I just paid $325 to have the drivers side headlamp assembly replaced on my '03 Altima. According to the dealership service manager, the material holding the headlight in place was degraded due to excessive heat buildup inside the assembly and this is the seventeenth assembly he has replaced. I called Nissan and was informed that due to the the vehicle having more than 36,000 miles on it (its only 17 months old), they would not cover the expense. In addition, I was told by the Nissan representative that, to her knowledge, I am the only person to have called Nissan regarding this problem and that there are no recalls on this assembly. I would like to ask anyone else having this problem to contact Nissan at 1-800-Nissan1.
The thing that concerns me about this issue is that the repalcement part is subject to the same problem and is apparently caused by a design flaw which Nissan is either unaware of or refuses to admit.