Sentra SER SpecV break-in issues...

[Aaton35]

Anyone who can lend some ease to my worries would be much appreciated. I am worried that somehow I may have damaged my new SpecV. I got the car in the beginning of July and I have loved every minute I have driven it. However, after about 2000 miles I checked the oil it it seemed to be mysteriously low... I added a quart of 10w-30 motor oil and that seemed to help some of the engine growl that had been getting more noticeable up until that point. I am now at 3300 miles and the growl seems to be back.. I also notice a sputtering tinny sound that comes out of my exhaust when accelerating through first and second gears. There is also a funny sputtering noise almost like an old lawn mower dieseling to a stop when I turn the engine off. Also, to top of the matter, second and third gears have become very difficult to use. The gear box seems to be very grindy through these two gears, I can't seem to get a smooth shift like I used to.
I have been driving manual transmission cars for 8 years and I have never had issues like these before. I don;t know if I just got a bad seed or if maybe I (or my fiance) have done something to harm the car, maybe it can't take the casual suburban driving conditions???
Anyone that could lend some advice my way would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

[GB Phoenix77]

Aaton,

Unfortunately for you, you seem to have run into the two biggest problems known to the Spec V.

The 2002 QR25 has been known to have problems with leaking oil. The rings don't always seat properly, causing oil to leak into the chamber and burn. You will notice a consistant loss of oil. Most likely about 1 quart every 3000 miles.

Go to your local dealership, and tell them that your Spec V is leaking oil. If they tell you that is normal.... ream the hell out of them... It is not normal. It is a design flaw, and Nissan has replaced numerous short blocks on the QR25 in both the Sentra and Altima platform. If your service rep is cool and smart, they will be aware of the problem, and will start you on a oil level test program. They will have you come in once a week or so to take measurements. After a couple of months they will see that you have a problem. You will need to press them, but eventually you will get them to replace your engine.

The 2002 Spec V has also been known to have some problems with the transmission. The 03 has been tweaked and is better. The major complaint that I know of with all who have had their tranny replaced is grinding going into 3rd gear.

This is not as common as the oil leaking, but happens often. They will check out the tranny and find that it is messed up, and they should replace your tranny and ECU with the new 03 gear.

Sorry to hear about your problems. You might wind up with a 2002 body and a 2003 powertrain. A hybrid!

If you have any other questions.. feel free.

GB Phoenix

[GB Phoenix77]

IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT!!!

What you described are very common problems, and they are not your fault.

[Aaton35]

Thanks GB Phoenix77,
I was afraid someone would tell me this. My SpecV is leased so they had better go good on things like this. What I am afraif of is that they will try to pawn the problems off on me, saying that it was poor care of the car or abuse of the transmission.
I am scheduled for a 3750 mile check-up on October 8th. I am making a list and I am gonna go over every little thing with the mechanic. I am hoping that maybe I can get some professional opinions here before I go for the check-up so that I can show the mechanic that there are provem problems with this model and year.
Thanks so much for your reply. I will certainly let them know of these issues you have brought to my attention.