I am a proud Nissan Altima owner. My Altima has been a pleasure to own, a joy to drive, and I have never been more happy with any vehicle I have owned. Besides normal maintenance, I have had little inconvenience out of my Altima. My 17 year old daughter drives my wonderful little Altima and she called me Friday morning to tell me the driver's side, low-beam headlight bulb was out.
Now I don't know much about vehicles. I know how to check the oil, power steering fluid, windshield wiper fluid and tire pressure, but that's about it. Still, I know enough that replacing the headlight bulb can't be that big of a deal, right? I had her meet me at our local Autozone so that we could pick up a new bulb. The guy at the counter was kind and had mercy on us "women folk." Because he had changed out the headlight bulb on an Altima once before he offered to take care of it for us. Out to the parking lot we went for what I thought would be fast and painless - NOT! The poor Autozone guy struggled with changing the bulb. Twenty minutes or so passed before he was finished. Are you ready? The headlight still wouldn't work. He went in and got another bulb just in case the one he had just put in was bad. Another 15 or 20 minutes went by only to find out the low-beam headlight still wouldn't work. With the hot sun beating down on us at mid-day, two bulbs and 40 minutes later we were all standing out in the Autozone parking lot seemingly dumbfounded.
The little Autozone guy suggested it was a wiring problem. He had no more than said those words when a more seasoned Autozone man just coming back from lunch walked past us. He yelled out to him and then there were two......two Autozone guys and a headlight that wouldn't work. We could almost make a song about this, right? The "seasoned" Autozone man checked to ensure the bulb was in correctly. He then, suggested they check the fuses. Still, they found no reason for the non-working headlight. They both agreed it must be a wire issue. The little Autozone guy went back into the store to get a gadget so they could do a test to see if there was any power getting to the headlight. Test result - NEGATIVE - No electricity was getting to the headlight. Nearly an hour had passed and all I had was two sweaty Autozone guys and a headlight that still wouldn't work. They both agreed once more that it had to be a wire issue.
Hot and frustrated, I pleasantly thanked them for their time while making a mental note that my Altima was going to have to visit the mechanic. I was already preparing myself for the possibility that this could get expensive. I talked with our Service Department and was told to bring it in early Monday morning.
Over the course of the previous hour and a half, I had sent my boyfriend a text to let him know of my troubles. Shortly after arriving back to work he sent me a text that he would look at it on Sunday and check the fuses again. Gotta love google, right? He had googled my problem and found a site where a Nissan technician had answered a question about another 2005 Altima with the same problem as mine.
Do you know how many fuse boxes are in your vehicle? There was another fuse box on the passenger side that the Autozone guys had not been checked. The problem all along was a blown fuse. Cost to fix = $3.00.
This experience has left me more knowledgeable. I now know how to check my fuse box, recognize bad fuses and replace them. Thanks to the Autozone guys for trying, but a bigger thank you to my Jason for fixing it and better yet, showing me something else I can do for myself where my car is concerned. I am woman, hear me roar =)
Rexanne Smith
Queen of Cars
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