I own a 2002 nissan altima. A few months ago I noticed rust on both the passenger and driver side. The drivers side is worse than the passengers side. There is an actual hole in the metal where it has corroded. It has rusted from the inside out, so it appears to me as if it is a factory defect. I called nissan and spoke with a representative. She told me there was nothing nissan could do because the warranty has expired. I talked to her supervisor and she told me also there was nothing they could do. Her 3 reasons were: (1) it costs too much to fix (2) she does not know the history of the vehicle and (3) the warranty has expired. I believe that this defect is a safety issue and nissan need to fix it.
2002 Nissan Altima body complaints
Page 5 of 5: complaints 101 to 128 of 128, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I have mailed an official letter since the space provided is not sufficient for my complaint. The consumer stated during a recent oil change, the technician noticed an enormous rusted hole on the driver's side of the floor panel underneath the vehicle. The passenger side also had a big rusted spot where another hole was developing. The consumer was advised by a repair shop to replace the entire floor panel since it was so badly rusted. The consumer believed the defect was due to the absence of drain holes in the floor pan underneath the vehicle. The drain holes were visible to have been outlined, but they were never drilled through. The water from the air conditioner would get trapped on top of the floor panel and collect there, eventually causing rust. Updated ivoq *jb
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 nissan altima. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic to have new tires installed. The contact was informed that the vehicle frame exhibited an unusually large hole on the front passenger side of the vehicle. The contact called the dealer, who advised that he had not received any complaints in regards to the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The current and failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
Passenger side floorboard on my 2002 nissan altima is rusted through. Vehicle was getting inspected last week and I was informed of the issue. Have done some research and appears I'm not the only altima owner with this issue. The rust is a safety issue due to the rust hole I have in the floorboard. The rust is only of the passenger side no where else on the vehicle. Appears to be a defect on the 2002-2005 nissan altimas. I know several others have filed complaints as well: odi #10357667 odi # 10358132.
Re: 2002 nissan altima. There is severe rust and corrosion in specific locations directly under both the driver and front passengers seats and floors. The corrosion appears to be related to two factory holes in the floor, one on each side of the vehicle. The corrosion on the passenger side of our car is less severe: a large area of rust but a relatively small hole (tennis ball size) through the sheet metal. The drivers side of the car has a large hole (soccer ball size) in the floor. This is the only major corrosion on the car (the "rear subframe" assembly was replaced in 2006 due to corrosion under a nissan warranty program). The fuel filler neck is also rusty and does not seal properly, which can cause an engine alert when the fuel vapor seal leak reaches the point where the alert is triggered. There is little or no corrosion in the wheel wells or fenders. Based on two bids from auto body shops in this area, the cost to repair the rust damage will be between $2500 and $3200. I have taken photographs of approximately forty altimas in this area. All but five have corrosion in this specific area to varying degrees. It is clearly not limited to only the car we own. Nissan has a warranty program which covers rust perforation for a period of five years from the date of manufacture. I have spoken to a number of people at a dealer in this area regarding this problem. They claim that nissan is aware of this problem on 2001 through 2005 altimas, but has chosen not to warrant it due to the expense, preferring instead to refuse to be responsible. Nissan will apparently take the cars in trade and sell them to wholesale auto operations where they are sold to customers who may or may not be aware of the problem. Updated ivoq 11/05/10 the battery was replaced. Updated 12/22/10
Rusted floor boards front . Floor boards rusted specially passenger side due to defect in the drainage inside or poor design. Persons could inhale gas fumes or floor board suddenly fall down if a person is unaware that a rusted hole is underneath. Told out of corrosion warranty which is only 5 years.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 nissan altima. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic shop for an oil change and while inspecting the vehicle they found the floor boards rotted out on the driver and passenger side. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they took pictures of the failure and contacted the manufacturer. The manufacturer contacted her and informed her it was wear and tear and the vehicle was out of warranty and there was nothing they can do for her. The failure mileage was 89,847.
I am the owner of a 2002 nissan altima 2.5 s. I have owned this car for almost 8 years and have close to 42,000 miles on it. I purchased it brand new in 2002 from a nissan dealership. Just recently I had a routine oil change done in my car and my mechanic noticed an enormous rusted hole on the driver side of the floor panel underneath the car, the passenger side also had a big rusted spot where another hole is developing. I took it to a local nissan bodyworks repair shop where I was advised to replace the entire floor panel, since it was so badly rusted, you can see the carpeting through the hole. The estimate came out to a total over $2,000. This comes as a complete surprise to me, since I hardly drive my vehicle and take very good care of it. It is kept in a sealed garage of a private house. The vehicle also gets washed regularly, especially during winter months. The underbody is cleaned periodically (at the very least once a week in winter) to make sure the salt and sand/dirt does not cause deterioration, it also gets waxed every so often. When the floor coverings get wet during the cold months, I take them out and dry them before placing them back in. I am just in a total state of shock, how a vehicle with 42,000 miles during a span of 8 years, which was kept inside a garage and constantly maintained have such an issue with the floor panel. There is definitely something wrong with the way that particular part of the car was manufactured.
Large hole in passenger floorboard of my 2002 nissan altima. Size of hole is @ 10"x 5". The underside of the vehicle is undercoated and the rest of the underside is spotless.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 nissan altima. While cleaning the vehicle, the contact noticed rust on the undercarriage near the front end of the vehicle. The contact stated that if you lift the floor mats up from the front driver and passenger sides he could see all the way through the vehicle because the frame was completely covered with rust. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that he had to pay to have the frame repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 88,000 and the current mileage was 95,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 nissan altima. The contact stated the frame was rusted and partially corroded from road salt. The dealer advised replacing the rear body and center floors at the contact's expense. There were no recalls on the vehicle. The manufacturer would not provide any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 66,000. Updated 10/27/10.
Had oil changed on 2002 nissan altima se and notice large rust spots on the floor panels under both driver's and passenger side. Upon further investigation, the rust had created a hole right through the floor panel - lifting the carpet, I could see the road below. Nissan dealers said that it was out of warranty so they could do nothing.
Luckily any incidents were omitted. My mechanic discover that the undermount in my 2002 nissan altima rusted so badly that I have two holes in the car. The holes are in the under the driver seat and passenger seat. That is just an accident waiting to happen.
I have a 2002 nissan altima and it has developed a large rust hole under the passenger and driver side floor pan. The car was rust proofed when it was purchased new. It has not been in any accidents. Other altima owners have not had any luck with nissan to correct this problem. This is a common problem/defect that nissan refuses to correct.
The floor panel on my 2002 nissan altima has rusted through completely the hole is approximately 8x8 it is only on the passenger side which I find very peculiar.
On my 2002 nissan altima, both the driver and passenger side floorboards are rotted out. There are holes over 1 foot square on each side below the pass and drivers feet. This is a well taken care of vehicle, purchased new,washed every month (including undercarriage). The vehicle came with a factory "undercoating", that is still intact but no longer fully attached to the structure, it holds the water against the metal and rots it out, without the owner ever being able to see the damage being done until its too late! Ive never seen this, even half as bad, on any car that was taken care of before (and ive been working on cars for 20 years!) this seems like a design flaw by nissan.
Tl*- the contact owns a 2002 nissan altima. While the contact was attempting to have her vehicle inspected she was informed that the frame of the vehicle was beginning to rust. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealership and there were no prior warnings, the current and failure mileages were 72000. Updated 2/22/10 *cn updated 05/20/10
Defective sheet metal design in floor pan of nissan altimas, body style beginning with model year 2002. Design flaw caused large rust holes in front of driver and passenger seat, seemingly by trapping moisture. My holes approx 12" each. I am hearing similar complaints from other altima owners. Perforation warranty was 5 years, and due to my dealership not noticing the problem within that period, nissan claims no responsibility. These holes may alter the structural integrity of the body frame in case of side impact. Additionally, water enters the cabin and remains in the carpet and pad. My floor pan will need to be replaced, and am preparing to schedule the work. Nissans recommended local body shop has estimated repairs approx. $2300 us.
Pa vehicle inspector found large rusted holes through floor pan in our 2002 nissan altima which was always garaged and had only 42,000 miles. Because exhaust fumes could enter the passenger compartment we couldn't use the car. Calls to the dealer and nissan were fruitless. An online search found several other owners of the same model with the same problem and a couple had estimates of over $2000 for repair.
Gas door was not closing properly. It eventually is very crooked and does not close at all any more. I talked to several nissan altima owner same thing happened.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 nissan altima. The contact noticed metal hanging from the bottom of her vehicle. There was a hole under the driver side, which exposed rotten metal. The vehicle was inspected and the floorboard was diagnosed as the cause of the failure. The sales dealer took pictures and sent them to the manufacturer. Most recently, the manufacturer stated that they could not be of assistance and that the warranty would not cover the corrosion underneath the vehicle. The sales dealer informed the contact that she would be responsible for the $6,000 repair cost. The current mileage was 89,000 and failure mileage was approximately 86,000. Updated 07/29/08. *lj the consumer stated the vehicle has rusted out from the inside out. Updated 07/29/08.
My wife was driving her 2002 altima when the right front inner fender splash shield came loose and jammed against the tire. She though she had a blowout and nearly lost control of the car. Car had prior nissan recall to install supplemental snow/ice shields. Also prior occurrence of this shield detaching at highway speeds. Nissan charged for reinstallation.
Request for recall of 2002 nissan altima's based on service bulletin-classification bt02-017, reference ntb02-042. *bf the consumers vehicle had a severe leak on the drivers side. The defect caused extreme amounts of water to enter the vehicle.
During a routine brake job at the nissan dealership it was noticed that I had a rear cracked cross member (frame). The frame of the body was cracked. Nissan would not take responsibility for the problem. I took it to a body shop they had recommended since they would not quote me a price. I had it fixed for $888.71. They replaced the rear crossmember. I do have the old cross member in my garage.
While driving in severe wind gusts, we heard a loud screeching noise emanating from the front, left post area. Sometimes the source was the right front. The noise erupted as the wind gusted at sharp angles and the car steered into or away from the gusts. The noise was highly pronounced. I ruled out anything mechanical because we experienced the same noise whenever the gusts increased and the car was thrown left or right. Turning the steering wheel seemed to cut right into the gusts and the sound was so intense that we thought it resembled a buzzsaw trying to cut its way into the windshield/post area. We mentioned this phenomenon to our car dealer (harbor nissan, port charlotte, fl). The service manager told us he has had this complaint from other nissan owners and that he, too, thought it was the wind reacting against the configuration of the vehicle. Our vehicle is a 2002 nissan altima. The noise lasts only a split second, sometimes as long as a second. But it is persistent in high gusts. We leased this vehicle in june 2002 and had never before experienced this problem. We had not encountered such high gusts until the period I report here. We were on an extended trip and the problem persisted outbound and inbound. I'm confident there is no mechanical problem. But there is a design flaw of sorts.
The heat shield was installed improperly, which caused the vehicle to stall, and other components to fail. (exhaust manifold, A/C, 02 sensor) the manufacturer was aware of the problem. Mr scc
While traveling 70mph on highway and without prior warning engine check light appeared on dashboard, indicating that vehicle caught on fire. The dealership was aware of the problem. *ak there was a sudden loss of power, there was also a clicking sound as if it were coming from the fuel injection system, the oil light, and the light had illuminated.
Consumer states that snow builds up in the small wheel wells and makes steering difficult, especially when it turns cold, it is impossible to steer. There is also extreme wear on the tires due to the ice build up, this causes the vehicle to shimmy in the front end.
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