Nissan Altima Hybrid

townboy325

is more for people who are so STUPID can't hear the DEEP DEEP sound when u get up and shut the door also thats your WARING, aaaahhhh do u need a hearing aid or something like that??? why u still bought the car when u think is a STUPID option in the first place?

gripperdon

There is no sound when you shut the door. What is you problem get a boyfriend will you. :P

PF_Flyer

Let's stick to discussing the vehicles and stay away from the personal comments and talking about each other please.

Thanks

gripperdon

Sounds Good Tell it to TomBoy she started the rudeness, I sure don't need any such stuff it gone on for a number of posts now.

I happen to think the Intellegent key is a Dumb design and Explained why. I also filed a complaint with the NHTSA. What the problem. Tell you what it's my last post sure don't need this kind of childish activity.

PF_Flyer

Be sure to check out Senior Editor John O'Dell's newest addition to our lineup, the Green Car Advisor for news and commentary on environmental automotive trends and technologies.

Looking forward to all your comments!

gagrice

If it counts I am with you. There should not be a way you can leave any vehicle and have it start up. Unless you have a remote starter. If Nissan let that slip they need to slapped. Good for you reporting it to the NHTSA. There are already many complaints of problems with these devices either not working correctly or doing something not wanted. I will never give up a key type ignition vehicle. I like to be in control not some dummy watching me from a satellite.

townboy325

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townboy325

who care going to be your post also who start it first... i only given u guys the advis that u have the problem like his has the Key inside the car with the Engine on that with out the deep deep sound. If u really don't hear or has the deep deep u should take your car to the dealer has them fixed the problem. also u can try holding the inte. key both lock and unlock togeter i think for 3 sec. or so which will fixed the problem too

hiwayman

Agree..there should be some kind of warning if you walk away from the car while it is "running". With hybrids, the car may be in EV mode, and not give you a clue what you've done.Keyed-ignition cars have a warning when you leave the keys in the ignition and open the door. Since keyless ignition cars sense when the key fob is close to the car, it would seem to be a minor upgrade to do a ping, ping, if you leave the car in "run" and walk away. That's pretty scary that the car was running in the garage without you knowing it....

The window up thing? Seems like a minor problem, that can be addressed with a change in the way you do things. Forget a few times, so you have to get back in the car, and I be ya start remembering to put them up. If you really don't want to get back in the car, pop the metal key out of the fob and turn it to the "lock" position and hold it there. The windows will go up (but if you have a sunroof, that will not close, like it does on BMW's).

langjie

but my car beeps like crazy if i walk away from the car with it on (i do it plenty of times when i am going to the atm). do you guys leave a key inside the car or something? that's the only explanation to why it doesn't beep like mad. if it doesn't beep like mad, take it back to the dealership to get the beeping fixed.

gripperdon...i don't think it's nissan's fault if you forgot to turn off the ignition, seriously, look in the mirror. were you the person who sued mcdonalds because you didn't know their coffee was hot?

gagrice

Do you have a key type ignition? I believe the complaint is that the KEYLESS ignition gives no warning that the car is not shut off. It should shut off automatically when the person with the fob in his pocket exits the car. This is evidently not happening. We also have a case where it kept starting in a parking lot with the goofy keyless ignition. Until it ran the gas out and the battery ran down. POOR DESIGNS.

langjie

no, i have an altima hybrid

the reason that the car should not shut off automatically when the fob "exits the car" or is no longer detected is because say you're driving on the highway and your keyfob battery runs out, your engine would stop and that wouldn't be pretty

the case of the car starting by itself is more of a "take it back to the dealer" thing.

more and more companies are switching over to keyless systems, i think it's great...but then again, i'm not absentminded enough to leave the car on

hiwayman

Here's an odd one. We're still testing other phones. My wife just bought a new Razr cell phone. Very cool. Even though it isn't on the list of "approved" phones for blue tooth connection to the NAH, it connected flawlessly, and the phone book downloaded easily. My wife went on a drive with her phone connected to the car through blue tooth. I sent her a TEXT MESSAGE, and the phone/car started ringing. Would not turn off. Neither the phone or the car would respond to any button pushes. The ringing kept going until she could get off the freeway, and shut the car off.
This isn't really a bug, since the phone isn't on the approved list, but it is an odd behavior. How do we fix it? I don't text her when I know she's out in the car...

mazda6dude

I just bought a new 2007 Nissan Altima Hybrid Base. Is it normal for the battery charge meter to go down to the quarter point and sometimes it goes a little lower and then charges up when the gas engine runs? Is this normal or is there something wrong? There have been multiple times where the battery charge meter shows and charge on the battery has dropped significantly and then it charges back up.

tomscot2

Totally Normal, even good because you are getting a lot of use out of the electric motor which increases your fuel efficiency.

mazda6dude

Thanks tomscot2. Maybe you can help me with another problem. I bought this altima hybrid new and since day one there has been a pull to the right. I took it into the dealership and the alignment were to specs so they cross rotated the front tires and the problem got worse. Also my wipers were bad and they said it was good. What can I do? Also, I bought the car with 75 miles on it, should that be a concern? Anyone feel free to answer of give feedback? I feel like trading in the car and getting a new one even though I will lose money. Any advice?
Thanks.

emgr

75 miles on a care when you bought it is nothing. I pick up and deliver cars for dealers who trade with other dealers for the exact car a customer wants. As long as the car has less than 500 miles when accepted by the new owner it is still new.

As for the other problems, I suggest you contact Nissan. That dealer is selling you a bill of goods if he wiper doesn't wipe and when you let go of the steering wheel briefly, the car pulls right or left.

mazda6dude

Thanks emgr.

townboy325

that dealer don't work out for u go to the next one that near u... 75 miles i think it has been tested drive couple time but for 500 than thats a lot cuz new one on the lot should be less than 10...

langjie

my car pulls slightly to the left or right due to the crown in the road (i think). i think that the electronic power steering of the car let's the car drift (but it really shouldn't be that bad)

as for the wipers, keep on insisting...they are only worth $15 a piece anyways...or if that doesn't work, go to their lot late and night and "trade them" haha. if they even refuse to replace a windshield wiper, i suggest going to another dealer for your service

hiwayman

A dealership that won't replace windshield wipers on a new car is pretty pathetic. They only cost the dealer about 5 bucks....Ask again, when you take your car in for a service. If they won't do it then, find another dealership.

Your car should NOT pull to one side or the other. Front wheel drive cars can occassionally tug the steering wheel slightly under accelleration (it's a condition called "torque steer"), but not during normal driving. You may have a brake pad dragging, or a bad bearing, or perhaps the lot man hit a curb. Are the tires wearing evenly? Are they cupping (little "cups" of worn rubber, about 1/2 inch long, repeated along the tread)?

To test if your car is being affected by the road (cars will drift one way or the other, depending upon the "crown" of the road, which is usually raised along the centerline of the road), find a country road with no traffic. Drive your car on the LEFT side of the road. Does it still pull to the right? Obviously you don't want to do that unless there's absolutely no traffic, but it'll tell the tale. You can also go to a big parking lot, at a big mall, when the mall is closed. Find a good, long, flat spot and drive down that area. Take your hands off the wheel. The car will probably drift right or left very, very gently, but if it heads off the straight line pretty quickly, you need to get it in for an alignment.

A good alignment place will align all four wheels, not just the front ones. If the rear wheels are not tracking directly behind the front ones, it will cause your car to pull.

The car might be new (75 miles is really, really new), but if someone hit a curb or something when they were moving the car around prior to sale, that would cause the pull. That can be easily fixed with a good alignment, but it isn't something you should have to pay for.

mazda6dude

I am taking it into the Nissan Dealership for the 3rd time this weekend. I have filed a complaint with nissan consumer affairs and the nissan called me back. All they said was take it back until its fixed. It doesn't make sense if the car is not being fixed and I take it in over and over again for the samething. I have filed a case with BBB and I hope things will be resolved in about a month. I really don't want the car anymore and don't feel comfortable or safe in it. I have gone on flat roads and left the steering alone and the car goes to the right. They have checked the alignment and everything is fine with the alignment. If nissan would only swap or refund me my money, this problem is solved.

tropo

We just got our Altima Hybrid, 2008 with tech and sunroof. Driving round trip from Philadelphia to DC and back - 300 miles(with A/C and cruse control at 72 MPH going down, no cruse coming back), we have used less than half a tank of gas. The economy flow was anywhere between 35 to 45 MPG.

emgr

You know your making me jealous since I have been waiting for exactly the car you have now since June 12th and even put a deposit down at the time. Still told it will not be in until the last week of November. Some guys have all the luck. From a fellow PA guy, good luck with yours.

tropo

You should not wait that long. We waited for the car a month or so because we wanted a very specific color and equipment. I am wondering why your car is taking so long to arrive.

tomscot2

We received our notice this week that the new Intelligent Key fobs are available to replace the originals.

stevehybrid

I have almost 3,000 miles on my hybrid and it is a great car. I'm getting ~35 MPG (as high as 38, low as 32). The car has enought giddyup to get the job done and a smooth ride. It has taken a while to "learn" how to keep the car in electic mode. I can now keep it on battery up to 40MPH -- using cruise control helps.

Question - Are other owners doing the basic maintenance at a Nissan dealer? They told me the car requires a special type of oil and so should not be brought to anyone other than a dealership. Dealer prices are traditionally exhorbitant so I'm wondering what others are doing.

thanks,

Steve

mazda6dude

I have had my hybrid for almost 3 months and have 4,000 miles on it. I am averaging 36.5MPG so far. As for the oil change, the dealer hasn't told me anything special about the oil, but personally I recommend taking your NAH into the dealer for oil changes. Also, the CVT uses special transmission fluid that only the dealer has. I learned this from reading the maintenance book. I agree dealer prices are very high. I usually change my air filter by myself. Hope this helps.

langjie

i get close to 36 MPG

to answer your question about the "special oil", they are trying to sell you a 0W20 synthetic motor oil. 0W20 is generally recommended to hybrid cars because it's better with the constant start/stop of hybrids. it is about $6 a quart though, so that might put a big dent into your pocket. 0W30/5W30 is still listed as acceptable by Nissan

emgr

Why is the battery in the Altima Hybrid provide 40 HP of juice while the Camery provides 45? I thought they would be the same. I know that overall the Altima has more Horses than the Camry. Just wondered if anyone knew why the difference?

langjie

i think the 2007 camry was 40 hp....must be a 2008 revision

townboy325

acutally out Altima can hold up to 42 with EV

townboy325

i have my done 2 or 3 weeks now... call around your local dealer see who has it... only 1 out of 5 dealer here has it and took them 3 hour to prog. them but the server guy told me gonig to be about 1 and half... sux

karolpl7

Is there any website with official Nissan information about these intelligent key problems? - I don't want to scream "recall" yet.
Is the problem solved on '08 models perhaps?

I'm picking my Altima hybrid this afternoon. I'll ask the dealer about it.

langjie

we're talking HP, not MPH, mine can go up to 42 MPH also though

langjie

most cars that were manufactured after august 2007 have the new keys...if you take out the physical key and look at the keyfob, you will see this computer code box (a bunch of boxes inside a bigger box). to the side of it, you will see some numbers and above those numbers you may see two concentric circles. if you see that, then you already have the new key, if you have only 1 circle or no circles, you'll need a new key

tropo

Steve, Can you please advise how you keep the car in EV mode till 40 MPH? As soon as I start moving the gas engine kicks in. Any help will be appreciated!

langjie

it's pretty difficult to go from 0-42 mph on all battery, it's more doable going downhill. normally, if you're babying the throttle, you can go 0-25 and once you get up to 40, you can let off the gas and the car should go back to EV

if you have a lot of trouble going from 0-15 mph on EV, then maybe you need to lighten up on the throttle

karolpl7

That's good information langjie.

I picked up my hybrid this afternoon and asked about the key problem. Dealer said it's been fixed by now, and yes, I checked as per your instructions and I do have the new keyfob.

The car is awesome by the way...sonoma red, blond leather with tech package. :shades:

Thanx,

langjie

not a problem...i still need to change my fobs though, haha

hiwayman

That's excellent info. Oddly enough, we'd just sent an email to our dealership, asking when the fobs would be in (they told us, when we bought the car in August, that the fobs would be replaced "sometime in the fall"). I just checked my fob, and it has two concentric circles, so we're probably good to go. We were kind of looking forward to having 4 fobs (I can lose my keys in the blink of an eye), but this will work. Just have to put my fob on one of those things the school janitors wear, with the retractable chain on it....

karolpl7

Guys,

Picked up my 2008 Altima Hybrid couple weeks ago, and just the other day I was making a sharp turn and heard something rolling from inside the dashboard from one side to the other. I though it was maybe a pen in the glove compartment at first. Made another sharp turn later and the sound was back. Nothing in the glove compartment this time. It's sounds like a loose screw is rolling from inside the dashboard, door to door, whenever a sharp turn is made. I hope it's a left over screw from a factory and nothing is loose. :mad:

I have no clue how to get it out. Probably the whole dashboard has to be ripped out - might not be worth the efforts and risking something else getting broken.
I'll ask service technicians on first oil change. :sick:

Love the car but, how can you leave loose parts behind?

Any thoughts?

PF_Flyer

I guess it could be a screw. Perhaps something that simply fell in during assembly and hopefully not something that's supposed to be keeping something else attached! I'm not sure what the dealer would do as far as getting it tracked down for you. Would it be under warranty, etc? But disassmbling a dash board is NOT something I would want to have done if I didn't have to. A fair number of hours involved in that.

I'd let the dealer know about it, just to document the situation IN CASE it turns out to be important. With any luck though, it's just and extra screw rolling around and it will find a safe crack or crevice to lodge in.

bcp01scu05

I got a notice from Nissan saying that I could replace the fobs (received it a month or two ago, but just getting around to replacing it, scheduled for tomorrow morning ). To save me the time of retyping what was in it, I've scanned it--see links below. The scan cut off some of the text, but not too much that you can't get an idea of what it said. I also scanned part of the outside so you get an idea of what the mailing looks like (no envelope).

Inside
Outside

The one important thing to note is that you won't end up with 4 fobs, as they'll take the 2 original fobs away once they reprogram the new ones.

hiwayman

If the object is rolling back and forth, you MAY be able to reach up under the dash and grab it, once you hear it roll to a specific spot. I doubt that it's going to create problems if it can roll back and forth. All electical connections are shielded and up in the wiring harness, and mechanical assemblies are away from the bottom lip of the dashboard shielding.

If the object is a bolt or a screw, I'd guess that an assembly worker dropped it during assembly, and couldn't find it in the alcoholic and drug-soaked haze in his vision (just kiddin). There's pretty good QA on the assemblies at each step, so it's probably just an extra bolt that got away...

karolpl7

Yeah, thanx for the comments.

I tried to make some sharp left - right manuvers while driving with my friend who used to be a mechanic and we couldn't hear anything... maybe the loose screw found its home.
Nothing on the floor, it probably got wedged somewhere for good.
Otherwise I'll play ping-pong again... :confuse:

emgr

Isn't that what always happens an you wind-up looking like an [non-permissible content removed]. It will probably surface again.

I get my NAH in a few hours.

emgr

After 6 months, I got my Hybrid Altima with tech in Jade. All options.

I drove it back the 60 miles to my home on two lane highways. Average speed was between 50-58. Computer said I avg.38.2 miles per gallon. Outside Temp was 37 degrees most of the way.I am very happy with that. From some of the professional reviews and even some of the customers, I was concerned what the transition was going to be between EV and ICE mode and back again. I have to say that it was really hardly noticable. It felt more like a gear shift on a manual but even less about 25% of that. Most of the time, I didn't notice and now I don't think it will enter my mind other than when looking at the display.

I tired to get the energy flow meter to shut down all flows for a test glide but couldn't do it once. I wonder if that feature was software out on the NAH.

This is the most fun I have had with a car in a long time. it's like the first trip to DisneyWorld. Well maybe not that exciting but pretty close.

emgr

I am so glad I have read the forums and knew ahead of time what to expect regarding any of the hybrids in winter weather. My new HAH I picked up last Friday matches all assessments. The car is very tight and sure footed. I have driven over a dozen standard Altima's but I have to say that the NAH sees more planted to the ground and you can feel the extra weight. I find that a good feeling. Feels very solid.

Oddly enough, the only thing I found a problem with is the 6 CD changer. It will not accept any CD's no matter how long I push one of the 6 buttons. Even if I can get the CD to the door, it won't pull it in.

Taking it back on Wedesday to be checked. Yes I read the manual carefully on how to load it. But if this is the only problem it is small. The bluetooth was very easy to set up and I like the voice recognition. As far as the NAV system. I still like my old Garmen better but I will get used to it.

hiwayman

This isn't really a "bug" per se, but it is interesting. I'm a backyard/driveway mechanic. Obviously, there's not much on a hybrid someone like me can do, but at least I thought I could change the oil. I checked the owner's manual. The recommended oil is 0w 20. I thought that was a misprint, so I called the dealership. Yup. 0w 20. Most cars will use something on the range of 10w 30 or maybe a little thicker. Just try to find 0w 20. NO one has it (except Nissan dealers?). I asked the guy at our local autoparts store if I could order a case of 0w 20, and he said he'd check, but he'd never heard of that kind of oil. It can be ordered.....but it's $5.00 a quart. Ouch!

The oil filter is almost impossible to get to as well. You need to jack the car up to get to it, and then you need an arm with two elbows. Additionally, the only brand I could find that would come close to fitting is Bosch. Weird. Our dealership does oil changes for $30.00. Guess we'll be taking the car to Nissan from now on......Looks like my days of backyard tinkering are over. Anyone want to buy some tools?