Nissan Altima Maintenance and Repair

corvette · August 2004

>>>Can you elaborate on the reasoning behind the repeated regular oil changes in short intervals before the first synthetic change?<<<

IMO, there is no good reason to do this on a modern engine. You can just switch to synthetic at the first regular oil change. On some cars like Hondas and VWs, the manufacturer insists that you not do the first change until 5 or 10k miles.

And it shouldn't affect the warranty as long as you do the regular chagnes every 7500 miles during the 5/60 powertrain warranty. Bottom line is, I would bet money to almost anyone that you will not own the car long enough to have engine trouble due to lubrication problems.

anonym · August 2004

I just purchased my 2005 altima this month and am already having a few problems. If I have my a/c on and the recirculate button pressed on there is no way to turn off the air condition. Eventhough I turned it away from max ac, turned off both the recirculate and a/c buttons there is still cold air coming out. Does this happen to anyone else? Is this a design flaw or a mechanical flaw with the car? I noticed I am only able to turn off the a/c if my recirculate button is not on. Just an FYI to all new owners. There is an TSB out for the stereo. On the FM radio my stereo would lose the treble and become obviously lower in volume. The dealership ordered me another one.

I am just a little dissapointed by the build quality of the car. There was a plastic piece that was not even snapped in on my door, near the handle. Im just wondering what else they forgot to do.

Im seriously considering buying the factory backed warranty. The dealer quoted me an exorbitant price of 1450 dollars for a 6 year 100K warranty. Please post what others were able to get.

maxamillion1 · August 2004

But then again, Nissan isn't really known for making HQ interiors as of late.

But overall, I like my altima

jabata · September 2004

O.K. I am on the market for a 2002 Altima 2.5 S ... question is - if I buy it from a private person, will the dealer honor the balance of warranty - if I need to take the car there for repairs ?

corvette · September 2004

Yes, they will honor the balance of any remaining factory warranty (3 years 36,000 miles comprehensive, 5/60 powertrain). If it's an aftermarket warranty, it's a crapshoot. You will want to have them run the VIN to be sure all the recalls have been done (those will be free even after the warranty has expired).

jabata · September 2004

Thank you for the help.
Here is my other dilemma. We have 97 Altima - great car. 86,000 miles - no problem so far -none.
My wire wants 2002 Honda Civic - I want 2002 Altima 2.5 S . You know it's hard to fight with the wife - but what argument could I possibly use to persuade her to go with me on the 02 Altima 2.5S ?

One more question: is 97 Altima equipped with timing belt or chain ? Also what is recommended mileage for transmission oil change, what type of transmission oil is recommended ?

Thank you very much

mmr3 · September 2004

After getting on highway, tried to shift to left lane, but a car was there, so I shifted back to right lane, but the car just went out of control -- couldn't steer properly, fishtailed left and right like driving on ice, until I finally got it to stop. It hit the divider at some point and set off side airbags. Any ideas as to why it got out of control? Just happened a few hours ago, and it's a nice sunny fall day here in NJ, no ice whatsoever. Car is new, approx 700miles! Appreciate any feedback.

jabata · September 2004

love my 97 Altima. No problems at all. Now the time has come to change the transmission (auto) fluid.

Here is the question: since I've mislpaced the Manual - I don't know what kind of transmission fluid to buy, and what quantity.

Can someone help ?

corvette · September 2004

http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/nissan/pdfadcd/og/altima/1997-Niss- an-Altima.pdf

mmr3,
Is everyone okay?

As to causation: Was the road wet? Any oil or other debris on the road? Did the car act "twitchy" before the accident? If the car fishtailed, the rear wheels lost traction. I would look to something that could have caused that to happen. Were they under/overinflated? Parking brake or disc brake sticking?

jedurocher · September 2004

My wife is about to beat me because the new car she just bought is not what she thought it was.

1. At 65, 2500rpm, the car has a high pitch whine coming from the engine. Has anyone experienced this?

2. There is a definite whine when she rolls up the windows.

3. When she takes off, similar to Max's issue, her car shifts hard, but not all the time.

HELP!!!!, Please

mmr3 · September 2004

Thanks for your concern, Corvette. It's a miracle that no one was hurt. My parents were also inside the car. The road was not wet, did not see any oil or debris on the road. No problems with the car at all before the accident, tires were ok, parking brakes weren't sticking. Car was just 3 weeks old! Just concerned that when the car gets fixed, it might happen again like when trying to avoid deer or pedestrians or another car. Want to hear from other Altima owners, if they experienced "fishtailing" under normal road and good weather conditions.

pasta · September 2004

I own a 2004 3.5SE altima. It whines at around 45 mph and also 80 or 85 mph. The dealership thinks it is the transmission. They are getting me an appointment with a Nissan representative to further check the problem. I like my car, but the whining, and it is shrill, has got to go. The service department checked with Nissan and there has been other reports concerning the whining. Let me know what you find out.

jedurocher · September 2004

Pasta,

They are looking into it in my wife's car. They gave me another Altima as a loaner and that noise is not there, or not as loud. Also, the windows do not make as much noise when they roll up and down, my wife's car does. They are working on it. My wife was so upset, she wanted her old car back.

gsemike · September 2004

I have a 2003 2.5S with just under 16k. It's recently developed a problem where the engine emits a squeaking noise on first start up in the morning. The sound is definitely coming from the front of the engine. As the car warms up, the squeaking quiets down but I am not sure if it goes away all together. I haven't noticed any degradation in engine performance.

Since it's summer, the car is not getting overly cold so I'm worried that something may not be getting lubricated correctly. Has anyone encountered this problem or heard about a TSB on this?

Any info will be greatly appreciated.

jedurocher · September 2004

Pasta,
As of now, all the computer models, etc. are within specs. I think I will be getting the car back today. I will see how things go, but the Altima loaner that they gave me (and I will drive one of the cars on the lot today) does not make that noise. I also talked to them about putting in a booster or something for the horrible reception, but they say there is not much they can do for that either. My wife is hoping for the lemon law to kick in, but I doubt it will. Just some kinks to work out.

corvette · September 2004

Sounds like a bad serpentine belt tensioner or bad bearing on one of the accessories. You're still under warranty, so if nothing else, take it in to have the complaint noted--since it only happens when the car is cold, it may not be reproducable unless you want to leave the car at the dealer over night. Mine chirps very lightly, for a second or two, but it's not yet bad enough to get repaired, especially given that I'm out of warranty.

pasta · September 2004

Hope everything works on your car now. Did they find out what is causing the whining? It's time for an oil change in my car, I will check then when the representative will be coming to the dealership to listen to the noise in my car.

jedurocher · September 2004

Pasta,

Not yet. I will be taking it back on Saturday and riding with the tech and service rep again.

I have driven a few other Altimas and I do not hear this whining. They say that all the tests show that things are working to "factory specs", but I do not believe that. The sound is hard to describe, but I will try. There is a whine coming from the right side of the engine (if you are in the driver seat facing forward). It sounds like the engine is trying to shift gears and running at a lot higher RPMS than it actually is running. It is one of those sounds that just sticks in your head and won't go away, even with the radio on.

I am upset that the dealer told me he rode in the back seat of the car, yet when I left yesterday, it had the same amount of miles as when I brought it in. They were running tests on machines. He should be calling Nissan today, and if things do not move along, I will be calling 800 Nissan1 to speak with someone too.

I continue to push the "worst case scenario" issue and they will not even talk about it or a possible new vehicle. In the mean time, I am greatly inconvenienced and will be paying a car note soon for a car that is not in my possession. It is as if I were divorced and my wife took my car, but I still have to make payments and deal with the headaches of the vehicle.

hailyes · September 2004

I just purchased an 05 Altima SL/3.5 on Saturday (9/11) and I've had it in the shop now twice for radio problems and wind whistle from the right front passanger door.

The dealership is ordering a new radio for me and the window noise problem is suppose to be fixed -- I haven't had a chance to drive the highway yet.

My question is what else can I expect from Nissan? I've owned Honda and Ford before and never expeirenced this?

Kirstie_H · September 2004

TONIGHT - 6-7pm PT/9-10pm ET
Get LIVE feedback on your maintenance or repair problems. Join our guest experts alcan, 0patience, and mr_shiftright as they tackle your fix-it questions!

kirstie_h
Roving Host & Future Vehicles Host

rma · September 2004

I have the same AC problem with my 2005 Altima - only 10 days old. Any resolution?

rma · September 2004

My 2005 Altima AC has a problem also. If AC is on, and I turn on Recirculate and turn both off, the AC keeps blowing cold air, and there is no way to turn it off, unless I turn off the engine! Any resolution?

Thanks.

anonym · September 2004

I just took my car in for service. They claim that it is the new design of the a/c to prevent the windows from fogging when using the defroster. Service manager said when using the ac turn the controls to max ac. If I want to turn off a/c use the controls to direct air to your face or face and feet. This seems like an extremely poor design. Let me know if anyone has been able to get the service station to fix this.

corvette · September 2004

This doesn't make much sense. I know on the 2002-04 models, and countless other cars, the A/C turns on when you turn the knob to Defrost (without illuminating the A/C light), but turns off when you take it out of Defrost. Turning the controls to max a/c all the time you need a/c is not safe because max a/c puts the HVAC system in recirculation mode - little or no fresh air is being pulled in.

hailyes · September 2004

My 05 Altima's clock did not work and now they're ordering a new radio. The service writer had to contact Panasonic to order a new Bose radio. It took the service writer and the Nissan factory rep about four hours to find the right source.

I took my car to Academy Nissan in Colorado Springs. Hope that helps.

hailyes · September 2004

Is anybody having a problem programing they're home link? My garage door openner has rolling codes and nothing seems to work...any suggestions?

gsemike · September 2004

I wrote a couple of days ago about the squeaking noise coming from my 2.5S. I dropped it off this morning, and the service "advisor" tried to steer me to a new serpentine belt before he even looked at the car.

Since the belt is one of the few things out of warranty, I find his diagnosis dubious. We'll see what they say when they call me back, but at 16,000 miles, that belt should have plenty of life and I certainly don't intend to replace it every year and a half.

This has me a little perturbed to say the least. He of course tried to pitch an unnecesary 15,000 mile service for $299. Why should I pay them that much to look at the brake pads and hoses? It's a complete rip-off. If I wanted to put that much money into a car every 15,000 miles, I could have bought a used car with 100,000 miles for around $5k.

rma · September 2004

Thanks; I'll try that and see what happens. I beleive the manual also says something along those lines... This is indeed a very poor design.

corvette · September 2004

If the serp belt wore out that quick, there's something misaligned there to cause it to wear out so quickly. They can be cracked from age and still not making a peep, it's often the tensioner. If they are as shady as they sound, they will want you to pay for the new belt and installation (which may not fix the problem) before they will even consider the tensioner. Is there another dealer in your area?

hailyes · September 2004

I had a whistling sound coming from the rt front door as well. The dealer said the technition basically tightend up the door and the whistle is gone.

gsemike · September 2004

I got stuck paying for the belt. I still find their diagnosis dubious, but once it was in the shop, it would have cost me $45 to get it out, so I paid it. I'm not happy about it, but don't feel that I had a choice.

jedurocher · September 2004

OK. Here is the final resolution.

Because the tech guys could hear the noise, but could not figure out what the problem was, and the fact that the car had not formally been titled, the Sales manager went ahead and got us a new car. We picked it up yesterday, and after a thorough test drive, bought it. It is exactly the same as our old car, except they will have to add the spoiler at a later date. He had offered me any car out of his inventory that was the equivalent. Of course, we wanted to make sure that we received the same color, so he had to do a dealer trade. With that, we had to pay $150 for the trade. A small price to pay to have a new car and have one that does not have any trouble...so far

One thing that I did was hit them from all sides. I put friendly pressure on the service guys. I called corporate. I wrote a nice letter of fact to the sales manager. He could have left us out to dry with the service group, but I reminded him over and over that he promised 100% satisfaction and we ultimately received it.

I hope that my wife can finally grow into the car. She is so used to a Honda that she is having trouble with the "normal" engine noise of the Altima. It is growing on her, and soon she will be converted.

Thanks for everyone's input!

jabata · September 2004

"Check Engine" light came "ON" this Sat. I drove it to the dealer, but it was near closing hour. Made an appointment on Monday - and today my Altima was in.

Two codes:
P0325 for "Knock sensor" fault and
P1336 for "Crank position sensor" fault.

I asked them to clear the codes and took it to my mechanic. He suggested to replace only the "Crank position sensor" because the "Knock sensor" only senses of any "ping" or "knocking" sounds coming from the engine.

Along with that - he replaced spark plugs, distrib.cap, took apart and cleaned EGR, air filter. Paid $380 (including dealers computer scan).

And happily got in the car to take it home. And "yes" on the first intersection - the "Check Engine" light CAME "ON" again !!

Went back to the mechanic - he suggested to put "Octane Booster" and "Fuel Injection Cleaner" and drive it for 3-4 days - the light should go "OFF".

Should I believe him ?

And what could be the problem if not that ?

Thank you

corvette · September 2004

I would put in the fuel injector cleaner (like a can of Techron) and fill it up at a quality gas station. Couldn't hurt, might help... Good luck!

jabata · September 2004

Hi, Corvette

Yes, as of yesterday I poured bottle of "Octane Booster" + " STP "Fuel Injection Cleaner" + filled her up with 91 octane gasoline.

Also, instructed my wife to drive with "OD" (Overdrive) on "OFF" position, so the car would only run on 3 gears (it's an automatic transmission).

Hate to say, but I might be looking at Toyota Camry (1999-2000) or Honda Civic 2001 (we'vd had Honda Civic before - and were pleased with it)>

After all this Altima only has 86,000 on it.

corvette · September 2004

Hate to say, but I might be looking at Toyota Camry (1999-2000) or Honda Civic 2001...

===========================================

You won't be hurting my feelings! Good luck, whatever you decide.

kabatdc · September 2004

I was unable to start my car after just getting out of if. I had a similar problem a few times before and a tow truck driver told me as a safety device I had to put my car in neutral to start it. This did not work this time. I had the car jumped and it got me home. After turning the car off it did not start again. I took the car to the dealer and had to actually get it jumped to get it through the service bay. No warning signs make me wonder if it was the battery. Why the battery light did not show up? The battery did not have any corrosion on it. Nothing in the car was working. Immediately the clock and the tripometer all changed.

The tech checked and said it was the battery. $165 later it appears to be back to normal.

This is my first Nissan and am quite surprised and troubled of this problem.

Any similar problems????

corvette · September 2004

If the test came out okay, there is probably nothing going on (like the alternator producing too much current) which would kill the battery. This doesn't seem to be a common problem with the Altima specifically. Car batteries in general are very hit-and-miss.

jabata · September 2004

1997 Altima, I will change the "Knock" sensor - but in case if the "Check Engine" light comes back "ON" - do you know what the problem might be ?

My mechanic told me my chain is O.K. - so what could trigger the "Knock" sensor ?

Thank you

corvette · September 2004

Did you ever get the codes read again after installing the crank position sensor?

The knock sensor is what prevents the engine from pinging or detonating if the octane of the fuel is too low. It retards the timing of the engine to prevent knock, so it's possible that low octane fuel or a gummed up fuel system could cause some sort of fault there, hence the recommendation to try some fuel system cleaner and octane booster. Bad wiring to the sensor could also cause a CEL. Other than that, I don't know... Good luck!

jabata · September 2004

< ...Did you ever get the codes read again after installing the crank position sensor?...>

No, I did not. But I do have an appointment with my mechanic on Fri. He told me - he could not scan the codes, but he could cancell/delete them.

For now I am driving to empty the tank filled with "Octane Booster" "Fuel Injector Cleaner" and gasoline of 91 octane.

I really thank you for your help.

I will share my experience as soon as the light goes out - hopefully soon.

Thank you

lumpman · September 2004

Just passing it on, I took the car to the dealer for a complimentary oil change, and they caught that the radiator was leaking. Replaced it under warranty.

04 Altima 2.5S with just over 5000 miles since Feb.

I never noticed any fluid. It by no means was a gusher. Never any abnormal temp indications or puddles, or big loss of fluid. They pointed it out to me. If you look around the "lip" of the radiator all around the top, it had a crusty line on it. It was some sort of seam/seal at the top bad.

gsemike · September 2004

I'm still going around in circles with Nissan Corporate on the warranty coverage for this belt. Calling them is no better than calling the cable company. Their reps don't know anything about cars and have no in depth understanding of their warranty.

My belt had to be replaced after a year and a half and 15,800 miles. The dealer indicated that this is covered for one year or 12,000 miles. The warranty that is available on their website does not indicate this exclusion.

Nissan's stance so far is that it is completely routine for this belt to need to be replaced at this point. I've had cars where the serpentine belt has lasted 80k or 90k miles no problem. As a matter of fact, I haven't talked to anyone who had to replace this belt so early.

I feel that the belt wore prematurely due to either an alignment problem or poor materials. If anyone out there has had an experience where this part wearing out this quickly is routine, please share your experience with me. Since the warranty does not list this exception, I feel that this should be covered under the 5/60 warranty.

corvette · September 2004

Unless you have an extended warranty, the bumper-to-bumper is 3 years, 36,000 miles. 5/60 is the powertrain only - generally, only internally lubricated parts of the engine and transmission. I know the 3/36 doesn't cover things like brake pads or light bulbs.

jabata · September 2004

Can someone compare how quiet is the new 2002-2004 Altima to Toyota Camry (of same years)

corvette · September 2004

Quietness is very subjective. Although you can put decibel numbers on sound, the frequency or resonance of the sound can be what makes it noticeable. There are owners who believe the 3rd generation Altima could or should be quieter. Some of these owners, myself included, have installed additional noise damping (like Dynamat). Tire choice seems to be another factor. My Michelins are very quiet. I would hazard a guess that the Camry will be quieter under almost all conditions, however, the Altima can come reasonably close with a few modifications. Neither is a penalty box. The Camry is more luxurious, the Altima is more sporting. Buy and drive what you like!

jabata · September 2004

Today, I test drove Altima 2003 2.5 SL, Camry 2003, Civic 2003 (I know Civic is in different category). IMO, Altima beats them all - I guess, I prefer sporty handling. Camry's brakes did not feel right, there is also a slight lean on curves.
This is how I test the "peppiness" of the engine - I accelerate to 45 mph, then apply the brakes to about 10 mph - then hit the accelerator and see how car pulls out. Camry is sluggish, although on a straight road pulls O.K.
Altima takes it all.

jedurocher · September 2004

Corvette
2 Things. Where do you buy Dynamat, and where did you put the Dynamat to damper some of the engine noise?

corvette · September 2004

I bought Dynamat from a seller on eBay. I installed $300-400 worth in the door sills, trunk, under the back seat, and on the roof of the car. It's no Lexus, but it's very quiet with that and the Michelin Hydroedge tires I put on it.

geordyboy71 · September 2004

The new a/c system turns on the compressor when you select defrost but you cannot turn off the compressor unless you shut of the engine and restart. (It is in the operating manual) Confirmed by my service manager that this is way system is designed!
Worse yet all air passes heater core and produces 12-15 deg above outside air temp at all time. No way to turn heat off.
On 70 deg day incoming air is h4eated to 85 deg so you have to turn a/c on!!!
Nissan engineering sucks!!!

Nissan Altima Maintenance and Repair

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles