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Nissan Altima Maintenance and Repair

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Comments

  • xmechxmech Member Posts: 90
    "All engines have either a timing chain or belt."

    Not so. Some use gears.
  • spthomasspthomas Member Posts: 2
    What can cause dash lights, dash indicators and gauges, and the radiator fans to all go out at once? I had an alternator sieze up, then after it started turning sparks flew from the alternator. We fixed that, but everything else is still dead, including the radiator fans! Checked all the fuses in the drivers side fuse panel, and they're fine. Where else should I look?
  • electricdesignelectricdesign Member Posts: 681
    The solution could be complicated or simple, but need more information to be able to help. Please state the Year and model of your car, is it 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder?
    I understand you had a problem with the alternator and it sparking. When you say "We fixed that", does that mean you replaced the alternator with a new one? We must make sure that the alternator problem is resolved. Have you tested the output of the alternator to make sure it is puttting out the correct voltage and amps? How is the battery? You say "but everything else is still dead", is there any electrical device on the car that works? With the engine not running, what electrical items Do work, like headlights, brake lights, or anything? If you have complete electrical failure, or near that, there may be a blown fuseable link OR one of the big fuses under the hood may be blown. Use a 12 volt test light to check for blown fuses. Post anwers to the above and we can continue from there.
    E.D.
  • g35floodedg35flooded Member Posts: 44
    bump?
  • spthomasspthomas Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for the reply. Here's mre info. It's a 1998 Altima, 4-cyl. When the alternator bearing froze then unfroze then the alternator threw sparks, we replaced the Alternator. So it's a new alternator. The dash lights are out, the gauges are out, and the electric windows are out. But the radio does work. The turn signals don't work, but headlights, taillights, and brake lights do work. The car will start, but quickly overheats due to the radiator fans not working. We looked at the fuse box inside the driver side kick panel, and all the fuses look to work. We don't know where to look under the hood for fuses or fusible links, so we haven't looked there.

    Steve
  • g35floodedg35flooded Member Posts: 44
    bump
  • skinsfan3skinsfan3 Member Posts: 78
    I don't believe this is a job for a novice. I would go to a windshield repair shop or auto body shop. It means (usually) removing armrests and the door panel. There is an actuary of some sort and/or motes in some cars. The trouble I used to run into was in prying off the door panels without doing damage.I uppose thi might be something covered by the warranty, however, in these trying times for dealers, it might pay for a dealer to get this repair done in-house without charge. I have found on some of hese types of problems, the person running the dealer's parts department can be a great source of advice.
  • skinsfan3skinsfan3 Member Posts: 78
    corrections to my post. Here It means (usually) removing armrests and the door panel. There is an actuary of some sort and/or motor in some cars. The trouble I used to run into was in prying off the door panels without doing damage.
  • jfbclujfbclu Member Posts: 7
    The SES light came on a few days ago on our 04 Altima. Codes read 335 crankshaft position sensor and P0725 engine speed input circuit malfunction. I cleared the codes once but came back after a couple of weeks. Car runs fine. Any idea what these codes are telling me a what will it take to correct? Thanks.
  • electricdesignelectricdesign Member Posts: 681
    I am not familiar with the 1998 Altima, just the 2002. It sounds like you have a partial loss of power. Since the fuses in the inside panel fuses are ok, I would look for the problem in the large fuses or fusable links, but I do no know the locations of these items in your car. There is usually a fuse box with larger fuses and relays located under the hood. Fuseable links may be located near the battery, wiring harness or starter & larger wiring. You might find this info by searching the web or puchasing a repair manual. Replacing the fuse or fusable link would probably fix your problem.
    The original problem goes back to the alternator, the alternator could have been the problem itself, or a major short in the wiring could have blown the fuse or link and overloaded the alternator, causing the alternator to fail. If it gets too deep for you, you may need an electrical specialist to look at it.
    Good Luck,
    E.D. in Sunny Florida
  • danny44danny44 Member Posts: 14
    >>> Well it is fixed, turned out it was a bad MAF.
    See this thread: http://x.nissanhelp.com/forums/altima/12258-97-se-cutting-off.html
  • gsemikegsemike Member Posts: 2,272
    I have an 03 2.5S with 53k on it. I called the dealer today and asked about outstanding recalls that haven't been addressed. They told me that I need to bring it in for an ECM reporgram. They didn't know of anything else they said, but I could swear that there was something about the cam position sensor. Was that a recall too? Any others?
  • durnindurnin Member Posts: 1
    I hit a deer last night with the right front end of my car. Shattered the headlight assembly but thats it. Now neither turn signal works, everything else works. Brake lights, headlights, rear turn signals, etc. Replaced the fuse still doesn't work. What could be the problem?
  • carplzcarplz Member Posts: 8
    I have an '09 Altima with less just under 2K miles. Since the start I noticed that whenever I have to turn the steering wheel right from the slightest bit to full turns, it feels like there it more resistance compared to turning left. I feel like I have to put more energy in turning right as funny as it may sound. Anyone else have a similar problem or any recommendations besides bringing it into the dealer? Thanks.
  • whitallwhitall Member Posts: 190
    Ok, this might be a dumb question...but do the 2008 Altimas have any known electrical issues? It's probably my amplifier that I installed in April when I got the car....but today (twice) the car took several tries to start...it made a noise like it was trying, but took several attempts. Tonight it had to be jumped. It has about 25k miles on it. I bought it used in April. Haven't had any trouble or noticed any dimming. It is a 1200Watt amp and it has a capacitor. It is wired properly so it shuts off with the car. I don't sit and run the system when the car isn't running.

    I will go to autozone and have the battery checked. I'm thinking it's probably just a crappy factory battery that can't handle anything other than factory system (non Bose). Wondered if anybody else had battery give out so early.If it's "normal" for it to last only original warranty period of three years, it would be OK, I'm sure my system will have some shortening effect. My mom's Murano battery (25k 2006) had to be jumped after only 45 minutes of sitting w/lights on one night. Not sure if they had in acc mode or off w/lights on.

    I guess I have to disconnect the amp to get it serviced under warranty??? I do have a wire from the battery to the trunk that I'd have to remove...

    Any thoughts on this? Any other section I should post it? Thanks
  • gooddeal2gooddeal2 Member Posts: 750
    I heard that as well...factory battery is not that really good. Average life is about 3 years. My sister has a years old Sienna and she just replaced her about 3 months ago. So, if the original owner bought your car in late 2007, it's about 2 and half years old already.
  • whitallwhitall Member Posts: 190
    Autozone said it was bad. It would take a jump, but their tested showed it just into the bad reading. Jumped it to get it there, but wouldn't start after we parked. Tested it with a load and seems like alternator working. Opted for new battery (duralast gold) because to take out the amp wiring to take it to Nissan, and possibly wait for an appt didn't seem worth it at the time. If it happens again that's what we'll do. People are split 50/50 on how to properly configure the electrical for an amp and subs. Some say to make all these changes, others don't.

    Would still like to know just how poor Nissan batteries are since I have another one!
  • swamibobswamibob Member Posts: 1
    This car has ran great ever since I have owned but now it is starting to give me some problems that have recently gotten worse. It was only driven a couple of times a month for about 2 years, but recently my wife went back to work and had been using it every day for the last 6 weeks or so. All of a sudden, whenever you were driving and let off the gas when you were coming to a stop light, it would stall out. I thought maybe the fuel filter was getting clogged up, so I changed it out. This didn't fix the problem. Now I took it to a mechanic. The pedal was sticking a little bit, so the mechanic thought maybe just the dirty throttle body was the problem, so he sprayed cleaner in there and got that working right again, but it didn't fix the problem. After checking it out more, we decided to adjust the throttle up about 150-200 rpms at idol and that seemed to fix the problem. What was going on was the engine would drop too low on rpm and then stumble and die before the idol could pick back up properly. We thought that maybe the gas had gone bad since it went so long without being driven that something in the fuel system may have been getting clogged up. I bought some chevron techron fuel treatment ($12 version) and put a half a bottle in the tank.
    It ran good for about 2 weeks, but now it has started running very badly, won't keep running unless you keep your foot on the gas revving it up a little bit and it sounds like it is missing pretty bad.
    Any ideas what could be causing this? I am going to change the plugs today and see if that helps, but I don't really think that is the problem. The car has 170,000 miles on it (i have owned it for about 10,000) and has ran good ever since I had it until recently. Only maintenance I have done to it was a couple of years ago I changed the oil and air filter (car was only driven 1000 miles in the last 2 yrs.)

    Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

    Rob
  • gsemikegsemike Member Posts: 2,272
    I just replaced the factory battery on my 03 last month. It lasted almost 7 years and 53k miles
  • skinsfan3skinsfan3 Member Posts: 78
    My 2003 battery was murdered by a bad altenator.
  • swamibob,

    When I had some similar issues, it was a dead fuel injector. You might have them tested.

    Ken
  • squeakyaltimasqueakyaltima Member Posts: 2
    I own a 2008 Altima and it has always shown this light in the rpm area. It is white and looks like a clock with one hand on the right. I have no idea what it is and the manual doesnt have it in there. Does anyone know what it is? Doesnt bother me to much but am interested.
  • mz6greyghostmz6greyghost Member Posts: 1,230
    I own a 2008 Altima and it has always shown this light in the rpm area. It is white and looks like a clock with one hand on the right. I have no idea what it is and the manual doesnt have it in there. Does anyone know what it is? Doesnt bother me to much but am interested.

    It's a light indicating the dash/instrument brightness knob, which should be right next to it.
  • steve288steve288 Member Posts: 1
    I have a '95 Altima that sounds like the same issue you are having. Check the EGR valve. Mine was stuck open. The valve should move freely about 1/2 inch.
  • hakman8hakman8 Member Posts: 1
    Anyone know what this means? My owners manual for the 2009 2.5 Altima doesn't seem to have an answer? It's on as soon as i start the car and it's only got 6,000 miles on it.
  • stacyshousestacyshouse Member Posts: 7
    You have settings on your car that tell you after a certain amount of miles you need to have your car serviced. It sounds like you just have to reset the setting. Its just a reminder setting. Mine was set that way too. I just reset it to 0.
  • mwillisjr1mwillisjr1 Member Posts: 1
    hi guys, Car will idle fine but as soon as you touch the gas pedal to accelerate the car, it chokes out and dies......If you feather the gas and play with it you can get it to rev up and then stay reving if you want but it's hard.................I took off the throotle body and cleaned it up and still nothing

    any ideas would be greatly appreciated
    thx
    Mark
  • Could be fuel injector, my 94 had similar symptoms with a dead injector. Lube throttle linkage, scope and check for a sensor like the map sensor.

    Ken
  • raydanleyraydanley Member Posts: 6
    Something is wrong with your fuel injection system. It could be a number of problems from the oxygen senser, to the engine computer, to the fuel pump. When you push on the gas pedal the air flow senser in the throttle body is supose to send a signal to the engine computer telling it more air is moving past it. The computer then opens the fuel injectors at slightly longer intervals and the oxygen senser checks to make sure the air/fuel mixture is at the proper level. If it is too rich the computer adjusts the air/fuel mixture by decreasing the fuel injector intervals. All of this could be working correctly and still produce the same problem you are having if the fuel pump isn't working properly. If the fuel pump is producing low pressure the proper amount of fuel won't squirt out of the fuel injectors. Also, you may need to check the fuel flow regulator at the far end of the fuel injector rail. It may be directing too much fuel back into the fuel tank.
  • mikezak1mikezak1 Member Posts: 14
    My 2007 Altima creates an rotational sounding 'ekk, ekk, ekk' at about 30 - 40 mph only when cold. After about 10 miles or so it subsides? They checked by brakes yesterday and said I have about 1/2 life left on the pads, and did not think it was a Brake issue.

    Does anyone have an experience like this with brakes, or could this be another issue such as axle or suspension?

    Thanks
  • skinsfan3skinsfan3 Member Posts: 78
    How many miles are on your car. That may provide a clue. Have you had your tires rotated lately. A remote possibility might be a loose lug nut.
  • mikezak1mikezak1 Member Posts: 14
    My vehicle has 72,000 (almost all hwy). I do have snow tires on the vehicle, and being I only experience when cold (under 10 degrees) I do not know if it is related to the tires or not,...but I use the same wheels/rim and do not have the issue with my normal tires. I did notice the same sound last year in the cold.

    Thanks for asking
  • motonationmotonation Member Posts: 34
    Mike: This should be very easy to troubleshoot. Step on the brake pedal when you hear it - does it go away? Put the car in a different gear (or neutral) - does it go away, or increase/decrease in frequency?

    Most commonly, these types of noises are brake (pad) related, regardless of how much pad is actually left. The small amount of surface corrosion (rust) that forms on a brake rotor after a car is washed and sits overnight can (and does on my cars) create noise until you've applied the brakes enough to remove it.

    Let us know what you come up with.

    :edit: Just saw your previous post about your snow tires. My gut feeling is that its strictly temperature related, and doesn't have anything to do with your snow tires. Perhaps during the extreme cold your rotors are contracting/warping unevenly, ever so slightly, thus causing intermittent pad/rotor contact and the subsequent noise.
  • mikezak1mikezak1 Member Posts: 14
    Thanks for the reply. I actually left my cre out last night to 'hear' the sound again.

    Sure enough, it came back only at the 30- 40 mph mark. It did not go away by pressing on the brake pedal. You know how hard it is to trace a sound from inside the car, but this morning it seemed to be coming more from the middle of the engine. We parked the car and chuch, and when we went home -- no more noise at all!

    I am wondering if something (spedometer cable, etc.) is not getting lubrication until warm. Yet it does sound rotational. I may park it at the dealer overnight and have them look at it, as I do have an extended warrenty, but I sure would be open to suggest what you and others think.

    Thanks again.
  • motonationmotonation Member Posts: 34
    Hmmm. (No speedo "cable" on these cars). Try changing gears/neutral and see if has any effect on the noise - shift it while you are actually hearing it. Also, was your HVAC in foot/defrost or defrost only? If so, disengage the compressor and see if that has any effect.

    Let us know how you make out.
  • sb30sb30 Member Posts: 1
    Hi-

    I have a 2008 and just got the same warning message. Did you ever find any resolution?

    Thanks,
    SB
  • bomber7bomber7 Member Posts: 1
    2007 Altima - drivers side windshield washer sprays toward the passenger side. How can I adjust the spray nozzle? The spray nozzle is enclosed in a small plastic piece and there is no access. Can that small block be lifted? Then adjustment made?

    thanks,

    bomber7
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    You should be able to stick a pin in the spray hole and rotate the nozzle up down or sideways (but not too much!). Remember that where it hits the windshield when the car is standing still will be LOWER than where it hits with the car traveling at speed. So set it a bit low.
  • kuzmanovkuzmanov Member Posts: 3
    I have Nissan Altima 2005 - 77000 miles, and I have problem , when driving
    with 60 miles the gas pedal is shaken , I was in Nissan dealership - technician
    says it maybe transmission- but he;s not sure. It anyone can help?
    thank you
  • smallcar1smallcar1 Member Posts: 76
    Has 73K. The car has not exhibited the usual signs of a bad distributor. The car was running smoothly and idling smoothly. I stopped and when I hit the gas the idle speed dropped to 200-300 RPMs and the car had to be towed. This all happened with no warning. The mechanic said the rotor which was 3 years old with only 12K on it was burned and there is nothing wrong wih the car. Car has been fine so far with new rotor (only about 125 miles). There was no oil in the distributor cap/rotor area and the mass airflow sensor and ignition coil checked out OK.

    Dealer, of course, wants to sell a rebuilt distributor saying the distributor leaked oil which got on the rotor and burnt. The local mechanic says if there was enough oil to get on the rotor there would have been oil visible when the rotor and cap were removed and there was none. I don't want to get stranded again.

    Has anyone else had this problem?
  • My Mechanic drilled a small hole in the base of the distributor, no more problems. That was probably 40k miles ago.

    Ken
  • smallcar1smallcar1 Member Posts: 76
    Car stalled on the hwy tonight with no warning in while rolling traffic without my foot on the gas but restarted with no problem. I was unable to duplicate the problem. Is the distributor even though there is no visible oil?
  • I would think you would see oil if that was the problem. If you take it to your mechanic, not dealer. He should be able to scope it. May show something. Hard to find intermittent problems.This happened after a new rotor? Could still be the distributor. There are a number of possibilities.

    Good luck,

    Ken
  • danny44danny44 Member Posts: 14
    edited March 2010
    >>> Is the distributor even though there is no visible oil?
    You would not see oil in the rotor area. It is in the base of the distributor which is below the rotor. You need to disassemble the distributor to see it
  • smallcar1smallcar1 Member Posts: 76
    Thanks. The mechanic did not disassemble the distributor. Only the cap and rotor were removed. When I brought the car in the second time they just pulled the rotor and put it on the computer and did not see anything wrong with it.

    Is it a lot of labor to disassemble the distributor?
  • smallcar1smallcar1 Member Posts: 76
    This did happen after a new rotor. Is there a way to tell if it is the distributor if there is no oil in it? What are the other possibilities?

    The first time the mechanic changed the MAF and that did not stop the problem so they put the old one back. A rebuilt distributor worked for a half hour in the shop and stalled during the mechanic's road test and it was too late for them to get another so they put the old one back and it worked with a new rotor. The ignition coil tested OK. Hitting the fuel pump did not solve the problem either so they did not change that.
  • danny44danny44 Member Posts: 14
    edited March 2010
    The problem is not the rotor. It is the crankshaft position sensor in the base of distributor blocked by the leaking oil from the broken oil seal. The oil seal only costs $4 at dealer if you know how to replace it or you can drill a small hole to let the oil flow out, See message #2519 and # 2169

    >>A rebuilt distributor worked for a half hour in the shop and stalled during the mechanic's road test
    rebuilt distributors are no good, perhaps the oil seals are not replaced in these distributors

    >>My Mechanic drilled a small hole in the base of the distributor, no more problems. That was probably 40k miles ago.
  • danny44danny44 Member Posts: 14
    edited March 2010
    >> Is it a lot of labor to disassemble the distributor?
    Yes, but you can drill a small hole in the base of the distributor
    See message #2519
    http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef06fa1/2518#MSG2518
  • 94_altima94_altima Member Posts: 2
    Hi Swam,

    Did changing out the mass air sensor correct the problem?

    I just started to have this similar problem where the car stalls after coming to a stop and then accelerating. The car reaches 1k rpm within the 1st few minutes after starting it, but the rpm will gradually go down and does some hick-ups-dies later on.

    I'd appreciate it if you'd respond to my question.
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