engine problem
7.2
pretty badTypical Repair Cost:
$627.00
Average Mileage:
85,494 miles
Number of complaints:
69 complaints
Most common solutions:
- replace intake manifold gasket (42 reports)
- not sure (25 reports)
- new intake fuel gasket and valve cover gasket (2 reports)
Helpful Websites About 2001 Nissan Altima shakes when idling
2008Sep 03
Altima GXE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 125,000 miles
A po420 code keeps coming up despite a new catalytic converter.
I've had the intake manifold repaired twice in the past two years. It shook madly.
2008Sep 05
Altima GXE 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 50,000 miles
Earlier this year a friend and colleague presented me with a problem he had been having with his 2001 Altima. Let me say I have a long history (20+ years) of auto repair and maintenance experience as a side job servicing vehicles belonging to family, friends and colleagues. He described to me the same rough idle all of you with intake manifold gasket leaks are experiencing. My preliminary investigation revealed the engine had never had a tune-up, not even the air filter had been replaced by almost 50,000 miles. Unaware of the design flaw in the engine I naturally suggested he let me do a tune-up since it was clearly due and would not be a waste of money even if this didn't solve the problem. After replacing the spark plugs, air filter, distributor cap and rotor and fuel filter the performance of the engine improved. However, the idle was still slightly rough. At this point an Internet search was done which lead to this website. Plan B: I removed and replaced the intake manifold gasket along with the throttle body gasket which solved the problem. Indeed the end of the gasket near cylinder #4 was brittle and cracking. I suspect the extra heat associated with the pipe connecting the exhaust manifold to the EGR valve caused the gasket to break down at that end of the engine. There is a short fiberglass sleeve or heat shield surrounding the upper end of the pipe protecting the fuel lines from the intense heat. I believe if Nissan had only opted for a longer fiberglass sleeve, thus shielding the head and intake manifold maybe it would have prevented this problem. I suggest when and if all of you have this repaired that you have two more fiberglass heat shields/sleeves added to the length of pipe in the area of the intake manifold. Then this just might be the last time you have this repaired. If any of you wish me to do the repair ($450) and it's cost effective to bring your car to Horsham, PA 19044 you may contact me at g.stelman@yahoo.com. I may be saving you several hundred $$.
2008Jan 01
Altima
- Automatic transmission
- 156,000 miles
Been shaking for a while. Replaced cap, wires, etc. Now I find this site. Argh! I need a new GASKET????? Bummer. Has started stalling in the past couple weeks, so it seems to be getting worse. Wish I had time to do it myself - anyone in Buffalo do this work on the side?
2008Feb 20
Altima GXE V4
- Automatic transmission
- 80,000 miles
This problem has been happening for some time. I had a family recommended auto shop check out the car, they changed the Nock Sensor in my car, but that didn't work. Firestone said there was some kind of gasket leak, and I took it back to that auto shop. My check engine light was on, and they checked that and claimed they fixed everything, saying that the problem was a cylinder misfire.
The fix maybe lasted a few days (just like before) then it started up again. The auto shop even tried to call a guy at Nissan and they never heard of the issue. Now how is that when there is at least 65 known issues. Is there anyway to get a RECALL for this issue? I am the original owner in my case, and I have done the required maintenance on my car. A car that is maintained well should last longer then 7-8 yrs. The mileage hasn't even reached 100,000 yet.
One thing I did notice, when the shake happens, I turn on the AC and it stops. Also putting the car in neutral helps a little, but not as much as the AC. Maybe if the economy wasn't so bad and gas so high, I could actually fix the problem ;O)
2007Jul 04
Altima GXE 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 69,000 miles
Last year on the 4th of July weekend, my wifes 01 altima has the same problem as everybody else. The intake gasket leaked causing a rough idle and the engine to run crappy. Well i fixed that problem and then a couple of weeks later the same type of problem occurred. I had the car looked at by a friend of mine and he told to try replacing the Mass Air Flow meter and he told ne how much it was from the dealer ($501.00 +tax).
So i called around local scrap yards and found one for $109 w/ a lifetime warranty. What I am suggesting is when you have a problem like this, you might as well do it all and not have to worry about it coming back to haunt you later in while to are driving.
2008Jul 01
Altima GXE 4
- Automatic transmission
- 61,000 miles
I'm mad at my car!!!! I have the same issue all of you are talking about. Let's take um to court!!!!
2008Mar 18
Altima 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 60,000 miles
Just adding to the pile of complaints about this problem. Got the fault code for cylinder 4 misfire at the same time as rough idling at stop lights began. Cleared the fault, and it stayed clear for a few days, but came back in a few days later. Clearing this fault did NOT fix the idling problem. Once, the fault came back as "multiple cylinder misfire". Replaced the fuel filter and spark plugs to no avail. Finally a reputable mechanic listened to the strange "popping" sound coming from the exhaust while it was idling rough, and it took him all of two seconds to deduce that there was a vacuum leak.
I can't believe how many other people have had this problem... And honestly, as time goes on, the more frustrated I'm becoming as a consumer. It sounds like this problem will happen again, and Nissan will just tell me to go pack sand, just like the multitude of other companies who have not lived up to their promises (Chase Manhattan and Toshiba, to list a few).
2008May 05
Altima GXE 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 65,000 miles
I just had the same problem, shaking at idle. No engine light on. Looks like it's pretty common :| Thank god for the internet though. Thanks all, at least I won't get ripped off when I get this fixed.
2008Apr 01
Altima GXE V4
- Automatic transmission
- 73,000 miles
My car has been pretty reliable till this problem poed up. Check engine light turned ON just after a regular oil change. I took the car back to the mechanic same day and he reset it. He told me that fuel intake is lean. I didn't understand much and happy to see the light go OFF. In a few days again the check engine light turned ON. This time it was intermittently ON/OFF. When ever I fill up the tank. It would turn ON. Very weird. Then I started noticing engine vibrations. When idle or stopped at light, the car would shake terribly. I have been driving with this issue for a few hundred miles. But today after visiting this Website. I know what is the issue. I have to hunt for a mechanic, get a quote and fix this issue. It's really annoying and I always like to keep my car in perfect shape. I will update after fixing this issue on how much I ended paying for this issue.
2008Apr 04
Altima SE 2.4L L4
- Automatic transmission
- 129,000 miles
Like many here, I have been recently experiencing this idling problem, watch my tachometer go from idle of 900RPM, to just above 500RPM and that's when it can hear and feel the miss. I had something similar happen when the car had 52000 miles on it and they replace the Mass Airflow sensor to a cost of $585, it immediately took the problem away. Before I invest another $500+ dollars, i'm going to try a new spray out for cleaning this Airflow sensor, but I am afraid that it will be this gasket as everyone has been mentioning. Why hasn't Nissan, just come out and admitted there is a problem and fix it.
2008Apr 03
Altima 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 116,000 miles
my brother owns a 2001nissan Altima he asked me to take a look at it. When i heard how awful it was sounding we went and added spark plugs, same problem so i added wires, to no avail we still had same problem so i took some carb cleaner and sprayed all vacuum hoses, then sprayed gaskets immediately idle was fixed until carb dried i knew then it was the intake manifold gasket . I own a 1996 Maxima and just recently bought a 2007 Altima my brother has about 3 payments left and wants to buy a new car we know that this is a manufacturing error and should be rectified I would like to say Nissan is like the rest of the car dealerships you do business and if theres a problem you are on your own needless to say if we cant get real and be honest about the problems and at least add some relief this will be our last and i do mean last time buying Nissan or Nissan parts and thats for everybody I know
2008Apr 08
Altima GLE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 80,255 miles
Well people, I had posted a week ago that my 2001 Nissan Altima started to shake like a washing machine. I finaly got it into the dealer, and as I though, it was the intake manifold gasket. This as you may already know was Not covered under any warrenty, Nissan will not admit that there is a design/gasket problem.
I would just like to state that we as consumers got HOSED again. I encourage all that are experiencing this problem log a complaint with the better business, Nissan, your motor vehical dept.
We may, as a group get someones attention. Sometimes word of mouth is the best way to go, tell anyone you know that currently have a Nissan Altima or someone that may be thinking about purchasing one, what the current problems are with this model. And what I've come to find out that it maybe happening on other models as well.
Keep posting.... and good luck
I'd like
2008Apr 14
Altima SE 2.4L V4
- Automatic transmission
- 73,000 miles
Yesterday my Altima would rough idle and shake when I was at a stop. Today the Service Engine Soon light came on. Glad I found this site to figure out the problem. It is unfortunate that this is an obvious flaw and should be covered instead of spending up to $1k to get it fixed (and knowing my local dealer service dept they will try to swindle extra stuff in there but at least I have the ammo to state no its just this issue.). My previous car was a Neon and it had the head gasket go bad in about 2 years. Luckily, Chrysler knew it was an issue and didn't charge me (although I still had to throw up a stink). I thought that buying this Altima (brand new) that had been around for years would be more reliable. So far it has until now. I am also concerned that this could be a repeat issue after a few thousand miles. Think I might start looking at a trade in sooner than I wanted to. Also not too impressed with the gas mileage. Bummer.
2008Feb 14
Altima GXE
- Automatic transmission
- 11,500 miles
Replace intake manifold gasket $600
Replace two front window regulators $300 each
Replace air conditioning compressor and dehydrator $1300
Finding out that Nissan's quality is now no better than domestics Priceless
2008Apr 09
Altima GSX 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 80,255 miles
Well, as I was looking for a possible cause why my 2001 Nissan Altima was idling like a washing machine, and this just happen 4/8/08 I came across his site. And in reading the complaints listed here WE ALL HAVE A COMMN PROBLEM.
I did what most of you have done already, and being pretty savy about cars, I thought this would be a quick fix. I was wrong. To date, I have nstalled new spark plug, wires, dist. cap, rotor. And guess what, the problem did not go away. Service engine light came on with a P300 random misfire.
I made a service appointment with local Nissan Dealer, for engine dig. only. Now I am very curious what the out come will be after reading the list of complaints. As consumers we must stand together to try and get these problems to the right people.
I'm am sure that most of us do not have the time or money to keep throwing at these car for faults of a mechanical problems that apparently are know by the the manufacturer.
CLASS ACTION seems to be the way to go....
RD.
2006Apr 01
Altima GXE
- Automatic transmission
- 80,000 miles
Had same problem as everyone else here although didn't discover this site until last year. Took to the dealership right away and they didn't mess around diagnosing the problem. Mentioned they had seen it a couple times but didn't make it out to be a big deal. The cost of $730 includes the diagnostic fee of $100 so was right in line with everyone else. So far I've not experienced the problem again (knock on wood). Husband tried to fix problem first; he's not a mechanic but has done quite a bit of work on cars...unless you are experienced mechanic with all proper tools I would not suggest attempting this repair. You'll probably end up taking the car to the dealer or mechanic anyways so I would just bite the bullet. Would be really nice to get recall but seeing as the car is going on 8 years old I'll probably be done with this one by the time that happens! Otherwise this car and Nissan have been very good to us. My husband had Nissan truck for 14 years before he got into a car accident and insurance totaled it. Was running just fine. From looking over this site Nissan seems to stay out of the top 20 (bad) lists...wouldn't buy a Ford!!
2008Mar 01
Altima GXE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 76,800 miles
I should have found this site 2 weeks earlier. There are so many people having exactly the same problem. Having graduate degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, I usually fix my cars on my own. This Nissan Altima car was a nightmare for me. It was cheap (about $15000) when I bought it in 2000. In the first week I bought it from a New Jersey dealer, the rear wheel was noisy. A bearing was fixed by the dealer (certainly at no cost). Two years later, we drove the car to Grand Canyon from Salt Lake City. After the trip we found the coolant leak and brought the car to a local dealer and spent about $90 for repair. Even though the engine was under warranty (less than 3 years and 36000 miles), the dealer refused to cover the cost, arguing that the cause was a loose hose clamp and the owner should have scheduled maintenance including checking the clamps. About 2 years ago, front door power window on the passenger side stopped to work. I ordered motor and rail from Internet and fixed it on my own (about $80 for parts). I remember I saw the recall of power window regulator by Nissan. I could have wasted the money and effort if the faulty window was covered by the recall.
After so many problems I experienced, here came the rough idle problem. The "service engine soon" light came on and off. The error code was 0300 (random engine misfire). The car ran fine when it was moving and the idle was OK when the car was cold. The problem happened only when the car was warm and stopped, say, at a traffic light. Sometimes the engine stopped after a long wait at red light. On the Altima service manual I bought, it listed tons of possible causes for the problem. The first thing I did was replacing the air filter, sparks, ignition wires, rotor and cap. It did not work after spending about $100 for parts. The service manual listed intake vacuum leak as a possible cause. However, there are so many things in the intake line and no visual defects were found. I also thought about replacing the fuel filter and cleaning the fuel injectors. These things are not easy to do. Finally I decided to ask a Nissan dealer to do a diagnosis. They told me that the idle problem was caused by intake manifold gasket and will cost over $600 to repair. I paid the diagnosis fee and called around for cheaper repair shops. The car is now in a garage. The dealer found one more problem. A CV joint boot was broken, another $210 to repair.
I am sure I'll never buy a Nissan car again.
2007Nov 02
Altima GXE
- Automatic transmission
- 50,952 miles
This vehicle ended my relationship with my local mechanic of 10 years.
Charged me over $600 to diagnose the error (P0304 #4 misfire detected... the usual)
But instead of looking up a site like this, he gave me a tune up and a fuel injection service, and a cooling system flush. (Something it shouldn't have needed till about 160000kms/100000miles)
That didn't fix it. So I drove an hour to the Nissan dealership. And I was amazed how quickly they diagnosed it! Wow how amazing! Now, I'm not so amazed, as clearly its a known issue. I have no idea how the service manager kept a straight face. Cost, was $650 for this, but at least it fixed it. They also did me the favor of changing the serpentine belt and pulley for $320.
Despite the fact my friends dad owns the dealership, I now hate a car that I once thought was so damn fine. Shocking that Nissan does not appear to give a rat's A$$ about this. This kind of crap should not be happening to a quality Japanese product, with barely 50000 miles on it. This appears to be an engineering error, that they noticed, fixed in 2002, and swept under the carpet. It isn't under warranty because I put less than 10000 miles on per year. Time ran out, before the miles ran out, before the gasket ran out.
I really, really, really, really... want to buy a 2007/8 Altima Hybrid with the tech package. It looks damn fine, I am really *that* close. But there is no way I can trust Nissan now. (Remember the bomb-proof Datsun's?)
2007Apr 26
(reported on)Altima GXE-LE 3.2L
- Automatic transmission
- 52,000 miles
I have seen so many post with the same symptoms that I know exactly what is the problem. I had a Toyota before and so like Japanese car. Nissan however is a disgrace to this category. I swear I'll never buy a Nissan again and would not recommend it to anyone. The built in problems are so many and then this rough idling. Magically your car cross 50k miles and the problem starts. Its like a deliberate bug Nissan has put.
This should be a definite recall by Nissan. I would like to take this to consumer court and will appeal everyone who has faced this problem to do the same. Carlos Ghosn (CEO Nissan : http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Carlos_Ghosn) should rethink with what strategy Nissan want to be in this market. The current strategy is to supply pathetic cars and then earn by providing costly service.
Even layman like me can deduce that is a major design flaw in the engine and produces exactly the same symptons of shaking when at idle with Engine light coming on and off. I wish Nissan had even one engineer who can say the same that "yes this is our problem and we should do something about it". In a country where customer service is the most important thing, not sure how this kind of attitude is being ignored by authorities and foremost why people even buy Nissan cars.
Its good that Nissan is taking its operations to country like India as well, there this company can service but not in US.
I wish luck to all Nissan owners who are still below 50 k and hope that they do not have to see this day. However, if you do please make a point to raise this in right forums.
2007May 04
(reported on)Altima
- Automatic transmission
- 35,000 miles
Diagnosed the problem myself, called Nissan about possible recall. Told to call dealer for official diagnosis and possible "Good will" repair. After paying $142.50 for the diagnosis (is this absurd?), the repair came to $12.50 for the gasket and $575.00 for labor, Nissan turned down the good will repair. Love to see a Class Action Suit on this one, since it WILL happen again because the design flaw causing the gasket to go bad has not been corrected.
2007Oct 11
Altima GXE 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 69,248 miles
In October 2007, car started sputtering as I accelerate. (This is March 2008) When I stop at a light or intersection, or going to a ATM, car turns off unless I catch it and work with the brake and gas to work the RPM up. This only occurs after driving for a while. Very dependable mechanic just kept the car for over a week to try to figure out the problem. He finally replaced a set of plug wires, a distributor cap and a rotor button. I will take the other 47 complaints list out to him and see what he thinks. I know I can trust him and unless Nissan has the balls to recall it, the dealership will never see my face. I will however call and write Nissan. My wife just bought a Hyundai and gave our daughter a Honda accord with 125K miles on it. Maybe I'm headed back to Honda....
2007Apr 26
(reported on)Altima
- Automatic transmission
- 78,000 miles
I have had the same problem as the others. The engine light came on a few times. Rough idling when the car was stopped (but not while in drive). The mechanic did a tune-up but that did not cure the problem. It was coming up as as misfire of cylinder 4. After bringing it to the mechanic 4 times (they could not seem to find the problem), it finally got fixed at the cost of $700.00 the car seems to run great now. Just wonder why Nissan has not recalled this part with so many people with the same exact problem.
2005Oct 31
Altima GLE 2.4L L4
- Automatic transmission
- 24,000 miles
car has a total of 30000 miles, this has happened 3 times @ $600.00 each.
this is a real safety problem. to keep this car would be insane !!!!!!
dealer refuses to repair.
2008Mar 04
Altima GXE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 58,000 miles
An air intake manifold gasket failure at 58,000 miles really stinks. The reason I bought a Nissan product was that they were supposed to be reliable. No more Nissan for me.
2006Aug 01
Altima GXE 2.4L V
- Automatic transmission
- 104,000 miles
Well as much as I hate to admit it, because its true, Nissan does have good cars, but, there are exceptions or loop holes. One is definitely the intolerable shaking and embarrassing look people give me when they see my car act like it will turn off.
The car is good, it drives good, it has put up with my careless mind but there is only so much. The car, lately its been really bad, shakes so uncontrollable when I am at a stop light that I came up with some small solutions for the less embarrassing looks. While you are at a stop light, keep the AC running, hold the accelerator and brake at the same time, since you don't want to drive off, and the last thing is to let the car heat up before leaving the parking lot.
There are set backs though, you will definitely spend more money on gas because its more expensive and you have to keep it running longer and you have to be careful that you don't speed off and hit the car in front of you. I took it to my mechanic for a whole day but they couldn't figure out what was wrong. He told me to take it to the Nissan dealer but I haven't because I found some very interesting points here. I am going to try to write to Nissan and change the part that almost everyone is saying that works. I always sort of thought it had something to do with the muffler. Sometimes I let it run while I am outside the car and I notice that the muffler sounds like its chocking, I'm going to tell my mechanic and see what he says. One more thing, when I took it to the mechanic, he was messing around with a part that makes the RPM accelerate or just makes it accelerate in general. I believe that if he can make the RPM stay at the 1 or 1.5 then it wont scuffle because when I hold the brake and accelerator and leave it at 1 it doesn't scuffle so I am going to try to get him to mess with that again and if it works, I will definitely post that on here! Sorry to write so much, I'm just happy I found some help on that embarrassing problem!
2007Apr 16
(reported on)Altima LE V4
- Automatic transmission
- 60,000 miles
I am having this problem as well and I am looking into how to fix it myself if possible. I have lived with this for a long time due to lack of funds, I hope my car isn't ruined. Nissan will be receiving a letter, though I'm sure it won't do much good unless all of you send letters as well.
2007Nov 01
Altima GXE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 85,000 miles
I have had the same problem. It was fixed under the last year of the warranty and now it's happening again. I replaced the spark plugs, wires and rotor and the problem persisted. I've checked the EGR valve and it's fine. The only conclusion is that the intake manifold gasket is baked again. The estimate the dealer has given me is $539 which seems less than what most have mentioned here but it still seems like a lot of money considering the part is $40. It should be a recalled item!
2007Nov 01
Altima GXE
- Automatic transmission
- 100,000 miles
OK - so first the check engine light comes and then it starts to jerk and shake when my car idles. Since my car had about 100K miles I think a good tune up is in order. I have it looked over and get everything taken car of - cost $800. My cars still shakes when I idle. I think the mechanic is a SCHMUCK. I spend a couple of days having him look over the car and he still can't find anything wrong. So finally, I rent a car and leave my car with him for three days. OK so he calls me and finally finds something. Intake Manifold Gasket - cheap part, but expensive to replace. $645 + tax, plus rental. Is this going to keep happening????
2007Nov 08
Altima SE 4
- Automatic transmission
- 131,000 miles
I see alot of people are having the same problem with the gasket i haven't gotten it fixed yet 900 dollars or more is alot of money for a 16 dollar gasket!!!!
2008Jan 01
Altima 4CYL 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 90,000 miles
I am a certified mechanic, a friend tried to get this car passed for emissions in CT. The emission service center said that she had a problem and that it was going to cost 1-2K to fix. After she left to get another quote the check engine light turned on and the car started to have a rough idle. She had it quoted at another more reputable place and they tested it and said it was a vacuum leak and would cost around 1K. She asked me for advice. I checked the computer OBD-II and the code was 0170 Bank 1 lean. I used the smoke pro diagnostic tester and there was a vacuum leak at the intake gasket at cylinder 4. Searching the net, this looks like it was a design flaw, but I don't see any recall. The last mechanic told her it would cost over 1K due to the extra time need to remove extra parts to get to the problem. Looking at the engine, it probably would take me 4-5 hours at an average of 80/hour (for a cheap mechanic)- the lowest would probably be around 400. It fits with everyones quotes. I was going to check the book to see what the factory listed hours is for this procedure, but I think 400-800 dollars is reasonable. I don't work on cars for money, so I will tell her how much would be reasonable and have reputable mechanic fix it. I usually recommend the dealer since they usually are more reputable, but this is not always the case. It helps to have a non-biased person to verify the problem.
2007Sep 21
Altima GLE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 150,000 miles
My God folks, Where have y'all been. I've so far replaced the plugs, plug wires, distributor coil, knock sensor, number 4 fuel injector, now it's telling me that i may have a faulty catalytic converter. I tell you no one has been able to tell me definitively anything that could be the "actual" problem. How does one go about checking this by yourself. is this difficult to fix yourself. and ultimately as i'm trying to not shell out enough money to buy a new engine. I'll also keep an eye out for this as a recall item. I am not encouraged by the multi replacements of this part due to the multiple failures of the same thing. grrrrr. I'm going to try to get this fixed this week i'll report back on the impending success, where professionals have failed.
Thanks to all of you who have suffered through this and reported so that i won't have to kill the vehicle in question.
2007Oct 10
Altima GXE
- Automatic transmission
- 80,000 miles
Same problem as everyone else. The shaking while idling was driving us nuts and then it started stalling. No one could diagnose the problem, so we lived with it for months. Good thing I found this site before we spent money on tune-ups, etc. The problem was the intake manifold gasket. If I hadn't come across this website, we would probably be going insane by now. Hope Nissan takes notice, admits that this is a design defect, and sends us all a big fat check to cover the repair cost. Not likely.
2007Oct 15
Altima ES 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 140,000 miles
The car was vibrating at idle so severe it had everything rattling even the trunck lid. After changing the normal tuneup components to no avail I found this site. I sprayed some carb. cleaner in the area of the #4 intake port and lo and behold I could have killed the car if I had kept spraying. Definitely an intake gasket issue in this area. After reading the posts about the costs of repair I will do this one myself. My first foreign car bought for dependability and my last. Nissan apparently doesn't back it's products when it's an obvious design flaw due to the amount of failures reported.
2007Dec 22
Altima GXE 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 87,000 miles
We experienced the same issue that others reported: car shaking and sputtering. We took it in to the dealer for a diagnostic and were informed that they would have to replace the intake manifold gasket. We were quoted $960 (10 hours labor) by the dealer. I called around to 4 other places and was told that it would take 5 to 5-1/2 hours. We went with another dealer who did the work for $430 (5 hours labor). So, shop around. We chose the dealer instead of one of the other shops (who was a few dollars cheaper) for the warrantee (12 months/12,000 miles from the dealer vs. 90 days).
We were told by all 3 dealers that this is a common problem with the Altima. ARGH!!!
2007Dec 21
Altima GXE 2.4L V4
- Automatic transmission
- 130,000 miles
Same problem as the rest of you. Rough idle started all of a sudden, and continues. I am going to try a new fuel injector in the #4 cylinder. Cost $50.00 for a re manufactured one. If it is a fix I'll let you know. Next step will be trying the new intake gasket.
2007Dec 05
Altima GXE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 165,000 miles
I am a mechanic at an independent shop. I have replaced the intake gaskets on my car for the 3rd time now. (first time was around 100,000 miles) It costs me about 30.00 bucks to do it myself, but man it is a pain in the ass. I pray every time I do it will be the last.
2007Apr 17
(reported on)Altima GXE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 124,000 miles
As with other owners, I had the shaking and rough idling problem. My regular mechanic thought it was the idle control valve, but replacing it did nothing. My son found this site, and sure enough, the site described perfectly the problem (SES light coming on intermittently, idle fluctuating wildly, the whole thing). My regular mechanic was nice enough to recommend a Nissan dealer fix the problem, as he frankly said he didn't want to tackle it. Dealer fixed the problem for $600. A lot of money, but this is the first problem I've had with the Altima, and from reading other peoples' problems, I guess I am lucky I didn't experience it until 124,000 miles. Thanks for helping me.
2007Oct 15
Altima GXE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 81,000 miles
Car shakes, shutters, and tries to stall at stop in drive,neutral, or park. RPM's bounce erratically. Turn a/c on, steadies out, then once compressor shuts off, RPM's bounce again and it stalls. Have to put car in P or N to keep giving gas, or keep foot and brake and give gas to keep RPM's up. Mechanic did fuel induction system using a 3 stage, chemical inspect injectors and seals for leaks, service throttle body and replaced gasket on idle air control valve. Problem still persists after $650.00. Lost original gas cap, and bought generic at Kragen's. It can't be the gas cap can it?
SES light comes on, but no code can be found,and is reset. SES light comes on again, and code reads misfire cylinder 4, reset. SES light on again. Will take back. Should I take it to my mechanic or Nissan so if a recall is announced for 2001 altima GXE, I can get refund?
2007Nov 06
Altima GXE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 76,000 miles
2001 Altima has an engine that shakes when it is idle. A misfire was shown on cylinder #4 after a professional diagnostic. I read about similar problems and it's interesting to find that all 20 of the others i saw on this site have a similar problem. The intake manifold gasket is damaged due to overheating around the cylinder 4 area.
2007Nov 07
(reported on)Altima SE 4L
- Automatic transmission
- 52,587 miles
Whenever I was at a stop light while idling the car would shake. I put up with this annoying condition when it started acting up about a year ago. Finally, my car stalled, the check light finally went on, and the code read multiple misfiring. My husband was convinced based on , his research on the internet 6 months ago, many diagnostic fixes pointed to the gasket being the actual problem.
We went to a Nissan Dealership to see if there was a recall on replacing the intake manifold gasket? Not convinced with the no answer, we went back and asked the Service Manager if he could punch in our serial number in the system to see? He did not do this because he knew there was no recall for the gasket. We showed him the 22 complaints of the same year and model that we printed from the internet and curiously asked him if he had any service work done for gasket replacement? He confessed that they had changed a few. He asked us the mileage on our car? When we told him, he thought it was too low for the gasket to give way.
Anyways, we knew this was going to cost us big bucks to fix. We asked our local Mechanic to put in the just new gasket we bought 4 months ago, and not to do any other work. He wanted to replace fuel pump and do a complete tune up. This would have added several hundreds of dollars of to our bill and we knew this wouldn't make much a difference from reading other complaints that went ahead changing plugs, wires, fuel pump etc with no improvement.
He did find the gasket was missing a bit that was several millimeters of a open sliver that was causing the air to be sucked into the intake manifold (near the air filter). The gasket broke into pieces once removed. Our bill came out to $760. labor only we supplied the gasket we bought for about $10
I believe Nissan knew this common defect would add up costing them much $ if a recall was acknowledged. I thank you for having this site which gave us some evidence to convince our mechanic our diagnostic find. Thus saving us several hundreds of dollars of unnecessary extra repair work.
2007Oct 11
(reported on)Altima V4
- Automatic transmission
- 74,000 miles
SO It seems that we all are having the same issue and I finally got my car back after 5 weeks. No one could diagnose the issue and now that I have it back it is worse than before! We all don't have time to deal with this nor the time and money to deal with this! It took me 1 hour to get to work today and even the AC being turned on is not helping the idol anymore. Apparently Nissan is aware of this issue and has created 7 different gaskets to try and rectify the problem and it is NOT working. PEOPLE WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING! Any suggestions?
2007Oct 08
(reported on)Altima XE 4L
- Automatic transmission
- 71,500 miles
My mechanic could not figure it out so I googled it and came across this site. I cant believe that the dealership sold me a car with this factory defect and mentioned nothing. Buyer beware this car will cost you $700 to fix every 15,000 miles after 70,000 garunteed. Anyone else want to start a class action I will participate. carsonewright@gmail.com
2007Aug 23
(reported on)Altima GXE V4
- Automatic transmission
- 38,376 miles
Exactly the same problem as others had. The car shakes when in idle. After one month, the service engine light is on. The dealer checked and said the intake leak caused cylinder 4 misfire. The estimate is $761. I think we should bring a class action lawsuit to Nissan if they don’t recall it.
2007Jun 23
(reported on)Altima GXE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 80,000 miles
I have been having a problem with the car shaking while idle for two years now. Every time I got it inspected they said that nothing was wrong with it. Until finally last week the Service Engine light came on and I took it to the Nissan Dealership and they told me that the intake manifold gasket needed to be replaced and it cost me $700.00!
2007Jun 23
(reported on)Altima GXE
- Automatic transmission
- 80,000 miles
I have the same problem with my 2001 Nissan Altima GXE. Around 65,000 miles the check engine came on and the dealer said it was the intake manifold gasket, so they repaired it under warranty. Now at around 80,000 miles the check engine light came back on, and this time the car shakes when it idles. I have to put it in neutral or hold down the gas & brake pedal at the same time to stop it from shaking. From the looks of it, it will happen a 3rd time after its fixed again! I think its going to be time for a trade in before the next intake manifold gasket problem!
2007Aug 08
(reported on)Altima GXE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 91,000 miles
As everybody else with this problem, my Altima shakes at idle, but not all of the time (especially when the mechanic has it). The problem started a few weeks ago and I feel certain that it will get worse. I took the car to a mechanic and he did a full tune up: plugs, wires, fuel filter, and it still idles rough occasionally. When it started again, my wife found this website and the mechanic is working on replacing the manifold gasket as I type this. This website helped us save possibly more unnecessary repairs. My wife has never owned anything but a Nissan, but if they don't do something about it, she will probably own a Toyota in the near future.
2007Jul 28
(reported on)Altima GXE
- Automatic transmission
- 100,000 miles
Intake manifold gasket failed at about 80000. Replaced at local garage for $300.00. Idling rough again and carb cleaner sprayed around gasket reveals another leak at 104000 miles. Definitely not impressed with Nissan.
2007Apr 02
(reported on)Altima SE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 51,000 miles
I have a Nissan Altima 2001 SE (bought new in 2001) have just above 50K miles on it. Since last couple of weeks it started having the same problem others are having with 2000 Altimas, Rough-idling. When accelarating, there is no problem, only when idling as of now. I am going to have it fixed at a local workshop here in bay area. Also the SES light is intermittently comming on.
2007Mar 26
(reported on)Altima GXE 2.4L 4cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 49,912 miles
I can't believe Nissan hasn't recalled this issue. I need everyone to email nissan USA and let them know about this. I love Nissan Vehicles we own three and this is the first mechanical issue we have ever encounterd. The worst part is our Altima was bought two months prior to the intake manifold gasket leaking, and of course the dealership could care less about our issue. I would still live and die by Nissan the are great cars. Just a faulty part from the factory.
2007Mar 13
(reported on)Altima GLE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 63,000 miles
I am having the same problem as everyone else here has, but in a different way; most owner on here said their 1st cylinder has missfire, but mine read "cylider 1 missfire" I don't know if that would be the same problem causing from the Intake gasket, but I will have my car check on tomorrow.
2006Oct 12
(reported on)Altima GXE
- 85,000 miles
Notice the RPMs surging up an down at idle. Took it to a Nissan shop that spent and hour diagnosing to conclude that the intake manifold gasket had a leak. They said it is a common problem they see with this model. They said it could happen again.
2006May 31
(reported on)Altima
- 71,500 miles
It disturbs me to see that there are so many people with this problem yet it hasn't been recalled. My theory is that because it is so hard to get to and fix they will lose money by recalling it. If there weren't so many people with the same problem, I would be fine, but it pisses me off that this car is unreliable. Nissan's credibility sucks. I did complain to the customer support line (1-800-NISSAN1). They took down my info and complaint and will get back to me. I just can't believe they are charging so much!!!!
2006Oct 11
(reported on)Altima
- 65,000 miles
My car has the same problem as many reported here, vacuum leak around air intake manifold, resulted in rough idle. It is apparently a design defect.
2007Mar 01
(reported on)Altima GLE
- Automatic transmission
- 43,500 miles
I've been having the same problem for a number of weeks now. Rough idling. Acceleration problems. Nissan originally diagnosed the intake manifold leak and quoted $700 to repair. I thought I needed anther opinion and went elsewhere and was told over and over by another place that wasn't the problem and that I needed new spark plugs and a fuel injection service. Spent about $300 for someone to not fix the problem.
I am so glad I found this site. My car warranty of course just expired and now I am just at the mercy and waiting to see if Nissan will approve a GRT repair. I knew this shouldn't be happening at 43k miles. I've had no problems until now. I think it's a definite Nissan design issue! And I'm annoyed it hasn't been recalled.
2007Feb 13
(reported on)Altima 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 64,000 miles
Well, at this point the problem is pretty well known/documented... I guess I hit the jackpot also... the mechanic said "This problem is pretty common with these cars"... I'm just VERY disappointed to have an engine problem of this magnitude with such a low mileage car... I bought a Japanese car to avoid these (sloppy) problems... oh well...
2007Feb 09
(reported on)Altima
- Automatic transmission
- 100,000 miles
While cruising there was no problem, it was at idle and during acceleration.
2007Jan 23
(reported on)Altima GXE 2.4L V4
- Automatic transmission
- 80,000 miles
I recently bought 2001 Nissan Altima GXE from a dealer. However after 1 month I noticed this particular problem of shaking when the car is idling. The problem is more noticeable after a short drive but not when I take my car out fresh. After long drives if I stopped at signals the shaking is embarrassing!!! However the engine doesn't stall. I guess I will check the manifold gaskets and see if it is the same cause. It is interesting to note that only 2000s and 01s are having the problem. Wish I should have checked for the possible problems before buying this car. The car is good just that it shakes
2006Nov 16
(reported on)Altima GXE
- Automatic transmission
- 70,000 miles
I'm having the same problem as everyone else. The idle is acting wacky. I come to a complete stop at a light, it happens at every stop. My car dealership told me I needed a tune up. They were going to charge me $500 to have that done. I thought they were out of their mind... so I had my Uncle do it for me. It's a simple procedure that takes 30 mins. He did everything the dealership requested.. changed the cap, wires, plugs etc... all of that didn't solve the problem. A month later I'm still having the problem, and my check engine light came on this morning. With that said I'm taking it back to the dealership tomorrow to figure this out. And I should mention that I take my car to a nissan dealership... so they should know how to diagnose this. Considering it's happened to other people. I'm really surprised they didn't catch this problem the first time. I'll mention the solenoid valve when taking it in tomorrow. The previous posts made it clear to me. Hopefully that is the problem... otherwise I'm out of luck.
2006Apr 28
(reported on)Altima GXE
- 100,308 miles
After $1289.00 dollars no one can tell me why the car still shakes when idling!! First they(nissan dealership) said it was a valve cover gasket leak and threw in a power steering flush and oil change of course!!! $300.00 dollars(which also included a $48.00 keyless remote to be reprogrammed that still doesn't work properly! but that's a whole new electrical story). So.... while servicing they noticed the lower intake manifold leaks as well. this will cost roughly $728.00 dollars to fix. So.... i found some place else to take it for $565.00 dollars and they threw in a much needed cooling sys. cleaner flush and 2nd oil change. The engine light still came on , car still shakes while.... guess what!!! IDLING!!!! So, after a diagnostic, it's a fuel injector problem! $250.00 dollars to repair, (plus parts and labor)$174.00. Guess what?!? the car still, that's right! shakes. To be continued...
2006Nov 27
(reported on)Altima GXE 2.4L V4
- Automatic transmission
- 40,000 miles
I had 2001 Nissan Altima for 61 months (exactly, 1 month past the 5 year powertrain warranty), but had just 40K miles on it. At the end of the 60 month, the SES light came on, So I replaced 4 spark plugs and it went off for a couple of days. But it came on again and it idled pretty rough at traffic lights or stop signs. I took it to the dealer and they said the intake manifold gasket was leaking and the replacement cost was $850. Because it was 30 days past 5 yrs, warranty won't cover it. This is ridiculous, as the other complains suggested, this must be a design problem and we need to do something about it. If Nissan can't handle this properly, this Altima will be my first and last Nissan car I have ever bought.
2006Sep 05
(reported on)Altima GXE
- 90,000 miles
Car will shake when in D and not moving. Sometime it simply dies. Not getting the solution. Please update if anyone got any solution.
2006Aug 22
(reported on)Altima SE
- 77,500 miles
Basically my car is doing what everyone else has explained so far. It started with just a rough idle when sitting at a stop light or while trying to accelerate just after stopping. The RPMs would bounce between 500-800 and then it would take off and run fine once the RPMs were up.
This problem grew worse over the time period of about 2 months until I had to do something about it. I called Nissan and they said that I should bring it in. Knowing how much dealers charge I was lucky enough to find this site and figure it out without taking it to the dealer. The dealer didn't give me any hints over the phone to as what the problem was even though I am sure they knew it was frequent.
Right now the car is getting a new intake manifold gasket as we speak. I am trusting that this will be the fix. $250 for labor and $10 for the part wasn't too bad compared to what the dealer wanted to charge...
2006Jul 13
(reported on)Altima
- 79,900 miles
Same problem everyone else had shaking, idle rough. Changed plugs and plug wires ($280) mechanic recommended changing a fuel injector to fix the problem. Called the Nissan dealer for a second opion and they told me over the phone that it was an intake manifold gasket which tells me they've seen a lot of them. They should do a recall because its obviously a design flaw.
2006Jul 09
(reported on)Altima GXE
- 72,000 miles
Here's the problem, when i'm at stopped at a red light or stopped with Vehicle in [D] with Brake Engaged or during [Reverse] without pushing the accelerator, the car vibrates erratically and i can see the RPM swinging between 500 and 700. At some point it just dies. This is a real PITA [Pain In The Ass] and causes real concern if you are driving into a parking lot or coming out. It could just die on you. Once while coming out of the Parking lot. The engine shook so hard and died right at the merge on the road, this disabled my power Steering completely, i couldnt press brakes, cuz they lock up when engine shuts-off. I felt like the deer in the light.
well I took my Nissan Altima [2001] to Bankston Nissan for Engine Vibration Issue. They said its a Intake Manifold Issue and it would cost WHOPPING $700. In my mind i'm thinking this is just a rip-off. To get a second opinion, I took it to Meineke Center, at first they didnt know what it was, they did a engine diagnostic check and cleaned the fuel injectors [costed me $200] , but still no luck, finally they said it could be Spark-plugs and cables. Not heeding to their opinion just based on speculation, I didnt do anything further. But reading on this site, tells me that IT IS INDEED the Intake Manifold Gasket. I have found a local mechanic here, who does the job in $150. Will be getting it done there next week. Hope that fixes it. In the mean time, here's the Solution to keep it from dying at red light. Just shift the Gear to Neutral [N] when stopping at a red light and Slide it back to [D] to drive forward, give a 3 sec pause [for gear to engage] before pushing the accelerator. I know this gets annoying but its a intrim fix before u get that fixed.
2006Mar 30
(reported on)Altima GXE
- 55,000 miles
I experience vigorous vibrations on the steering, cabin, passenger side seat, more-or-less the entire vehicle. The vibrations are experienced when the vehicle is in drive mode (D gear), stopped and the brake pedal is engaged. If the vehicle is in neutral then the vibrations are not experienced at all.
I am doing a research before I visit a service station/dealer and hopefully getting an idea as to how much it would cost me to fix this problem.
2006Mar 02
(reported on)Altima Limited
- 69,978 miles
The only time it shakes is when I am idling at a stop light in drive. if i put the car in neutral it doesnt do it as bad and if i turn on my ac it doesnt hardly do it at all. but why do i want to drive around with my ac on all the time and waste more gas? I dont trust mechanics for sh*t so i wont take it to one to get ripped off. Help me!
2005Dec 09
(reported on)Altima GLE
- 68,000 miles
it feels like the car is going to turn off!
2003Aug 09
(reported on)Altima
- 460,000 miles
Let's just get it fixed. It makes the whole family upset.
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2008Aug 06
Altima GLE Limited 2.4L
GRRR, I really am starting to hate this car!! In Aug 08, car was in shop for rough idle when stopped. Diagnostics came up with Mass Air Flow Sensor. Cost---$695.22 just for the part. Two weeks later, same thing started again! Unfortunately, Hurricane Ike hit us and most of us were without power for a long time included my repair shop. Finally, (after my crazy life settled down) got this car back to the shop this week. Guess what, Intake Manifold Gasket. Cost---$759.78.
Hopefully this takes care of the problem. This car was bought brand new in Jan 2001, we've put over $5k in repairs (not maintenance) into it in 100,000 miles. (Includes A/C, MAS, MIG, O2 Sensor, cracked radiator, Valve Cover Gasket, part I can't remember and we still need to replace the leaking power steering pump and a bad motor mount) Hubby's truck was bought brand new in June 1995 (Ford Ranger XLT), we've only spent $1,700 in repairs and it has over 300,000 miles on it!!
Hubby and I take very good care of our cars and have all regular maintenance done regularly. As far as the radiator, I did not forget to check/replace hoses and it had never overheated. I'm not a typical "girl" with a car, I used to do ALL my own repair work until these computerized systems took over.
Should this tell Nissan they are making a bunch of crap and passing it off to the public???
nonprego
Houston, Texas, USA
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