2001 NISSAN ALTIMA Complaints

CAR STALLS, SHUTTERS, AND RPM'S BOUNCE WHILE STOPPED AT TRAFFIC SIGNS. HAVE TO TURN A/C ON WHICH HELPS FOR 30 SECS., THEN RPM'S BOUNCE ERRATICALLY AGAIN. HAVE TO THEN KEEP FOOT ON BRAKE AND GIVE GAS TO KEEP RPM'S UP OR PUT IN PARK,NEUTRAL AND GIVE GAS TO KEEP RPM'S STEADY. IF YOU DON'T, CAR DIES. SAFETY HAZARD IN TRAFFIC AND WHILE STOPPED,BECAUSE CAR DIES. MANY COMPLAINTS FOR THIS YEAR/MODEL WITH SAME PROBLEM ON CARCOMPLAINTS.COM. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE VEHICLE HAS FIRESTONE FIREHAWK GTX-02, SIZE P205/55R16 TIRES. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SIDEWALLS WERE CRACKED AND SEPARATING FROM THE TIRES AND THE BELTS WERE ALSO BECOMING LOOSE. HE FURTHER STATED THAT THE TIRES WERE VIBRATING, MAKING NOISE, AND AIR KEPT LEAKING OUT OF THEM. ALL FOUR TIRES HAD TO BE REPLACED. FIRESTONE STATED THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE REPLACED THE TIRES, NOT HIM. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 38,620 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 37,000. UPDATED 01-14-08. *KB UPDATED 12/12/07. *JB

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

INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET FAILURE AT AROUND 80000 MILES CAUSING ROUGH ENGINE IDLING, ENGINE STALLING, AND AN EXPENSIVE REPAIR. FOUND 9 SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON THE WEB. *NM

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

WITHIN DAYS, THREE OF THE FOUR POWER WINDOW CONTROLLERS HAVE FAILED--LEAVING WIDOWS ROLLED DOWN AND UNABLE TO ROLL UP.

DRIVER'S SIDE POWER SEAT WILL MOVE UPRIGHT BUT IT WILL NOT RECLINE BACK. EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE IT WILL RECLINE BACKWARD WHICH MAKES ME BELIEVE THERE IS A SHORT IN IT. NISSAN SAYS MY EXTENDED WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER THE POWER SEAT MECHANISM AND THEY ESTIMATED THAT IT WOULD COST $2,000 TO REPAIR. *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

THE AIR BAGS ON MY 2001 NISSAN ALTIMA DID NOT DEPLOY IN A HEAD ON COLLISION. *JB

VEHICLE LOST SPEED FROM 40 TO 80 MPH. GAUGES SUDDENLY SHUT DOWN ON THE DASHBOARD. THE ENGINE STILL RUNS. I AM ABLE TO SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL , BACK INTO DRIVE AFTER COASTING. THE ACTS LIKE IT WANTS TO TURN OFF. ON OCT 31, 2005 THE SPEED SENSOR UNIT WAS REPLACED. CAR RAN GREAT UNTIL WARM WEATHER. NOW IT IS SHUTTING DOWN AGAIN, AGAIN, AND AGAIN ON WARM DAYS. DEALERSHIP CAN NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR, BUT IT HAS ACTED THIS WAY ON THEM ALSO. *NM