16th Mar 2010, 06:46

I don't feel sorry for any Altima's, Maxima's or 3.2TL's or Accord drivers and I mean V6 models. What do you expect with a high output 6 cylinder engine and weak transmission with a crappy cooling system. When these cars are working, I see them flying down the highway without regard.

17th Mar 2010, 21:38

I have recently purchased a used 2005 Altima 2.5S. It has 71K miles on it. After 3 months of purchase, I found that it has same jerking problem while shifting from 1st - 2nd at low speed. If anyone recently has solved the problem, then please let me know, or guide me where should I go to fix this problem?

Should I go for dealer place, or should I go to ATRA certified place? Or can it be possible for me to get done by Nissan under a recall programme?

18th Apr 2010, 15:54

I have a 2005 Nissan Altima SE-R with 77k on it, and just recently I have been having problems with the transmission shifting from 3rd to 4th gear, getting stuck in 3rd with the rpm revs, and hitting 6 or 7 before slamming into 4th gear.

Then it started hard shifting coming off a red light from 1st to 2nd gear, then from 2nd to 3rd.

A few days later I was driving it, and all of a sudden it wouldn't come out of fifth gear, and didn't down shift at all. Was coming off of red lights in fifth, taking over a minute to hit 30 mph. I pulled into a gas station, shut the car off, and when I turned it back on, it was fine and back in 1st.

I took it to the dealership I bought it from to fix the problem, because it is still covered under my warranty I have on it that covers it to 85k. They had the car for a week and said it was the ground wire to the transmission, and I needed a transmission mount, which they had to order the part. They fixed the ground, and said the car was drivable for now till they get the mount. Not even 10 minutes after leaving the dealer, the check engine light came on, and when I came off the highway, it was stuck in fifth gear again. Had to stop, shut it down and restart it to get it back into first, and still having problems shifting when I push it hard; if I drive slow like grandma, you barely notice it.

I hope that once the transmission mount is fixed, I won't have these problems, but from what I read here, it doesn't seem to be that way. I hope that it is the fact that most of the Altimas I read about on here are the 4 banger 2.5 S model, and some 3.5 V6 SLs. Don't see many on the SE-R model; only 2, and the one I read said the same thing as the dealer; the transmission mount. Hope that is it.

Would love to know if the transmission mount can cause these problems, and not the transmission itself? Like I said before, still under warranty, and they would have to give me a new one for free. I know how the dealers like to screw you when you have a warranty; they don't want to fix anything unless they have no other choice, so I will pay the 450 dollars they are asking for the transmission mount that isn't covered under the warranty; that is way over priced, but it's because a dealer is doing it, but if I get it back and it still slips and gets stuck in fifth again, I will be going off on them, because then I know it is the transmission or solenoid, which they will replace, and then I will be writing a nasty letter to Nissan corp telling them I will never buy another Nissan again, and also that their service department is horrible.

Before I bought this car, I had a 1991 Nissan 240 SX with 260k miles on it, and the only reason I had to get rid of it was that the body was gone on it; the engine ran perfect even at 260k. 77k with my Altima SE-R having transmission problems. Nissan better get their crap together, or they're gonna lose all their customers to Mazda, Toyota and Honda.

Let me know what you guys think; can a transmissions mount cause these problems, or are the dealership service department blowing smoke up my butt?

27th Apr 2010, 10:43

I owned a 2003 Altima 2.5, purchased new. Thank goodness I purchased a 100,000 extended warranty. I just junked the car in April 2010. The check engine light was on almost continuously for various reasons. I had three transmission sensors replaced, catalytic converter replaced, the entire computer replaced, and several other recalls performed. The crankshaft position sensor failed causing the car to stall in rush hour traffic. The transmission finally failed at 148,000 miles in rush hour traffic and I sold it for junk. I have owned 15 Nissans over the years, but this is my last.

12th May 2010, 22:58

Just bought a 2005 3.5 SE (MT) today. I wish I would've seen this site before purchasing. I am now so worried. I took it to Nissan before final purchase, and they gave me the thumbs up on the purchase. I hope it works out, but the outlook seems sort of grim. If it fails me, I will follow up with the report.

28th May 2010, 08:11

I have owned a 05 Nissan since it was brand new; bought it in July 2004.

It does jerk slightly between 1st and 2nd gears, but the thing I notice the most is the noise it makes when I am sitting idle at a traffic light or stop sign. It sounds like my transmission is still engaged. If I put the car in neutral while it is making the noise, it becomes very quiet (as it should be all of the time).

My car has 94K miles, and I cannot afford to trade the car in! I just got it paid off last year, and thought the car would last me a long time.

After reading the comments on this site, I don't know whether to let the car just go until it stops or have it checked out. My Nissan dealer is not the most reliable in the world either, so where would I take it if I decide to check it out?

I have always been a Honda person, and decided to buy the Altima because I saved thousands of dollars on it over a new Accord, and thought Nissan was a reliable vehicle.

S. Collins, Virginia.

1st Jun 2010, 01:09

I guess I'm another on with shifting problems. I though it was because I'm in Baumholder, Germany and have to live on the side of a mountain. It only has the shifting issues between 1st and 2nd when I'm going up hill, and even then it's hit and miss; if I'm easy going up hill, keeping under 20mph, then it won't do it. If I gun it going up hill, it won't do it, but I can't do that because the speed limit on the hill is 20 mph. Lucky me right.

About the idle going up and down at a stop light or when you stop; there was a recall on the crank shaft position sensor and the ECM. It would also just cut off when ever it wanted to. That recall fixed all of that. I'm wondering though if we don't need to get the ECM recall again, which remapped your shift points for your tranny. but I'm going to change my fluid run some Royal Purple in it and see what happens.

Even though these few problems are going on, I still love my Altima and am glad I got it. I'll put up another post and let everyone know what's going on with it.