Owner-reported complaints naming the fuel system system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming fuel storage or delivery — tanks, pumps, lines, injectors and fuel leaks. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2004 Nissan Altima submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 9 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
The car has a fuel problem and crankshaft position sensor issue causing the car to die and also not start up normal idling. When I do get it to start up it idles very groggy.
CAR DOES NOT START. ACTS LIKE IT IS NOT GETTING FUEL...MECHANIC SUGGESTING CPS VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY FOR ONLY TEN MINUTES.. RAN JUST FINE BEFORE HAND.
I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE INTERSTATE GOING 60-65 MPH, WITH MY GIRLFRIEND AND MY NEWBORN DAUGHTER. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, THE CAR SHUT OFF AND THE ENGINE STALLED WITH A RIVER OF TRAFFIC SURROUNDING AROUND ME. AFTER ABOUT 10 MINUTES THE CAR FINALLY STARTED BACK UP & RAN FINE. A FEW DAYS LATER THE CAR BECAME HARDER TO START AND THE ENGINE SHUT OFF ON THE INTERSTATE ONCE AGAIN. I GOT THE ENGINE CODE, CHECKED OUT AND IT WAS P0340 (CAM SHAFT POSITION SENSOR). UPON FURTHER RESEARCH I NOTICED THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON NATIONWIDE PROBLEM. NOT ONLY DOES THE ENGINE STALL WHILE DRIVING, IT COMPLETELY CAUSES THE MOTOR TO SHUT OFF! THE MOTOR IN A VEHICLE SHUTTING OFF WHILE GOING DOWN A JAMMED INTERSTATE OR GOING ACROSS RAILROAD TRACKS IS EXTREMELY UNSAFE AND IT IS UNACCEPTABLE TO NOT GET RECOGNIZED. AFTER EXPERIENCING THIS HORRIBLE SITUATION, AND VIEWING THE COUNTLESS PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED IT AS WELL. I AM FLABBERGASTED THE CAM/CRANKSHAFT SENSOR FOR THE 2002-2005 ALTIMA HAS YET TO BE RECALLED. THE CHANCE OF THE PART BEING DEFICIENT IS ABNORMALLY HIGH. THE PART IS INCAPABLE OF PERFORMING IT PURPOSE, BECAUSE ONCE REPAIRED IT CONTINUOUSLY HAS TO BE REPLACED. NISSAN DOES STATE THAT THIS IS A DEFICIENT PART AND THERE IS A SERVICE BULLETIN ON IT. BUT A SERVICE BULLETIN DOES NOT DO ANYONE ANY JUSTICE WHEN THE SENSORS HAVE TO BE REPLACED ONCE A YEAR!! *TR
I WAS PULLING OUT OF THE APARTMENT BUT IT WOULD ONLY GO ABOUT 10 MILES PER HOUR. THERE WAS NO SMELL OR NOISE AND IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I HAD STARTED THE CAR TODAY. I RETURNED HOME, TURNED OFF THE CAR FOR A SHORT TIME, RESTARTED AND IT RAN FINE IN THE PARKING LOT. *TR
EVERY WINTER OR WHEN THE WEATHER GETS COLD THERE IS A STRONG SMELL OF RAW GAS COMING IN THROUGH THE AIR VENTS, WHEN CAR WARMS UP IN MORNING EVEN WITH ALL WINDOWS OPEN SMELL IS CHOKING AND UNBEARABLE. ALSO BRAKES SQUEAK TERRIBLY LIKE A BIG TRUCK WHEN TURNING TO LEFT AND BRAKING, EVEN AT SLOW SPEEDS, SUCH AS IN A DRIVE THRU OR PARKING. EVEN BRAND NEW BRAKES. LASTLY AND MOST SCARY IS THE DRIVER SEAT SHIFTS, ROCKS, FORWARD AND BACK WHEN BRAKING HARD OR DURING A SUDDEN STOP. PURCHASED CAR IN 2007 AS A LEASE RETURN. *TR
2004 NISSAN ALTIMA FUEL GAUGE READS THE CAR HAS GAS WHEN IT IS ACTUALLY EMPTY. *TR
DT: THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FAILED WHILE DRIVING. IT BEGAN TO LEAK AND SMOKE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 39,400 MILES. THERE WERE NO LIGHTS THAT CAME ON PRIOR TO THE FAILURE. THIS OCCURRED ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2005. THIS WAS THE NINTH TIME THAT THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP FOR VARIOUS PROBLEMS, TRANSMISSION, FUEL PUMP, AND AXLE. THIS IS THE SECOND TRANSMISSION IN THE VEHICLE THIS NEW TRANSMISSION HAS ONLY ABOUT 5000 MILES. THE CAR HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP FOR THE TRANSMISSION FIVE TIMES. *AK
2004 NISSAN ALTIMA FAILED TO CRANK ON COLD MORNINGS 5 TIMES. IN AND OUT OF SERVICE DEPARTMENT. FINALLY REPLACED FUEL CONTROL MODULATOR. NEXT MORNING CAR CRANKED IN 29 DEGREE WEATHER AND NOW IS SMOKING (BLACK SMOKE). RETURNED CAR TO SERVICE DEPARTMENT ON 1-31-04 ALONG WITH A CLOTH CONTAINING THE RESIDUE FROM THE TAIL PIPES. *JB
CAR STALLS WHILE DRIVING, HAS SEVERE DIFFICULTY STARTING AND JERKS IN SECOND GEAR. CAR IDLES AT ABOUT 100-200 RPM. *AK
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .