2002 Nissan Altima Engine Problems - Altima Forums.net - The Nissan Altima Enthusiast Talk and Discussion Forums

brossr · 06-05-2009

I have a 2002 Nissan Altima 2.5 S which I bought new. It has always has all recommended maintenance performed and all maintenance has been performed by the Nissan dealership. The other day the check service engine soon light came on soon after I started the car. A couple of times in the last few days I had noticed that when I first started the car in the mornings it ran i little rough (not much) for about 5 seconds immediately after starting but that was barely noticable and almost immediately stopped after which the engine ran perfectly. I decided to drop it by the dealership and have it serviced. The last maintenance (oil change) had been done about 3000 miles ago, so it was time for scheduled maintenance, so I was also having the oil changed and the tires rotated. After about an hour the service guy came out and told me that the code on the service engine soon was a "cylinder 2 misfire." He said my antifreeze was a little low and they were doing a compression test as it could be a head gasket problem. He said the slight roughness for a few seconds when the car was started in the mornings was probably because antifreeze had leaked into the cylinder and once it burned off (a couple of seconds) the roughness went away. Because it was going to take them a while to do the test I told them to just call me when the car was ready and I left and went on to work. Serveral hours later the service guy called and said it was a head gasket problem, but he really thought I needed a new engine ($5300). He said my oil was 1/2 quart low and although the cat. converter didn't show as bad, he was afraid that if I just had the head gasket replaced ($1800), the engine would still probably need to be replaced and the head gasket replacement would be for nothing. This car only has 66,300 miles on it, has always has all recommended maintenance performed by the dealership, and has never been driven "rough" as I am a very conservative driver. I have read about other problems with this engine and the cat. converter (or pre converter) failing and resulting in engine damage requiring engine replacement. This has really bummed me out. I bought this car because I was told, and had read, much about Nissan's reputation for solid cars that ran a long time. Now, here I am with a car with only 66,300 miles (it should just be getting broken in good) and I'm being told that I should replace the engine. If a well-maintained, conservatively driven car has engine failure at 66,300 miles, that sure seems like a manufacturing defect to me. I have read that the cat. converter is warrantied for 80K miles and if this is true, and it had anything to do with the engine problem, it seems to me that this engine should be replaced by Nissan, especially now that I have read that this is a somewhat common problem with the 2002 Altima engines.

I picked the car up and told them I would have to decide what I wanted to do. He said when the light came back on to bring it back so they could see if it gave the same code. He also told me to check the oil about every 3 days and if it went down, don't fill it but bring it to them and let them see how much oil was being used (oil comsumption test). It's been two days and no service engine soon light and the car runs fine; there is not even any roughness when I initially start the car in the mornings as I had noticed a couple of times previously.

Does all of this sound right? I'm not sure what to do and the thought of having to spend over $5K on repairs has me sick.

AltimaSL · 06-05-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by brossr

I have a 2002 Nissan Altima 2.5 S which I bought new. It has always has all recommended maintenance performed and all maintenance has been performed by the Nissan dealership. The other day the check service engine soon light came on soon after I started the car. A couple of times in the last few days I had noticed that when I first started the car in the mornings it ran i little rough (not much) for about 5 seconds immediately after starting but that was barely noticable and almost immediately stopped after which the engine ran perfectly. I decided to drop it by the dealership and have it serviced. The last maintenance (oil change) had been done about 3000 miles ago, so it was time for scheduled maintenance, so I was also having the oil changed and the tires rotated. After about an hour the service guy came out and told me that the code on the service engine soon was a "cylinder 2 misfire." He said my antifreeze was a little low and they were doing a compression test as it could be a head gasket problem. He said the slight roughness for a few seconds when the car was started in the mornings was probably because antifreeze had leaked into the cylinder and once it burned off (a couple of seconds) the roughness went away. Because it was going to take them a while to do the test I told them to just call me when the car was ready and I left and went on to work. Serveral hours later the service guy called and said it was a head gasket problem, but he really thought I needed a new engine ($5300). He said my oil was 1/2 quart low and although the cat. converter didn't show as bad, he was afraid that if I just had the head gasket replaced ($1800), the engine would still probably need to be replaced and the head gasket replacement would be for nothing. This car only has 66,300 miles on it, has always has all recommended maintenance performed by the dealership, and has never been driven "rough" as I am a very conservative driver. I have read about other problems with this engine and the cat. converter (or pre converter) failing and resulting in engine damage requiring engine replacement. This has really bummed me out. I bought this car because I was told, and had read, much about Nissan's reputation for solid cars that ran a long time. Now, here I am with a car with only 66,300 miles (it should just be getting broken in good) and I'm being told that I should replace the engine. If a well-maintained, conservatively driven car has engine failure at 66,300 miles, that sure seems like a manufacturing defect to me. I have read that the cat. converter is warrantied for 80K miles and if this is true, and it had anything to do with the engine problem, it seems to me that this engine should be replaced by Nissan, especially now that I have read that this is a somewhat common problem with the 2002 Altima engines.

I picked the car up and told them I would have to decide what I wanted to do. He said when the light came back on to bring it back so they could see if it gave the same code. He also told me to check the oil about every 3 days and if it went down, don't fill it but bring it to them and let them see how much oil was being used (oil comsumption test). It's been two days and no service engine soon light and the car runs fine; there is not even any roughness when I initially start the car in the mornings as I had noticed a couple of times previously.

Does all of this sound right? I'm not sure what to do and the thought of having to spend over $5K on repairs has me sick.

Man that sucks. I don't see why Nissan wouldn't be responsible for this. I know that they won't do anything, but they should since you serviced your car there and they (should) have all records. None of this is right, and none of it should be occuring at all. The older Nissans would run to 100k miles no problem; the new ones are taking a dive. I really don't know what you can do. I think that reliability and quality is definitely an issue that Nissan needs to address immediately. They should take responsibility for your car, although they won't. My car JUST turned a year old and i am having more problems in this car than any other car I or my family has ever owned. I DO NOT think that Nissan's reliability is up there with Honda and Toyota like all of the recent consumer reports have been saying. But your engine, with very little over 66k miles SHOULD NOT be having to be replaced. That, in my honest opinion, is f*cking ridiculous. I wish you the best on whatever you decide to do; keep us updated.

Good Luck,
AltimaSL.