Nissan Reports Problem with Altimas, Sentra

[Guest Josh]

Washington (AP) -- Nissan North America Inc. on Friday told dealers to stop selling 2006 four-cylinder Nissan Altimas and Sentra SE-Rs following reports of engine fires.

The automaker said there has been one minor injury and it was investigating the cause of excessive oil consumption in the cars' engines. Nissan said about 100,000 of the vehicles built between January 2006 and last month may be subject to the problem.

Nissan said it has received 215 reports of the vehicles' engines burning through their oil quickly, mostly from rental car fleets, and 17 engine fires.

``If not detected or addressed properly, the condition may lead to engine damage which could, in extreme cases, result in a risk of fire,'' Nissan said in a statement.

The company did not have an estimate of how many of the 100,000 vehicles had been sold and were currently on the road.

Nissan spokesman Fred Standish said the automaker informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about its action Friday and was contacting owners on ways of monitoring their sedan's oil consumption. The vehicles have not been recalled.

Nissan recommended that owners contact their dealers if they experience any problems and that they check their oil every 700 miles, or about every two times they completely refill their gas tanks, Standish said.

He said if the engine's oil level is kept at a proper level, it should not suffer any damage.

The automaker said it would extend the warranty covering the engine portion of the powertrain coverage to seven years or 100,000 miles.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

[sciguy_0504]

I saw this on Fox News a few minutes ago. I wonder if it just affects the 2006 Altimas since they have been, I am fairly sure, virtually unchanged for the past few years.

[76ChevyTrucker]

Wow. Another company having problems with engine fires? What's the deal, first you get Honda and Ford, and now Nissans are just HOT HOT HOT HOT, under the hood.

[Angry Dad]

The similarities to the Toyota sludge defect are amazing. But of course that was entirely the fault of the stupid American owner in every case.

[Cadavillac]

Wow, about two weeks ago my Sentra had an engine fire... of course, it's almost two decades old and has 194,XXX miles on it.

But it still runs.

[ponchoman49]

The similarities to the Toyota sludge defect are amazing. But of course that was entirely the fault of the stupid American owner in every case.

All hail the overlord Toyota! The lord and master that takes care of us all and can do no wrong. All hail Toyota, the creater of Misspiggie Camrys and ladybug slug Yaris's and boxes with lawnmower engine xB's and Avalons that have more bugs than an apple tree. All HAil!!!!!!!!

[FAPTurbo]

I pity the fools

[I hope GMRULES again]

$h! happens.