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Nissan Altima Maintenance and Repair

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Comments

  • cnackcnack Member Posts: 7
    My 95 Altima has 88000 miles on it and the check engine light just came on last week. The car is running fine but after reading all the posts about check engine lights, I can see that this is a common problem with the Altimas. I will check the gas cap as suggested. My question: Is there anyway for me to check the computer problem code myself at home without paying a dealer $70 to hook it up to their diagnostic machine? I am on a tight budget so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
  • cnackcnack Member Posts: 7
    Thanks alcan for the link to Nissan trouble codes. Can anyone tell me where to find the ECM on my Altima so I can see which code is being triggered?
  • rzzzrzzz Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1995 Altima ( automatic ) that died this morning. It idles ok and the engine revs fine in neutral or park. As soon as I shift into reverse or drive it dies. After many attempts, I was able to just get it home by "tap dancing" on the gas.
    Has anyone seen this before? Thanks Rob Z
  • natas179natas179 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1997 Nissan Altima that just crapped out. When I turn the key to the "on" position, none of the sensor lights in the dash light up. The engine will turn over but will not run unless I douse the air intake with starting fluid. But as soon as it uses up the fluid it shuts off. I checked the fuel relay, fuel pump, fuel level relay and injectors. All work fine. I don't know what else to check because the on board diagnostic system doesn't go on either. Any suggestions would definitely help and be greatly appreciated.
  • shemzshemz Member Posts: 34
    My Check engine light turned back on, and i took it to 3 diffrent places...one place told me it was the knock sensor or the O2 sensore. Is there anyway to check this myself??? can I buy the nissan guide book from autozone or somewhere and check the code??? Please, any advise would help tahnk you.
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    What year?
  • shemzshemz Member Posts: 34
    A 1995 Nissan Altima GXE
    I have changed an O2 sensor not too long ago (7-8 Mo) at nissan dealership...by the way they suck!
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    Follow the instructions here. Scroll to the very bottom for DTC descriptions:

    http://www.batauto.com/nissan.html
  • pda97pda97 Member Posts: 91
    Does anyone use this on his/her Altima ? I know Nissan does not recommend buying "off the shelf" fuel injector cleaners, claiming they usually have some sort of chemical that can harm the engine. My 97 Altima stutters a little bit, which could mean dirty injectors. I'd like to try some of the products found at Pep Boys, etc. Any harm ? Thanx for the replies.
  • will88will88 Member Posts: 1
    Hi All, I have a 94 Altima GXE with 110K. Everything runs great except that I'm hearing this slight clunking/thunking noise when I begin to accelerate on a turn (going from, say, 0 to 5 mph). The CV boots were done in the last 2 years. What do you think this sound could be? Is it something that needs urgent attention?

    The sound is not that loud and does not happen every single time. But I do notice it. Please advise if you can. Thanks!!

    Will
  • sandman46sandman46 Member Posts: 1,798
    from our '01 GXE. Sounds like a sewing machine but only with acceleration. Can turn the wheel from side to side at idle and no noiuse, so don't think it's the power steering. Only with acceleration. Any help would be appreciated as we've only got 8.5k left on our 3 year/36k warranty. Scheduled an appointment online last night for next week so we'll so but any help would be great.

    The Sandman
  • leb3leb3 Member Posts: 1
    I bought a brand new V6 fully loaded with every option Altima. Although I absolutely love the car, it's only 5 months old, and I discovered 2 small 2 tiny rust spots on it. This car lists for 29.9k. Quite a chunk of change !! These are not minor scratches or dings, they are right down to the rust. The dealer told me a "rock must have hit it", however, there is no dent, just rust, one on the left side door and one on the left side trunk. I am not a trained autobody person, but everyone I've shown this to agrees, this is a defect, not a "ding" or "rock hitting it" issue. I called and reported it to Nissan, and they basically blew me off with "your rust warranty only covers if it's rusting from the inside out". They won't even send anyone out to look at it. They gave me a case number and said, "read your warranty". I am not happy that a 5 month old car
    at that price, (or any price for that matter) would be rusting. The dealer I bought it from touched it up at no cost to me, which they did not have to do, but it's basically going to only get worse, it's pretty obvious. This is my first and last Nissan, I am sorry to say, because basically mechanically, I love the car and all of it's options. Has anyone seen/heard of rust problems on these cars?
  • shmangshmang Member Posts: 297
    Yes, this is a very common problem for the new Altima, no matter what engine (2.4 or 3.5). There are also some articles mentioned this before.

    How can Nissan make such a 'huge' car with so many features that cheap? If the paint and other parts are top notch quality (at least match the quality of the engine), That would be in the level of a BMW 528 (around $36-38K).

    I don't know what to tell you other than Sorry at this moment. It is just the new policy of Nissan to drive the cost down. Actually, this scares me away from the 350Z that I was very interested in.
  • 5speed25speed2 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2002 Altima 2.5S. On both rear doors, near the bottom, the paint is chipping off the doors. It looks as though the doors are not properly lined up between the front and back. Anybody else have this problem? If so, what did you do to have it fixed?
  • 5speed25speed2 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2002 Altima 2.5S. I can hear a whistling noise coming from my vents. Originally, the dealership thought it was a bad blower motor and so they replaced it. That didn't do the trick. The noise is still there. Anybody else have this irritating noise?
  • schweikbschweikb Member Posts: 111
    I tried removing the glove box door (following directions on page 8-22 of owners manual) to access the filter that I want to take out. The manual shows two clips that you pull down (there's a diagram on page 8-21). I can't find the clips, but I do see two tabs that can be swung forward or backward. They were forward, so I assume this is loced postion and backward would be unlocked. However after doing that nothing happens with the door coming of. Any ideas? I've only had the car a couple of weeks and unfortunately a skunk crawled under the engine bay and died. Now there is constant skunk and urine smell. I think the filter has the disadvantage of trapping smells and then each time you start the car and put the blower on the smell ttrapped in the filter get blown aroound the interior. I have lived without this kind of filter for 60 years, I don't really need one now. Help!
  • shemzshemz Member Posts: 34
    My Airbag lights turnes on and off (blink) while iam driveing???!! what does that mean? i have a 95 Altima with 115K..
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    It means there's a fault in the airbag system. Time to take it to a qualified repair facility or body shop.
  • shemzshemz Member Posts: 34
    hello-
    would the airbags come out all of a sudden either while driving or braking (hard or soft)!!!?? I have been in an accident b4, but that was about 3 mo. ago and it was a side impact on the passenger side. Could it be from that... 3 mo ago the light didnt come on after the accident?
    could it hurt maybe to take the airbag fuse out? or to disable it and have no airbags? (hey, older model cars dont have airbags...)
    1 more question...
    What could be a possible problem, just tell me anything (give me a list of possible causes) from your past experience or some problem with the altimas airbags that you or anyone might know of.
  • sauron666sauron666 Member Posts: 12
    I recently took delivery of this model. No sooner did I really start driving it, I noticed steering pull to the left and tire bounce (felt in the seat). Took it back to the dealer. After a re-balance, rotations and alignment (<200miles driven), the problem did not go away. I was told to drive it 3000 miles to let the flat spots wear out. A week later, back to the dealer. Got different tires, numerous rotations, re-balancing and test drives enabled my car to drive okay for about 3 weeks. The tire bounce is back. The steering pull/drift to the left never went away. Nissan will not honor tire replacement. Have to go to Continental dealer. If I do that, these tires are history. But, is it really the tires? I have standard steel rims w/caps. Nissan has a service bulletin that states to inflate the tires to 40+ lbs and drive for 1000 miles. I live in very hot Florida. This would surely risk explosion. Does anyone experience the same problem? It is most evident a speeds lower than 70mph.
  • phillyguy3phillyguy3 Member Posts: 88
    Sorry to hear about your tire problem. This does not seem like just a tire problem, but I'm not an expert. Did you notice anything as soon as you took delivery? Did the dealer check the rims? How about the frame? There doesn't seem to be any other posts about this issue on theAltimas.I'm going to take mine for a test drive on Saturday B4 I sign the papers. Won't your dealer take any responsibility? I would push hard until you get satisfaction.
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    I'm sorry, but I won't post info re SRS systems. I feel that to do so would be irresponsible. They're dangerous. You might not try to act on the info but the next guy could end up hurting himself. A few of points to consider: removing the airbag fuse and/or disconnecting the battery might not disarm the system. They're equipped with a reserve power supply to ensure deployment in the event of a frontal collision which damages the battery; a deployment might cause enough damage to write the car off, depending on it's age and value; an accidental deployment while someone's fiddling around near the steering wheel will definitely put a damper on his afternoon; when we light drivers' side bags off at the facility where I work, we use a looooong firing harness in the parking lot with tha airbag facing down. It usually blows the steering wheel higher than the parking lot light standards (our apprentices love that). and last, but maybe most important, wouldn't you like to know it's probably going to work if needed? I'd strongly recommend you do yourself a favour and have a body shop or other qualified repair shop check it out.
  • darwin7darwin7 Member Posts: 1
    Love the car, think its amazing!
    I have the v6 with leather and sunroof.

    Having one problem though with the bose system.
    The amp seems to over heat if played loudly (and i dont mean ear drum bleeding loud either....just regular loud). Happens fast if the music has a lot of bass and the day is hot. When it over heats the sound breaks up...bass begins to fuzz out...sounds aweful.

    Haven't brought it in yet to have them look at it yet...I'll keep you advised as to if Nissan takes care of this problem

    Love the car beyond this issue though
  • aftyafty Member Posts: 499
    Check out the Edmunds Long-Term test of the Altima. Seems their Altima has the same problem.
  • conruaconrua Member Posts: 2
    My 1994 Altima break lights are staying on. I am guessing that the realy must be bad. Any one know where the relay would be located???

    thanks
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    Check for misadjustment or damage to the brake light switch, under the dash near the top of the brake pedal arm.
  • imm21imm21 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1993 Altima with 95K miles on it. No problems so far except for the last few months it has started to stall sometimes at a traffic light. There is no regularity. If I start it up, it gets going again. It has stalled after a few minutes and also after it has been on the interstate--so no pattern there.

    It has had all the major service. The dealer says they would have to guess but a fuel filter tune-up and tune-up are first things to be done.

    Any ideas?

    Thanks
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    Inspect the ducting between the mass air flow sensor and the throttle body carefully for any cracks, splits, or other damage that would allow unmetered air to enter the engine.
  • ibe98765ibe98765 Member Posts: 1
    I've been following Edmunds test of the Altima 3.5. I think they may be a little charitable in some instances (or perhaps just easily impressed).

    Re: mpg - Over the last 2 months Edmunds has been averaging about 21.4 mpg. There doesn't seem to be any way to converse with the editor here, so am wondering if they are getting this figure from the computer or from a spreadsheet?

    I have 5300 miles on mine (automatic trans) and track gas use via a spreadsheet. My driving is 80% highway and most of the time average between 70-85 mph since I have a reverse commute of 50 miles in the San Francisco Bay Area. My computer readout for the last 2100 miles is 21.1 mpg. BUT, the actual number is 19.28 mpg. On the last fillup, I got 18.41 mpg - a 12.77% error from the computer number of 21.1. I wonder if Nissan purposely designed the computer to read higher mpg figuring that most people will believe the computer and will therefore think they are getting higher gas mileage?

    At least with this car, the computer and speedo are highly inaccurate.

    Using a GPS device and also checking against one of those mobile road radar displays, the speedo is off anywhere between 4-11 mph at a variety of speeds. I'd like to see Edmunds do a check of their car with a GPS unit or on the dyno to see if they have the same problem.

    I tried to take this up with Nissan but despite the "customer excellence" pap they spew in their ads and warranty booklet, they basically told me to get lost and that I could file a complaint with the BBB if I wasn't happy.

    There doesn't seem to be any real standard of accuracy on instrumentation. Perhaps this is something else the government should look into.
  • beaghibeaghi Member Posts: 34
    I have a 1994 Nissan Altima (110K miles) with a problem similar to yours. The engine stalls occasionally after deceleration at the moment it should stabilizes at the idle speed. Some time it does not stall but goes in the sub 500 rpm and get back to its normal idle speed. Once the idle speed is reached, it remains stable. I already checked the On-Board-Self-Diagnostic codes but there is nothing there. I called the dealer and he does not know anything about this problem and does not have any idea where to start seaching... I check in the Altima Servile Manual and I found a diagnostic procedure that seams to be related to my problem. This is the "procedure 14 - Engine stalls after decelerating" on page EF&EC79. I have not had the chance to give it a try but according to this procedure the IAC valve-ACC Valve could be the cause. Does anybody have a better idea?
  • schlagwerkschlagwerk Member Posts: 1
    My Altima did the same thing a month ago immediately after a major tune up. I figure it was a fuel injection problem so I bought some octane booster (same as fuel injection cleaner except its a "finer" grade) at a local gas station before filling up with some premium. Worked fine, no stalls at traffic lights or when decelerating. But to be safe, I followed up with a couple more fillups with octane booster and everything seems fine now. Wouldn't hurt to try it, octane booster costs less than a couple dollars.
  • beaghibeaghi Member Posts: 34
    I tried the octane booster today, just in case, before driving a couple hundred miles. It is much easier to do then starting to check the AAC valve located under the intake. But this problem is not frequent and it might take a long time before I can really validate a fix. It could do it on 10 traffic lights in a row and not do it for 6 months. But this problem is slowly getting worst and I now see it about once per month.
  • mungar60mungar60 Member Posts: 1
    I have a four month old 2002 2.5S 5-Speed with a little over 5000 miles ( mainly highway). Just before the first oil change ( around 1500 miles), I thought the oil level on the dip stick was looking slightly low. Now 3500 miles into this oil change, it looks like I'm nearly a quart low. I haven't seen any leakage at all, no oil smells and nothing noticeable coming out of the tail pipe. When I was at the dealer, I overheard someone complaining to the service dept about this same subject and was told that 'some cars just use more oil than others'. Has anyone else run into this type of problem? I'd like to know if this is common to 2002 Alty's before I raise hell with the service dept. Thanks.
  • aftyafty Member Posts: 499
    I have heard other Altima 2.5 owners complain about excessive oil usage. Good luck getting help from your service department.
  • abhijatabhijat Member Posts: 5
    I am planning to buy a 94 altima with 127 k miles on it. It is a fully loaded machine with all the features and also it is cheap. But my only concern is that it is slightly high on mileage. What should I do?????
  • beaghibeaghi Member Posts: 34
    What should I do??? You should buy...unless the price is too high. I bought my Altima 94 when it was new and I now have 110K miles on it. This is a very good car and I believe that 110K miles is about half of its active live. After 110K miles the engine still behave like a new one. It does not burn of leak oil. When I change the oil I get back more than 3 liter and a half of old oil from the 4 liters that I put 7500 miles before. Beside oil, prestone, tires, spark plugs and air filter the only things that I changed on it are: the gas filter, the battrie (last month only), the link kits (4X $20us) and the front brake pads twice (not even the disks yet). Things that I have replaced are: the rear brakes, the pipes and muffler (one pipe was replaced after 2 years under warranty), clutch, chucks, distributor cap and wires, booth on driving shafts... and many other things. I am starting to see small spots of rust on the left side near the rear wheel. But I live in Quebec and we have a lot of salt on the road and I always park my car in the warm garage so it is not a surprise. So I hope that it helps you.
  • meegs24meegs24 Member Posts: 3
    I have a 2002 2.5S 4-cyl. The car has been great so far other than the air conditioning. It doesn't seem to be very effective. On a hot day I have to put the air on max and I'm still sweating sitting in the car. I thought that maybe with today's regulations that the air conditioning might not be as effective as the old days but my wife has a new Honda and her air works great. Has anyone noticed this to be a problem?
  • abhijatabhijat Member Posts: 5
    I am being asked for a price of 3600 for it. Is it too high????
  • beaghibeaghi Member Posts: 34
    In my previous text it should have been written "Things that I have NOT replaced..." instead of "Things that I have replaced...". BTW there is no timing belt, there is a timing chain instead that should last more than 200K miles. For the price it is hard to say because it depends on the area. Here in Montréal, it would sell in a range of 3000$ to 5000$ us dollars.
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    Find out what people are asking for them at:

    http://www.autotrader.com/

    Should give you a ballpark price range based on mileage.
  • Go to post 20 there is a procedure to stop the flashing. I don't know why it does it or if there is a safety issue involved, but this has happened on other altimas. I did the procedure and it worked.
  • bsappbsapp Member Posts: 21
    While beautiful to look at, these cars are overrated. I took delivery of my 2002 2.5 S automatic the first week of December and tried my best to like it, but couldn't. I kept it until March and traded it. My biggest complaint wasn't the cheap interior components but the vibration that settled in whenever the car was stopped in gear. I could feel the vibration through the steering column and brake pedal, it even made the dashboard vibrate and rattle. Two different dealers checked it and informed it was performing to spec and to expect some vibration due to the characteristics of a 4 cylinder engine. The Camry 4 is much smoother and quieter than the Nissan. My car also had the tapping noise mentioned and upon start up in the morning or after sitting several hours, it knocked for a second or two. My car was delivered a quart low on oil, I had it almost 3 weeks and 800 miles before I checked and discovered it was low. I never thought about a new car being low on oil, surely it was prepped and checked by the dealer before delivery, so the first thing I did when I picked up the car I traded this Nissan in for was to check the oil. Other areas that need addressing are better insulation in the floor under the carpeting and also in the sunroof. I found mine especially noisy with the shade open. Also, it wouldn't cost much to finish the area they cut in the carpet to poke the fuel release handle through and to have nicer looking control levers for the tilt/telescope steering wheel features. For a car that Nissan has bragged so much about, it seems rough around the edges to me. I advise people when they ask my opinion to carefully check the areas I mentioned and be sure they won't be bothered by these issues, especially the four cylinder versions. The 6 cylinder on the other hand, was smooth and had acceleration like a little Lear jet, however the extra firm ride made my back hurt. I understand Nissan is going to upgrade the interiors in the 2003 models, I hope they pay attention to the negative comments they have been getting about this car. Again, beautiful car to look at, just needs some refinement..
  • aftyafty Member Posts: 499
    Regarding the low oil level in your Altima: the 2.5L engine has a propensity to burn oil during the break-in period. It is very likely that your car was delivered with the correct amount of oil but burned some in the first 800 miles. People are having the same problem with the new SE-R (which uses the same engine).

    There are no oil consumption problems with the 3.5L V6, however.
  • jcb18jcb18 Member Posts: 1
    There seems to be about 5 similar concerns related to mine in this forum and none have responded with a solution to it. My problem is the car stumbles and dies out at idle and upon acceleration stumbles and dies out as well. Have performed diagnostics on it, but have not been able to pinpoint the faulty componenets. If anyone has come across this problem before and have been able to find a solution to it I would appreciate the feedback. Thanks.
  • bsappbsapp Member Posts: 21
    I still think my car was delivered low on oil. I took it by the Nissan dealer after checking it that morning and finding it low, the mechanic added the oil and I asked how much oil would it burn during break in and he replied "ain't sposed to burn any" After it was filled, I kept a check on it several times each week and it hardly used anymore until the first oil change which was done right at 3,000 miles. I had them check underneath and no leaks could be found so it must have been underfilled. Same thing from around 3,000 miles to the 5,400 it had when traded, hardly used any oil at all. I hope any new car wouldn't burn that much oil in only 800 miles, break in period or not.

    Due to having an overall dislike for this car, it was back to good ole GM products for me.......
  • kbell80kbell80 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1995 Nissan Altima that I'm having serious problems with. If I start the car in park, I can't press the button down to shift out of park. The car will go into drive if I start it in neutral (yes I can move the shifter around with the car off). Or if I start the car with the button pressed down on the shifter. If the car goes back into park while it's on, I have to restart it one of the above ways.

    Also, the brake lights aren't working on the car. Any idea as to what's going on? I need something "smart-sounding" to talk to the mechanic about. Thanks!
  • jh1842jh1842 Member Posts: 2
    I had the same problem on my 95 altima. If you can squirm you way under the dash (difficult if you are my size) you can follow the break pedal up to two switches (buttons). I don't remember which is which but they release the shifter and activate you break lights. If you can get under there it won't be difficult to change. Just make sure you have enough daylight left before you start.
  • jh1842jh1842 Member Posts: 2
    I've been extremely pleased with our altima until I found out that its common for them to kill distributors.

    I'm on my third one. . . does any one have any idea why this happens?

    thx
  • dfsotodfsoto Member Posts: 4
    Hi all,
    I have a feeling that these problems are just design problems and that is the way the car will behave until they improve the design. I use to worry about these problems but I gave up...

    1) Center console doesn't close too good. To close it, instead of slamming it just push firmly on the back of it, it will close good every time.

    2) The trunk has to be slammed to close. I hate this on a brand new car but seems like thats they way it is.

    3) Humming noise from the Left front side. I usually getting at 90+ MPH so I dont worry anymore.

    4) Reflection of the dashboard on the windshield. Annoying, specially if you Armor-All it.

    5) Makes a weird noise for 2s when you start it up cold.

    6) Static radio noise. The dealershep fixed this, there is a service bulletin.

    as I find more stuff like this, i'll post it...
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