Here's the kicker, all recalls except the headlight recall were previously performed and "I'd recommend you get a new engine, that'll run you ABOUT $5k" was uttered to me. I didn't know they were hurting that bad for money. Maybe they should take advice from Ford and GM and lay off thousands of workers so that the board of directors can pocket another billion dollars.

Anyway, I'm getting off the beaten path here. I've done research and found a lot of people with the same problems, so I am curious if there is a class action suit in the works? Thanks. NO to NISSAN.

I have owned a 2002 Nissan Altima for approximately four years and was quite pleased with the car until last Fall. I had to replace the front and rear oxygen sensors, and the Check Engine Soon light has come on again, two weeks after replacing the rear sensor. My mechanic brought the car to the local dealer, and I've been told it needs a front catalytic converter. Guess what? The part is on back order with all the local dealers, so I can't even get the car fixed at this time! I was told to drive the car as little as possible until the part is replaced, as I can burn out the oxygen sensors I recently spent hundreds putting in the car. I have had all the recalls done, including the rear catalytic converter, in a timely manner. If Nissan had any clue they would also be covering the front catalytic converter under recall. Nothing like making customers dissatisfied with their product. I was told the part I need will cost approx. $500, and the labor will run a bit under that, so almost $1000 for this problem! So much for the 2002 car of the year!! My vehicle has about 88,000 miles, mostly highway.

I too wonder if there is a class action suit??? I bought my 02 Altima SE NEW... I now have 98900 miles and have been going through about 2 qts of oil a week+!!! The check engine light has reported 02 sensors and valve problem and goes on and off! This can all be done at my expense! Obviously they produced a piece of junk for the engine.

Yes, it WAS a good car, roomy etc. However, without feeding it oil, it rattles etc under hood and you just cringe when you see dipstick with NO oil on it!

I'm having the very same problem with my 2002 altima with the oil. I took the car to the dealership to get it checked out and he said it was low on oil. He also said that it was burning to much oil and he suggest to trade it in and never get another nissan altima. He also said he's been getting a lot of cars in with the same problem.

After owning two Toyota Camrys since 1989, I purchased a 2003 Nissan Altima in August 2003. The vehicle had 17 miles on it at the time of purchase. I too have had problems with this car not starting and also shutting off while you are driving. It was towed to the dealer twice and given jumps on numerous occasions for this problem.

My major problem with the Altima is the heating system. It takes forever to get the heat started and when it does start you freeze if you have to stop or idle the car. I keep my fluids filled and change my oil as listed in the manual. The car is beautiful and roomy, however I think I should have stayed with the Toyota.

I too bought an Altima 2002. I thought I would check into why my Altima is burning oil. I googled it and I stumbled across this page and was astonished on how many people are having the same problems. I just started having the heating problem. It makes me mad that Nissan new of all the Altima issues, but still sold me this lemon in 2004. I hope there is a class action suit against them. I wish I had stuck with Honda.

4/13/07.

I bought a 2002 Altima SL just five months ago with 82k miles on it. It looks beautiful. I thought I got a bargain for just $9,200. Wouldn't you know I'd end up here. First, the ABS system was always on. A sensor I'm told. No big deal. Then the check engine light came on, I immediately pulled over to check the oil.

There was practically no oil in the car! This is only after about 2000 miles of driving the car since they had changed it at the dealership. I put oil in, but it was soon low again. Shortly afterwards, the car wouldn't start. I took it to a Nissan Dealership today. They told me that it was the Catalytic Converter and that both of my O2 sensors have been melted by this. Over $1200. to replace the "Catalyst" as they called it. Another $160. for the brake sensor and I'm still not sure if Labor is included. I'm with the rest of these people. What a Lemon!