NHTSA Complaint #10279855 — 2002 NISSAN ALTIMA

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING issue reported to NHTSA

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Complaint Details

ODI Number	10279855
Vehicle	2002 NISSAN ALTIMA
Component	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Date of Incident	June 21, 2009
Date Filed	August 9, 2009
Mileage	100,000 miles
Crash	No
Fire	No
Injuries	0
Deaths	0
Vehicle Towed	No
State	CA

Consumer Description

2002 NISSAN ALTIMA - ENGINE DEFECT. THE ENGINE NEARLY CAUGHT ON FIRE BECAUSE THE OIL WAS BURNING SO MUCH THAT THERE WAS NO OIL IN THE ENGINE AFTER A FEW MILES! FIRST THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE HEATING/COOLING, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, WHITE SMOKE FROM THE ENGINE. HAD EACH PROBLEM ADDRESSED AT MECHANIC BUT PROBLEM WAS NEVER FIXED BECAUSE THE SOURCE WAS IN THE ENGINE ITSELF - A NISSAN DEFECT. NOW I "NEED A NEW ENGINE" BECAUSE THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM IS THE HEAD GASKET. MY MECHANIC HAS SEEN 2 OTHER 2002 NISSAN ALTIMAS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. IT WAS A DEFECT IN THE ORIGINAL ENGINE AND IT IS DANGEROUS IF YOU DO NOT CATCH IT AND REPLACE THE ENGINE, DUE TO SUCH FAST OIL LOSS AND AN OVERHEATED ENGINE! SCARY! THE CAR ONLY HAS 100K MILES!! THE CAR IS NOT DRIVABLE NOW AND I AM SEEING HUNDREDS OF OTHER COMPLAINTS OF THE EXACT SAME NATURE ONLINE WITH SOME FIRES ALREADY STARTED. YIKES! *TR

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