IllustrationGASKET ISSUE...CAR STARTS SHAKING AT STOP SIGNS AND ONE HAS TO PUSH THE GAS PEDAL PRETTY HAND. CAN BE DANGEROUS. THE PART WAS REPAIRED ....BUT BECAUSE IT WAS 100K MILES + ....HAD TO PAY 1200 DOLLARS TO FIX THE ISSUE. LOOKS LIKE A SCAM BY NISSAN AND DEALERS....SEVERAL COMPLAINTS ON THE SAME TOPIC. *TR
2001 Nissan Altima
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2001 Nissan Altima do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 231.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Altima years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
100–25K
1525–50K
3450–75K
1575–100K
18100–150K
8150K+
100 reports with mileage · 59 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 59 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Suspension. Review the 20 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 19 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
22 crash reports2 fire reports12 injury reports
Engine And Engine Cooling complaints
59 reportsTHE CAR STARTED TO ALMOST DIE AND VIBRATE WHILE STOPPED AT RED LIGHTS. I AM PAYING $636 TO HAVE THE MANIFOLD GASKET REPLACED. THE CAR ONLY HAS 66000 MILES ON IT AND IS GARAGE KEPT AND PERFECTLY MAINTAINED. BASED ON THE LARGE NUMBER OF IDENTICAL COMPLAINTS REPORTED TO NHTSA, I BELIEVE THIS A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT AND SHOULD BE RE…
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THE CAR STARTED TO ALMOST DIE AND VIBRATE WHILE STOPPED AT RED LIGHTS. I AM PAYING $636 TO HAVE THE MANIFOLD GASKET REPLACED. THE CAR ONLY HAS 66000 MILES ON IT AND IS GARAGE KEPT AND PERFECTLY MAINTAINED. BASED ON THE LARGE NUMBER OF IDENTICAL COMPLAINTS REPORTED TO NHTSA, I BELIEVE THIS A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT AND SHOULD BE REIMBURSED BY NISSAN. I ALSO REGISTERED THIS COMPLAINT WITH THE NISSAN WEBSITE TODAY. *TR
2001 NISSAN ALTIMA ,ROUGH IDLE APPEARS TO ACT AS IF THERE IS A DEAD MISS. CHECKED OUT BY MECHANIC AND ITS THE INTAKE MANIFOLD AND IS A COMMON OCCURRENCE . NISSAN SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND RECALL THIS. FAILURE MILEAGE 58,000. *TR
SECOND TIME MANIFOLD GASKET PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED ON MY 2001 NISSAN ALTIMA. IT HAS A ROUGH IDLES WHEN STOPPED AT LIGHTS, IN GEAR, NEUTRAL OR IN PARK. NISSAN NEED TO BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS WIDESPREAD PROBLEM. BOTH INSTANCES HAVE INCLUDED THE ENGINE STALLING IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC. *TR
2001 NISSAN ALTIMA HAS A DEFECTIVE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET, CAUSES ROUGH IDLE AND CAR TO SHUT OFF WHEN ENGINE IS ON. THIS LEADS TO LOSS OF CONTROL OF CAR AND STALLING IN TRAFFIC. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH A $10 PART, WHICH COSTS $600+ TO REPAIR. NISSAN SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS COMMON PROBLEM AND HAVE IT REPLACED ON THESE CA…
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2001 NISSAN ALTIMA HAS A DEFECTIVE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET, CAUSES ROUGH IDLE AND CAR TO SHUT OFF WHEN ENGINE IS ON. THIS LEADS TO LOSS OF CONTROL OF CAR AND STALLING IN TRAFFIC. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH A $10 PART, WHICH COSTS $600+ TO REPAIR. NISSAN SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS COMMON PROBLEM AND HAVE IT REPLACED ON THESE CARS. *TR
EXTREMELY ROUGH IDLING THAT DULLS DOWN UPON PUTTING CAR IN PARK BUT DOES NOT STOP. IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THE CAR MIGHT STALL AT TIMES. PROBLEM HAS BEEN GETTING PROGRESSIVELY WORSE FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS. I WAS STOPPED THE OTHER DAY ON A HILL AND THE CAR LOST ACCELERATION POWER AND ALMOST STALLED. THIS COULD BE A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE…
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EXTREMELY ROUGH IDLING THAT DULLS DOWN UPON PUTTING CAR IN PARK BUT DOES NOT STOP. IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THE CAR MIGHT STALL AT TIMES. PROBLEM HAS BEEN GETTING PROGRESSIVELY WORSE FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS. I WAS STOPPED THE OTHER DAY ON A HILL AND THE CAR LOST ACCELERATION POWER AND ALMOST STALLED. THIS COULD BE A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE THAT COULD LEAD TO ACCIDENTS WITH STALLING OR THE LOSS OF ACCELERATION POWER. THIS PROBLEM STARTED ABOUT 6 MONTHS AGO. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS ALSO APPEARED AND REMAINED ON CONSTANTLY. TOOK IT IN FOR REPAIR AND APPARENTLY IT IS A INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET THAT NEEDS REPLACED, WHICH IS A VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIR ($600-$800). IT SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM AND POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS ONE THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED/RECALLED.TR
INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET, WHICH IS A PROBLEM NISSAN IS AWARE OF ON MOST OF THE 2000-2004 ALTIMA CARS, MAKES THE CAR SHAKE AND SEEM LIKE IT IS GOING TO STALL WHILE IDLE. SOMETIMES IT DOES IT WHILE DRIVING, AND HAS IN SOME CASES MADE THE CAR GO DEAD WHICH DOESN'T ALLOW THE CAR TO BE STEERED AWAY FROM DANGER. *TR
ONLY 64000 MILES AND THIS CAR SHAKES RATTLES AND ROLLS AT IDLE. I DID A SEARCH IN GOOGLE, IT IS A VERY COMMON ISSUE FOR 2000 AND 2001 NISSAN ALTIMA. THERE ARE ALREADY QUITE A FEW SIMILAR COMPLAINTS FILED. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALER, THE REPAIR BILL IS $1175. THEY NEED TO REPLACE THE GAS INTAKE GASKET. *TR
AT FIRST MY CAR STARTED SHAKING AND I WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS WATER IN MY GAS TANK. I HAD A TUNE UP DONE ON MY CAR AND THE SHAKING STOPPED MOMENTARILY. THE SHAKING STARTED AGAIN AND WOULD GET SO BAD THAT MY CAR WOULD SHUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET. I WAS DRIVING AND ABOUT TO GET ON THE HIGHWAY AND MY CAR SHUT OFF IN THE…
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AT FIRST MY CAR STARTED SHAKING AND I WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS WATER IN MY GAS TANK. I HAD A TUNE UP DONE ON MY CAR AND THE SHAKING STOPPED MOMENTARILY. THE SHAKING STARTED AGAIN AND WOULD GET SO BAD THAT MY CAR WOULD SHUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET. I WAS DRIVING AND ABOUT TO GET ON THE HIGHWAY AND MY CAR SHUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC. THANKFULLY, IT WAS EARLY IN THE MORNING AND THERE WERE ONLY FEW CARS ON THE ROAD. I TOOK MY CAR TO A MECHANIC AND HE STATED THAT THE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET NEEDED TO BE CHANGED. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH I HAVE FOUND THAT OTHER PEOPLE WITH THE SAME CAR ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE. *TR
2001 NISSAN ALTIMA GXE 2.4 WITH 70,000 MILES. ON OR ABOUT THIS DAY MY WIFE AND 8 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER WERE DRIVING ON A EXPRESSWAY WHEN A ACCIDENT OCCURRED IN FRONT OF THEM. MY WIFE WAS ABLE TO STOP AND AVOID THE ACCIDENT. WHILE WAITING FOR THE ACCIDENT TO CLEAR THE CAR STALLED DUE TO THE #4 INTAKE EXHAUST MANIFOLD GASKET FAILUR…
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2001 NISSAN ALTIMA GXE 2.4 WITH 70,000 MILES. ON OR ABOUT THIS DAY MY WIFE AND 8 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER WERE DRIVING ON A EXPRESSWAY WHEN A ACCIDENT OCCURRED IN FRONT OF THEM. MY WIFE WAS ABLE TO STOP AND AVOID THE ACCIDENT. WHILE WAITING FOR THE ACCIDENT TO CLEAR THE CAR STALLED DUE TO THE #4 INTAKE EXHAUST MANIFOLD GASKET FAILURE. WHILE RESTARTING THE CAR TO ADVANCE TO A SAFER AREA. THAT IS WHEN A CAR HIT THEM IN THE REAR AND PUSHED THEM INTO THE CAR INFRONT OF THEM, CAUSING ALMOST $3000.00 DAMAGE TO OUR CAR. MY WIFE AND I STILL HAVE DIFFICULTY SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT, THINKING OF THE HARM THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO OUR DAUGHTER. I STILL HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO AFFORD TO FIX THIS DEFECT ON OUR CAR AND CONTINUE TO DRIVE IT MOST DAYS WHILE IT TRIES TO STALL OUT ON ME. THIS DEFECT IS CONSISTENT WITH COMPLAINTS #10167168,101451161,10100639 AND#10163901. *TR
Official recalls
101V065000 · Tires:tread/belt
Feb 23, 2001
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH FIRESTONE FIREHAWK GTA-02 , SIZE P205/55R16 89H TIRES. THE RECALLED TIRES ARE IDENTIFIED BY DOT SERIAL #W2 T2 VF3 XXX OR W2 T2 VF3 XXXX; WHERE XXX MAY BE 289, 299, 309, 319, 329, 339, 349, 359, 369, 379, 389, 399, 409, 419, 429, 439, 449, 459, 469, 479, 489, 499, 509, 519, 529, 010, 020, 030, 040, 050, 060, 070, 080, 090, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 170, AND WHERE XXXX MAY BE 1800, 1900, 2000, 2100, 2200, 2300, 2400, 2500, 2600, 2700, 2800, 2900, 3000, 3100, 3200, 3300, 3400, 3500, 3600, 3700, 3800, 3900, 4000, 4100, 4200, 4300, 4400, AND 4500. WITH INCREASING MILEAGE, THE TIRES MAY DEVELOP SHOULDER AREA CRACKING. CONTINUED USE OF A TIRE WITH THIS CONDITION MAY LEAD TO EXPOSURE OF THE BELT EDGE.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, A BELT EDGE SEPARATION IS POSIBLE, WHICH COULD RESULTING IN THE LOSS OF TIRE PRESSURE.
Remedy: BRIDGESTONE/FIRESTONE WILL REPLACE THE TIRES WHICH WERE INSTALLED AS ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT ON THESE ALTIMA VEHICLES. FIRESTONE IS CONDUCTING THE OWNER NOTIFICATION AND REMEDY FOR THIS CAMPAIGN. OWNER NOTIFICATION IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING MARCH 2001. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED FIRESTONE DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT FIRESTONE AT 1-800-465-1904.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.