NHTSA Complaint #10761490 — 2004 NISSAN SENTRA

I WAS DRIVING EAST ON I494 NEAR A MAJOR INTERCHANGE, IN VERY HEAVY TRAFFIC. I WAS IN THE CENTER LANE GOING APPROXIMATELY 60-65 MPH WHEN MY ENGINE SUDDENLY QUIT. I QUICKLY CHECKED THE LANE ON MY RIGHT AND IT WAS CLEAR SO I MOVED OVER AND ONTO THE SHOULDER. MY BRAKES AND STEERING WERE GOING QUICKLY, BUT I WAS ABLE TO BRING THE CAR TO A FULL STOP NEXT TO THE GUARD RAIL. I WAS RIGHT NEXT TO A TWO-LANE EXIT TO I35, WHERE THE TRAFFIC WAS FLYING PAST ME; SEVERAL CARS ALMOST RAN INTO ME, WITH ONE EXTREMELY DISTRACTED DRIVER CROSSING THE LINE ONTO THE SHOULDER AND HEADING RIGHT AT ME. IF HE HAD NOT LOOKED UP IN TIME I DOUBT I WOULD BE HERE TO REPORT THIS. I WAS ABLE TO GET A TOW TRUCK, BUT TRAFFIC WAS NOT EVEN SLOWING OR YIELDING FOR THE TOW TRUCK DRIVER. IT WAS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION. WHILE WAITING FOR A TOW, I WAS ABLE TO RESTART MY CAR AFTER ABOUT 10 MINUTES, BUT WAS TOO AFRAID TO TRY DRIVING IT IN THOSE TRAFFIC CONDITIONS. THE REPAIR SHOP I WENT TO DIAGNOSED A FAULTY O2 SENSOR CAUSED BY A LEAKY FLEX PIPE AND WANTED OVER $800 TO REPLACE THE PIPE W/ CATALYTIC CONVERTER, GASKETS, O2 SENSOR. AND SPARK PLUGS. SINCE MY CAR WOULD START BUT I DID NOT TRUST IT, I DECIDED TO DRIVE HOME (25 MILES) BY CITY STREETS AND BACK ROADS. ON THE WAY THE ENGINE AGAIN FAILED WHILE WAITING FOR A LIGHT TO CHANGE. AFTER 10 MINUTES IT STARTED AND I WAS ABLE TO GET HOME. I TOOK IT TO MY MECHANIC, WHO FIXED THE FLEX PIPE. A FEW DAYS LATER THE ENGINE DIED AGAIN AND RESTARTED AFTER ANOTHER HARROWING WAIT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THIS TIME THE CAR GAVE A CODE FOR THE CRANKSHAFT SENSOR, WHICH MY MECHANIC REPLACED. SINCE THEN MY CAR HAS NOT QUIT WHILE DRIVING, BUT DOES HESITATE AND I AM AFRAID WHILE DRIVING IT. I MAY HAVE MY MECHANIC REPLACE THE CAMSHAFT SENSOR AS WELL, SINCE THAT IS ALSO A KNOWN ISSUE. I AM SUPPOSED TO MOVE TO CALIFORNIA, BUT DON'T TRUST MY CAR TO MAKE THE TRIP SAFELY.