NHTSA Complaint #10639047 — 2002 NISSAN SENTRA

ON SEPT 16, 2014, MY 2002 NISSAN SENTRA WOULD NOT START. THINKING IT WAS A BATTERY PROBLEM I HAD IT TOWED TO MY MECHANIC'S SHOP. A DAY OR SO LATER, THE MECHANICS COULD NOT FIND WHAT WAS WRONG WITH IT. I HAD THE ALARM WORKED ON RECENTLY AND THE ALARM INSTALLERS WERE NICE ENOUGH TO SWING BY THE SHOP AND TAKE A LOOK AT IT. TURNS OUT THE ALARM WAS NOT THE ISSUE. WHILE TALKING ABOUT THE CAR'S PROBLEM, THE HEAD MECHANIC AND HEAD ALARM INSTALLER KEPT MENTIONING THE WORD "RECALL". NEXT I HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP, MELLOY NISSAN. A MELLOY MECHANIC SAID THAT THE COMPUTER WAS BAD AND A REPLACEMENT WOULD COST $900. THE MECHANIC TOLD ME IT WAS NOT UNDER WARRANTY. I RESEARCHED THE EMC PROBLEM ONLINE. I CALLED NISSAN USA ABOUT THE EMC SINCE IT SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH SENTRAS. THEY SAID THEY WOULD TAKE MY COMPLAINT UNDER CONSIDERATION. ON THE SEPT. 26TH, NISSAN USA SAID THAT THEY WOULD PAY FOR HALF OF THE EMC'S COST. THE DEALERSHIP CALLED SHORTLY LATER, SAYING THE TOTAL COST OF THE REPAIR WOULD BE $667. I DON'T KNOW IF THE EMC FAILED BECAUSE OF THE EMC BOX'S FOAM CURING (A COMMON PROBLEM COVERED BY WARRANTY) OR IT WAS JUST A BUGGY UNIT (A COMMON PROBLEM NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY). FROM WHAT I HAVE READ ONLINE, IT SEEMS EVEN IF THE EMC'S FAILURE IS DUE TO THE FOAM, NISSAN WILL REPLACE THE FOAM, BUT THE OWNER MUST PAY FOR A NEW EMC. BOTH SHOULD BE COVERED. MY CAR'S MILEAGE IS SLIGHTLY OVER 35,000 MILES. *TR