Any Nissan Altima owners out there?

[psychlone99]

My first five vehicles were all Fords or Volvos. I've had good fortune with them all, and my '01 Ford Escape is about to turn over 200K and I have yet to have a problem with it. A few years ago I bought my first Nissan- a 2006 Altima SE. I've had great luck with it, overall- no repairs.

With the recent rains, however, I started noticing a wet musty smell in the cabin. After inspecting all of the door and window seals (all good), I decided to inspect underneath the car. I do most of my own routine service, so I spend a fair amount of time under the car. However, with this inspection, I noticed some rusting and small holes on both the driver and passenger side floorpans. This immediately struck me as a defect as the car is otherwise rust-free.

I contacted Hummel's Nissan, who has had the car for some multi-point inspections previously and never noted the issue. The service rep reluctantly acknowledged the issue and, after researching, I see that this is fairly common to this generation of Nissan sedan. Unfortunately, Nissan hasn't stepped up to the plate to do anything about it.

I've filed a complain with the NHTSA, and plan to call Nissan consumer affairs on Monday. I'm curious to know if anyone else has noticed or dealt with the issue. And if you haven't done your own inspection, I'd encourage you to check it out. It's likely to a be about a $1,000-1,200 job for both floorpans, so I intend to raise some hell.

 

[cmoore_23]

I had an 05 for a a few years didn't have that issue but that does not sound pleasant by any means

 

[cowgirl836]

Have had an 09 for two years now without an issue, but I think it's a generation newer. I'll definitely take a look though, that does not sound good.

 

[iowa_wildcat]

It sounds like the floor pans in your Nissan were not constructed of double dipped galvanized steel. The salt Iowa uses on the roads in the winter corrodes untreated steel rapidly. Nissan might pay more attention to you if your Altima were newer. Unfortunately, I suspect your complaints to Nissan will fall on deaf ears. Good luck!

 

[temperflare]

Time to ditch the Nissan brand for a superior Toyota brand. I know of someone who can help you with that switch.

(I should be getting paid for this referral - someone tell Tron to pay up!)

 

[ISUFan22]

We have owned Nissan vehicles exclusively since '02, working with Hummel's each time and for service. Exact opposite experience as you. No issues. Great service. Owned an Altima ('08) and traded it for a Maxima in '12. Loved the Altima and while my Maxima is my favorite car ever - I would have been pleased with another Altima too.

 

[abcguyks]

I've got three Nissans including a 2005 Altima. No such problem with rusting floorboards. Only unusual problem with the ignition coils on the 2001 Maxima.

 

[FDWxMan]

Wife has an 08 Nissan.

It's had several issues, some just luck of the draw, others I would hold against Nissan.

Biggest complaint is Hummels service, enough so that I probably won't own another Nissan.

Most egregious offense was they wouldn't replace a RECALLED airbag sensor because they couldn't replicate the issue.

Our witnessing the problem nearly every trip, plus the RECALL LETTER wasn't enough. Had to go over their head to Nissan HQ, and then the replacement happened very quickly.

 

[Rabbuk]

An 8 year old car with rust doesn't seem odd to me.

 

[jdoggivjc]

An 8 year old car with rust doesn't seem odd to me.

Especially when driving in Iowa, especially if the owner doesn't take care of the car (i.e., wash the salt off of it). I'm not necessarily saying the op doesn't take care of his car, I'm just saying that I do take care of my 9 and 7 year old cars (one of which is a Nissan Altima) and I still have to deal with rust.

 

[cycoticfan]

An 8 year old car with rust doesn't seem odd to me.

Agreed, the nhtsa will not consider this a safety issue. Did you pay for any rust proofing when you bought it? That would be your only legitimate complaint.

 

[KidSilverhair]

Agreed, the nhtsa will not consider this a safety issue. Did you pay for any rust proofing when you bought it? That would be your only legitimate complaint.

If by the holes in the floorpans you mean rusted-through holes, this should be covered by Nissan (unless their rust warranty is different from what I have seen elsewhere).

I am going mainly by what I know about Honda, but I think typically the manufacturer's warranty covers rust-through for 10 years. Which, if you think about it, means paying extra for rust proofing (that is also usually guaranteed for 10 years) is sort of, well, redundant.

 

[ISUAlum2002]

Agreed, the nhtsa will not consider this a safety issue. Did you pay for any rust proofing when you bought it? That would be your only legitimate complaint.

 

[00clone]

We have owned Nissan vehicles exclusively since '02, working with Hummel's each time and for service. Exact opposite experience as you. No issues. Great service. Owned an Altima ('08) and traded it for a Maxima in '12. Loved the Altima and while my Maxima is my favorite car ever - I would have been pleased with another Altima too.

Well, if you don't keep them longer than 4 years, you darn well better not have any issues....and that should be the experience with any brand.

 

[iowa_wildcat]

Most new cars are warrantied against rust through for five years. The rust proofing that is sold as an extra only covers the sheet metal on the sides of the vehicle and not the underside of the vehicle. The ten year warranty is for rust through and not surface rust. Surface rust is only covered for the first five years.

 

[00clone]

Most new cars are warrantied against rust through for five years. The rust proofing that is sold as an extra only covers the sheet metal on the sides of the vehicle and not the underside of the vehicle. The ten year warranty is for rust through and not surface rust. Surface rust is only covered for the first five years.

"surface rust" on the floor panels wouldn't result in wet carpet, though.

 

[ISUFan22]

Well, if you don't keep them longer than 4 years, you darn well better not have any issues....and that should be the experience with any brand.

I spoke about my Altima and noted we've only had Nissan vehicles since '02, so there are others. For example, the '04 Murano we had until last summer...another one without a normal maintenance issue...

 

[Jambalaya]

My first five vehicles were all Fords or Volvos. I've had good fortune with them all, and my '01 Ford Escape is about to turn over 200K and I have yet to have a problem with it. A few years ago I bought my first Nissan- a 2006 Altima SE. I've had great luck with it, overall- no repairs.

With the recent rains, however, I started noticing a wet musty smell in the cabin. After inspecting all of the door and window seals (all good), I decided to inspect underneath the car. I do most of my own routine service, so I spend a fair amount of time under the car. However, with this inspection, I noticed some rusting and small holes on both the driver and passenger side floorpans. This immediately struck me as a defect as the car is otherwise rust-free.

I contacted Hummel's Nissan, who has had the car for some multi-point inspections previously and never noted the issue. The service rep reluctantly acknowledged the issue and, after researching, I see that this is fairly common to this generation of Nissan sedan. Unfortunately, Nissan hasn't stepped up to the plate to do anything about it.

I've filed a complain with the NHTSA, and plan to call Nissan consumer affairs on Monday. I'm curious to know if anyone else has noticed or dealt with the issue. And if you haven't done your own inspection, I'd encourage you to check it out. It's likely to a be about a $1,000-1,200 job for both floorpans, so I intend to raise some hell.

Am I missing something? How many miles on this Altima? Going on 9 years old, and you're taking this issue to high levels like the NHTSA?


At 9 years old, you basically got yourself a beater.......lol

 

[psychlone99]

Am I missing something? How many miles on this Altima? Going on 9 years old, and you're taking this issue to high levels like the NHTSA?


At 9 years old, you basically got yourself a beater.......lol

As I stated, the car is otherwise rust free. Pristine, in fact. I'm not sure how you treat and maintain your vehicles, but it's very easy to keep a car in great shape if you know what you're doing.

Given the condition of the car as a whole, this floor pan issue signaled a factory defect to me. And based on my research, that's exactly what it is. Also, this issue isn't news to NHTSA, and having a weakened floor pan between my legs and the road surface inches below is a safety issue.

As for your last smart *** comment, I have this silly thing about wanting to buy vehicles that I can actually afford (as in pay cash for). And since I bought my first car at age 17, the approach has treated me very well as I've owned some great used cars without a car payment.

 

[RunDMCyclone]

As I stated, the car is otherwise rust free. Pristine, in fact. I'm not sure how you treat and maintain your vehicles, but it's very easy to keep a car in great shape if you know what you're doing.

Given the condition of the car as a whole, this floor pan issue signaled a factory defect to me. And based on my research, that's exactly what it is. Also, this issue isn't news to NHTSA, and having a weakened floor pan between my legs and the road surface inches below is a safety issue.

As for your last smart *** comment, I have this silly thing about wanting to buy vehicles that I can actually afford (as in pay cash for). And since I bought my first car at age 17, the approach has treated me very well as I've owned some great used cars without a car payment.

But still, it's a 9 year old car. Issues are going to start popping up on it, which is what others are saying. There's a reason that people start to get rid of cars when they reach that age and replace them with a newer vehicle unless they are willing to pay for those type of issues that will sporadically pop up.