NHTSA Complaint #10163110 — 2006 NISSAN ALTIMA

ENROUTE TO TUCSON AZ ON INTERSTATE 10, MY VEHICLE, A 2006 NISSAN ALTIMA SE, BECAME UNCONTROLLABLE. I HEARD A SOUND THAT I THOUGHT WAS A BLOWOUT IN ONE OF MY TIRES AS I ATTEMPTED TO GUIDE THE VEHICLE TO THE MEDIAN. UPON JUST BARELY ENTERING THE MEDIAN, I CHECKED MY TIRES AND DISCOVERED THE PROBLEM WAS NOT A BLOWOUT. I NOTICED ANOTHER DRIVER PULLED INTO THE MEDIAN ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE ROAD. SHE WAS CHECKING HER VEHICLE FOR DAMAGE TO THE FRONT. I CROSSED OVER AND SHE INFORMED ME THAT SHE OBSERVED SMOKE & FIRE EMITTING FROM MY VEHICLE BEFORE UNDETERMINED "PARTS OF MY VEHICLE" STRUCK HERS. I DID SMELL A STRONG ODOR OF SMOKE AND A FLOW OF BLACK FLUID TOWARDS THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. I CALLED AAA OF ARIZONA AND WAS TOWED TO THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP IN TUCSON. MY 2006 NISSSAN ALTIMA HAS 16800 MILES ON IT AND IS STILL UNDER FACTORY WARRANTY. UPON ARRIVING AT MY HOME AT APPROXIMATELY 7:00 PM, I RECEIVED A CALL FROM THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP ADVISING ME THAT THE INCIDENT WAS CAUSED BY THE AUTO TECHNICIAN WHO HAD PERFORMED MY PREVIOUS OIL CHANGE NOT REINSTALLING THE OIL PLUG SECURELY AFTER THE OIL CHANGE AND THEY, NISSAN, HAD CONCLUSIVE PROOF THAT WAS THE CASE. I CONTACTED JIFFY LUBE WHO WILL BE SENDING A REPRESENTATIVE TO INSPECT THE VEHICLE TO DETERMINE THE VERACITY OF THE NISSAN CLAIM. SUBSEQUENTLY, I LEARNED OF RECALL 06V223000 AFFECTING 2006 NISSAN ALTIMA VEHICLES.THE RECALL IS FOR EXCESSIVE ENGINE OIL CONSUMPTION AS A RESULT OF IMPROPER PERFORMANCE OF THE PISTON RINGS. PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT, I HAD NOT BEEN CONTACTED BY NISSAN NOR WAS I AWARE OF THE RECALL. AS MY OIL CHANGE AT JIFFY LUBE OCCURRED IN MAY AND I HAD NOT NOTICED ANY LEAKING OIL, I AM SKEPTICAL OF NISSAN'S EFFORTS TO POINT THE BLAME AT JIFFY LUBE WHEN IT APPEARS EXTREMELY LIKELY MY NEAR ACCIDENT WAS LIKELY CAUSED BY THE SOURCE OF RECALL 06V223000. I KNOW THAT ONLY DIVINE PROVIDENCE SAVED ME FROM BEING STRUCK BY TRAFFIC BEHIND ME ON A ROAD WHERE THE SPEED LIMIT IS 75MPH. CAUSING IMPROPER