Noticed excessive fuel consumption. Took into Nissan Service centre. Was advised that pre-catalytic converter had been sucked into the engine destroying them both. They offered to put in a new engine for $6000 plus labour.

This is a known problem with QR25DE engines in the Sentra and Altima. There have been major recalls that have included fixing the faulty design of the pre-catalytic converter or replacing the entire engine. I was told by Nissan Canada that my VIN did not qualify for the recall as it was in the batch of vehicles that were "fixed" prior to leaving the factory. Obviously the problem was not "fixed" as the pre-cat failed in exactly the same way that the recall was supposed to prevent resulting in catastrophic engine failure. Both my local service centre and Nissan Canada said that even though I was within the 8 year warranty because I was over km (by 14,000) there was nothing they would do despite this being a known design flaw that was not fixed!

See the recall campaigns below.

NTB03-070c Safety Recall Campaign 2002-2003 NISSAN ALTIMA, 2002-2004 SENTRA; VOLUNTARY RECALL CAMPAIGN ENGINE EXHAUST PIPE HANGER PIN AND PRE-CATALYST Nissan has determined that some 2002-2003 model year Altima and 2002-2004 model year Sentra vehicles equipped with the 2.5 liter engine have defects that relate to motor vehicle safety. For 2002-2003 model year Altimas, there is a possibility that the exhaust pipe hanger pin may catch debris from the road that could be ignited by contact with the catalytic converter and cause a fire. In addition, for 2002-2003 model year Altimas and 2002-2004 model year Sentras, there is a possibility that certain engine operating conditions may cause damage to the pre-catalyst. Material from inside a damaged pre-catalyst could enter the engine and result in increased oil consumption. If the engine oil level is not checked on a periodic basis and drops below the low level, and the driver continues to operate the vehicle ignoring noticeable engine noise, engine damage may occur which could result in a fire.

NTB05-058b Service Campaign 2004 NISSAN SENTRA, 2004-2005 ALTIMA; VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN QR25DE POWER VALVE Nissan has determined that on some 2004 model year Sentra and 2004-2005 model year Altima vehicles equipped with the 2.5 liter engine there is a possibility that power valve screws located in the intake manifold may become loose. If this occurs the Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) may illuminate and unstable engine idling or power loss may occur.

OK here we go again now i have a 2006 Altima motor in my SPEC V and it is consuming oil so i get o here to find more complaints about the 2.5 motor. Really Nissan has forgotten how to make an Engine. Can not wait to get rid of this car. I am now looking at Mazda's. The last Mazda i had i got 250,000 miles out of it and was able to trade it in. Nissan you can,t even get 100,000 miles out of, very disappointing. I guess Nisan no longer cares about what they put out, they sure don't last half as long as they used to. My new opinion of Nissan is that they are the most unreliable car on the market.