It sounds like something out of the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew: The Case of the Disappearing Floorboards. But according to WBZ in Boston, the vehicle floorboards are rusting out on a lot of Nissan Altimas. In an article entitled “Nissan Drivers Outraged Over Rust Problems,” Ryan Kath writes,
The floorboards in [a Boston-area Altima] driver’s and passenger’s side floorboards were covered in rust. The corroded metal had peeled away from the rest of the under-body. In a couple of sections, the vehicle’s carpet was visible. …[Owner Cynthia] Allen decided to do a Google search when she got home and quickly realized she was far from alone. Angry Nissan Altima owners have posted an endless slideshow of photos of the corroded metal under their cars. Other drivers have produced YouTube videos about their rust experience. In one clip, a man puts his boot right through the floor.
Most of the affected Altimas have model years ranging from 2002 to 2oo6. The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) has received over 400 complaints about the issue. Complaints came not only from salt belt states where rust issues are common, but from other states as well, including Florida and California. Nissan owners faced with the problem are saying it appears to be a design flaw that causes this spot in particular to corrode so badly, even in parts of the country where rust is usually not as aggressive. They are also saying that Nissan should issue a recall, but at the time of the article’s publication, neither Nissan nor the NHTSA had made any steps in that direction. It seems both the car maker and the government agency do not consider it an acute safety issue, because the rust in question does not affect the frame and cannot cause the vehicles to collapse. Some owners disagree, saying that if drivers’ feet go through the floor, serious accidents could result. Nissan says it considers all complaints on a case-by-case basis, but Sean Kane, president of Safety Research & Strategies, thinks there could be a financial reason they have not acted yet:
If you’re Nissan, you’re thinking, “I don’t have any pressure on me from regulators because it’s not an acute safety risk that’s going to kill or injury someone right now. The longer we push this out, the more cars that are off the road, the less money we have to spend to fix it.”
If you own a Nissan Altima, you may want to take a look at your floorboards. We sincerely hope you’ve dodged the bullet. If not, the number for Nissan Consumer Affairs, which handles complaints of this type, is (800) NISSAN-1. And if you did dodge the rust bullet, whether you drive an Altima or not, we’d like to help you keep on dodging it. Rustproofing with RS3000 from The Rust Stop Pro prevents a lot of expense and dangerous situations by stopping rust before it eats your car. Even though it’s expensive to fix (and there’s always that scary thought of having your feet punch through the floor just when you should be stepping on the brake), these Altima drivers with their rusted-out floorboards are the lucky ones. The Rust Stop Pro is there to protect your vehicle’s floorboards, its frame, its brake lines, and even the insulation on its electrical wires.