Comments: 1-15, 16-25
This car continues to stall and stagger after many visits to two garages and an extensive repair bill.
O2 sensor replaced three times.
Will prematurely accelerate.
Brakes replaced and has been grinding since the first week after repair.
This car is super comfortable, stylish and decadent, that's where it ends. My repair bills have been up-wards or 4000, on a single problem that has yet to be fixed. This is a true lemon.
I purchased this car in 2002 and was thrilled, it was the most luxurious car I've owned. We had our three month honeymoon period before the first problems. The car would loose power while cruising, the problem compounded and snow balled and it wasn't long before it was stalling at street lights, and minutes after turning the ignition switch, It then started to stall while driving.
During this progress of problems the car was in the garage no less than four times, the last trip the mechanic tole me that it appears to be in excellent condition he couldn't find a problem, Yet they persisted. On to garage two, two visits same story. The mechanic at garage #2 was presented before hand with the work orders for the work previously done. This Morning while driving to work it stalled in the middle of the street, Tomorrow I buy a new car and This time it won't be an Altima. All other problems are minor compared to this one.
Did I get a lemon or is it the make of the car? To be honest I'm to tired to make that decision, I'm through with Altimas.
I have had the same problem with our car just recently.
We replaced the alternator and the battery, but it's still losing power.
I have the Australian version the Nissan Bluebird and I've had similar problems. I've found that the ignition leads don't last very long in this car, make sure you try replace them. And also have the distributor replaced as the crank angle sensor is in it and it is a common fault for them to fail and slowly get worse with the sympton's your having.
My car is doing the same thing, and I think it's the distributor... there are sensors in there, as well as the cap and rotor that seem to go on altimas.
If not, check the fuel pump or filter?
I dunno if that helps.
Check the fuel injectors.
I would say repair pattern is.
1) ignition leads.
2) fuel filter (pressure check)
3) distributor cap.
4) distributor assembly.
5) alternator (load test 1st)
These are common areas for nissans, and if it takes oil please do a leak down test. and if you need a overhaul. Do a top end overhaul, I made a very expensive mistake of a complete overhaul at 180,000km on a much abused sentra.
I own a 1995 altima with 124,000 miles I purchased it with 3,000 miles in late 1996. It has been a very good car with few repairs oxy sensor 10,000 miles, power window unit 118,000 distributor 122,000 not bad for 7 1/2 yrs. With price of new cars I just had the car repainted and expect to drive 3 or 4 more good yrs.
My Altima (94) would stall out at certain times - but the check engine light was coming on also. In my case the problem was an electrical connection regarding the temperature coolant sensor - it was just a bit loose - but the engine cooling fans would kick on - combined with some trouble I'm having with spark plug wires - and would stall the car out. So if your check engine light is coming on, that loose sensor could lead to a stall. However, this usually didn't happen while driving - mostly at lights/idle or close to it as I was driving slowly or shifting.
-Ben A.
I bought a 1994 altima a few months ago and when driving it will stall or lose all power for seconds at a time. You can hear the radio antennae going up and down as you drive and the radio will change time. Sometimes you go out to start it and there's no lights/power at all. Then after messing with the ignition switch and a short wait the power will automatically come back on.
I had read about previos problems and have replaced the ditributor, alternator and a sensor that links up with the brain. My mechanic worked for Nissan and stated that it may be a defect in the brain itself, but this is a $600 fix for a $2400 vehicle. I think I will look into the ignition cables next, since there is complete loss of power.
Anyone with this problem?
I have been troubleshooting the 1994 nissan altima for several weeks to find the cause of it stalling (dying) at lights or while going 55 mph and registering fault 11 & 21. At first I thought it was loosing a ground, so that the car would shut down electrically. However the entire harness was pinned out and checked for voltages and everything was normal (all grounds too - with car hot & cold) (this is after 4 distributor replacements and coils). Then the ECM was replaced, as it was suspect, however the symptoms did not change. Then it seemed that after about 30 minutes of running, the car would invariably die, and after 30-45 min of cooling it would run fine (for another 30 min). This suggested a temperature issue. After placing ice cubes on the distributor the cycle could be accelerated...4 min cooling time before the car would start and run again for a while. A test of continuously putting ice on the distributor while running, showed longer running time was accomplished. The distributor appears to get too hot and seems to be perhaps a design flaw in this vehicle. I am thinking on ways to tackle this problem. I am thinking that all 4 distributors had the same issue/flaw. I am not sure if a brand new one would fix the problem as probably this problem is being recycled from owner to owner with rebuilt ones. Or perhaps a supped up one might do the trick. nmay2k@yahoo.com.
I have had no problems with my Nissan 1994 Altima until the last year, after 120,000 miles. It idles hard, but does not stall. When I tried to get a smog test done, they had to adjust the timing. I ended up getting the fuel injector changed and an expert adviser told me that it is possibly a vacuumn leak. Said to try carburetor spray on the hoses and if it stops idling hard after spraying on, then it's a hose leak-old rubber and needs to be change. Didn't think it was a valve problem.
Hi
I own a 1994 altima gle and like yours mine had stalled while driving. It would run fine for about 5 minutes and then died completely. once the engine was cold it would start again and be fine for another 5 mn. I took it to the shop and they spent two weeks to fix it. They changed everything from coil to spark plug at my expenses and yet couldn't get it to run right. The mechanic was about to give up so he got the wiring diagram and checked one wired at a time and then finally found what was wrong..
I spent about $1700 to fix a component that would have cost at most $100 to replace or a few dollars from junkyards..
The faulty component? the transistor that is screwed on top of the mass sensor. Once hot it would short circuit thus stalling the engine..
Hope this help cuz it was my case.
I have a 1994 nissan gxe I was also having some of the same problems it was the distributer.
Has anyone thought about getting the timing checked?
I had so many problems with electrical system of my 94 Altima I will never buy a Nissan vehicle again. The distributor had a bad seal that started leaking oil and has to replace the whole thing. Mass airflow sensor went bad and engine was running real rough at low RPMs. Power transistor went bad too. Quick search on the web will show these are all common problems in Altimas.
I think you've been had. All you have to do in that case is clean to oil out of the distributor, replace the two o-ring seals and you're good to go for another 100K miles. or so, at least as far as the distributor goes.