19th Aug 2009, 17:36

I bought a brand new 2002 spec v and it's been a nightmare. It's paid off now and has 109k miles but was parked for about a year with too many problems. Head gasket, losing oil too often, MAF sensors basically ever sensor you can name and that doesn't include all the recalls. Can someone tell me if there's something we all can do about this company putting up some faulty products. I'm just a poor college guy and now stuck without a car for about a year. I hear the same problems over and over again.

20th Aug 2009, 18:33

I have a 02 spec v with 151k on it I do hear the grinding noise everyone else hears in model's 02 -04 does anyone know what it can be and yes the inside does fall apart like glove box dome lights.

27th Sep 2009, 19:12

Hi, I just bought a 2002 Sentra SE R Spec V with 77k. I've had it for 3 months now, but it's been sitting outside my house for 1.

My clutch went because the person who's had it last beat the living s*** out of it.

I had to get my headers replaced, because the same guy gutted it out.

I'm getting the same problem as some of you. I'm burning oil. I'm hearing noises under acceleration, but the go away when I let off.

My passenger side arm rest pulls right off when someone pulls on it to close the door, which is kinda funny. But all in all, it is a great car. It took me from CT to NH 3 hrs, from NH to MA 2.5 hrs, from MA back to NH 2.5 hrs, then NH back to CT 3 hrs.

I love the car, but would I recommend it, probably not.

7th Oct 2009, 11:36

My girlfriend has 2002 SER Vspec. Yes she had some problems with the cheap plastic interior, but that is not the point. The car was bought brand new. Never had a problem until it hit 86000 miles, and is now dead in the water. Dealership says it was the engine wiring harness. It was replaced and the car does not work. I have checked for fuel and spark and it is present. Have not idea why the car will not run. I even think that the dealership has no idea what is wrong either. Frustrated and will probably call the junk yard and trash the car since it is nothing but trash in the first place. Anyone have a similar issue?

2nd Jan 2010, 14:45

My parents bought me a Nissan Sentra SeR Spec V 2002, but we don't know what type of oil I have to use.. everything is fine, but I wanna change the oil, but I don't know which one is the best; some guys use 5w-30, but I don't really know if that's the right one?

16th Jan 2010, 02:07

I have a 06 Spec V. I have 40,000 miles on it.

I had to get the trans. replaced because I wheel hopped it at a race track.

I am having no problems with the motor, but even the synthetic oil that I put it is black after 1500 miles. I think that they have a overheating problem. The temp. gauge in my car says it's not running hot, but to turn 7 dollars a quart of oil that black in that short period of time seems strange.

If you are planing on any headers; don't. When I did, the check engine light came on and made the car run rich.

I did expect a better quality car from Nissan. I might be getting rid of it soon before any more problems happen.

2nd Feb 2010, 23:01

I just bought a 2002 Spec V with 98,000 miles on it about 6 months ago. It now has just over 100,000 miles. The only problem I have had was the mass air flow sensor went bad.

And by replacing the stock header with a aftermarket header without a pre-cat on a 2002 Spec V will make the check engine light come on. No it does not make it run rich. The 1st O2 sensor thinks the car is running rich due to the pre-cat is not there to burn the excess fuel. But the main-cat will take care of that.

To solve the engine light problem, you must add an O2 sensor spacer.

15th Mar 2010, 11:44

I own a 2002 SeR Spec V, and the car has been a nightmare. I've had the ECM, throttle body, fuel pump, a fuel injector and the accelerator pedal replaced, and am now being told I need a new wiring harness. The guy at the Nissan dealership has tried to help me the best he can, but it seems like they are just swapping parts to try and fix the problem. This car only has 115000 km's on it because it dies every winter.

I will never and I mean NEVER purchase any other Nissan product again, and I recommend you don't either!

21st Jun 2010, 13:01

I have a 2002 Spec V, and just turned 100,000. I love this car. All you haters of Spec V are just not qualified to own one. We all know that they have put out some defective parts. Just upgrade them to better parts. Stop putting OEM parts back into your car. I have put in an all aluminum radiator to help cool the engine more. A header that is smaller in size then the precat helps not only horsepower, but less hot metal next to the radiator will keep it cooler. Always use AMS oil synthetic! It has really helped with the burning of oil, as well as doesn't turn black as quickly. I also put on a engine intake system. It makes seriously more HP, but you have to be careful when it rains. No water puddles.

23rd Nov 2010, 21:14

I have an 02 Spec-V. Great car.

Recently though I had loss of power and the "service car soon" light blinked on and off and now is on steady. Just had lack of power and bad engine noise for about 5-10 minutes and now it's fine.

Just wondering if anyone can help out?

Thanks!

21st Mar 2011, 16:13

Hi, don't know if you had more problems or were able to solve it, but I have an '02 Spec V, and I have the loss of power problem where the car will idle, but that's about it. Dealer told me to change the computer and throttle body for $2000, but they could not tell if that would even solve the problem, or why it does it in the first place. Other mechanics have looked into it, but since the problem comes and goes, they couldn't figure it out. If you have any idea, please let me know.

29th Aug 2011, 10:14

The rattle you hear might be the cross bar under the exhaust, half way back on the car. My 02 does the same thing.

19th Feb 2012, 13:24

Do you know how to install a oil pressure gauge in the 02 Sentra SeR Spec V?

12th Aug 2012, 00:44

Loss of power could be a bad mass airflow sensor, or a bad throttle positioning sensor. I wouldn't recommend going to a dealership though; buy the sensor from a company with a good reputation that uses quality materials.

12th Aug 2012, 19:20

When the harness fried, it probably ruined your computer. I had the same problem, and had to replace the ECU. After that, it runs fine.

4th Sep 2012, 20:34

If you change the header on a SE-R to a shorty header, YOU have to put the DOWNSTREAM O2 at the HEADPIPE (plus the O2 spacer).

And this is the important part. PUT THE UPSTREAM sensor at the header collector.

This will keep the SES light off, AND it will make the car actually read O2 for all the head pipes.

This has the benefit of raising the gas mileage and making the car smooth idle. Period.

And an O2 sensor should never be on a head pipe all by itself...

20th Feb 2013, 12:05

Nissan is one of the best cars on the road. They have little minor recalls, but other than that, the engines last a very long time, and they're long lasting cars. One of my favorite builds.

29th Sep 2014, 08:39

This just recently happened to my 03 SER. I had to get the engine replaced; pre-cat failed and blew metal back into my cylinders.

26th Dec 2014, 14:02

I had no spark on mine as well. Turns out the key was bad. Took it to the dealer, got a new one and it fired right up.