• 11 Posts
  • 208 Comments
Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: December 10th, 2023

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  • I recently bought an 08’ Nissan Altima that was mechanically totaled. So far I’ve spent roughly $1500 on basic stuff and another $500 on an expensive scan tool to fix an obscure bug that caused the car not to start when I tried to program extra keys with a cheaper scan tool.

    Rockauto and harbor freight are your friends, make sure to get the 5% rockauto discount code. I did buy some stuff from Amazon as it was cheaper there for the same thing as rockauto. Just don’t buy no name parts from Amazon, spend a little extra and get name brand from rockauto.

    Here is my parts breakdown so far:

    • Control arm 62.79
    • Ignition coil 42.79
    • Spark plugs x4 25.56
    • Brake pads 18.93
    • Brake pads 19.84
    • Rotors 36.26
    • Rotors 22.46
    • Wiper blades & Lugnuts 30.96
    • Window regulator 25.73
    • Abs sensor 25.63
    • Muffler 68.43
    • Exhaust tip 21.12
    • Exhaust gasket 7.62
    • License plate bulbs 4.24
    • Battery hold down 7.62
    • 4 extra keyfobs 65.38
    • Valve cover/gasket and transmission filter kit 51.92
    • Two tires 392.15
    • Windshield 331.31
    • Still need
    • Alignment ~$100
    • CVT Transmission fluid ~$70

    Tools bought

    • Topdon topscan pro 108.71
    • Launch x431 CRP919XBT bidirectional scan tool 517.91

    Here is a link to the issue I had:

    https://www.nissanclub.com/threads/2008-altima-keys-wont-program.530800/









  • They did an ecu update for more sensitive knock sensing and extended the engine warranty to 15yr/150k. I heard they replaced a ton of engines under warranty, but I can’t imagine that they changed much in the engine design. The problem is rod bearings failing and the engine seized. Some analysis showed that there could have still been machining debris in the engine from the factory or overall oiling issues. Lack of maintenance probably plays a factor as well. It looks like they were just poorly designed.


  • 09’ - 20’ Hyundai Santa Fe, Sonata Hybrid, Tucson, Elantra and Veloster and Kia Forte, Optima Hybrid, Sorento, Soul and Sportage with Theta II 2.4-liter multipoint fuel injection (MPI), 1.6-liter Gamma GDI and 2.0-liter Nu GDI had a class action for engine failures, it’s pretty much a guarantee that the engine will fail. I avoided the 3.6L caravan/t&c because they can have camshaft issues. Mine has the older pushrod v6 3.3.



  • I wouldn’t mind a hybrid if it’s possible to replace individual cells like you can with some Prius models or get a range upgrade like you can with earlier Nissan leaf. I also don’t mind doing maintenance. We bought a Dodge Grand caravan with 180k last year and I’ve had to fix quite a bit on it. Fortunately parts are cheap for it and it’s easy to work on. My daily driver is a Crown Victoria police interceptor with 230k on it. I’m spending about $35/week on gas at today’s prices at about 20mi/gal. I’d like to find something that gets at least mid 30’s on the highway.