The Nissan Path

Took my 2012 Altima to Nissan Dealership for OIL CHANGES. After 45min it was all done and I drove for 120min to home. During the drive on interstate, I knew my car feels very different as far as Engine noise goes. It was Very loud as compare to before I took in my car to NISSAN for services this morning.

Regardless I got home, Opened the Hood and Noticed the AIR FILTER Box is wide open and is not latched at all (either one Top or bottom) !!!

The Air Filter is just hanging outside of the Box. This means car was getting in all the dirty air from Interstate for almost 2 hours.

2nd thing I noticed splashes of Oil under the hood, over the Engine Cover.

I called the Dealership back and they said don't no worry about anything as the mechanic forgot to latch the airfilter box properly.

This car was purchased Brand new 2 years ago from Nissan and currently has 18K miles on it in a great shape.

My Concern is what kind of damage might have already been caused by the above issue. Since the Manual clearly states that it can cause severe engine damage if you drive without an Air Filter.

Who should I contact to make sure the issue has been recorded at Nissan's for future problems. What should I be worried about from now on. I have already latched the filter properly.


Any Input would be great.
Thank You.

normally aspirated engines are not nearly as susceptible to short term caused damage from dust, especially if it was only on the Interstate.

I wouldn't worry about it. If you had a turbo, that would be a different story entirely...

disallow wrote:normally aspirated engines are not nearly as susceptible to short term caused damage from dust, especially if it was only on the Interstate.

I wouldn't worry about it. If you had a turbo, that would be a different story entirely...

Thank you for the relief, Maybe I should start doing my own oil change next time. I might save some $$$.

I agree; I doubt any engine damage occurred. If you want to report it to Nissan, you can contact their customer service hotline, 1-800-NISSAN-1. Learning to change your own oil, or any service, is not a bad idea. Many auto parts places will accept your old oil, as well as many shops.

typical, take your vehicle to a dealership, pay top dollar for parts & maintenance (where you should get the best trained skilled labor available), and they screw up on an air filter replacement
makes you (me) wonder what else they loused up

You drove 2 hours for an oil change?!

I wouldnt worry at all, my wife's '12 altima had the airbox half open for about a month before I noticed the mechanic lost one of the clips... now its held together with zip ties... But yeah, no damage.

Don't worry about it I had a Buick Regal as a company car purchased new that I was responsible for all the maintenance on and on my second oil change I realized there was no air filter installed from the factory! And I had 12,000 miles on the car now! Anyway I put 200,000 miles on that car without an engine issue.