19th Jul 2005, 16:26

Drilled brake rotors warp easily and are more expensive. Slotted rotors will get the job done.

11th Sep 2005, 13:53

I have the same car. The only thing I've noticed is the same water rushing sound in the dash. It has gone away though. Everything else is great. I'm about to roll over 70K miles. I change the oil regularly and check the other fluids. Rotate and balance the tires on schedule. Today I'm changing the brake pads on the front. It's just their time, nothing wrong with them other than wear. No squeaks, clangs, dings, dongs, or otherwise.

11th Jun 2006, 11:03

I own a 2003 2.4S Altima and I don't recall having any problems with it. I've just replaced my brake pads at 64,000km for the first time with a very nice steel pads for $30 a set, and replaced them myself. These pads are great and smooth when braking, leaving no dust on the wheels. The car had some passenger door problems, which wouldn't close smoothly, you'd have to push it hard to close it, but that has been fixed. The driver's window makes lots of noise when its down and you try to close the door, like it's not stable in there. That has been "fixed" at least 10 times with no success, so I just gave up. Other than that I didn't have any problems with this car at all, not considering I got a good deal on it for $20000 including tax, brand new from the dealership hehehe.

13th Jun 2006, 14:28

Hi all. I'm a 23 year old white male who has worked very hard to build up credit. By working hard, I mean driving around a four door Grand Am with four doors, a four cyl. and an automatic while paying 28 percent interest...Anyhow, I recently traded it in on the 02 Altima I presently own. I love the car. Great looks. Plenty of power for everyday driving. Plus I got the 5 speed. Anyway...I've put two thousand miles on it since I got it. Recently I looked in the rear view to see a big cloud of smoke following me everywhere I go. Two thousand miles and I need a new engine. Nissan makes crap! I knew I should have bought the warranty. Thanks nissan... now I get to pay 300 a month on something that sits in the drive cause I'm too poor to fix it.

19th Jun 2006, 12:07

I own a 2003 2.5S Altima. I also have messed up credit and had to pay a ridiculous interest when I purchased this car, 2 months ago. Since, the purchase, I have had it back to the dealership 4 times. The first was sweaking brakes. They made out like the brakes were new and that is the reason for the noise. I took it back two weeks later, with air conditioner problems. They put 1/2 pound of freon in and said it was fine. 2 weeks later, no air, hot blowing out.. took back to the dealership, they recharged and put a dye in to detect the leak. Now the car is in the shop for the 4th time getting the dash taken out, and the air evaporator condensor replaced. The first month was heck, and the car was in the shop more than out, and I have driven a rental more than the actual car I'm paying $438.00 a month for. I love the car, just want it to be what I paid $15,000.00 for. When the service man was taking me to the rental place, he advised me that the 2003 Altima's are lemons... they have replaced more motors in these cars than anything. I certainly hope that the motor will last a while. I was smart enough o purchase an extented warranty that covers bumper to bumper for 24,000 miles..he advised me to be sure to keep the oil and all fluids checked and changed to protect the engine. Hopefully, it will last...I sure hope so, I do love the car, and it has plenty of room and looks great.

17th Sep 2006, 06:34

I have a 2003 altima 2.5 s and had to have the rear brakes and rotor done at 22,000 miles and they told me it was not covered under warranty. My friend had the identical problem at 25,000 miles. I asked if there was a recall on the pads and they told me no. The odd thing is the replacement pads have lasted another 65,000 miles without a problem. I get the water rushing thing also, it gets worse when I rev the engine while parked.

10th Oct 2006, 10:02

You should of bought a Honda or Toyota. Nissan has horrible reliability.

24th Oct 2006, 21:09

I have the same rear brake problems, one of my back windows won't roll up correctly, and it smells like it has been wet in the car for a long time. What exactly has been the water sound in the dash? Is that why it might smell wet in the car?

29th Jan 2007, 09:00

We have a 2002 Nissan Alitma 3.5 SE and have 2 of the most common problems mentioned earlier. And like everyone else, despite several trips to the dealer and private mechanics, have not been able to resolve the squealing brake noise and running water in the dash. So what I can assume from these two issues is:

Nissan has no clue as to why there is a sound of running water in the dash and doesn't want to put forth any effort to discover why.

And.

The brakes, they squeal, that's they way they are. Period. The owner MUST be neglecting them.

Am I correct? For us, the car does not overheat and still brakes fine. I suppose that if we were deaf and couldn't hear these noises, it would be fine (maybe Nissan thinks this way? If it still work, who cares if the car makes funny noises?).

Nissan? Do you care? Or is it that the new model Altimas are out and you would just soon have those who own these current Altimas dump them and buy the new ones (sad, but some marketing folks think this way...)

11th Apr 2007, 08:53

I also have a 2003 Nissan Altima 2.5SE and have spent over $2000 on rear rotors and brake pads. I have 81,000 miles on the car. The first time the rotors went was at 23,000 miles, the second time around 50,000 miles and the third time two weeks ago at 80,000. I have no warning of any problem until they start to grind. I appreciate the advise to get the brakes checked; I've never had to do that with any other car I've ever had, so it didn't occur to me. Like others, the brakes rust and adhere to the rotors. When it first happened I called Nissan USA and was told it was normal wear and tear; ridiculous. The very next day my friend, whose 2002 Altima had about 21,000 miles, also need work on the rear brakes.

I will not purchase another Nissan; while I don't have other problems mentioned on this list, the cost of maintenance is much higher than others cars I've owned.