CarComplaints.com Notes: Here's a disturbing trend for the 2002 Nissan Altima: the engine starts burning oil like crazy, the catalytic converter goes bad, the head gasket blows and eventually the entire engine needs replacement. Sound familiar? Like a script from a horror film, these Altimas seem doomed to fail around 95k miles.
First the radiator went off and then the transmission suddenly started cranking. I got the radiator fixed and now I am stuck with the transmission issue. Why make a system where a faulty radiator can potentially kill the transmission? WTF?
Have been to several dealers and mechanics. Dealers want $900 to replace clutch before the even examine problem. Mechanics test drove and inspected and all 3 said it is not the clutch. Definitely something wrong with transmission. Dealer won't hear of it.
Not very thrilled with Nissan quality. Had a Toyota and Honda, both much better.
Returning to my car in a parking lot, found I was unable to put car in reverse. Ran fine otherwise - first gear seemed ok. Pushed it to back out of spot, put it in gear and drove off. No third gear available and no fifth gear either. Visited the dealer first thing in the morning (thinking warranty transmission repair!). Diagnosis - replacement of a $3 clip and $87 worth of labor - no warranty, of course. Surprised by the engineering flaw that virtually disables the vehicle when a small clip fails... Arghhh!
- glenn01,
Brossard, Quebec, Canada
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First the radiator went off and then the transmission suddenly started cranking. I got the radiator fixed and now I am stuck with the transmission issue. Why make a system where a faulty radiator can potentially kill the transmission? WTF?
- Durgesh R., Oak Ridge, TN, US