2000 Nissan Altima: misfire or rough idle

Filed Mar 7, 2014 · Engine · 153,345 miles · IN

Went out for dinner and noticed nothing unusual. On the way home, "check engine" light came on and engine began to run rough. Then, 200 yards from home, "check engine" light began flashing and engine roughness increased to shaking. Codes read: "knock" and "cylinder 4 misfire". If this had happened in heavy traffic or on one of the bridges that we frequently use, my wife and I both would probably be severely injured, if not dead! The onset was rapid! Guess I was not lucky enough to escape this much-stonewalled nissan manufacturing defect that I have learned about only from the multitude of online information. Until it happened to me, it would not have occurred to check into it, with no communication from nissan. Maintenance and all fluids are up-to-snuff.

Filed Oct 1, 2012 · Engine · 200,000 miles · FL · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 nissan altima. The contact stated that while traveling 40 MPH the contact noticed that the temperature was almost at max. The vehicle began to run rough and smoke started to emit into the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who stated that the engine was not the original equipment and there was no coolant. As a result, the engine over heated causing the engine block to crack. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 200,000.

Filed Jun 11, 2012 · Engine · 120,000 miles · IL

My 2000 nissan altima idles rough and the engine shakes. My mechanic ran a diagnostic test and said cylinder 4 was misfiring and the only way to correct it was to change the intake manifold gasket. The price: $1500. This seems to be a common problem because I see the same complaints from 98-01 altima owners. The mechanic, said this was common problem with these cars. He also said changing the gasket will fix the problem. Why isn't nissan forced to recall this issue? Someone needs to do their job and look at this issue.

Filed Mar 12, 2009 · Engine · 75,000 miles · NC

My 2000 nissan altima idles rough and sounds like the engine is coughing. My mechanic ran a diagnostic test and said cylinder 4 was misfiring and the only way to correct it was to change the intake manifold gasket. The price: $1200. This seems to be a common problem because I see the same complaints from 98-01 altima owners. The mechanic, who works for nissan, said this was common problem with these cars. He also said changing the gasket will fix the problem but the gasket will leak again after about a year or so. Why isn't nissan forced to recall this issue? Someone needs to do their job and look at this issue.

Filed Dec 6, 2008 · Engine · GA

Engine shaking while idling, misfire in muffler, and check engine light on at 130k. Replaced spark plug system at a cost of $500 and intake manifold gasket due to #4 cylinder malfunction at $400. Based on comments on the discussion boards, agree that it appears to be a common nissan defect which should warrant a recall. Would like to see nissan take responsibility for this.

Filed Feb 4, 2008 · Engine · 65,000 miles · PA

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.

Filed Nov 24, 2005 · Engine, Fuel system · 67,000 miles · CT

1) normal driving - sel light came on p0304 and rough engine idle 2) intake manifold gasket failed - poor idle - will not pass emission test - 60k miles 3) replaced gasket after finding many other owners had same problem even after 32k miles. Nissan should fix this under an extended warranty but they refused. Here are details of the issue: there is an engineering or material defect on the ka24de engine in regards to the intake manifold gasket. From reading the posts of dozens of owners it appears it is happening to engines made in the 00-01 time frame. If this were just some random problem then you would expect to see about the same number of posts on p0304 and gasket leaks for any year car. Just about all the posts concern specifically 00-01. The first hand evidence I had is when I took off my intake manifold and checked the condition of the gasket. The side with the leak was at cylinder 4. When I took off the gasket, the material at the cylinder 4 side was what I can only describe as "baked". It was hard and brittle and would just crack or snap very easily. The closer the gasket was to the number 1 cylinder it remained more pliable. Obviously the gasket seems to hold up better closer to cylinder 1 because it is cooler there - that is where the passage for the coolant is. This problem causes a p0304 code to get thrown. That is a misfire at cylinder 4. Again, if this were some random problem - couldn't we reasonably expect a normal distribution of the cylinder misfire code from p0301, 302, 303, and 304? But that is not the case. I don't think I have seen any posts on anything other than p0304. There is extra heat around cylinder 4 above what the gasket material is rated for - which is an engine design issue. 2 cars verified so far happen to be california emission vehicles it seems plausible that the extra heat is related to the emission control devices these cars have - specifically the extra cat converter.