NHTSA Complaint #10279609 — 2005 NISSAN ALTIMA

MY COMPLAINT IS SIMILAR TO MANY OTHERS I HAVE SEEN. I OWN A 2005 NISSAN ALTIMA 2.5 SL. IT HAS APPROXIMATELY 47,000 MILES. ON A RECENT TRIP I NOTICED DIFFICULTY CRANKING AND SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT REMAINED ON. I WAS 5 HOURS FROM MY HOME WITH MY FAMILY IN THE CAR. IT WAS A WEEKEND, SO NO NISSAN DEALER WAS OPEN OR EVEN IN THE VICINITY OF MY LOCATION. AFTER CROSSING ALL FINGERS AND NURSING THE CAR HOME, I IMMEDIATELY TOOK IT TO MY NORMAL DEALER ON MONDAY MORNING. I WAS TOLD THE "TECH FOUND A CODE FOR A FAILED CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR". THE SERVICE MANAGER CHECKED MY VIN FOR ANY BULLETINS OR RECALLS AND FOUND NONE. I WAS CHARGED $230 TO REPLACE THE FAILED PART. I CALLED NISSAN CONSUMER AFFAIRS ASKING FOR REIMBURSEMENT BASED ON THE FAILURE FREQUENCY RATE OF THIS SENSOR. AFTER MANY PHONE CALLS AND VOICEMAILS I WAS TOLD THAT NISSAN WOULD NOT REIMBURSE THE CHARGES. I ASKED IF THE FAILURE RATE OF THE SENSOR WAS TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION IN THEIR DECISION - THE ANSWER WAS NO. I ASKED WHAT THE FAILURE RATE WAS FOR THE SENSOR - MY REP, THE REGIONAL SPECIALIST, DID NOT HAVE THAT INFORMATION. BASED ON MY RESEARCH, IT APPEARS THERE IS A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT RATE OF FAILURE FOR THE CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR ALONG WITH SEVERAL REDESIGNS OF THE OEM PART. NISSAN DOES NOT SEEM TO BE TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PROBLEM. I AM DISAPPOINTED AS, UP UNTIL NOW, I HAD BEEN VERY PLEASED WITH THE VEHICLE AND WITH NISSAN OVERALL. *TR