No more Nissans for me. Long post.

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted By: vlado11
Early QR2.5's had issues with pre cat internals falling apart and particles being ingested back into the engine causing piston ring damage and oil consumption. Unfortinately, that looks like what happened in your case.

Some '05 and '06 2.5 models have oil consumprion issues because Nissan got a bad set or piston rings (out of spec?) form a supplier. Nissan gave [censored] to owners of cars that have been sold and their suggestion was to just keep ading oil in most caseses, and even excessive consumption (can't remember the exact amount/mi) was according to Nissan normal. New cars were pulled off the lots, and engines were rebuilt with proper piston rings. My '06 is one of them, and the engine warranty was extended to 10yr/100k mi. My Altima is at 90+k mi now with zero breakdowns, but engine has been making loud rattling noise when warm since new (comopared to other same year 2.5s) which according to Nissan is normal.
My '08Z with only 16k mi has serious tire cupping issue up front. Nissan says alignment warranty exprired after 12mo/12k mi and I'm on my own. Early- '03, '04Zs had this problem, but I figured it was fixed by '08 and I did not look into this before I bought my new Z. Nissan's fix for the early Z's was to swap the front tires side to side, and to re align the car to their new specs. Most owners have never resolved this issue, and most years seem to be affected. I purchesed my Z with auto trans, because their 6-speed was revised 9 times between '03 and '07 due to syncro failure issues. I'm not looking forward to having to fork out $500 every 16k mi on new front tires/alignment, so I'm DONE with Nissan also. Might go with aftermarket suspension in the future to se if it helps the cupping/feathering.

Coming from a multiple car Nissan buyer, I think your post speaks volumes. You did a good job of chronicling the history of the ill fated 2.5L engine. I'd only add the persistent crank angle and camshaft position sensor issues, but again that is minor compared to engine failure issues.

Also noticed there was nothing negative about your 97 Altima with 182k. That would be before the 99 Ghosn/Renault alliance, which IMO does seem to be the demarcation point for a downturn in Nissan quality.

 

[Barkleymut]

I swear every single time I smell that awful "cat converter is not working well" I see a Nissan in front of me. The worst car I ever owned was a 88 Pulsar. The 2 Dodges, 3 Fords, 1 Chevy, and 1 Honda combined have had fewer problems in over 600,000 miles than the Nissan had in 50K.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Originally Posted By: sayjac
I thought because of I took excellent care (new pads recently) of the vehicle even doing a UOA, that despite what I had read, I'd have no precat/engine issues. Wrong answer! If you own an 02-03 Nissan with 2.5L it will get you.


Sorry to hear that happened to you sayjac. You know I have a 2004 Nissan Altima with the 3.5L V6, which if you read some Altima chat boards, the V6s can also have pre-cat failure. Mine only has 33K on it, so not too worried now as it usually occures at 80K+ miles it seems The V6 pre-cat failure is not as prevalent as the 2.5L 4 cylinders from what I've heard. Many owners either gut the pre-cats or put a header on it to eliminate the pre-cats all together if they can get away with it emission law wise.

If I recall, I thought Nissan has a recall on the 4-cyl to reprogram the ECU to help keep the pre-cat from degrading due to wrong A/F mix. Did your car ever have the ECU reprogramming done?

Don't know what you replaced it with ... but those new KIA Optimas are pretty sharp.

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: Anthony
In my experience the 1st gen Frontier is every bit as solid as the Hardbody was.


Try working the Frontier, I've seen Frontiers on the bump stops with barely over 1,000 lbs in the bed. The Hardbody was a beast in comparison, my Dad had an '88 Hardbody that had the holy tar worked out of it. It did crazy stuff like pulling 8,000 lb trailers that it couldn't stop, loaded up with 2,000 lbs of a sand in the bed and left in for days, pulling a boat up the boat launch with that load in the bed, requiring something like a 4500 rpm clutch drop to get it out. It went through this kind of [censored] for something like 12 years, and other than starters, a clutch and a couple slave cylinders was flawless until the day is was wrecked.

The Frontier is a panty-waist compared to the HB when mistreated. I've seen it personally.

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
If I recall, I thought Nissan has a recall on the 4-cyl to reprogram the ECU to help keep the pre-cat from degrading due to wrong A/F mix. Did your car ever have the ECU reprogramming done?
I had my ECU reprogrammed but afaik, it wasn't part of the original recall I had done in April of 03. The ECU reprogramming came later, but I can't remember if it was specifically for the precat issue, the crank angle/camshaft position sensor issues, or another issue Nissan was having with a coolant sensor on some models. So many recalls on the 2.5L Altima, it's hard to RECALL(I have a record), pun intended. But, all official recall campaigns to my vehicle were done in a timely manner. But, don't be fooled like me, any ECU reprogramming on the 02-03 2.5L Altimas is a smoke and mirrors scam/sham as was the original precat recall.

I seriously believe that the ONLY purpose of the precat recall(s), was to buy Nissan time to get these 2.5L vehicles out of warranty far enough so they could avoid any major recall payments for things like engines. Many Spec V guys though, being sprited drivers, got new engines (though I don't think the modified/repaired precat was installed in most cases), while the rest of the owners, like myself, just got bent over.

While the 3.5L may have a similar design, I've seen no mass reportings of engine failure related to the precat, like the 02-03 2.5L. The fact is all the latter engines will fail prematurely because of the precat(unless modified), recalls/ecu reprogramming bunk or not. I could never trust Nissan again, if they are willing to let engines fail needlessly, that says all I need to know. Thus my sig

Thanks for kind words.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Originally Posted By: sayjac

While the 3.5L may have a similar design, I've seen no mass reportings of engine failure related to the precat, like the 02-03 2.5L.


True ... the 3.5L V6s are much less prone to pre-cat failure, but it does seem to occur now and then on the Altima chat boards. Hard to say if the cause on the V6s is caused by the way the car is used or maintained. It very well could be that the V6s that have pre-cat failure are highly abused (ie, drag raced, etc).

Let us know what your new car is!

 

[Sayjac]

There was one linked thread (below) that critic posted earlier in this thread of a Bitog member's 3.5L with pics of the intake. The OP said they show the precat material on the intake/valves. Without something to compare it to I can't really tell, but I'm certain he knows whereof he speaks. You might find it interesting. Just doesn't seem to be as prevalent as the 02-03 2.5L's.

Definitely a case here where online anecdotal postings are more authoritative ie., valid, than anything Nissan is saying or doing on the matter. Sad.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1757381

 

[D189379]

Originally Posted By: Ben99GT
Originally Posted By: Anthony
In my experience the 1st gen Frontier is every bit as solid as the Hardbody was.


Try working the Frontier, I've seen Frontiers on the bump stops with barely over 1,000 lbs in the bed. The Hardbody was a beast in comparison, my Dad had an '88 Hardbody that had the holy tar worked out of it. It did crazy stuff like pulling 8,000 lb trailers that it couldn't stop, loaded up with 2,000 lbs of a sand in the bed and left in for days, pulling a boat up the boat launch with that load in the bed, requiring something like a 4500 rpm clutch drop to get it out. It went through this kind of [censored] for something like 12 years, and other than starters, a clutch and a couple slave cylinders was flawless until the day is was wrecked.

The Frontier is a panty-waist compared to the HB when mistreated. I've seen it personally.


I've done about 10-40km trips with 1800 lbs of gravel and another few with even more topsoil in the back. I've got no complaints. I couldn't even tell anything was back there (until I tried to stop, lol) I have a second gen though.

 

[TMoto]

Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
If I recall, I thought Nissan has a recall on the 4-cyl to reprogram the ECU to help keep the pre-cat from degrading due to wrong A/F mix.

I've heard the 2.5l runs rich which is part of the contributing issue with the pre-cat degradation.

I had a recall performed on my '06 2.5l and it involved reprogramming the ECU. I am unsure if this changed the a/f ratio, but I understood that it would place the car in limp mode if it sensed low oil pressure. I would think it's a little late by then, though. I was questioned about oil usage when I took it in as well, but this all may have been related to the piston ring issue that some experienced on the later 2.5's. They also increased the warranty to 100k or something like that. Obviously none of that helped sayjac.

 

[K20FA5]

sayjac

I'm sorry to hear about your [censored] experience, it really sucks!

That being said, I'm happy with my Nissan. I think these kind of things/problems can be said about almost any auto maker. That is the good thing about free choice, you don't have to buy one make of car, you have tons of choices! I hope your next car will serve you better!

WOW edited ---- LOL

 

[JDD]

Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
You should class-action their .


Like the GM truck/SUV ball joints and Idler/pittmans? Ford A4OD trans?, Chrysler minivan trans?, GM lower intake manifold gaskets on 5.7 and 7.4 Vortecs (see Dexcool--but the 3.1 did have some class action success), BMW Nickasil blocks, Honda Odyssey trans, Ford/Mazda CD4E trans, GM fuel pumps (a particular peeve of mine), Ford 3/4 ton rotors, etc etc.
Rarely do class actions get traction. Every mfgr of autos has some things that just don't end up working well on some vehicles and the owner gets stuck in the end. If you live and drive long enough, it will happen to you at some point.