2000 Nissan Altima

2000 NISSAN ALTIMA GXE HAS A FAULTY INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET. THE PROBLEM STARTED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. MY CAR SHAKES WHILE IDLE AND THE RPMS GAUGE MOVES UP AND DOWN WHILE IDLE. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER TO HAVE IT REPAIRED AND THEY REPLACED SPARK PLUGS, KNOCK SENSOR. AFTER THAT, THE SAME THING HAPPENED A FEW MONTHS LATER. TOOK MY VEHICLE TO THE SAME DEALER AND THEY NOW SAY THE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET IS LEAKING. I AM HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM BUT A DIFFERENT REASON EVERY TIME I GO TO THE DEALER TO FIX. WILL LITTLE RESEARCH I HAVE FOUND SEVERAL COSTLY COMPLAINTS REGARDING THIS SAME PROBLEM. WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP FOR CONSUMERS THAT ARE BEING RIPPED OFF BY THE NISSAN CORPORATION? *TR

OKAY I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE DEAL WITH NISSAN AND THEIR RECALLS, BUT THEY DEFINITELY NEED TO MAKE A RECALL ON THE 2000 ALTIMA INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET. MY CAR STARTED IDLING AT VARYING RPMS UNDER 1 GRAND AND STARTED VIBRATING IN A STRANGE WAY. WHEN I GIVE MY ALTIMA SOME GAS TO TAKE OFF, IT COMES TO THE VERGE OF STALLING. I DID SOME RESEARCH ON THE PROBLEM AND READ A FEW HUNDRED SEPARATE CASES WHERE THIS EXACT SAME PROBLEM OCCURRED. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A MANUFACTURING ERROR WHERE NISSAN HAS PLACED THE EGR PIPE TOO CLOSE TO THE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET, CAUSING IT TO HEAT UP AND EVENTUALLY LEAK. NUMEROUS CONSUMERS ARE PAYING NEARLY $1000 TO CORRECT THIS MISTAKE THAT NISSAN ENGINEERS HAVE CREATED ON COUNTLESS CARS. THIS IS A SERIOUS ENGINEERING PROBLEM ON NISSAN'S PART AND NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED AND CORRECTED. *TR

A LONG TIME AGO I STARTED HEARING SOME RATTLING SORT OF NOISE IN THE FRONT. TOOK IT TO CARMAX, AS I HAVE THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. THEY SAID IT WAS A LOOSE BELT AND CHARGED ME $80 SINCE BELTS AREN'T COVERED BY WARRANTY. THE PROBLEM DIDN'T REALLY GO AWAY AND ONLY GOT WORSE. AROUND 89,000 MILES IT BEGAN TO SHAKE WHEN IDLING AND THE NOISE WAS WORSE. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WOULD COME ON INTERMITTENTLY. MY HUSBAND FOUND THE INFO ON THIS SITE, I PRINTED IT OUT AND TOOK IT TO CARMAX AND TOLD THEM TO FIX MY MANIFOLD INTAKE GASKET! THEY WOULDN'T REFUND MY $80 FROM THE FIRST VISIT, NOR WOULD THE PAY ME $80 FOR DIAGNOSING IT MYSELF. HA. OH WELL. THEY DID $600 WORTH OF REPAIRS, WHICH WAS MOSTLY COVERED BY MY EXTENDED WARRANTY (WHICH EXPIRES AT 92,500 MILES). THEY DISCOVERED THAT THE PROBLEM HAD ALSO CAUSED PREMATURE WEAR OF MY SPARK PLUGS, HOWEVER, AND THE WARRANTY WOULD NOT COVER THAT. BASED ON MY ONLINE RESEARCH, IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS IS DUE TO HEAT AROUND THE CYLINDER 4 AREA FROM THE EGR PIPE WHICH BAKES THE GASKET INTO LEAKING AND THAT EVEN THOUGH I GOT IT FIXED THIS TIME, IT WILL LIKELY HAVE TO BE REPLACED AGAIN IN THE FUTURE. SEE #10167168 #10145161 #10100639 #10163901 ALSO, SEE CARCOMPLAINTS.COM WHERE YOU WILL FIND 36 COMPLAINTS ON THIS ISSUE. *TR

CAR STARTED RUNNING ROUGH AND SHAKING AT IDLE. WAS CONCERNED CAR COULD STALL OUT IN AN INTERSECTION. TOOK TO SHOP, VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED TO HAVE A FAULTY INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET. AFTER DOING RESEARCH, I DISCOVERED THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE (2000 NISSAN ALTIMA). GASKET IS BEING REPLACED. PART IS RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE, BUT REPAIR IS LABOR INTENSIVE' RUNNING HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL AS IT IS SUCH A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM AMONG ALTIMA OWNERS. *TR

INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET IS BEING REPLACED FOR THE SECOND TIME ON MY 2000 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE FIRST TIME WAS AROUND 60,000 MILES, THIS TIME AROUND 110,000. THE FIRST TIME I GOT IT REPAIRED BY A NISSAN DEALERSHIP. THIS TIME I WENT TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC SINCE NISSAN WANTED $97 TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. AFTER DOING A SEARCH ON THE INTERNET I FOUND THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM CAUSED BY A DEFECT IN THE WAY IT WAS BUILT. IF THAT'S THE CASE THEN WHY HASN'T THERE BEEN A RECALL? THEIR MISTAKE IS COSTING ME ALOT OF MONEY. *TR

AT 46,000 MILES THE CAR BEGAN SHAKING AND STALLING AT LOW SPEEDS, THEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. WE TOOK IT TO THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP AND WE WERE TOLD IT WAS THE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET & IT WAS REPAIRED. NOW 25,000 MILES LATER THE SAME PROBLEM IS OCCURRING AND AGAIN IT IS DUE TO THE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET FAILING. WE HAVE ESTIMATES TO REPAIR IT RANGING FROM $600-$1,000.00. THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP WHO RECENTLY REPAIRED IT WILL NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT. THIS IS A DEFECTIVE PART, THERE IS NO WAY THAT GASKET SHOULD FAIL IN 25,000 MILES. I HAVE TALKED TO A SERVICE MANAGER AT A LOCAL NISSAN DEALERSHIP(NOT THE ONE WHO REPAIRED IT THE FIRST TIME) AND HE SAID THERE IS NO WAY THAT PART SHOULD FAIL IN 25,000 MILES AND STATED IT SHOULD LAST AT LEAST 60,000 MILES. THIS WILL BE THE THIRD INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET THAT HAS BEEN PUT ON THIS VEHICLE. THE SERVICE SHOP WHO GAVE US THE ESTIMATE SAID THE GASKET IS FALLING APART LIKE PIECES OF AN EGGSHELL. THIS SHOULD BE RECALLED BECAUSE I HAVE FOUND MANY DOCUMENTED CASES OF THIS EXACT SAME PROBLEM WITH THE NISSAN ALTIMA. *TR

THE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET AROUND CYLINDER #4 FAILED 2-3 YEARS AGO (~65,000 MILES), CAUSING ROUGH IDLE/STALLING AS WELL AS POOR GAS MILEAGE AND TRIGGERING FAULT CODE P0304. THE DEALER REPLACED THE GASKET FOR ~$650. WITHIN THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS (~85,000 MILES), THE SYMPTOMS HAVE RETURNED, ACCOMPANIED BY THE SAME FAULT CODE. SPRAYING CARB CLEANER AROUND THE GASKET AREA CAUSE A SMOOTHING OUT OF THE IDLE WHEN APPLIED NEAR CYLINDER #4, INDICATING A RECURRING FAILURE OF THE GASKET. SEARCHING THE INTERNET INDICATES THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON ISSUE PARTICULAR TO THIS ENGINE MODEL, LEADING TO RECURRING EXPENSE TO OWNERS DUE TO POOR ENGINEERING. THE MOST LIKELY CAUSE OF THIS FAILURE SEEMS TO BE THE ROUTING OF THE EGR GAS LINES TOO CLOSE TO THE INTAKE MANIFOLD, CAUSING PREMATURE DEGRADATION OF THE SEAL. A LIKELY, AND COST EFFECTIVE FIX WOULD SEEM TO BE THE ADDITION OF A HEAT SHIELD IN THE AFFECTED AREA BETWEEN THE EGR GAS LINES AND THE MANIFOLD. THE HIGH INCIDENCE RATE OF THIS FAILURE AND THE CAUSE OF POOR ENGINEERING, WOULD SEEM TO INDICATE A RECALL ISSUE TO FIX THE POOR FUEL ECONOMY AND EXCESSIVE EMISSIONS IT CAUSES. *TR

HAVE A 2000 NISSAN ALTIMA GLE THAT IS RUNNING POORLY AT IDLE AND WILL STALL. SPENT 450 DOLLARS ON TUNE UP PARTS TO FIND OUT LATER THAT IT IS THE MANIFOLD GASKET. WAS TOLD ALL NISSAN ALTIMAS ARE EXPERIENCING ISSUES OF SAME NATURE IN THE 1999-2000 MODEL AND THAT THEY ARE PREMATURELY FAILING AND THAT NISSAN IS AWARE OF PROBLEM AND IS REFUSING TO RECALL THE VEHICLES T FIX THEM. ESTIMATED REPAIR 800.00-1000.00 DOLLARS. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET WAS REPLACED ONCE. THE MECHANIC RECOMMENDED THAT THE PART BE REPLACED AGAIN BECAUSE IT CAN BECOME A DANGER AND CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO STALL. THE VEHICLE HAS EXPERIENCED RECENT FAILURES. THE CONTACT WILL NOT HAVE THE COMPONENT REPLACED AT THIS TIME. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THEY WERE AWARE OF THE DEFECT, BUT COULD NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 57,900 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 32,223. UPDATED 02/15/08. *LJ THE CONSUMER STATED THE PROBLEM HAS RESURFACED AGAIN, BUT IT HAS NOT BEEN FIXED.