2003 Nissan Altima: engine overheating

Filed Mar 29, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 145,000 miles · CA

Engine overheats while driving.. When heater is on car power fails when driving at high and low speeds. Battery dies and battery drains when car is off

Filed Apr 16, 2015 · Engine · 105,000 miles · MO

2.5l engine s model nissan altima. 2002-2003 has well documented blogs and complaints of excessive oil use. Causes are any thing to poor design valve seals to dust kick back from overheated catalytic convertor into piston/cylinder area causeing ring failures as well. This current vehicle has to been diagnoisised by a nissan dealer. It burns 2 quarts of oil per 160miles. The dealer recommends a new engine and new catalytic convertor. The regional nissan manager chris states nissan will not assist in any way to replace/repair these items because we have not owned the vehicle long enough. The car is worth $3800. The engine +convertor+ labor is over the value of the car. Some one high up somewhere dropped the royal ball on recalling this engine.

Filed Dec 31, 2012 · Engine · 78,500 miles · RI

Recently the engine blew on my altima. It had been function properly and received regular maintenance since its purchase date roughly 6 months ago with about 74,000 miles. The catalytic converter failed and overheated at around 78,000 miles. Currently it is burning through about 3 liters of oil a week. Because of the damage caused by catalytic converter, the engine is no longer serviceable.

Filed Feb 22, 2011 · Engine · 69,000 miles · FL

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 nissan altima. The contact stated that the pre-catalytic converter failed; there was debris in the engine that caused the engine to fail which overheated the catalytic substrate. The contact referenced recall 03v084000 (engine and engine cooling: exhaust system: manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe) but the vehicle was not included. The contact called the manufacturer and was awaiting a return call. The failure mileage was 69,000.

Filed Sep 9, 2010 · Engine · 134,874 miles · NC

2003 nissan smoking, burning oil, sputtering. Diagnosed (by $95.00 diagnostic I was required by nissan to get a nissan dealership) as catalytic converter has gone bad due to overheating, this has caused it to fall apart and go into the motor. Now needs new catalytic converter and motor. There was a recall on 2003 altimas for this very problem, a problem that could cause a car to catch on fire. According to nissan my VIN was not included in the recall therefore I never received any notice of it but now I have the very issues that the recall was to prevent but they refuse to cover the repair costs. This makes me question if they mistakenly left out some 2003 models that should have been included in the recall, and I have been riding around all this time with the chance my car could catch on fire, this is scary. There are tons of complaints online about this very issue and no one seems to be able to get nissan to respond, I feel like they need to go back and revisit that recall and maybe add more cars to it before someone gets seriously hurt. I filed a claim with nissan yesterday, in less than 24 hours they called back to say there was nothing they would do for me. Not sure how much they looked into this because I called it in around 3pm yesterday and they called me back before 10am this morning. This issues needs to be addressed or someone is going to get hurt due to their car catching on fire.

Filed Aug 19, 2010 · Engine · 100,000 miles · CT

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 nissan altima. The contact stated that the vehicle was rapidly consuming oil and overheating. The vehicle was previously repaired under the federal safety agency campaign id number: 03v084000 (engine and engine cooling: exhaust system: manifold/ header/ muffler/ tail pipe) yet the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to a local repair facility where the mechanic installed a pre-catalyst and oxygen sensor but did not remedy the failure. In addition, there was excessive black smoke coming from the exhaust pipe after a routine oil change and smoke coming from under the hood. The dealer advised having a diagnostic performed at the contact's expense. The contact declined. The manufacturer advised having the vehicle diagnosed before they would determine if they would assist with repairs. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 100,000 the current mileage was 142,000.

Filed Jul 16, 2010 · Engine · 117,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 nissan altima. While driving at 45 MPH, the vehicle began to overheat. There was then a loud, unusual noise followed by the vehicle attempting to stall. The contact shut off the vehicle and restarted. The failure did not persist. The dealer advised that the catalytic converter and engine would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 117,000 and the current mileage was 122,000. Updated 10/25/10 *bf the consumer stated the vehicle was consuming a large amount of oil every week. Updated 10/27/10

Filed Nov 18, 2009 · Engine · 88,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2003 nissan altima. The vehicle started to make noise in engine after oil change. Two days after oil was topped off, oil level showed it burned 4 quarts with no leaks. Since, it has consumed an excessive amount of oil. The low engine oil warning light illuminated on the instrument panel again. The contact placed more oil into the vehicle before it was taken to a repair shop. The mechanic verified the low oil level and vehicle was burning oil at an alarming rate. There was no evidence of oil leakage anywhere in the vehicle. The contact found over 700 complaints on the federal safety agency web site for the same failure. The failure and current mileages were less than 88,000 miles. Internet complaints show 4 cylinder altima engines had design flaw and pre-catalytic converter overheats and ash material enters engine and scores cylinder walls causing excessive oil use and engine failure. The federal safety agency had recall for this in 2003 (the federal safety agency recall #03v08400 .odi) nissan only inspected engines but did not repair. Engine failures continued to occur to date as the federal safety agency closed recall and did not monitor nissan since. The federal safety agency is negligent in due diligence and follow up with nissan by allowing failures to continue. In last several years, the pre converter has continued to fail and destroy engines. Original recall only delayed converter failure until warranty expired and $5000 engine replacement costs was pushed onto owner. Nissan will not acknowledge design flaw still destroying engines. Reinstate recall and payment by nissan. *"tr

Filed Oct 17, 2008 · Engine · 95,000 miles · NJ

I am the original owner of a 2003 nissan altima with about 95,000 miles. On 9/19, I took the vehicle to my local nissan dealer for service because the "check engine" light was on, the engine was running a little rough and had a slight rattle, and my oil light started blinking on occasionally. The dealer flushed and replaced the oil, and also replaced the catalytic converter and two oxygen sensors, at a total cost of $1700. The car was returned to me on 9/23. I was away 9/26-9/29 and did not drive the car. On weekdays, I typically drive about 10 miles to and from work each way. The next weekend I drove the car approx. 150 miles, at which time I noticed the rattle had not subsided and that my oil light had started to blink on again, especially as I drove uphill. I added 2 quarts to the engine on 10/4 and took the car to a jiffy lube on 10/8. The jl tech that replaced the oil told me that my oil was very low, so I brought the car back to the nissan dealer on 10/13. The dealer diagnosed the rattle as "internal engine failure" and recommended a new engine for $5000. My conversation with the dealer mechanic LED me to believe that the car was burning oil due to a leaky cylinder, most likely caused by failure of the pre-catalyst. The pre-catalyst or 'pre-cat' filters exhaust before it gets to the catalytic converter. The pre-cat is closer to the engine than the cat converter, so it tends to get overheated. When it does, it can break down, and little pieces of it can get sucked back up the exhaust system the wrong way, back into the cylinders, which damages the cylinders & allows oil to leak into the engine. Because of the massive oil consumption, I was unknowingly driving without enough oil, and permanently damaged the engine. I park my car in my garage & have never noticed an oil leak or smoke from the tailpipe. I have never gone more than 5,500 miles without an oil change, and I have a receipt from every oil change I've ever had. The car has no outstanding safety recalls.

Filed Apr 8, 2008 · Engine · 80,000 miles · MO

I own a 2003 nissan altima 2.5l s, subject to the federal safety agency recall # 06v242000 regarding overheating of the crank angle sensor. I have already experienced the stated consequences of the problem, including stalling of the car while driving several times and lighting of the service engine soon light. The car was serviced by the dealer on 10/26/07 to correct the defect (free of charge), which was done by reprogramming the electronic control module (ECM). This seemed to resolve the problem, up until yesterday when the service engine soon light appeared again. The car has been hesitating during acceleration on occasion lately, but has not stalled. I took the car back to the dealer, and they diagnosed it as a crank sensor problem. This is the same part that is affected by the federal safety agency recall # 06v242000 (above). The dealership claims that I need to have the sensor replaced (at a cost of $190, in addition to the $53 I spent for diagnosis today). They claim that this problem is not related to the recall, which I have a very difficult time believing since the recall notice states this part is adversely affected by engine temperatures due to poor location.

Filed Jan 4, 2008 · Engine · 102,427 miles · MI

My 2003 nissan altima with 102k miles on the 2.5liter was driven only about 8 miles when engine suddenly slowed and stalled while I was in traffic. The vehicle overheated. All vehicle service had previously been performed. Untimately my expense to rebuilt the engine was $2.2k with nissan refusing to accept any responsibility. Have others had similar experience? Did nissan also not stand behind there product with other customers?

Filed Feb 20, 2007 · Engine, Suspension · IL

2003 nissan altima with a long list of problems customer has learned about several recalls and wants this matter to be reviewed**nar**cc three months after purchasing the vehicle, the vehicle needed new tires and an alignment. Three months later the vehicle would not start. On another occasion, the vehicle began jerking and the indicator lights illuminated. The radiator was cracked and had to be replaced. The vehicle overheated again. The consumer was never told the ECM device had some relationship to the temperature of the engine/coolant and may have contributed to the vehicle overheating.