2001 Nissan Altima: check engine light

Filed Nov 19, 2014 · Brakes, Engine · 137,086 miles · RI

I was driving from work when I heard a cranking/squealing sound coming from the rear passenger side, I stopped and checked could not find anything, but noticed that anytime I stepped on the brakes/make a turn the sound will come on, took it to a mechanic who told me it was the motor mount and also that the brakes were been affected and I could not drive more than a certain mile on the highway. Also the engine light keeps coming on my dashboard, after several repairs to whatever the problem was, it;s still on, now no one can tell if it is related to the issue car had or not, the headlights on the car hardly come on properly, even if I put them on full light, it's still looks dim and I can see with them at night when am driving, the heat suddenly comes on even without turning it on, am really scared now cause I don't want to get in an accident. Nissan needs to do something about all this complaints especially with such high recalls .

Filed Dec 22, 2011 · Airbags, Brakes · 159,999 miles · TN

When I bought the car there was a piece of tape over the airbag light and auto zone helped me take it off. The nissan died getting off the interstate and I lost all control of the steering and brakes. Later to find that I needed a oxygen sensor and now electrical problems with the airbag light being on. I took the car to the dealership and they said I needed evac hoses but all the dealer did was unhook one so they could charge me for codes because they could not find my problem with no engine light present. So my mechanic found the unhooked hose and put it back on and it was previously not unhooked. The car dies randomly in traffic and is very hazardous to be rear ended or even to hit some one else with the dealer not even knowing how to properly resolve this issue???? My mechanic will be helping me to make this car safer for me to drive.

Filed Jan 11, 2011 · Engine · 74,000 miles · IL

I have a 2001 nissan altima. I bought the car with 50,000 miles on it, and got an extended warranty. At 52,000 miles, I had major shaking at idle, took it in, and they replaced the intake manifold gasket under warranty. Now, at 74,000 miles, only 22,000 miles more, the same thing is happening, and the check engine light came on. I took the car to autozone, and they ran a diagnostic check, which indicated the probability of a vacuum leak, possibly due to a faulty gasket, etc. This problem is apparently very common with this year altima, and nissan has never issued a recall. From what I can gather, there is excessive heat in the area near the manifold gasket (which is a 15.00 part), leading to premature breakdown of the gasket. Simple heat shielding would take care of this problem, but nissan has done nothing. This is definitely a safety issue, as the car could die at idle at a stop light, and the driver could be rear ended. From what I have read, this is an incredibly expensive job, due to 5 or more hours of labor to get the gasket replaced.

Filed Nov 6, 2009 · Engine · 139,000 miles · PA

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

Filed May 7, 2009 · Engine, Fuel system · 102,000 miles · PA

Rough idling and vibrations in the engine started in 2006 at 102,000 miles. Service engine light turns on. Then, a few weeks later the engine light stayed on. Went to numerous mechanics who couldn't figure out the problem. Drove the car like this for the last 3 years trying to figure out the problem! Engine now bucks and stalls out. The only way to sit at a stop sign or red light without your car stalling is to put your foot on the gas and brake at the same time! You hope and pray you don't run into the car in front of you! I've had this problem for almost 3 years! Now, there is popping noises coming from the engine. You can push the gas pedal to the floor and the car won't move! After a while the car will take off! Try getting onto the highway with this issue!! After replacing spark plugs, distributor caps, harnesses, fuel injectors, fuel filters, o-rings, etc. We finally figured out it was the intake manifold gasket! A cheap part to buy but extremely expensive to fix! Over the last three years I have spent over $4,000 to actually fix my car! This is absolutely ridiculous! After searching the internet to see if anyone else was having a problem, I found 110 complaints about the same issue! Every single person had the same problems with the 2000-2001 nissan altima!! Please recall this item! I would hate to see someone become seriously injured or killed because of nissan!! A simple recall to replace a $10.00 part to save a life...... Or a lawsuit and a lost life! This should be a no brainer!! A recall or a class action lawsuit.....nissan should hurry up and take their pick!!! I will not buy another nissan!!

Filed Nov 9, 2008 · Engine, Fuel system · 52,400 miles · NJ

I have nissan altima gxe model 2001. After a thorough research on the web, I find that "intake manifold gasket leak" is a common problem in nissan altima. It cost between $700 - $1200 (though part is for $15-$30 only). With this problem, car start shaking violently when you stop at light. Service engine light fequently lights up. Car stalls abruptly in the light. On a high way drive, car can stall anytime which is a great hazard, especially when you travel with a kid or an old age people. Nissan should help owners fix this and should immediately recall this cars with this kind of faulty parts.

Filed Oct 28, 2008 · Engine · 85,105 miles · MO

I have a 2001 nissan altima gxe with 89,207 miles on it. Several months ago, I noticed a rough idling at stoplights, so bad sometimes I thought my car was going to die out on me. On september 19, 2008, I took my car into the mccarthy blue springs nissan and was told that I needed to replace my intake manifold. They had to order the parts, and was advised to not drive my car again until it gets fixed. So, I had to leave my car at the nissan dealership over the weekend and was not able to pick it up until september 22, 2008. In other words, I was without a car for 4 days. In researching my problem online to see if it's a notable problem with nissan altima's I came across several websites complaining of the same thing. Most of which had to replace the intake manifold at much lower mileage than mine. The replacement costs seems to be about the same across the board, to be between $700 and $800 plus. In researching my problem I don't understand why this hasn't been a recall for all nissan altima's. There are many websites complaining of the very problem of having to replace the intake manifold on nissan altima's. When I took my car in previously (january 5, 2008) for the same problem I was told that I had a broken motor mount. So, I paid to have that fixed which was over $450. My car ran fine for about a month, until I started noticing that it was idling hard at stoplights, but I figured it was just due to the cold. When I called nissan about it, they asked me if my check engine light was on, and it wasn't so they just said it was due to it being cold. But it never stopped and continued to get worse and worse. Until I finally was able to take it back into nissan to have them look at it again and that's when they said it was the intake manifold. I'd like to know how many complaints have been submitted on this very problem and how many it takes for you to consider a recall.

Filed Oct 16, 2008 · Engine · 69,000 miles · WA

Check engine light came on and upon diagnostics it says catalytic converter is defective however after replacing catalytic converter and sensor problem still persists.

Filed Aug 21, 2008 · Engine, Fuel system · 57,240 miles · GA

Like many others, my 2001 nissan altima with only 57,000 miles on it displayed a check engine soon light. This occurred while my wife was idling at a traffic light. It is not a failure but if not corrected could crack the engine block. The error code crossed to a misfire in cylinder #4. I have found an inordinate number of folks with the same problem with their 2000 nissan altima. Our warranty has expired and I was quoted $920 to fix this problem which appears to be the result of poor engineering design or mediocre materials used for the gasket. I would like to reference four different complaints regarding this same issue: 10167168 10145161 10100639 10163901 this information was mined from www.carcomplaints.com. What exactly is the minimum criteria used to determine a recall or something to that effect? Is there any agency that can compel nissan to make something so obvious and prevalent among their customers right again?

Filed Dec 11, 2007 · Electrical, Engine · 95,000 miles · TX

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.

Filed Jan 4, 2007 · Engine · 58,177 miles · MD

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.

Filed May 21, 2006 · Electrical · KY

Car has to be shifted from park all the way down the shifter and back up to start sometimes. I've owned this car since april 24, 2001. Dealer wouldn't do anything since "check engine light" wasn't on.