Background
Nissan will be conducting a voluntary safety recall campaign on certain model year 2002 and 2003 Altima vehicles as noted below.
Nissan has expanded the VIN range of the previously announced Altima/Sentra 2.5 Liter Engine Exhaust Voluntary Safety Recall Campaign (FYI03:033) as noted below. The initial owner notifications were delayed until July. All other information from FYI03:033 is still applicable.
As these unrelated campaigns include overlapping VIN's a coordinated owner notification will be utilized such that those owners affected by both campaigns will receive a single letter to minimize confusion.
Reason for Action
At extremely cold temperatures (defined as 15°F/-9°C), moisture in the fuel tank may freeze and form ice crystals. These ice crystals may obstruct the suction opening of the fuel pump. This can prevent the supply of fuel to the engine and cause the engine to stop.
Nissan Action
Nissan plans to begin notifying owners of potentially affected vehicles in August 2003. In addition to direct customer contact (via mail), Nissan will post recall information on the www.nissanusa.com website at the same time owner letters are mailed.
U.S. owners of vehicles in states where extremely cold temperatures can occur in the winter will be requested to take their vehicle to a Nissan dealer. These states include Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The cold weather states account for approximately 120,000 vehicles in the total campaign. A screen will be installed at the suction opening of the fuel pump to prevent ice crystals from obstructing the suction opening.
Owners in the other states will be informed about this incident and advised that they do not need to have their vehicle repaired unless they drive their vehicle during the winter in any of the above states or in areas where extreme cold temperatures occur. However, any owner in the other states may have the recall repair performed on their vehicle at their request.
Statement
"Nissan North America is conducting a voluntary safety recall of model year 2002 and 2003 Altimas. At extremely cold temperatures, moisture in the fuel tank may freeze and form ice crystals. These ice crystals may obstruct the suction opening of the fuel pump. This can prevent the supply of fuel to the engine and cause the engine to stop. Nissan will inspect and correct affected vehicles with the addition of a screen at the fuel pump opening. All repairs will be made at no cost to the customer. Nissan is committed to a high level of customer safety and service and will be working with its dealers to promptly address this condition. Customers will be notified by mail if their vehicle is affected by this recall."
Please direct any media inquiries to Eric Booth, Nissan Corporate Communications at 310-771-3014.
The recall doesn't specify 2.5 or 3.5 so 3.5 may also be affected. There is guy on the "A" board mentioned his dealer performed this recall on his 3.5.
BTW, the estimated number of units affected is around 377000.
Off topic a bit, people are lot more friendly here than the other board...
I just had this recall done on my 03 3.5 All they do is install a screen before your fuel pump. I came in to do the "Loss of power while accelerating" TSB and the service rep mentioned the recall.
Linear Mode
