NHTSA Complaint #10263240 — 2005 NISSAN ALTIMA

THERE IS A DEFECT IN A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF V6 EQUIPPED NISSAN VEHICLES MY 2004-2007. NISSAN HAS ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN NTB07-042 DESCRIBING THE ISSUE AND SOLUTION. POOR ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING DEFECTS LEAD TO ISSUES THAT CAN CAUSE THE SECONDARY TIMING CHAINS ON THESE VEHICLES TO FAIL. THE PROBLEM DOES NOT BECOME APPARENT UNTIL AFTER THE WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED, I.E. AFTER 60,000 MILES OF SERVICE. REPAIR REQUIRES THE ENGINE TO BE REMOVED FROM THE VEHICLE AND TORN DOWN TO REPLACE THESE PARTS. PARTS INCLUDE THE SECONDARY TIMING CHAINS AND CHAIN TENSIONERS. NISSAN IS REFUSING TO SUPPORT THEIR CUSTOMERS IN REGARD TO THESE REPAIRS. COST TO PERFORM THE REPAIR WILL RUN BETWEEN $1800 AND $2200 PER QUOTATION BY MY DEALER. TIMING CHAIN FAILURE WOULD LIKELY CAUSE CATASTROPHIC ENGINE DAMAGE. SHOULD SUCH FAILURE OCCUR UNDER HIGHWAY CONDITIONS, SERIOUS ACCIDENTS WITH CONCOMITANT INJURIES WOULD LIKELY RESULT. WHILE I HAVE NOT HAD AN ACCIDENT, I AM DEEPLY CONCERNED THAT NISSAN IS TAKING NO ACTION TO ADDRESS THIS POTENTIALLY SERIOUS ISSUE AFFECTING A SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE OF THEIR FLEET FOR THESE MODEL YEARS. IN NORMAL SERVICE, THE VEHICLES IN QUESTION ARE NOW REACHING THE POINT WHERE THIS PROBLEM WILL BEGIN TO MANIFEST ITSELF. *TR