2008 Nissan Altima: engine stalls while driving

Filed Oct 27, 2026 · Fuel system · CA

I am a senior citizen that owns a 2008 Nissan Altima, 2.5, two door vehicle. I have spent thousands trying to fix a power condition on this car that has become chronic. One mechanic told me what my car has a a known symptom by Nissan and that there has been recalls for it, therefore, I went in the internet and search recalls for 2008 Nissan cars and found out its been known this mechanical problem is known manufacturer. Sadly i never received a notice of recall and I wonder how i was missed! Another issue of this car is that the dashboard is melting for several years and its also a known issue. Now, I will describe the symptoms of the car. 1. I bout this car with Mossy Nissan dealer, San Diego, CA. in July, 2010. Since i bout the car, i used to feel a burst of power when when starting to drive. I'd press the gas and it would take a second or two to move with power, I thought this is the way the car was and I liked it. unfortunately, this burst of power got more delayed as the car became older to the point that I am in a red light and the car does not move although I am pressing the gas. now the car stalls sometimes but not often. 2. I recognize this is a safety issue because for me because i can be hit by other car from the back when the car loses power. last weekend, I was on an intersection exiting the highway and made a left just when the car staled and another car almost collided with me. According to the internet report on this car, this is a known issue to Nissan. 3. Unfortunately, the car does not give me an alarm or safety warning on the dashboard when this happens, so its hard for the mechanics to troubleshoot.

Filed Sep 18, 2020 · Acceleration, Transmission · 170,000 miles · MD

We were driving on I-695 in baltimore area when I started to notice that while pressing acceleration paddle, the car was not moving forward. It started to stall and eventually stopped completely. Luckily, I was able to pull it to the curbside before a collision may have occurred. But someone with less driving capabilities may have ended up in an accident due to the car stalling without any warning. Later on I found out the transmission failed and nissan didn't care at all when I contacted them. I got transmission replaced myself. I thought I should speak out about this because a transmission stalling a vehicle at nearly 65 MPH is a safety issue that needs to be addresses.

Filed Jul 21, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 111,000 miles · PA

Problems with the front passenger side suspension the engine of the vehicle slows/stalls when driven in high heat weather driving on the interstate the vehicle began to slow/stall.

Filed May 24, 2018 · Engine · 105,000 miles · MD

My nissan 2008 altima started stalling while I pulled into traffic. It was happening for several months and was random. I took my car into nissan, after realizing there was a CVT transmission recall for this car. They examined the car and determined that there was no problem with the car, because the car did not report any diagnostic code. They told me to come back, when the car stalled and they could get the necessary code, since the car was experiencing the problem the code would be in the system. I had reported this problem to nissan corporate and got case number. On may 7, 2018, nissan found the code and the problem was a bad CVT transmission. Nissan determined to pay half the cost of replacing my transmission. On may 18,2018, I picked up my car and experienced the same problem driving away from the dealership. I called back and the manager said the problem was caused by high fluids and to drive the car over the weekend and it should be fine. Well, I stalled while driving into traffic two more times over the weekend. I called nissan corporate to say that the problem is not fixed. They have refused to do anything. I do not feel safe in this car and am terrified to drive it. I'm driving an unsafe car and nissan is not helping ... At least for now

Filed Feb 7, 2018 · Acceleration, Engine · 171,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 nissan altima. On several occasions, when the vehicle was idling or when the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle stalled and lost power. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the crank shaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 171,000.

Filed Mar 20, 2017 · Transmission · TX

On 02/06/2014, the CVT (transmission) failed at 117,240 miles. The CVT was under standard warranty and was replaced by the dealership, mcgavock nissan, lubbock, tx. The replacement CVT failed again. First CVT failed at 117,240 and replaced by standard warranty by nissan. The replacement CVT currently stalls at low speeds, 5-10 MPH, while taking off. On 03/02/2017, 151,551 miles, less than 35,000 miles since the first CVT was replaced, the dealership, mcgavock nissan, lubbock, tx, diagnosed the problem. Their solution is to replace the replacement CVT. I called nissan USA. Nissan USA called back and advised they would not replace the CVT because the replacement CVT warranty was expired, 12 months and/or 12,000 miles. Nissan USA was of no help. This problem is not only annoying, it poses a danger to my family! The vehicle is still running, however, it is hard to cross a busy street because it stalls on takeoff. Dangerous! I am very disappointed in this nissan altima. The CVT is a failure top to bottom. Nissan needs to do the right thing! Don't install this type transmission in their vehicles!

Filed Aug 16, 2016 · Transmission · IL

Car was purchased new and in service 7/12/2008. Car has gone through 4 transmissions with last transmission put in 7/27/2016. Car only has 129k miles. This is a dangerous condition as car has shuttered and stalled and I have a medical condition. Nissan doesn't seem to be too concerned - my husband and I tried to contact the ceo of nissan north america ([xxx]) but couldn't get past "[xxx]" in the executive department. She told my husband and I on a recorded line that she reports to [xxx]. But only later, after continuing to press the issue, she acknowledged she doesn't report to him. Additionally, she laughed at my husband and I as we discussed this very real issue (again...on a recorded line....you should subpoena the tapes). No vehicle, unless you are in a demolition derby, should have to go through 4 transmissions in 129k miles. We asked nissan north america to provide us with our car's service history and they claimed that they cannot access this and the never provided it to us. I don't believe what they told me. I tried to attach a pdf of my letter to nissan north america/[xxx] ...but it is 6.7m (too big). Nonetheless....I'll be happy to share it with you upon request.. Also attached is the car's complete service history which was provided only through the local dealership. Nissan north america representative was aloof and did not seem to be concerned that their product went through 4 transmissions. Please pull all 2008 altima's off the road for safety's sake. Thank you information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Aug 26, 2015 · Electrical · 111,000 miles · FL · fire · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owned a 2008 nissan altima. While driving at approximately 35 MPH, black smoke emitted from the ventilation unit and the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact mentioned that after exiting the vehicle, it caught fire and the front passenger side door failed to open. As a result, the front seat passenger was trapped inside the vehicle and sustained smoke inhalation related injuries that required medical attention. The fire department had to remove the front seat passenger from the vehicle and was able to extinguish the fire. It was later determined that the fire was caused by a faulty ignition switch. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 111,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Aug 7, 2015 · Acceleration, Engine · 90,000 miles · TX

My vehicle's transmission failed after only 90,000 miles. Nissan replaced the transmission for free under their extended CVT warranty program, however, less than a year later, the check engine light came on while making a long distance trip on the interstate. According to nissan the CVT fluid required for the CVT transmission can become glue like and gunk up at high speeds or in hot weather, causing the engine to overheat and the car to stall. The solution for this problem is an external coolant system for the CVT fluid provided to the customer at their expense to keep the transmission fluid from becoming thick. I am extremely disgusted with my nissan experience, they knowingly are making transmissions which fail after less than 100,000 miles and are requiring them to use nissan CVT fluid which is a fail also.

Filed Jun 3, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 100,000 miles · OH · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 nissan altima. The contact stated while driving at 55 MPH, the vehicle stalled. As a result, another vehicle crashed into the rear of the contact and the air bags failed to deploy. No injuries were sustained. A police report was filed. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to diagnose or repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.

Filed May 3, 2015 · Engine · 60,000 miles · IL

The vehicle has stalled when driving on several occasions. At 20 MPH on local roads, car suddenly stalled and would not accelerate. This happened again on the highway at 65 MPH and again when driving at 5 MPH in a parking lot. The car had to be towed after each event. Car has been taken to 3 separate dealerships for evaluation but no cause of the malfunction has been determined.

Filed May 31, 2014 · Transmission · 121,086 miles · FL

Help (continuously variable transmission) nissan apparently has a "extended warranty for the CVT on certain vehicle models including altima between 2003-2010 year. The warranty states that you may replace part to 10years/120,000 miles which ever comes first. Here's the problem never got a letter with this extended warranty information so I could of had my CVT replaced. Two days ago as I was driving on one of fl. Busiest hwy where speeds are up to 70 MPH my 08 nissan altima starts decelerate yes while my foot was on the gas pedal the car began to decelerate with out know notice the service engine soon light was not on so I was in a state of shock because I am in the middle lane of a three lane hwy freaked out cars coming behind me at high speeds I did but my emergency lights on so I could try to find away to maneuver my way off the hwy wait it gets better so as I have my foot on the gas pedal at a speed of 1 MPH the car is in stall mode aka pressing on gas and just barely going. Well as I was getting in the outer lane to get off the hwy the car when from one MPH and just accelerated I almost caused a major mva I ended up in the ditch luckily no one was hurt I immediately turned the car off. I ended up taking it to a mechanic who told me that it could be the fuel injector but couldn't be for sure because the service engine light was not on they couldn't detect the problem with the machine, the car service engine soon light came on soon after reaching over 120,000 miles.I wanted nissan to have recall this is dangerous and it is not right something needs to be done before it becomes worse like it for ford, gm ect....they should have sent people letters or ever put a courtesy consumer report thru news as to the extended warranty but they didn't do it why?(money)pleas this is dangerous I am not the first person with this same problem.