7.1
pretty badTypical Repair Cost:
$630.00
Average Mileage:
81,598 miles
Total Complaints:
89 complaints
Most common solutions:
- replace intake manifold gasket (52 reports)
- not sure (35 reports)
- new intake fuel gasket and valve cover gasket (2 reports)
engine problem
Helpful Websites About 2001 Nissan Altima shakes when idling
2008Jan 07
Altima GXE 2.5L
- Automatic transmission
- 80,000 miles
My wife has a 2001 altima that's stilll in the shop as I speak and just replaced A cracked intake manifold gasket,spark plugs,wires,and maf sensor and I am looking at 1000 bucks and rising,....The initial complaint started as occasionally shutting off,to idling too low,to hesitating on acceleration. This is a design flaw on nissan's behalf,I originally took it to Nissan and they said the shutting off was from a defective fuel pump.
After that we had the fuel pump replaced and the problem came back..This is a total nightmare because my wife is not working and it's really taking money from us that we don't have, the car only has like 89,000 miles on it and has been well maintained and has never been driven hard,,,Nissan makes the japanese automakers look bad and I'm more than 100% sure that it's poor engineering on Nissan's behalf....It's time for a class action lawsuit and nissan needs to do better business or stop selling lemons..At this point I understand why some auto makers are having problems because of this kind of crap........
2009Nov 01
Altima GXE 2.4L Ka24de I4
- Automatic transmission
- 87,000 miles
If this is an on going issue why don't they make a stronger intake manifold gasket with extra heatshield protection? Which can resolved this issue. Hondata makes them but I can't seem to find one for a KA24DE intake manifold. If anybody knows let me know. Other then this issue the car is run seem to be fine. No one perfect right..
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2009Jul 01
Altima GXE V4
- Automatic transmission
- 100,000 miles
Car started with a slight rough idle while sitting at red lights, eventually the RPMs started jumping between 400 and 800, and in the end the service engine light came on. The code behind this was P0171, or engine running lean. Like many others I needed to have the intake manifold gasket replaced. At 100,000 miles, I'm not overly disappointed by needing to have work done on the car. I'm just disappointed by the way Nissan Service Centers are using this to over charge owners. With a part that costs less then $20, its amazing they can look to charge you $1000 for the labor. I understand its a lengthy process to change this part, but with all of the people complaining of similar problems, you'd think they have plenty of practice at fixing the problem.
If you end up having this problem, I recommend taking your time to get a few quotes on the replacing the gasket. They range greatly from service department to independent service stations. Its ok to drive with this code and problem. I found that the AC helped to even out the RPMs and rough idle at red lights. If Nissan doesn't plan on doing anything to fix their defective parts, atleast we can do our best to ensure that they don't get our business in their service departments.
As others have mentioned, if you have a service engine light on, take it to AutoZone or PepBoys and ask to use their code reader. Takes all of 2 minutes to plug it in and check the codes.
2009May 01
Altima GXE
- Automatic transmission
- 81,000 miles
Just wanted to add to the complaints.... mine is 2001 Nissan Altima GXE... bought it when I lived in northern CA (don't know if that matters)... my engine rattles when the car is idle...the rattling does not happen in neutral.. I also see the RPM needle move/oscillate during this time... No engine light yet. I have approx 81,000 miles on my car and I am taking it to the dealership next week...
2009Jun 11
Altima GXE 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 124,000 miles
Same. Rough idling started randomly about 2 months ago and is getting worse. RPM's fluctuate at dead stop. Also shakes when in reverse. Turning on the A/C seems to lessen the shaking. I've already commissioned about $700 worth of guesswork at 3 different mechanics before I read these posts. No way I wanna dump another grand in this mess. Guess it's time to trade in.
Update from Jun 12, 2009: Same. Rough idling started randomly about 2 months ago and is getting worse. RPMs fluctuate at a dead stop. Also shakes in reverse. Turning on the A/C seems to lessen the shaking. I've already commissioned about $700 of guesswork at 3 mechanics before i found these posts. No way I wanna dump another grand in this mess!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2009May 01
Altima SE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 80,000 miles
Nissan sucks for not recalling this problem.went to service dept to complain,and manager told me internet blogs can be overzealous....BULL.everyone was on the money.4th cylinder cracked intake manifold gasket,same code.Fortunately,my friend is a master tech at ford and the two of us spent 10 hours on mother's day replacing this nightmare,and that is the reason the will not recall it......to many man hours on the replacement.sorry Nissan,you lost a valuable customer!
2008Sep 24
Altima GEX 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 91,000 miles
Before i knew about this site, i went to a local mechanic, told me it was my #4 injector sticking and it had to be replaced for about $300. When i picked it up, it was still rough idling. Did some research on the internet, found out about this being caused by the intake gasket, went back to the same local place. bitched at them, they fixed the seal for another $200. POS car
2008Jul 08
Altima GXE 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 101,000 miles
I'm experiencing the same problem as a lot of people. The car shakes violently when idling, even goes dead at times. Sometimes it does help to slip it into neutral, but not always.
I haven't gotten it fixed yet because it was my wife's car before we got married and my father-in-law took it to multiple mechanics spending at least $2,000 trying to get it fixed. Most were left just scratching their heads. He eventually took it to one that was able to make it go away. That lasted for about two years, but it is now doing it again. We weren't in a position to put that much money into so we decided to cross our fingers and ride it out. It has been doing it for about 8months now this time.
Thanks to this site, a buddy and I are going to try and tackle replacing the intake gasket in a couple weeks.
2008Jun 17
Altima SE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 33,000 miles
This is the bad design from Nissan that caused lot of problem on intake manifold leaks.
There are suck. Nissan should recall it back and pay for the cost.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2009Apr 03
Altima ES 3.2L
- Automatic transmission
- 140,000 miles
Wow am I glad to have stumbled across this site! I'm sure I will eventually be replacing aforementioned intake manifold gasket and requesting 2 additional heat shields/ fiberglass sleeves @ the intake manifold... However. My car felt like it would die at any moment- squealed when cranked, shuddered when idling then lo and behold while DRIVING (scary). My trusted and reasonable mechanic says there's water in the plugs he's drying out and should fix the issue. So I guess I'm saving my $700 for now. Went ahead and emailed Nissan anyway to say if the manifold gasket is such a frickin issue for 2000-01 Altimas, they need to keep their customers by covering a recall. I guess at 140mi, she's still a pretty great gal. Thanks for all the info posters!
2008Dec 03
Altima GLE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 120,000 miles
It seems we are all having this problem. It also seems that the fix is, to much of your surprise, a 10 to 15 dollar part. So instead of taking it to a mechanic, buy a maintenance manual and fix it yourself. Its not a complicated thing to do. I promise.
2009Mar 15
Altima GXE
- Automatic transmission
- 105,000 miles
Hello All,
I too am facing this problem -the car shakes when idling - for the past 2months. I thought of going to a car service / dealer to understand the problem as my "Check Engine" light has been on for the past 2 weeks. Fortunately, I went through similar problems that have already been stated in this forum.
Now my question is, has anyone continued riding the car having this problem & without doing any replacement or repair work? Can I go ahead and try one of the options suggested in this forum? How long will the car run with this problem and WITHOUT any repair? Because I see that performing some repair work to fix this problem is of no use. One of my friends (not a professional mechanic) says the spark plugs (4 cylinder) are misfiring and the car may break down, down the line 3-4months. Please let me know your thoughts.
Thanks,
Bala
2009Mar 31
Altima GLX
- Automatic transmission
- 45,000 miles
What a shame, Nissan really should have a recall for this problem. My car is well maintained, and has a low mileage. This will be my last Nissan and I will let my friends/colleagues who are shopping for cars know how bad Nissan is.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2008Dec 10
Altima GLE 2.4L 6
- Automatic transmission
- 76,800 miles
We left the car in the garage until Feb although the problem occurred in December because we were out of town. When we returned we took it to the shop and described the problem of the intermittent high idle at stop lights and told the mechanic to change the plugs, do an oil change and change the air filter AFTER he fixed the problem. My husband was clear that he wanted to know the cost involved so he could decide whether to keep the car. We were not at home when the mechanic called with the estimate, so he replaced a "back pressure valve" which he had guessed would fix the idle problem, did the oil change, replaced the air filter and put in plugs and charged us $357.36. He then told us that he had not fixed the problem and he needed to replace the throttle body. Annoyed that he had done the maintenance work and gotten the bill so high without fixing the problem, we drove the car home.
On the way home the transmission slipped in second (when accelerating from 18 mph to 20 mph). The mechanic stated that he had nothing to do with that problem. Seems pretty strange that the transmission worked before this mechanic put his hands on the car. So instead of fixing the problem, he created another one and our car is in worse shape than before we brought it in.
From what I am reading on this website, he is also off base on his diagnosis that we need to replace the throttle body. When I saw that the majority on this website fixed the problem by replacing the intake manifesto gasket, I looked at our old service invoices. We had replaced the intake manifold gasket at 40,338 miles. It was under warranty but my husband had to call the regional office to get the bill covered as the local Nissan dealer said that it was not under warranty. So if any of you are inside of your warranty period, that gasket is a covered item. My daughter has the same car and her intake manifold gasket needed replacement 3 weeks past the warranty period and Nissan would not even discount the part and service. So I don't expect them to do anything for us at this stage. I notice that Consumers Report has given this year's Altima a high rating. I guess that their analysts did not read this website. They certainly won't get any repeat business from us.
2009Jan 20
Altima GXE
- Automatic transmission
- 89,000 miles
I have had my nissan altima for about 5 years now. I hardly had any problems with it. I had been doing all the oil changes and maintenance with it. I thought it was a good car and reliable and worth a serious consideration for a second vehicle...until recently.
The nissan altima I have has been fairly good until about Oct-Nov 08. That is when the check engine lights started to come on intermittently. I got it examined by a local car mechanic. He ran a series of diagnostics on it. He made me replace the spark plug, NOx sensor, O2 sensor, and some cables. All this cost me ~800$ and the car was in his shop for 3 days. The result: NO CHANGE. So the money was down the drain! I wish I had looked at this blog earlier.
I have driven the car about 1000 miles since then. It seems the red light problem is beginning to become worse. I personally cannot afford more money on this and intend to run this thing out. However I don't trust the car with my baby and wife, in spite of having good insurance that covers the towing.
after reading the comments I get the sense that there are several people suffering a similar problem. I think the I am fortunate that my car worked at least till 90k+ miles. I think nissan should own its responsibility and do the right thing by recalling this faulty piece of machinery. They are not just providing less than perfect equipment, but reading some of the comments, potentially endangering the lives of the occupants that drive these things at high speeds.I hope someone from nissan is reading this !!!!
2009Feb 01
Altima GXE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 107,374 miles
The car seems to shake fairly hard when i'm stopped and its a real annoyance.
2009Jan 14
Altima GXE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 57,000 miles
My Nissan is really a good sedan until recently. After Christmas 2008, I went to the Nissan dealer for oil change (mileage: 57,000). but they talked me into a 60,000 mile service which costing me $549. After the service, the technician told me that he observed the intake manifold gasket starting leakage. He said I had to bring back the car once the engine service light on. Then, 3 weeks after the service, my Nissan started rough idle or shaking while idling. It was really pain in the ass. Last week, the service engine light on. I checked the website and ran into the auto beef. Just realized so many fellows got screwed by the same problem. I paid the dealer $820 to fix the issue. Right now, it is all done and running as before.
Hopefully, this Nissan bug will not come back, say.. 8 years later..
2009Jan 11
Altima GXE 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 48,000 miles
I am getting the same problem. I do not know what to do. Did any body talked to Nissan about this issue ? We should talk to Nissan itself.
2008Apr 01
Altima SE V6
- Automatic transmission
- 80,000 miles
Car idles rough when stopped. I think this is a recall item and repair should be paid in full by the manufacturer. Too many people are reporting this type of issue with their 200 and 2001 Altima.
2008Aug 06
Altima GLE Limited 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 100,000 miles
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???
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!!!!
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2009Oct 14
Altima LE 2.4L
Thanks to this website I found the problem easily.I consider myself a good mechanic and it took me 2 days to replace the intake manifold gasket.This will most likely be the last
Nissan I will own.
Leland W.
Granite City, IL, USA
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