Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||||
| 03004 | 07/19/2005 | 03004A | 10001019 | Automatic transmission shifter selector may be hard to operate. *tt | 04/10/2003 |
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - PARK/NEUTRAL START SWITCH | |||||
| 02045 | 09/13/2004 | 02045A | 633632 | A/t shift interlock solenoid click noise. jg this bulletin replaces ntb02-045 dated 04/15/2002. *tt | 09/23/2002 |
| NTB02045 | 04/15/2002 | 631332 | Automatic transmission shift interlock solenoid click noise. *jg | 05/22/2002 | |
| POWER TRAIN - CLUTCH ASSEMBLY | |||||
| NTB02084A | 09/03/2002 | NTB02084 | 635812 | Some vehicles may exhibit a howl or groan noise as the clutch pedal is released. *tt | 11/01/2002 |
| NTB02084 | 08/01/2002 | 633647 | Subject regarding howl noise when clutch is released. *jg | 09/23/2002 | |
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION | |||||
| 03102 | 11/03/2003 | 10004596 | Manual transmission console boot damaged. *tt | 12/23/2003 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 07/01/2011 | 80000 | 1 | |
| Was driving and the clutch sank to the floor. couldn't get into gear so i had to pull over. once i parked my car, the clutch was completely to the floor. couldn't drive it because the clutch would not get into gear. waited about 20 mins and it came up 1/4 of the way and was able to get into gear. this only happens in the summer and it happens about once or twice every other week and if it happens while it's parked, the car is inoperable. *tr | |||
| 08/10/2011 | 90000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2002 nissan altima. while driving approximately 60 mph, there was an unusual noise emitted from the front end of the vehicle. the contact maneuvered to the side of the road and inspected underneath the hood and detected there was no oil in the reservoir. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who informed the engine would need to be replaced. the contact planned to have the vehicle repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 90,000. js | |||
| 08/16/2010 | 133500 | ||
| My daughter had complained of the clutch in her car loosing pressure and basically dropping to the floor, interfering with her ability to shift gears, and it sometimes lurching forward on occasions when this happens. in august 2010, she was sitting at a stop light, in first gear with her foot on the clutch when this occurred, causing the car to jump forward into the back of another vehicle. at the time, i felt that her foot may have slipped off the clutch instead, until it lost pressure again a couple of days ago while driving in the mountains. i started researching on the internet and discovered that many people have had the same problem with this vehicle model exhibiting very similar behavior. when this happens in traffic it's dangerous, because it can lurch by itself or you may not be able to shift into gear to move out of the way of oncoming vehicles, like if you're crossing traffic. it also inhibits the ability to downshift when going downhill. nissan does not recognize this as a manufacturing problem, although many people have badgered the dealerships into replacing the clutch master cylinder and/or slave cylinder under warranty, and nissan has not had a recall for the problem. mine is way out of warranty, so my only recourse is to file a formal complaint so that hopefully others will not become involved in an accident as a result of faulty parts or fluid being used in the clutch system. the general consensus is that the master cylinder is allowing air, and/or moisture, to enter the system, but moreover, the dot 3 fluid that is used seems to be the major factor in the failure, where as dot 4 or 5.1 should be used instead. i have not done any repair to the car since she has it at school, but i will have it fixed as soon as i get it back home. | |||
| 02/15/2008 | 50000 | 1 | |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 nissan altima. the service engine light began illuminating intermittently and then remained lit. when starting the vehicle and taking off, the vehicle made a strange noise and jerked as if something were slipping. once the vehicle gained speed, the noise stopped. the dealer stated that the following components needed to be replaced: the catalytic converter, two major sensors, and the heating and air conditioning systems. the vehicle was burning oil on the inside of the engine, which caused it to fail. the vehicle could have an oil change and then four days later, the oil would have burned out completely. nhtsa campaign id numbers 03v084000 (engine and engine cooling:exhaust system:manifold/ header/muffler/tail pipe), 07v527000 (engine and engine cooling), and 03v455000 (engine and engine cooling were referenced. the current mileage was 116,000 and failure mileage was 50,000. updated 06/05/08 *bf the driver side power mirror was replaced, the gear selector was sticking. the cylinder head, gasket radiator and thermostat were replaced. were replaced. updated 06/04/08 | |||
| 1 | |||
| The gears did not shift properly.*jb | |||
| 02/28/2002 | |||
| Odometer was 4 seconds faster causing consumer to drive faster then intended. dealer and manufacturerhave been informed, and didn't see it being a problem. please add more information.*ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 04/03/2010 | 93000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2002 nissan altima. the contact stated that while driving at approximate speeds of 50 mph and applying the brakes, the vehicle stalled. he was able to restart the vehicle and momentarily, the vehicle exhibited hesitation and slight jerking. the vehicle then proceeded as normal. the dealer stated that the vehicle was not under recall or warranty and repairs would be at the owners expense. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 93,000 and the current mileage was 93,100. | |||
| 06/30/2006 | 55000 | 1 | |
| Too many issues to remember than all but i'll try: - excessive oil use - excessive coolant use - overheating to the aforementioned issues - intermittent transmission issues - failing airbag - electrical issues - broken sensors - catalytic converters gone bad - oxygen sensors gone bad - intermittent failure to start - intermittent car shaking and so on. *tr | |||
| 05/25/2008 | 100260 | 1 | |
| I have 2002 nissan altima 2.5 s,my car burn oil like crazy, could make a fire if i didn't keep checking on the oil level, i spent 5 quart just from iowa to minneapolis and for the local drive i need to refill 1 quart of oil every 5-6 days (between office and home which is just 4 minutes driving). *tr | |||
| 12/16/2007 | 58000 | 1 | 02/18/2002 |
| Throughout the last 4 yrs, on several occasions when shifting the transmission it doesn't engage. i have pulled from a parking spot using reverse, and just when i am pulling into traffic and shift to drive the car doesn't respond. the engine doesn't react to the accelerator; the engine is running but the car is unresponsive. when it happens i have to push the car to the side of the road and turn it off. one time it took about 15 mins to be able to restart and restore all functions. on another occasion i ended up having to wait until the next day. the scary part is that the engine and transmission are completely unresponsive when you need it the most; getting into traffic. i have been blessed and very lucky that it has only happened when pulling out of a parking spot or my out of my driveway. what i am extremely afraid is if this were ever to happen when pulling out into a highway or busy street traffic. this is similar to the risk associated with recall nhtsa campaign #07v527000. please correct the problem before someone gets kill; we should never wait that long or let it go that far. *tr | |||
| 03/23/2006 | 84000 | 5 | 09/19/2002 |
| Dt*: the contact stated the air bag light on the dash flashed constantly. there is a safety improvement campaign, # 02i001000, regarding the air bag. the vehicle has the same problems as indicated in the safety improvement campaign; however it is not included in the safety improvement campaign due to the vin. updated 4/17/2006 - the vehicle was taken to a dealer who indicated that eh air bag was defective. the dealer refused any assistance because the vehicle was 2000 mile out of warranty. the check engine light illuminated. the dealer found antifreeze leaking into the cylinders. the driver's side low beam headlamp was inop. the tech replaced the right side headlight bulb. radiator leaked coolant. the heater blew out cool air when the vehicle was stopped. the tech found an air pocket in the coolant system. replaced clutch assembly. cylinder head gasket was replaced. *nm | |||
| 11/05/2004 | 57000 | 1 | |
| When accelerating at high speeds vehicle makes a grinding noise and vibrates, making it possible to feel it through the steering wheel. consumer took the vehicle to the dealer. however, dealer was unable to duplicate the problem. *ak dec 15 dealer picked up car to fix the problem of vibration car return 12/17 can still not found and there was no paper work given on what was done. *tt | |||
| 07/26/2004 | 41000 | 10 | 03/08/2002 |
| Car started, but as i was soon to find out, would not accelerate over 1000 rpms. pulled out in traffic before i realized it would not go. was pulling into traffic from driveway and almost has a collision because i could not accelerate to the flow of traffic. managed to pull over the car to a safe spot. turned off engine. restarted and worked fine for a while. later, would happen every few times i started the car. i had to check if engine would rev before driving. if it did rev, problem would not re-appear until turning engine off. many times, would not start at all, and when it would and would not rev. after repeated attempts at re-starting, engine would start and rev and be ok until turned off. took car to dealer. turned out to be the throttle chamber. replaced under california's 50,000 mile emissions warranty, but only after i pointed out that coverage. service rep at dealer mentioned to me he was seeing this failure on nissan 3.5 litre v6s. posters to internet newgroup also report seeing this problem. *jb | |||
| 02/04/2003 | 08/12/2002 | ||
| Delays, obvious jerking, felt during acceleration at approximately 10 mpr. it is worse when car starts cold particularly in the morning. jerking forward during deceleration (without braking) at approximately 30 mpr. it has been getting worse as the car puts on more mileage. | |||
| 07/15/2002 | 2 | 07/01/2002 | |
| Car shifted in park and keys removed. car failed to start until reinserted transmission into park. dt | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - LEVER AND LINKAGE - FLOOR SHIFT | |||
| 03/18/2004 | 6 | ||
| 2002 nissan altima overheats, air conditioner and engine failures. customer states that she has brought the car in on numerous occasions for the overheating, air conditioning, and engine failures. *kb the consumer stated she was backing out of the driveway, when all of a sudden the engine light flashed and there was an immediate loss of power and no steering capability. the starter, engine control module and radiator were replaced. the thermostat was sticking which was one of the reasons the engine was overheating. the rear middle seat belt locked into place. the fuel door would not open when using the internal latch. the gear was difficult to get out of park. *jb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - CLUTCH ASSEMBLY | |||
| 04/20/2008 | 52200 | 1 | |
| Normal driving in air temperatures above 80 degrees. failure in the clutch petal pressure- unable to disengage the clutch and shift gears. had fluid flushed however this did not solve the issue and so the master and slave cylinder were replaced as recommended by manufacturer. one year later the issue returns, fluid was flushed and replaced with a high grade clutch fluid (dot 4) however still did not solve issue. master and slave will be replaced again. this link below will show the number of people who have had problems with the clutch pressure. http://www.nissanclub.com/forums/2005-2006-nissan-altima-se-r-discussion/229124-class-action-lawsuit-clutch-problem.html. *tr | |||
| 08/14/2006 | 24 | 04/14/2002 | |
| The clutch pedal on my 2002 nissan altima 3.5se inexplicably and without warning, falls to the floor and becomes inoperable while driving. this happens intermittently, especially during 'stop-and-go' traffic. the pedal simply does not return to its normal position. it is impossible to replicate the symptoms for my mechanic, who gave the clutch a clean bill of health. once it failed me at 60 mph!! | |||
| 07/22/2006 | 34000 | 15 | 05/22/2006 |
| I belong to http://www.nissanclub.com and many owners of the nissan altima with manual transmission from 2002 to current 2006 models have had premature master/slave cylinder failures which are a safety hazard when you can not shift your car into or out of gear while in motion. many of us find ourselves in a panic mode when we can not stop or go because our clutch pedal has no pressure and we can not shift out of gear while driving. my personal incident involves me having no ability to shift while in any driving situation, such as parking lots and up to highway driving. i nearly got hit while driving south then making a left turn (west) when i could not shift into second and another car was coming in the opposite direction (north). i had to rev my car to redline just to make it past the intersection. if you go to nissanclub.com you'll find may people who have had failures with the manual transmission. *jb | |||
| 10/07/2004 | 30000 | 1 | 04/18/2002 |
| Clutch was noisy. clutch began slipping at 30k miles. drove vehicle to the dealership. paid over $700 for new clutch. discovered there is a service bulletin on this vehicle for a replacement clutch with updated friction material. was wrongfully advised by dealership that the clutch needed replacement due to poor driving habits. *jb | |||
| 12/27/2001 | 3511 | 3 | 10/30/2001 |
| Clutch assembly mismatched. took 3 weeks to get part, only 3,000 miles old. still hard down shifting 5-4 & 2-1gears.*ak | |||
| 03/16/2002 | 1 | 12/01/2001 | |
| Shifting from 5th gear to 4th gear and clutch pedal stay in the floor. clutch, pressure plate, throw out bearing and flywheel failed.*ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - CLUTCH ASSEMBLY - PEDAL/LINKAGE | |||
| 04/01/2007 | 38333 | 2 | 01/01/2005 |
| 2002 nissan altima clutch issue. *dt the consumer stated the clutch pedal would stick to the floor, not allowing the consumer to shift correctly; if at all. once it was stuck, the only way to get the clutch to function was to pull the clutch manually back up with his foot. at 38,333 miles, the clutch was replaced at a cost of$ 1,092.13. a year after having the clutch replaced, the problem resurfaced. the dealer stated the clutch pedal assembly to replaced at a cost of $250.00. the consumer has not experienced any more problems.*jb | |||
| 07/12/2005 | 72000 | 15 | 05/05/2002 |
| When shifting gears in hot weather after being in city traffic my clutch would only come up approx. 1/4 way from the floor. i was able to carefully shift gears, but felt i may not have the control to shift next time. after the car cooled by driving outside the city, the clutch would return to normal. the dealer failed to reproduce the problem. the clutch fluid was the original. i had the clutch fluid drained and filled, only to still have the same problem. i suspect that air flow was restricted when a recall resulted in a heat shield being installed on the engine that redirected more heat to the clutch lines/cylinders. fortunately, this only happens a few times each summer. *tr | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE | |||
| 09/01/2007 | 1 | ||
| Engine and engine cooling:exhaust system:manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe; i went to kraft nissian dealership to have this recall fixed; after about approximately 2-3 weeks later i experience a shut-off in traffic. i return the car back to kraft nissian and they stated that they did not see a problem. it did not happen a agin, but afterwards i notice my car was burining alot of oil. i replace the oil every two-to three days. then one day it just died on me. i then had the car tow the car i could not afford the repair of the replacement of the engine and was told i had to rmove the car from the premises immeditely. i explain to the top/head service guy that i would have someone come and remove it that friday. he called on friday and i told him that it would be after 5pm but the person would be there to move it. i got there around 5:15 and was told the car had been towed. i believe that there is a continous problem with the recall and that nissian dealership do not want to replace the engine and makes the consumer feel as if it was theere fault. i had taken the car back several times without any satisfaction, i not sure if they treated me that way because i was a woman or what but i really felt belittled by this dealership. *tr | |||
| 06/13/2009 | 139000 | 1 | |
| I was on vacation, driving to cleveland, oh with my wife & parents on 6-13-09, sat in 2002 nissan altima, 2.5 sl. around 9.00 pm, on i-80, apprx 40 mil from cleveland, suddenly smoke started coming from the car hood, causing poor visibility. temp and oil level indicators did not show any sign of problem with the engine. after narrowly escaping crash with other vehicles by grace of god, we could stop the car with smoke still coming out. by the time i moved everybody away from the car, the smoke stopped. this sudden failure of the engine could have been more disastrous, endangering precious lives. on cranking the engine, loud noise from the engine made us believe that car was in bad shape, so car was towed to nissan of north olmsted, oh (dealer). after inspection on mon, 6/15/09 i was informed that the engine casting had a big hole apprx 2 big. we were asked to either scrap the car or replace the engine with estimated cost of $4500. we were not told any good reason for this engine failure. being stranded with my family for 3 days and despaired, i decided to replace engine hoping to get compensation from nissan. initial positive response from nissan customer affairs became very dissatisfying and frustrating after i paid the dealer. it was a shock to us that after calling so many times nissan did not took any responsibility stating on 6/24 that the vehicle is outside of manufacturer's warranty later i found many publications stating that 2002, nissan altima-2.5l engines have faced similar engine failures but nissan has not done enough to avoid such incidents. irresponsible behavior like this is not expected from such a reputed org. there had been multiple recalls on my car including engine sensor kit and engine cooling system. i would like to request you to look in to this matter so as to contain further damage to precious lives of people at large. i further request you to impress upon nissan to reimburse us for total cost of replacing engine and mental agony. *tr | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DRIVESHAFT | |||
| 11/05/2004 | 58000 | 2 | 05/18/2002 |
| The consumer stated a new engine was placed in the car in november, then two months later, it needed a new driveshaft, and currently needs motor mounts. there was a moving sensation when first taking off. when the consumer stopped the vehicle there was a popping noise. the car has been doing this since ownership. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION | |||
| 06/15/2010 | 95978 | ||
| I own a 2002 nissan altima 3.5 se. some time last year, when i was at the grocery store, my clutch was all the way down and it wouldn't come back up. i pumped it a couple times and it worked. then when i was driving yesterday, it just stayed down, i was fighting with it so that i could change gears. this morning, when i was leaving for work, it stayed down and would not come up. i was unable to drive my car. | |||
| 08/05/2009 | 110485 | 1 | |
| My 2002 nissan altima was having problems with the engine running properly. i would start the car and it would run rough, sputtering, and engine sounds had changed. my check engine light comes on and on some occasions it is hard to start. i took my car in to be fixed by a private garage on 08/05/2009 and when it was put on the computer a code came up. the code was p0420: catalyst efficiency: recall- potential engine compartment fire, according to the garage and the recall bulletin attached to the code. i was told to contact nissan. i did contact nissan and they stated that there was no such recall associated with my vehicle. i told them that i had a copy of the 8 page recall campaign and that my vin # was associated with this recall. at the end of the conversation they refused to do anything about this because it was an old car that had no warranty attached to it. *tr | |||
| 09/15/2002 | 7 | 03/09/2002 | |
| Manual transmission jumps out of gear when backing up a steep incline. dealer refuses to acknowledge problem this has happened many times. during the last 2 1/2 years. the first occurrance was about sept. 2002. *jb | |||
| 03/16/2002 | 1 | 12/01/2001 | |
| Shifting from 5th gear to 4th gear and clutch pedal stay in the floor. clutch, pressure plate, throw out bearing and flywheel failed.*ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION - FLOOR SHIFT ASSEMBLY | |||
| 12/27/2001 | 3511 | 3 | 10/30/2001 |
| Clutch assembly mismatched. took 3 weeks to get part, only 3,000 miles old. still hard down shifting 5-4 & 2-1gears.*ak | |||