The contact owns a 2003 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while her son was driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle suddenly stalled and lost motive power. The vehicle had to be pushed to the side of the road and jump-started. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic who replaced the CAM Sensor. The contact stated a day later the vehicle stalled and shut-off. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer. The approximate failure mileage was 187,000.
2003 Nissan Altima: engine stalls while driving
246 of the 883 complaints about the 2003 Nissan Altima describe engine stalls while driving.
- owner complaints
- 246
- of this car's complaints
- 28%
- typical repair cost reported
- $330
- typical mileage
- 74,900
- recalls
- 3
Is there a fix? There are 3 recalls and 13 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below
Engine stalls while driving by model year
What owners say
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 nissan altima. The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH, the vehicle stalled with the service engine warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the shoulder of the roadway, waited for about 10 minutes due to the steering wheel being difficult to maneuver. The vehicle resumed normal operation after 10 minutes. The vehicle was taken to palmetto 57 nissan (16725 nw 57th ave, miami gardens, fl 33055) but was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure recurred intermittently. The contact referenced the federal safety agency campaign number: 03v455000 (engine and engine cooling) as a possible solution to the failure however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 nissan altima. The contact stated that the vehicle lost power intermittently and stalled. The vehicle was able to restart. Fred anderson nissan of asheville (629 brevard rd, asheville, nc 28806, (828) 348-6850) was contacted. The vehicle remained at the dealer for months, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 234,000.
My car had same identical problem (as verified by an independent auto repair shop) as cars subject to the federal safety agency campaign number: 03v455000 [I.e., sudden engine stalling & delayed restart due to defective sensors], but nissan refused to expand the recall to include my car. Apparently, there are thousands of similar situations showing up on the internet, posted by unhappy owners similarly ignored by nissan.
Vehicle stalls when idle. It has stopped working while I was at a stop sign. Car would not go on park and was stuck on drive. Car has stopped under red light on busy intersection. It will start eventually. Maybe 5 minutes, but it does this without warning. My car has 158,000 mi. This has happened three times so far and it's intermittent. Mechanic not sure what the issue is as diagnostic test shows no problems.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 nissan altima. While driving various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning and would not restart. On various occasions, the failure occured while the vehicle was stationary as well. The vehicle was diagnosed as needing the cam shaft sensor replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 200,000.
"takata recall". My complaint is that while driving my 2003 nissan altima, the engine stalls intermittently. I only have about 50k miles on the car and it has been well cared for. This is very dangerous as you can imagine. The code comes up p0335, but the mechanic believes it is a faulty crankshaft position sensor as well as circuitry issues involving the same part. Apparently, there has been a recall on the crankshaft position sensor for the 2003 nissan altima, however dealers are not willing to acknowledge this. I would like this investigated further, as I'm discovering upon further research this is a pandemic among 2003 nissan altima owners and an extreme safety hazard while driving. I was nearly rear ended at a stoplight a few weeks ago and while driving at a 45mph speed on a busy street where there were many cars around me.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 nissan altima. While driving at a low speed, the check engine warning indicator illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the crank position timing sensor was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was advised that the vehicle was previously repaired according to the federal safety agency campaign number: 01v357000 (engine and engine cooling). The failure mileage was 208,000. Updated 07/27/16*lj the consumer stated the vehicle frequently stalled at intersections and red lights. Sometimes when the vehicle stalled, it would not engage, until the vehicle was re-started. Updated 08/01/16.
The crankshaft sensor has failed, causing my car to stall on the highway. I had to remove the key from the ignition, put it back and tried to start the engine couple times before I succeeded. This had placed me in a very dangerous situation. This has happened very frequently in recent months (year 2016)--every time I stop at the stop sign or stop at intersections for a red light... I called nissan and they politely informed me that my specific VIN number did not qualify for the recall, even though the symptoms were the exact same as the recall I have found online.
Loose power valve screws - while driving my 2003 nissan altima 2.5 s both on city streets and on the freeway, the vehicle arbitrarily ran super rough to the point of almost completely cutting off in middle of traffic lanes. One instance was particularly dangerous because I was making a left turn across traffic lanes, and the engine stalled in the middle of opposing traffic lanes and I was almost t-boned by oncoming cars. Finally the engine wouldn't start at all one day, so I had the car towed to the dealer, and they identified a problem with intake power valve screws that needed to be replaced at a significant price. I had to get the car towed once before, and the dealer diagnosed the problem as a defective camshaft position sensor, not covered by any recalls, but obviously a significant problem for 2003 nissan altima owners. After doing my own research, there seems to be a large number of owners of this same car experiencing the same power valve screw problem also. I also believe there is a recall on 2004 and 2005 nissan altimas for this problem, which have the same engine as my car.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 nissan altima. The contact stated that the service engine warning light illuminated randomly. The contact stated that the vehicle consumed an abnormal amount of oil as the failure progressed. The vehicle stalled several times and was able to be restarted but the failure continued. The vehicle was taken to multiple independent mechanics but was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine assembly needed to be replaced. The contact was not included in the federal safety agency campaign numbers: 06v242000 (engine and engine cooling), 03v455000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 nissan altima. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled while driving low speeds. In addition, the service engine soon light constantly illuminated. The contact was able to get the vehicle operational after manually restarting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the ECM, crank cam position sensor, and cam position sensor malfunctioned and needed to be reprogrammed and replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was made aware of the federal safety agency campaign number: 03v455000 (engine and engine cooling); however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000. Updated 02/23/16*lj; break down happening daily andservice engine light to come up updated 04/24/18*jb
Service bulletins that may apply
- MIL on with DTC U1000 or U1010 stored in engine control unit
- Engine oil cooler gasket available
- Malfunction indicator lamp on with diagnostic trouble code U1000 or U1010 stored in engine control unit
- Engine will not start
- After a cold soak, the engine cranks but does not start
- Essential tool - J-47010 tamper resistant torx plus 25IPR bit
- Alternator noise after engine shut off
- Unable to maintain idle or low/rough idle at start
Related recalls
Engine and engine cooling
- What is wrong
- On certain passenger vehicles equipped with a 2.5l engine, the crank angle sensor is affected by temperature variations. Under certain driving conditions, these variations in temperature can be large enough to cause a brief interruption in the signal output from the sensor.
- Risk
- If the interruption in the signal from the sensor is so brief that the electronic control module (ECM) logic does not have time to diagnose the condition, the engine may stop running without warning while the vehicle is driven at a low speed increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will reprogram the ECM free of charge. The recall began on august 21, 2006. Owners may contact nissan at 1‑800‑647‑7261.
Recall number 06V242000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling
- What is wrong
- On certain passenger vehicles, the circuit board for the crank position sensor or cam position sensor may have an improper solder joint due to solder deformation caused by heat stress accelerated by the existence of flux residue during the soldering process.
- Risk
- This could cause the "service engine soon" warning light to come on, create a no start condition, cause reduced engine power, or cause the engine to stop running without warning during vehicle operation, which could result in a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the crank position sensors. Camshaft position sensor(s), and in some cases, the variable timing control sensor(s). Vehicles involved in a previous recall campaign, 01v357, are also included in this new campaign. The replacement sensors used in that campaign are also affected. Owner notification began on december 22, 2003. Owners should contact nissan at 1‑800‑647‑7261 or infiniti at 1‑800‑662‑6200.
Recall number 03V455000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling: exhaust system: manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe
- What is wrong
- On certain vehicles equipped with the 2.5 liter engine, the exhaust pipe hanger pin may catch debris from the road that could be ignited by contact with the main catalyst. Also on 2002 altima and sentra vehicles, certain engine operating conditions may cause the pre-catalyst to overheat and damage the catalyst substrate.
- Risk
- Either of these two conditions could result in a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will remove the protruding portion of the exhaust pipe hanger pin. In addition to the corrective action, in order to reduce the risk of fire in the event of poor or improper maintenance that could result in oil spillage, heat shield(s) will be installed on the pre-catalyst and exhaust tube. Owner notification began on july 28, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact nissan at 1‑800‑647‑7261. Nissan recall nos. R3007, r3014, r3015, r3016, r3017. Also on 2002 altima and sentra vehicles, certain engine operating conditions may cause the pre-catalyst to overheat and damage the catalyst substrate. If substrate particles enter the combustion chamber, they could score the cylinder walls, resulting in increased oil consumption. If the engine oil level is not checked on a periodic basis and drops below the low level, and the driver continues to operate the vehicle ignoring noticeable engine noise, engine damage may occur which could result in a fire. The pre-catalyst will be tested to ensure it is working properly and replaced if necessary. If damage is found inside the pre-catalyst, it will be necessary to replace the engine.
Recall number 03V084000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2003 Nissan Altima stalling
Is engine stalls while driving a common problem on the 2003 Nissan Altima?
246 of 883 owner complaints about the 2003 Nissan Altima (28%) mention engine stalls while driving. The model year with the most reports is 2003.
How much does it cost to fix engine stalls while driving on the 2003 Nissan Altima?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $330 (median of 25 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2003 Nissan Altima?
There are 3 recalls and 13 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2003 Nissan Altima
Check engine light 182Won't start 55Engine failure 51Oil consumption 45Loss of power 44Hesitation 28Headlights 22Jerking 22Fire or smoke 16Overheating 13Knocking 12Misfire 12Fuel smell 10Fuel pump 9No deployment 7Power steering loss 7Door locks 5
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