07 Versa SL Blown engine @ 23,000 miles - GRRRRRRR

[topthis67]

After reading some posts on here & having experienced some of the same problems with the emissions check engine light I thought I'd post what happened to me after those problems. I've had the check engine light come on & it stalling (warm & cold) intermitently since the car was new & been to the dealer 4 times to have it looked at & was told each time that I was having emission problems (small leak) but they could never find it & said keep on driving it. I was following schedule 2 for maintenance because 90% of my miles are on the interstate with not much of a grade change. So last week when I was getting off the interstate on my way home it stalled on the ramp & didn't want to restart. I had to crank it for about 30 seconds for it to catch. Check engine light was on again when it finally started. Drove it the rest of the way home that night, about 5 miles. Called up the dealer in the AM, they said go ahead & drive it if the check engine light isn't flashing. So I drove it to work, 75 miles. After getting to work, it stalled before I could turn it off & smelled like it was on fire. No other lights (oil pressure, temp etc.) had come on. I checked the oil & it was frothy & milky - not good. I called the dealer again (different dealer) they said bring it in & we'll take a look at it. After 3 hours in the waiting room they said there's nothing wrong with it - drive it. BEFORE I even got off the lot it stalled. When I started it back up it was missing. Drove it back around the building & went back in. They finally agreed that it was misfiring on the #3 cylinder & gave me a loaner car. After replacing the distributer, coil, spark plugs, plug wires & a bunch of other crap & still not having any luck they tore the engine apart. Blown head gasket & cracked head. They ordered an engine & are replacing it under warranty.

I am so disappointed in the quality of my Versa. This isn't the first problem I've had to deal with. I'm hoping that the new engine will alleviate the crappy mileage (mid 20's) I've gotten since it was new. Sigh.

[CodeRed]

that sucks! thats all i can say. I'm sorry to hear this. your vehicle may be a lemon, have you looked into the lemon laws? My first versa was a lemon.

[topthis67]

Yes & so far for Indiana I'm not covered. I'm hoping this fixes it but I believe it's starting to have transmission issues also. I've already had the bluetooth module replaced & have had the issues with the ultra sensitive TPMS. Every time the temperature changes more thant 20 degrees the light comes on, then I either have to let air out or put air in. I think I'm going to have Nitrogen put in to see if that helps, less moisture = less expansion, so I'm told. We'll see. I've had 6 new cars in the last 12 years 96 Dodge Ram (240k miles)- 97 Nissan 240sx (320k miles)- 00 Dodge Intrepid (180k miles) - 01 VW Passat (190k miles) - 05 Hyundai Tucson (85k miles) - 07 Versa (23k miles). The first 5 in this list had nothing done but routine maintenance to them, mileage is when I sold them, I still have the Tucson. I guess I was due for some problems, I've been lucky.

[Ever Victorious]

Woo! Another 05 Tucson owner! (our has 47k on it, only trouble we had was having to replace the HU once because it stopped reading discs)

sorry to hear about all the troubles you're having. Sounds like your V might be a lemon, it just hasn't failed enough yet. Having to replace the engine this early will help your case, though. A lot of states have a secondary clause for amount of time spent in a shop, and an engine will eat up a LOT of that time.

[07Vsdn]

Yes & so far for Indiana I'm not covered.

you sure? my friend is a lawyer here in indy (25 years experience) and is currently suing nissan under lemon laws because of his sister's crappy murano...

*edit: spoke to him today and said he filed suit against nissan usa this week. his sister's brakes would fail but the dealership couldn't replicate the issue. nissan usa has not yet responded.
Modified by 07Vsdn at 4:17 PM 1/20/2008

[07Vsdn]

i have a former saturn dealership manager (for five years) sitting next to me telling me that lemon laws are alive and well in indiana.

i jokingly asked if a car could be considered a lemon for a creak in the dash and he said yes, it actually happened at his dealership.

he says if a car is brought back four times for the same issue in one year he says it's considered a lemon per indiana law.