general problems of the 2003 Nissan Altima

Faulty crankshaft and camshaft sensors unkown.

Owner of a 2003 Nissan Altima - on 2/18/17 while taking my vehicle to a car wash in linden, NJ, I had my vehicle on neutral and when the car wash was completed, I put the vehicle on drive and proceeded slowly towards the car wash employees as they instructed me to stay on my left side, as the other vehicle was on the right side and I had my foot on the brakes. As the two employees placed their towels on my front vehicle to dry out the vehicle, my vehicle immediately started to jolt twice while I had my foot on the brakes and immediately my vehicle accelerated at a high speed. Smoke started to come out of the front hood and the airbag came out. I had to control the steering wheel not to hurt any one as there were several parked vehicles and people vacuuming their vehicles or cleaning out their vehicles. Not sure how many parked vehicles were hit and my vehicle hit a parked SUV. Ambulance arrived and the police. I was in shocked, surprised and cried and told the police about my vehicle taking off so quickly without any warning while my foot was still on the brakes. All I kept saying is OH my god what happened. How could this happen? were there any recalls? I kept saying I had my foot on the brakes and the vehicle would not stop just kept accelerated. There were no warning indicator lights. I had injuries including my right ankle, knee, head, neck, shoulders and back. Police report was taken and not available at the moment as it takes a couple of days.

Tl-the contact owns a 2003 Nissan Altima. The contact states while the car was in neutral the vehicle accelerated on it own. The contact stated that smoke was coming from hood . The airbag was deployed. The vehicle was a total loss and towed. The failure mileage 128,000.

I purchased a 2003 Nissan Altima with 106,000. As is no warranty. Within the first month it blew the head and needed a new engine which I paid for out of pocket. They supposedly replaced the enigine with a new crate engine once again the car lasted about 3 weeks before it was smoking so bad and will only drive at idle speed. . I dont think the place I bought it has a very good mechanic and I really would rather take it to a Nissan dealer. . But I dont want to pay for another engine I feel like ive already bought the car twice.

I was driving and my car just slowed down and eventually cut off. I put the car in park and started it back up. When I arrived at my destination and cut the car off and tried to cut it back on it would not start.

Car just died while driving on highway, then it will not start, paid 500 dollars to get fixed and there is a recall on these parts but not for my VIN, I feel that the recall should be extended for more cars. This is a dangerous problem.

Like many other complaints, my car stalled on highway at 70 mph speed and stalls at intersections and low speeds or will not start. I can't believe Nissan or NHTSA has not got serious about this issue. I checked your database and found following compliant numbers with same issue of Altimas stalling due to crank or cam sensor failure. (odi id numbers: 10416743, 10384742,10370526,10342438,10332467, 10318898, 10318045, 10314479, 10283487, 10278805, . . . . . And many more). I am lucky to be alive. I am sure there are my accidents and deaths that did not get reported due to this manufacturers defect. This is a very unsafe and dangerous problem that could lead to many deaths. I hope NHTSA looks into this and get it fixed.

While at a red light, the car unknowingly stopped! I didn't even know until the light turned green and I attempted to pull off. I put the car in park and resterted the car with no issue. A couple days later the engine started a slight shake and each day the shake became more intense and the engine would shut off when driven for a while & while my feet is on the break the meter would jump from 0 to 2 and shut off wen it hit 0. Also while attempting to pull off the car feels like it's stuck then it'll shoot off.

Multiple times while driving between 30-45 mph the vehicle has stalled and not produced full engine power when pushing on the accelerator. This has caused serious concern for the safety of my family and myself. Check engine light came on and I took the vehicle to Nissan service repair (August 2011, ~94k miles). Nissan ran diagnostics and stated that the circuit board for crank/cam sensors had failed. Paid $430 to replace crankshaft and cam/crank sensors. Fast forward to December 2012 (~110k miles) where I experienced the same exact issues along with reduced engine power when pressing on the accelerator. Another local mechanic detected that the cam/crank sensors needed to be replaced again. I did some research and found out about recall #03v455000, which describes the exact symptoms that I have been having. I called the Nissan service department that replaced the sensors in 2011 who said that my VIN wasn't included in the recall so I didn't qualify. After reading the complaints on this site for this specific year/make/model, it is beyond me how nothing hasn't been flagged about this being an issue. All these people are having the same problems (multiple times) yet they are told their VIN's don't qualify under the recall?? something is fishy there. Other complaints with the same exact issue include the following numbers: odi id numbers: 10416743, 10384742,10370526,10342438,10332467, 10318898, 10318045, 10314479, 10283487, 10278805. Thank you for any assistance or light that can be shed on this issue.

Driving 2003 Nissan Altima on two-lane country road, weather clear, no traffic. Car sped up, driver applied brakes, car sped faster, driver repeatedly & firmly applied brakes. Car overcorrected to the left, crossed roadway, crossed one dry ditch and made impact with inside wall of an irrigation ditch full of water. Driver received initial care at the scene and was taken to emergency room via ambulance. Driver sustained broken back, head and eye trauma, broken rib, dislocated shoulder joint, multiple cuts requiring stitches, glass embedded into skin. Driver spent several days in the hospital and was discharged under continuous family care. Car was totaled.

Idle on car started to be erratic. Would go up to 1800 rpms down to 700 rpm. . Took car for repair was to the throttle bad assembly needed replaced. The car was a 2003 Nissan Altima. We were concerned that in the snow this could be a problem with forward acceleration. Dry conditions as well . . . Car only had 64,000 miles.

2003 Nissan Altima. Idle fluctuation from 1000 to 2000 rpm. Also, automobile surges from 1500 to 2000 while driving. While in automatic mode 1 it will buck forward. The auto in my opinion isn't safe I feel there should be a recall. The check engine light indicates high idle. We are in the process of having the car repaired.

On several instances the engine cuts off while driving. Major safety concern. Eventually, the check engine light came on. Took vehicle to dealer, and dealer informed me of recall campaign to reprogram the ecm. Also, they found error codes p0725 and p0335. They told me that I had to replace my crank shaft position sensor (at my cost -- this was not part of the recall). After the dealer completed the recall work, the car still stalled that very day on the way home. Took the car to my neighborhood mechanic who replaced the crankshaft position sensor. Check engine light was cleared by mechanic and has not lit up again, however, the vehicle has stalled while driving again. This sounds very similar to the symptoms which led to the recall of the 2002 Nissan Altima's. My car was manufactured in December 2002, but was not included in the 2002 recall. The 2003 recall only consisted of reprogramming the ecm -- which did not solve the problem. This is a serious safety concern as the vehicle still cuts out at random times in moving traffic. Please investigate -- this is similar to hundreds of other complaints under 2003 Nissan Altima's that I found reading through the complaints on this website -- please connect the dots and make Nissan own up to the problem.

Recalls on 2003 Nissan Altima concerning crank angle sensors and ecm, engine computer, received. Took it to a Nissan dealer , and they reprogrammed the ecm. They said this would fix my problem. 2 days later light was back on, and car continued to cut-off just as the recall letter stated it would do. Took car back to Nissan, and they refused to honor they recall, and have asked me to pay for it, and then they will investigate and will send me a refund for repairs. Over $200. 00 for repairs. Advised them of their recall letter that I received only to say they were sorry. Check engine light is still on, car cuts off while driving are , and while just sitting still. It continued to jerk or drive like it was skipping, and they claimed it was the crank angle sensor that needed to be replaced, same as recall.

2003 Altima throttle body was defective causing check engine soon light to illuminate. Chamber assembly had to be replaced. The consumer believes that the recall she received for the crank angle sensor and electronic control module is related to the throttle assembly which had to be replaced.

Courtesy copy re defective 2003 Nissan Altima. She is seeking reimbursement from Nissan. The vehicle stalled weather the vehicle was acceleration from a stop or while driving at various speeds. The check engine light illuminated the vehicle was taken to a dealer who indicated that the vehicle needed the crank case replaced, throttle sensor adjusted, fuel injection flushed, power steering flushed, and brake fluid flushed. The consumer did some research and found recall 06v242000 in reference to faulty engine crank angle sensor. The consumer vehicle fell within the range of the recall but the consumer was told by the dealer that the vehicle was not included in the recall. Therefore the consumer had to pay for the replacement of the sensor. Several months later the check engine light illuminated again. The vehicle was taken to another dealer who checked the recalls. The dealer replaced a faulty chamber. The faulty chamber resulted in a throttle chamber replacement.

1. Car stalled and once I held the gas pedal down and was able to hold the key over and crank the engine a huge puff of black smoke came out of the car and it seemed to run fine, although the service engine light came on. It eventually went away after a week or so. 2) a week or so later I started the car, it turned over fine but had no power, it simply would not go. It did not even realize I was pushing on the accelerator. 3) I removed the key from the ignition in frustration and then tried again. The second time the car worked fine. It revved when I put my foot on the gas pedal and then took off just fine. 4) this began to be a more common occurrence and if I took the key out or waited a few minutes it would straighten up. 5) not now! the car won't move forward. And now it is even starting to stall out and flood. 6) now the battery even seems to be running down. This has all taken place in the matter of about the past 5 weeks and now it won't move forward or run at all.

The contact stated vehicle stalled and operated at a reduced speed. There were no warning lights when this occurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealership, and they replaced the throttle sensor twice. Updated 1/25/2006 - the vehicle lost all power and would not go over 5 mph. The dealer replaced the throttle body and knock sensor.

The throttle body control operated poorly. The vehicle started but it did not accelerate. The vehicle is currently at the dealership, they did not know why this was happening. The problem started in may, they were able to jiggle the throttle, and it would start working, but it progressively got worse. Currently, it needs to be replaced. Consumer stated there were four on back order at the dealership.

We purchased a 2003 Nissan Altima 3. 5 on 12/2002. On 7/16/04 the car wouldn't crank until the third try. After starting he wouldn't go but 15 mph. Took to dealer and their diagnosis was the throttle chamber was defective. It has been two weeks now and the part has not come in because their telling me its on back order. Called and talked to several service guys and requested a loaner car until my car got fixed. We don't do that anymore replied all the guys. So I called the gm manager and left a message, he called back and said he would check on a loaner and call me back in the am of 7/30/04 by 9am. He took to long so I called him at 934am went to voice mail.

Consumer's vehicle accelerated from a stop and hit two vehicles head on. Upon impact, none of the airbags deployed. Driver sustained head injuroes.

Without warning the vehicle accelerated when the driver was backing out of the driveway. This caused the vehicle to hit a gate. The consumer made contact with the dealership on two occasions but the problem still occurs. Please add any further information.

While applying the brakes, the vehicle suddenly surged and accelerated towards traffic. The brakes did not stop and the vehicle had to be shifted to neutral to stop. The dealer kept the vehicle for 6 days but couldn't duplicate the problem.