A serviceman at a local Nissan dealership advised me to sell my 2003 Altima (w/ 60k miles on it) because there was a “design flaw” with the A/C compressor. He said it is located too low and water splashes up on it from the street when it rains causing it to need replacing sooner than it otherwise would. Has anyone else encountered this problem? I’m tying to decide whether to fix it (along with replacing the front struts for a total repair bill of approx $1700) or sell if there are other design flaws…
That serviceman doesn’t just happen to be on the market for an '03 Altima, is he?
Sounds like a crock of you-know-what to me, but someone with more specific knowledge will hopefully give some input.
Design flaws are dealt through the Recalls and they dont cost anything to the owner. Go to NTHSA website and see if there are any recalls. If not then just forget that as complete nonsence.
no flaw just fix it,somewhere elese,GM,Hyunai,Kia,Mitsubishi…all run the same place,and its just a coincidenece…do not get rid of the car, it a 5 yr old part.
Sounds bogus to me. I’d get a second opinion. An AC compressor should not need replacement at 60K miles, regardless or where it’s mounted. I think you need to have someone else test the compressor.
Did someone at the Nissan dealer advise you to replace the front struts? I don’t think they need to be replaced. Get a 2nd, and a 4th opinion on those struts. Even if the front struts needed to be replaced, that price is about $1,000 too high.
Are you out of the powertrain warranty?
What would the powertrain warranty have to do with either struts or an A/C compressor?
$1,700 for new struts sounds like a lot of money. Get a second opinion, or a third, or a fourth, until you find a better price. Yes, the idea that putting the compressor low is a design flaw sounds bogus to me.
I don’t see how water could be a problem. Debris off the road could cause damage, but not water. What, specifically, is wrong with the compressor? It would have to be rusted through to be caused by road water.
Inspect the struts. If you see any leaking oil around the seal, they need to be replaced.
If this guy also suggested the new struts I’d go elsewhere for a second opinion.
And don’t worry about the AC compressor. That’s a truckload of bullpucky.
Thanks for the tip. I’ll check out that website.
I’m not sure; how would I figure that out? The car is a 2003 and has 60.8K miles on it. I did not purchase an extended warranty (I bought the car used).
The second mechanic I took it to who is an independent said replacement of the struts could wait but that the compressor was on borriwed time…