The Lemon Index
The 2.5 L inline-4 in the Nissan Altima, Nissan Rogue, Nissan Frontier and Nissan Sentra, model years 2002–2020. Owners filed 16,161 complaints about cars with it (matched by VIN); 19% name the engine, #21 of the 39 everyday engines we track (1 = the most).
Known issues, checked against owner complaints
Problems owners of cars with this engine name much more often than owners of the other 38 everyday engines we track (at least 1.5× the median, and 10+ complaints):
- Oil consumption. 242 of 16,161 owner complaints (1.5%) mention burning or losing oil, against a median of 0.5% for the other 38 everyday engines we track.
Since december of 2001 every month vehicle needd an oil change. vehicle was burning too much oil. took vehicle to dealer, and they stated that engine needed replacement, but couldn't say what the cause was. please provide any further information.
2002 owner · NHTSA complaint 8009585
What YouTube owners say Tone 0-100, higher = more praise than trouble.
Average owner tone 42/100 across 17 model years, from 138 videos about this engine and its cars (#133 of 165 engines with a YouTube study).
Most-watched videos
- Top 5 Problems Nissan Rogue SUV 1st Generation 2007-13 609,555 views
- Top 5 Problems w/ Nissan Rogue 2014-2020 (2nd Generation) 484,952 views
- 2008 Nissan Altima 2.5 Step Motor Replacement Weak Acceleration 403,560 views
- Top 5 Problems Nissan Rogue SUV 2nd Generation 2014-20 358,681 views
- Nissan Takes on the RAV4: 2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid First Look 293,031 views
Counted from video titles and captions: praise words against trouble words, weighted by views. Videos only count when the title names this engine or a car that had only this engine in those years.
Cars with this engine Tap a year for that car's full report.
- Nissan Altima20022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018
- Nissan Rogue2008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020
- Nissan Frontier200520062007200820092011201220132014201520162017
- Nissan Sentra200720082011
Model years from NHTSA VIN decoding of owner complaints. Only years we have a car page for.
Owner complaints by model year
Counts of complaints filed so far. Older cars have had longer to collect them, and popular cars draw more because more were sold: no one reports sales by engine, so there's no per-car rate. Compare the shares below instead.
By car
| Car | Model years matched | Complaints | Name the engine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nissan Altima | 2002–18 | 10,854 | 23% |
| Nissan Rogue | 2008–20 | 5,105 | 11% |
| Nissan Frontier | 2005–18 | 186 | 11% |
| Nissan Sentra | 2007–11 | 16 | 12% |
“Name the engine” = the share of that car's VIN-matched complaints that list the engine as a problem area.
What owners complain about
Share of this engine's complaints that name each area (one complaint can name several).
What owners write
| Complaints that | Count | Share | Median, other everyday engines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Say the engine stalled, shut off or lost power | 2,237 | 14% | 13% |
| Mention fire, flames or smoke | 516 | 3.2% | 3.2% |
| Mention coolant loss or overheating | 303 | 1.9% | 1.2% |
| Mention burning or losing oil | 242 | 1.5% | 0.5% |
| Say the engine knocked, seized or failed | 238 | 1.5% | 2.9% |
| Mention a spark plug | 74 | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Mention an oil leak | 65 | 0.4% | 0.6% |
| Mention a head gasket | 64 | 0.4% | 0.1% |
| Mention a misfire | 45 | 0.3% | 0.6% |
| Mention the oil filter housing or oil cooler | 31 | 0.2% | under 0.1% |
Counted from the owner's own words in each complaint (all of the car, not only the engine). A share, not a failure rate.
When problems show up
Half of the owners who gave a mileage reported the problem between 35,193 and 100,000 miles; the middle report was at 70,000 miles (11,048 complaints with a mileage).
Recalls that name this engine 4
07V527000 Nov 2007 Engine And Engine Cooling Altima 2002, 2005, 2006
On certain passenger vehicles equipped with a 2.5l engine, the crankshaft position sensor can overheat causing a brief interruption in the signal output from the sensor.
Fix. Dealers will reprogram the ecm free of charge. Certain my 2006 altimas which have been previously remedied under recall campaign 06v223 (nissan r0606) are not included in this recall since the reprogramming for 06v223 also included this reprogramming. The recall began on december 31, 2007. Owners may contact nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
06V242000 Jul 2006 Engine And Engine Cooling Altima 2003, 2004
On certain passenger vehicles equipped with a 2.5l engine, the crank angle sensor is affected by temperature variations. Under certain driving conditions, these variations in temperature can be large enough to cause a brief interruption in the signal output from the sensor.
Fix. Dealers will reprogram the ecm free of charge. The recall began on august 21, 2006. Owners may contact nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
06V223000 Jun 2006 Engine And Engine Cooling Altima 2006
Certain passenger vehicles equipped with 2.5l engines may experience excessive engine oil consumption as a result of improper performance of the piston rings.
Fix. Dealers will reprogram the electronic control module (ecm or engine computer). Your vehicle will also be inspected to determine if it has been consuming engine oil at a higher than normal rate. In a small percentage of vehicles, engine replacement will be needed. On june 9, 2006, nissan notified owners of the possibility of excessive oil consumption and the importance of maintaining the oil at
03V084000 Mar 2003 Engine And Engine Cooling Altima 2002, 2003
On certain vehicles equipped with the 2.5 liter engine, the exhaust pipe hanger pin may catch debris from the road that could be ignited by contact with the main catalyst. Also on 2002 altima and sentra vehicles, certain engine operating conditions may cause the pre-catalyst to overheat and damage the catalyst substrate.
Fix. Dealers will remove the protruding portion of the exhaust pipe hanger pin. In addition to the corrective action, in order to reduce the risk of fire in the event of poor or improper maintenance that could result in oil spillage, heat shield(s) will be installed on the pre-catalyst and exhaust tube. Owner notification began on july 28, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dea
NHTSA recalls on these cars and model years whose text names this engine (its size or name). The rest (brakes, air bags, wiring ...) are on each car year's page.
In owners' words
Consumer states that intermittenly when filling the fuel tank the "check engine" light will illuminate. checked by the dealer who advised that car is reading a "vapor leak" code. dealer has replaced gas cap twice, but problem is still occuring. ts
2002 owner · NHTSA complaint 8023264
Consumer states while driving the vehicle caught on fire under the hood, vehicle was pull out of the road. dealer has been notified. please provide any further information. nlm
2002 owner · NHTSA complaint 8018641
While driving vehicle will blowout heat even though it is not on causing vehicle to stay hot. cause unknown. dealer notified.
2002 owner · NHTSA complaint 8011628
Against the other everyday engines
| Engine | Years | Complaints | Name the engine | Stalled or lost power | Burning oil | Recalls naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 EcoBoost | 2014–25 | 5,622 | 66% | 15% | 0.2% | 2 |
| 6.2 V8 (Gen V) | 2014–25 | 7,219 | 65% | 24% | 2.2% | 2 |
| 2.4 Theta II | 2010–22 | 21,551 | 51% | 20% | 8.1% | 8 |
| 2.4 Ecotec | 2010–17 | 6,096 | 51% | 21% | 18% | 0 |
| 3.0 EcoDiesel | 2014–23 | 2,871 | 50% | 24% | 0.2% | 7 |
| 3.3 Lambda II | 2013–21 | 3,254 | 50% | 17% | 5.9% | 2 |
| 2.0 EcoBoost | 2012–25 | 9,735 | 48% | 12% | 0.1% | 0 |
| 2.0T Theta II | 2011–22 | 3,325 | 44% | 18% | 4.8% | 2 |
| 1.4 Turbo | 2011–22 | 3,926 | 39% | 17% | 0.9% | 2 |
| 2.4 Tigershark | 2014–22 | 9,631 | 35% | 34% | 4.5% | 5 |
| 1.5 Turbo | 2016–25 | 4,471 | 33% | 27% | 0.3% | 1 |
| EA888 2.0T | 2009–25 | 7,443 | 29% | 16% | 3.7% | 5 |
| A25A | 2018–25 | 2,979 | 26% | 12% | under 0.1% | 1 |
| 1.5 Turbo | 2017–22 | 6,390 | 26% | 14% | 0.2% | 0 |
| J35 V6 | 2003–25 | 24,038 | 24% | 14% | 0.9% | 4 |
| Skyactiv-G 2.5 | 2014–25 | 2,631 | 22% | 11% | 2.7% | 1 |
| 2.7 Turbo | 2019–25 | 1,090 | 22% | 12% | 0.5% | 0 |
| 2AZ-FE | 2001–09 | 7,176 | 22% | 3.7% | 8.6% | 0 |
| 5.4 Triton | 2005–14 | 3,952 | 21% | 15% | 0.1% | 3 |
| 5.7 HEMI | 2003–24 | 23,895 | 19% | 23% | 0.1% | 6 |
| QR25DE | 2002–20 | 16,161 | 19% | 14% | 1.5% | 4 |
| 5.3 V8 (Gen V) | 2014–25 | 13,191 | 18% | 13% | 0.5% | 3 |
| 3.6 Pentastar | 2011–25 | 34,634 | 18% | 16% | 0.4% | 9 |
| 2.3 EcoBoost | 2015–25 | 3,975 | 16% | 9.9% | 0.1% | 12 |
| 3.8 Lambda II | 2020–25 | 4,423 | 16% | 8.0% | 5.6% | 0 |
| FB20 | 2012–25 | 2,336 | 15% | 8.2% | 1.7% | 0 |
| 3.6 V6 | 2009–23 | 14,214 | 14% | 14% | 0.1% | 1 |
| K24 | 2002–19 | 15,062 | 14% | 5.1% | 1.6% | 0 |
| 2GR-FKS | 2016–24 | 3,758 | 12% | 11% | 0.2% | 2 |
| 3.5 Cyclone V6 | 2007–19 | 21,313 | 12% | 11% | 0.1% | 0 |
| VQ35 V6 | 2002–25 | 12,613 | 12% | 11% | 0.2% | 1 |
| 3UR-FE | 2007–21 | 1,377 | 12% | 8.8% | 0.4% | 0 |
| FB25 | 2011–25 | 9,853 | 11% | 6.2% | 1.5% | 0 |
| 2AR-FE | 2009–18 | 4,673 | 11% | 6.6% | 1.3% | 1 |
| 2GR-FE | 2005–18 | 8,680 | 10% | 3.5% | 0.3% | 0 |
| 3.8 V6 | 2007–11 | 7,877 | 9% | 17% | 0.5% | 0 |
| 5.3 V8 (Gen IV) | 2007–14 | 9,241 | 8% | 4.5% | 1.3% | 0 |
| 1GR-FE | 2003–24 | 5,757 | 7% | 4.0% | under 0.1% | 0 |
| 4.8 V8 | 2007–13 | 726 | 6% | 4.8% | 0.1% | 0 |
Shares of each engine's own complaints, matched by VIN. They show what owners complain about, not how often engines break.
Quick answers
Is the Nissan QR25DE 2.5 reliable?
No one reports sales by engine, so there's no per-car score. Of the 16,161 complaints owners filed about cars with it, 19% name the engine, #21 of the 39 everyday engines we track (1 = the most). 242 (1.5%) mention burning or losing oil, against 0.5% for the other engines.
What cars have the Nissan QR25DE 2.5?
In our data: the Nissan Altima, Nissan Rogue, Nissan Frontier and Nissan Sentra, model years 2002–2020, matched by the VIN in each owner complaint.
What are the most common QR25DE problems?
In owner complaints to the government: transmission & drivetrain, engine, airbags.
How many recalls name the QR25DE?
4 NHTSA recalls on these cars name it.
Complaints: NHTSA owner complaints filed under each car's own NHTSA names (the same ones its car pages count), all years filed, one per complaint number. Engine: decoded from the complaint's VIN with NHTSA's vPIC decoder (displacement, cylinders, engine model, turbo, hybrid) and the engine maker's model years; a VIN that doesn't decode to exactly one engine is left out. Older cars have had more years to collect complaints, and popular cars draw more because more were sold. Source: NHTSA owner complaints (FLAT_CMPL + COMPLAINTS_RECEIVED_2025-2026), received through 20261111; engines: NHTSA vPIC VIN decoder (batch); NHTSA recalls API. Engine names and model years: Nissan.