NHTSA Complaint #10281373 — 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA

I BOUGHT A 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA IN JAN, 2008. IT HAD 53,000 MI. AT 78,000 MI THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT CAME ON. I TOOK IT TO MY MECHANIC IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THERE WAS A BLOWN HEAD GASKET. I HAD HIM REPLACE THE GASKET. AT ABOUT 79,000 MI. THERE WAS A BURNING SMELL COMING FROM UNDER THE CAR. I THOUGHT IT WAS ON FIRE SO I PULLED OVER BUT THERE WAS NO FIRE. WHEN I WENT TO ACCELERATE THERE WAS NO POWER. THE SES LIGHT WAS ON SO I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER IN ONTARIO, CA IT WAS THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER(IT WAS CLOGGED) THEY REPLACED IT FREE BECAUSE OF THE FEDERAL EMISSION WARRANTY. THEN THEY TOLD ME THAT I WAS BURNING OIL AND THAT THE PROBABLE CAUSE WAS THE CONVERTER, BUT TOLD ME THAT THEY WOULD NOT REPLACE THE ENGINE BECAUSE SOMEONE ELSE HAD WORKED ON IT. THEY SAID THAT IF I HAD BROUGHT THE CAR TO THEM THEY WOULD HAVE REPLACED IT. THERE WAS NO NOTICE ABOUT ENGINE REPLACEMENT WHEN THE GASKET GOES BAD (WHICH THEY SAID WAS ALSO CAUSED BY THE CONVERTER GETTING CLOGGED UP) SOME ONE NEEDS TO FORCE NISSAN OF NORTH AMERICA TO RECALL THE 2003 ALTIMA AND FIX THE ENGINE AND CONVERTER DESIGN. THERE COULD BE A CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE THAT COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT AT HIGH SPEEDS. *TR