2003 Nissan Altima

I HAVE A 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA. THIS CAR IS BURNING OIL LIKE CRAZY. THERE'S NO SMOKE OR ANYTHING OF THAT SORT, BUT I HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE OUT AND PUT OIL IN MY CAR TO KEEP IT RUNNING AT LEAST EVERY 4-5 DAYS OR SO. GAS IS HIGH AND OIL IS GETTING HIGHER; I HAVE TO KEEP AT LEAST 2-3 QUARTS IN MY TRUNK. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS BEEN ON FOR SOMETIME NOW. WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE IF I GO OVER 70MPH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STARTS BLINKING. WHEN I TAKE MY FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STOPS BLINKING, BUT CONTINUES TO STAY ON. HOWEVER, I JUST HAD MY SPARK PLUGS CHANGED AND NOW THE CAR WON'T START. PLEASE I NEED SOME HELP ASAP.... I DON'T HAVE MONEY TO PURCHASE A NEW ONE AT THIS TIME, BUT WISH SOMEONE CAN TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON. THE DEALER IS NO HELP WHATSOEVER. THEY GET YOU IN THERE AND TELL YOU THAT THIS, THIS, AND THIS IS THE PROBLEM. IT SEEMS THAT NOTHING IS UNDER WARRANTY WITH NISSAN, AND I DON'T OWN THE CAR AS OF YET I'M STILL MAKING MONTHLY PAYMENTS. I THINK THAT NISSAN NEEDS TO GO OVER THE ENGINE, ELECTRONIC, AND ETC. BECAUSE CANTON, MISSISSIPPI IS THE HOME OF NISSAN AND YOU HAVE SOME BIG PROBLEMS ON YOUR HANDS!!! *TR

THE CAR BEGAN TO HESITATE AT A STOPPED POSITION. IT TOOK EXTRA PRESSURE ON THE GAS PEDAL TO GET IT TO GO. AT SPEEDS OF 60 MPH, THIS SAME THING WAS HAPPENING. IT ALMOST NEEDED TO BE FLOORED TO GET IT TO GO. IT REVVED VERY HIGH WHEN I TRIED TO GIVE IT EXTRA GAS. SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS IN NEUTRAL. TOOK IT TO A REPAIR SHOP AND THEY SAID THE TRANSMISSION SOLENOID PACK NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. ONLY HAS 76,000 MILES. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE IF I NEED TO PASS OR GET RAPID ACCELERATION, I COULD BE IN AN ACCIDENT. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE ENGINE SHUT OFF WITHOUT WARNING. THE ENGINE RESTARTED AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS. NO WARNING LIGHTS WERE ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT CRANK CASE SENSOR FAILED. RECENTLY, THE TRANSMISSION BEGAN SLIPPING AND SHIFTED ERRATICALLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. UPDATED 01/03/12*LJ UPDATED 01/05/12

THIS HAS BEEN ONGOING FOR ABOUT THREE MONTHS, BUT IT STARTED HAPPENING ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO. IT WOULD DO IT ONCE OR TWICE AND THEN NOT DO IT FOR QUITE A WHILE. OVER THE PAST 2-3 MONTHS IT HAS BECOME MORE FREQUENT AND DANGEROUS. MY '03 NISSAN ALTIMA 3.5SE CLUTCH PEDAL WILL SINK TO THE FLOOR AND IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO SHIFT IN OR OUT OF GEAR. IT HAPPENED RECENTLY WHILE EXITING THE INTERSTATE. I WAS BARELY ABLE TO GET IT OUT OF GEAR BEFORE THE CAR STALLED. IF THE CAR HAD STALLED, I WOULD HAVE LOST POWER AND POSSIBLY CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE WHILE COMING TO A STOP. *TR

THERE IS NO INTERLOCK ON IGNITION TO PREVENT REMOVAL OF THE IGNITION KEY IF SHIFTER IS NOT PLACED IN PARK POSITION. CAR WAS PARKED AND AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SHIFTER WAS IN NEUTRAL WHEN KEY WAS REMOVED. CAR ROLLED OUT OF PARKING LOT DOWN EMBANKMENT AND CRASHED INTO TREE THEN PROCEEDED ACROSS STREET INTO A LOWER PARKING LOT HITTING GUARD RAIL BEFORE COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP. THIS LACK OF A SAFETY FEATURE WAS UNKNOWN TO OWNERS AND CONSIDER THIS A DEFECT SAFETY RISK TO THE PUBLIC. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA. IN 2003, THE VEHICLE BEGAN JERKING AND WOULD COME TO A COMPLETE STOP WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO TWO DEALERS AND THE RADIATOR AND CRANK SENSOR WERE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND A REPORT WAS TAKEN. THE INVESTIGATION CONCLUDED THAT THE VEHICLE COULD NOT BE REPLACED UNDER THE LEMON LAW BECAUSE THE TIME HAD EXPIRED. THE SPEED AND POWERTRAIN WERE UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 55,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 7,435. UPDATED 02/12/08. *LJ THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE STALLS AND THEN SHOOTS FORWARD. UPDATED 02/12/08 *TR

CLUTCH PEDAL SUDDENLY LOOSES PRESSURE WHILE DRIVING, CAUSING AN INABILITY TO SHIFT GEARS. THUS RENDERING THE CAR UNDRIVABLE. AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME, CLUTCH PEDAL REGAINS PRESSURE. THIS TIME PERIOD VARIES, AND IS NOT CONSISTENT. DEALER RESPONSE HAS ALWAYS BEEN THAT THEY ARE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. MANY USERS ON THE INTERNET FORUM 'ALTIMAS.NET' HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS SAME ISSUE, AND HAVE HAD PROBLEMS GETTING DEALERS AND NISSAN MOTOR CORP. TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND ADDRESS THE ISSUE. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE CONTACT HEARD A LOUD SNAP UNDERNEATH THE VEHICLE WHILE DRIVING. HE ATTEMPTED TO PLACE THE VEHICLE IN DRIVE AND REVERSE, BUT IT FAILED TO MOVE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO HIS RESIDENCE AND WAS LATER TOWED TO THE DEALER. THE MECHANIC STATED THAT THE VEHICLE NEEDED A NEW ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION. THROUGH ONLINE RESEARCH, THE CONTACT DISCOVERED THAT THE 2006 ALTIMA'S HAVE A RECALL FOR THE SAME FAILURE. THE SPEED AND RECALL NUMBER WERE UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 127,000.

I HAVE A 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA 3.5SE WITH A 5SPD MANUAL TRANSMISSION. I HAVE A RECURRING PROBLEM THAT MY CLUTCH WILL LOSE PRESSURE AND FALL TO THE FLOOR. THIS WILL HAPPEN WHILE DRIVING, CAN BE IN ANY GEAR, GOING ANY SPEED. USUALLY PULLING THE CLUTCH UP AND "PUMPING" IT WILL "SOLVE" THE PROBLEM. THIS PROBABLY HAPPENS TWICE A MONTH, AND HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR 12/31/2006. I HAVE DONE RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET AND SPOKE TO OTHER ALTIMA OWNERS AND HAVE DISCOVERED THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM THAT MANY HAVE HAD FOR YEARS SINCE THEY HAVE OWNED THEIR CARS. I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE MECHANIC SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIX EASILY, BUT I AM LEFT WONDERING WHY SO MANY HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM AND THAT IT MAY BE A POSSIBLE DESIGN ISSUE THAT NISSAN SHOULD BE ADDRESSING DUE TO SAFETY CONCERNS.*AK

NISSAN 2003 ALTIMA 2.5 S. THE CAR TURNED OFF WHILE IN TRAFFIC. THERE HAD BEEN A RECENT RECALL BASED ON REPROGRAMMING THE CHIP THAT DESCRIBED THE CONDITION. THIS DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. IT WAS THEN DIAGNOSED AS A CORRUPTED TIMING CHAIN SENSOR. WHEN REPLACED IT SOLVED THE PROBLEM. WHEN I ARGUED ABOUT THIS REPAIR BEING COVERED BY THE STANDARD 60 MONTH 60,000 MILE DRIVE TRAIN WARRANTY IT WAS NOT. THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP TOLD ME IT "WOULD NOT BE FAIR TO ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE THAT PAID $180 TO GET HIS REPAIRED. A CAR THAT STOPS IN TRAFFIC AND WILL NOT TURN BACK ON FOR 5 - 45 MINUTES IS VERY DANGEROUS. *TR