2001 Nissan Altima

ENGINE VIBRATES A LOT DURING TRAFFIC LIGHT STOPS. FOUND FROM A MECHANIC THAT IT IS A CYLINDER 4 MISFIRE CAUSED DUE TO GASKET LEAK. WILL COST MORE THAN $600 TO GET IT FIXED. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH FOUND THAT THIS IS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT THAT IS AFFECTING MANY NISSAN VEHICLES AND COULD PROVE FATAL IF THE VEHICLE STOPS ON A HIGHWAY. I BELIEVE NISSAN HAS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND RECALL THESE. *TR

I HAVE TWO PERSISTENT PROBLEMS WITH MY 2001 ALTIMA. ISSUE #1: THE CAR RANDOMLY STALLS AT LOW SPEEDS (0-10MPH) WITH NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. THIS PROBLEM BEGAN IN OCTOBER 2006. THIS PROBLEM RESULTS IN A LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND POWER BRAKES WHICH HAS CAUSED MANY NEAR ACCIDENTS. THERE IS NO PATTERN OR SYMPTOM TO FORECAST WHEN STALLING WILL OCCUR. THE CAR HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP (DEALERSHIP AND OTHERS) NUMEROUS TIMES WITH MECHANICS NEVER ABLE TO "DUPLICATE" THE PROBLEM. AFTER SPENDING HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS ON A NEW BATTERY, LEAD WIRES, NEW SPARK PLUGS AND SPARK PLUG WIRES, MY NISSAN MECHANIC SAID THAT HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO EXCEPT "THROW PARTS AT IT UNTIL SOMETHING STICKS." ISSUE #2: THE CAR IDLES ROUGHLY AND SHAKES UNLESS IN NEUTRAL. THE SHOP SAID THE PROBLEM IS THE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET WHICH IS A $600 REPAIR. A SEARCH ON THE INTERNET PROVIDES AN ABUNDANCE OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL ISSUE. *TR

CAR SHAKING WHILE AT IDLE (STOPPED). PROBABLY CAUSE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET AS FACED BY MANY OTHER NISSAN OWNERS. SOME COMPLAINTS REPORTED HEATING OF CAR LEADING TO FIRE. I HAVE NOT FACED FIRE YET BUT WILL NOT TAKE THE CAR TO FAR AS WELL. SINCE MANY PEOPLE FACED THIS, IT MUST BE A NISSAN DESIGN ISSUE AND SHOULD BE RECALLED. THIS IS A EXPENSIVE FIX AND SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE PAID FROM THEIR POCKETS FOR A DEFECT WHICH NISSAN HAS INTRODUCED. *JB

IN NOVEMBER 2006, MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED (NISSAN ALTIMA 2001) AND I BROUGHT IT TO MY MECHANIC FOR SERVICE. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THERE WAS A MISFIRE CONDITION IN ONE OF THE ENGINE CYLINDERS. CONSEQUENTLY, THE HEAD GASKET AND VARIOUS ASSOCIATED COMPONENTS WERE REPLACED. HOWEVER, A DAY AFTER GETTING THIS FIXED THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME BACK ON. IT APPEARS THAT THE REAL PROBLEM WAS WITH THE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET, WHICH IS AN EXPENSIVE AND LABOR INTENSIVE JOB. AFTER SEARCHING THE WEB, I HAVE FOUND THAT THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM ASSOCIATED WITH NISSAN ALTIMAS MADE AROUND 2001. FOR EXAMPLE, SEE THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/NISSAN/ALTIMA/2000/ENGINE/INTAKE_MANIFOLD_GASKET_LEAK_CAR_SHAKES.SHTML COMMON TO NEARLY ALL CASES (EVEN THOSE BROUGHT TO NISSAN DEALERS) IS IT TYPICALLY TAKES MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS TO REALIZE THAT THE TRUE PROBLEM IS A FAULTY INTAKE GASKET. BEFORE GETTING IT FIXED THE ENGINE WAS BEGINNING TO GET SHAKY, ESPECIALLY AT IDLE SPEED. *JB

CAR WAS IDLED ROUGHLY. OFTEN DROPPING TO BELOW 500 RPM AND SHAKING THE ENTIRE CAR. CAR HAD A LACK OF RESPONSIVENESS AND POWER. NISSAN DEALER CORRECTLY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM JUST BY HEARING ME TELL THEM WHAT WAS HAPPENING WITH THE CAR TELLING ME THAT THEY HAD SEEN A LOT OF CARS WITH MY PROBLEM. TOOK THE CAR TO TRUSTED MECHANIC AND GOT SAME DIAGNOSIS. HE SAID HE HAD SEEN A LOT OF 2001 ALTIMAS WITH THAT PROBLEM (BLOWN IN EXACTLY THE SAME LOCATION OF THE GASKET). PROBLEM WAS A BLOWN INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET, REPAIR COST APPROACHED $600. A QUICK SEARCH ON GOOGLE.COM YIELDS SEVERAL FORUMS TALKING ABOUT INTAKE GASKET PROBLEMS WITH 2001 ALTIMAS. THE PROBLEM IS SO WIDESPREAD THAT IT IS MENTION IN THE AUTOS SECTION OF THE MSN SITE. HTTP://AUTOS.MSN.COM/RESEARCH/VIP/RELIABILITY.ASPX?YEAR=2001&MAKE=NISSAN&MODEL=ALTIMA#ENGI HTTP://WWW.FAMILYCAR.COM/BOARDS/VIEWTOPIC.PHP?P=344&SID=CC46EF56B5E213FB8DC33FE86106BA57. *NM UPDATED 07/16/2012 *JS

DT: WHEN DRIVING AND COMING TO A STOP, THE VEHICLE DIES. THE CAR HAS BEEN TO THE DEALER, AND THE DEALER CAN'T FIND THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. O2 SENSOR, CATALYTIC CONVERTER (2), AND FUEL PUMP WERE REPLACED, BUT THE CAR STILL DOES THE SAME THING. THE MANUFACTURE IS SUPPOSE TO CALL THE CONSUMER ON MONDAY. THE CAR STALLS OUT EVERYDAY, AND IT'S ALWAYS GOING SLOW WHEN IT HAPPENS.*AK