# Transmission Problem: 1993 Automatic Altima, help diagnose and treat



## fleshka (Aug 4, 2005)

Hey all, I am new to this forum. Found it by a google search on nissan problems.

Well here it goes.
Nissan Altima AUTOMATIC
1993
4 cyl, 2.4L engine
GXE
Only 73,000 ORIGINAL miles on everything.

Now here is the Kicker: The transmission is being weird.

the trans won't shift into gear until the RPM gets high. Sometimes it doesnt shift until i just give it a min and lay off the gas pedal then it goes into gear. It has been doing this for a long time now (Since October 2004.) Sometimes I would shut the car off and restart and the problem would seem corrected. Other times I would let the car heat up for 10 minutes and it would be ok. Seems to be better on different days.

I got out of work one day and suddenly my car wouldnt switch out of 1st gear. I freaked out. Then it would shift, but VERY hard. I went to an AAMCO, the guy was like the computer is fine and it looks like it is an internal mechanical problem. He said it gonna need to be rebuilt. He then told me not to get the fluid flushed and changed which people would suggest because the car would run fine for a few days and then it would lock up. I said no thanks and drove it home carefully. It has been parked in my driveway for 3 months now untouched because I dont know what to do. 

When I changed the CV axles, some trans fluid came out because of the pulling out of the axle and I went to a Meineke and they put some fluid in. 

I read about this Nissanmatic C Transmission Fluid, but nobody can find it and seems to not know what is the deal. Please offer me your advice and if you have experienced this problem. Thanks guys.


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## joeman66ca (Aug 4, 2005)

*same problem started today*

I just experienced the same problem with my 95 altima.

I am also new looking for a solution to this problem. Can it be due to a transmission pan seal that has dry rotted itself and caused loss of fluid. I saw some oli stains around that area

NEED HELP TOO!!





fleshka said:


> Hey all, I am new to this forum. Found it by a google search on nissan problems.
> 
> Well here it goes.
> Nissan Altima AUTOMATIC
> ...


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## fleshka (Aug 4, 2005)

nope, mine isnt leaking trans fluid. since meineke added some in october it hasnt decreased at all man.


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## fleshka (Aug 4, 2005)

i seen a bunch of topics about this when i searched, well almost like this, but nobody ever figured out the problems.


anyone?

please help!

i called transmission shops they said rebuild and quoted me 2200-2300. i am in NJ and it sucks for price. that is too much money ya know.


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## fleshka (Aug 4, 2005)

UPDATE:

took the car out, it shifted smoothly from 1st to 2nd. but when it came to 3rd the car rpm went up.

sitting at a red light the car was feeling weird, so i put it in neutral and it felt good.


looked at the fluid, the fluid was fine.

i dont know what the heck is going on.

btw, my gf's kia which is a 4 cyl 1.6 liter automatic has more power than my nissan 2.4 liter 16 valve altima. could it be a pressure or torque problem?


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## joeman66ca (Aug 4, 2005)

*Fluid Viscosity*

I checked my trany fluid after a half hour of driving and found the level to be fine. It fell in between the notches on the dipstick and color was OK. But I noticed that the fluid quality was like water (low viscosity). Could this mean that the fluid has already 'broken down'. My car only has 78000km (49 000 Miles)!!!!

I am thinking about doing a transmission fluid flushing.

Anybody have any recommendations




fleshka said:


> UPDATE:
> 
> took the car out, it shifted smoothly from 1st to 2nd. but when it came to 3rd the car rpm went up.
> 
> ...


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## fleshka (Aug 4, 2005)

joeman66ca said:


> I checked my trany fluid after a half hour of driving and found the level to be fine. It fell in between the notches on the dipstick and color was OK. But I noticed that the fluid quality was like water (low viscosity). Could this mean that the fluid has already 'broken down'. My car only has 78000km (49 000 Miles)!!!!
> 
> I am thinking about doing a transmission fluid flushing.
> 
> Anybody have any recommendations



what the hell is wrong with these damn nissan transmissions. of foreign cars they are the most problematic. my friend bought a brand new nissan, the tranny died 4 months later. i dont know man. my car only has 73,000 miles on it. seems like this forum is dead.


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## KA24Tech (Feb 2, 2004)

Ok Nissan recommends Nissan ATF or Dexron II E for the automatic transaxle fluid in our Altimas. I would drain the fluid and refill it. 
Turn the key to the "ON' position without starting it. 
Watch the O/D OFF light on the dash it should come for about two seconds. If not then you need to run a diagnostic for the TCM (Transmission Control Module) power.
Next does the O/D OFF light flicker for about eight seconds? 
If it does then let me know and I can write up that diagnostic procedure.
Also the problem could be in the VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor) or another part ancillary to the auto transaxle too.
You can also get a Nissan dealer to do the CONSULT diagnosis although it will cost an hour or two of labor for the diagnosis time.
As I said in another thread, I have yet to hear an AAMCO say anything other than "you need to rebuild the transmission". 
Plus I don't agree that the TCM can be eliminated from the symptoms you listed.

joeman while changing the ATF pull the pan, clean it up and then reseal it with silicone RTV. The pan bolts should NOT be reused because they are self-sealing bolts. They should be torqued in a criss-cross pattern and torqued to 5.1 - 6.5 ft-lb.

By the numbers Nissan are not more problematic than other import brands (or domestics for that matter). Many things external from the trans can cause issues as well as the maintenance or antifreeze or ATF was low or... I know tens of thousands of Nissan owners that have few issues with their cars. Although I understand your frustration, generallizing doesn't mean it is true.
Also I have seen cars that were trashed at 50k miles because the owner(s) didn't do any maintenance including oil changes. I even had a car that had one oil change in 37k miles. So what I'm saying is its not the mileage but how it was taken care of or driven in those miles that really matter.

Troy


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## fleshka (Aug 4, 2005)

KA24Tech said:


> Ok Nissan recommends Nissan ATF or Dexron II E for the automatic transaxle fluid in our Altimas. I would drain the fluid and refill it.
> Turn the key to the "ON' position without starting it.
> Watch the O/D OFF light on the dash it should come for about two seconds. If not then you need to run a diagnostic for the TCM (Transmission Control Module) power.
> Next does the O/D OFF light flicker for about eight seconds?
> ...


Troy, I will try this this week. I hope it works. The car will not go into 3rd gear now. What scares me is the fact that the previous owner traded the car in to my a dealership. They sold me it for about 1600, but it needed both CV axles and 2 rear wheel bearings. I couldnt believe these were already gone which leads me to believe it wasnt cared for properly. 

My friend at work says he knows a guy who works for nissan that might be able to help me out. I am going to call tomorrow. Thank you Troy, you rule!!! Do you use AIM?


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## speedman (Feb 4, 2005)

*Hey!*

Hey! I have a 97 altima Manual with 75,000 on it. I have posted a thread before about my transmmision shifting hard. I took it to ammco, they said, like always, rebuild the transmission. So I am still driving it, no clue what is wrong with it, but I changed the oil and did all the maintance and all the mechanics that I asked said that it is something with the tranny itself and not the stick or oil. Sometimes my RPM drop to low when I am in neutral i seen it go as low as 200-100. It should be around 1000, not lower then 500. It only happens when I am driving like for a while and then shift to neutral from a high gear. Also one of the sensors went off and then just stopped. I seen a few threads with the same problems but no solution or cause, so let me know if you find out something. I am gonna try to check the sensor and see if it all of this is not computer related.


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## fleshka (Aug 4, 2005)

speedman said:


> Hey! I have a 97 altima Manual with 75,000 on it. I have posted a thread before about my transmmision shifting hard. I took it to ammco, they said, like always, rebuild the transmission. So I am still driving it, no clue what is wrong with it, but I changed the oil and did all the maintance and all the mechanics that I asked said that it is something with the tranny itself and not the stick or oil. Sometimes my RPM drop to low when I am in neutral i seen it go as low as 200-100. It should be around 1000, not lower then 500. It only happens when I am driving like for a while and then shift to neutral from a high gear. Also one of the sensors went off and then just stopped. I seen a few threads with the same problems but no solution or cause, so let me know if you find out something. I am gonna try to check the sensor and see if it all of this is not computer related.



mine has actually stalled on me before. sometimes the rpm can drop in mine as well. no idea what the problem is. i just know my picup sucks. at least your altima is a manual. mine is the dreaded automatic.


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## speedman (Feb 4, 2005)

I think I know what the problem is. I am pretty sure it is O2 sensor. The catalyst looks a little damaged, the metal wiring (net) that covers a part of the pipe is ripped, I am not sure how to check the codes without a comp, so I am buying the haynes manual on the internet and I will look up on the internet how to check the codes and see what they say by friday. I am still driving it everyday.


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## fleshka (Aug 4, 2005)

speedman said:


> I think I know what the problem is. I am pretty sure it is O2 sensor. The catalyst looks a little damaged, the metal wiring (net) that covers a part of the pipe is ripped, I am not sure how to check the codes without a comp, so I am buying the haynes manual on the internet and I will look up on the internet how to check the codes and see what they say by friday. I am still driving it everyday.


good luck man. i hope it works out. right now i been severely screwed w/ my car. i just hope this turns out to not be anything expensive to fix b/c i cannot afford a 2300 dollar transmission rebuild. i called 6 places around here and they are all about the same.


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## fleshka (Aug 4, 2005)

so today, i went to a local shop that been in business for about 27 years. the owner went out w/ my car with me. he said if you need to change the filter b/c of debris in there then your trans will be already shot.

after driving it, he said leave it here and drop the keys off. in the morning i will hook a computer up to it. it could be a number of things and the computer should give an error code. said it could be the solenoids. i guess we will find out.


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## fleshka (Aug 4, 2005)

went to a transmission place. there were no codes. the computer is commanding properly. so it looks like it is the transmission with the damn problems. this sucks bad!


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## speedman (Feb 4, 2005)

*Hey!*

I found five long and five short flashes on my ecm. Does anyone knows which code it is? My Haynes manual hasn't arrive yet. I also heard about an ecm update that is suppose to resolve the light coming on and off for no reason, does anybody know anything about it? Thanks. Didn't do anything about the rpm drop yet. I reset the ecm and I am going to wait and see if the light comes back. If that doesn't tell me anything I will try to clean the fuel system and eveything else that can be cleaned and then toying around with the sensors if that doesn't work.


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## speedman (Feb 4, 2005)

*hmm*

There are no codes. So, everything is ok, at least to the ecm. Some people are saying that it could be the alternator, so I will check that and the grounding for the alternator, even though the alternator was replaced a year ago. I will also change the oil on my car and I will be raising it this week to check the exhaust pipes, catalyst, O2 sensor etc. hopefully I will find something that is responsible for the problem.


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## KA24Tech (Feb 2, 2004)

speedman, 0505 means no malfunctions exist within the OBD system (either the ECM or TCU.

fleshka, did you change the trans fluid?

Troy


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## speedman (Feb 4, 2005)

*This blows!*



KA24Tech said:


> speedman, 0505 means no malfunctions exist within the OBD system (either the ECM or TCU.
> 
> fleshka, did you change the trans fluid?
> 
> Troy


I changed the trans fluid and did the tune up (plugs, wires etc.). The alternator was changed a year ago. Yesterday it stalled on me like 6 times. When I was getting of the highway, shifted to neutral, the rpms dropped and it stalled, I pushed out the clutch and started the car again, I didn't even let the clutch go when the rpms dropped and it stalled again. The rpms drop when I am driving and then shift to neutral. When I start my car it idles around 1000 rpm, but when I drive it and then shift to neutral it drops around 100-0rpm. when I am stoped at a red light the rpm drop and then go back up to around 600rpm after a few seconds. The problem is that it's not just annoying but I shift to neutral before I take a turn to slow down and with my car stalling or rpms going really low, power steering doesn't work, so you pretty much on your own. Right now the rpms drop really low almost every time I shift to neutral, but it stalls rarely. This thread "97 Altima idle speed unstable" (http://www.nissanforums.com/showthread.php?t=101125) says that it could be the alternator. And I posted this thread "Manual Transmission problems" (http://www.nissanforums.com/showthread.php?t=99114) about my gears shifting a little harder. The gears are ok for now and I got used to shifting them. Rpm thing needs to be fixed, I will try to check a few other things on my car, maybe I will find something. Any other ideas?


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## EX2Auto. (Sep 11, 2005)

sorry to but in but my 95 alty shifts perfect but for about two months the od light flashes for about 8 seconds i changed the fluid filter and pan and still flashes the light she has 200k does any one know the way the fix that again sorry for the but in but didn't want to open a new thread thanks


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## Groovejunky (Sep 19, 2005)

KA24Tech said:


> Ok Nissan recommends Nissan ATF or Dexron II E for the automatic transaxle fluid in our Altimas. I would drain the fluid and refill it.
> Turn the key to the "ON' position without starting it.
> Watch the O/D OFF light on the dash it should come for about two seconds. If not then you need to run a diagnostic for the TCM (Transmission Control Module) power.
> Next does the O/D OFF light flicker for about eight seconds?
> ...


Hi. I have recently bought 94 Altima and Sometimes it doesn't shift 1st to 2nd. RPM goes so hight but doesn't shift. And O/D light sometimes flashes when I start the eingine. I took it to a dealer today but it was too busy and I was told to bring it tomorrow morning but I would like to find out why it's doing it before paying them $100 just for checking. Please help me.


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## fleshka (Aug 4, 2005)

no, i brought it to a trans place.

they dropped the pan and looked inside and saw all these metal pieces on these magnets inside.


clearly if this happens to your car it is not fluid. fluid might temp mask the prob it is def a trans problem. im just unloading this car asap for whatever i can get for it.


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## nucferr (May 16, 2004)

fleshka said:


> no, i brought it to a trans place.
> 
> they dropped the pan and looked inside and saw all these metal pieces on these magnets inside.
> 
> ...



I gotta tell yo I bought a 94 new and after 122000 miles just about ALL of the issues that you read about at this web site I had enough. The car left us sitting twice in Sept so I sold it for 1500 and told the new owner all of the things I though was wrong with it.

Summing it up-I would have expected MUCH MORE service from a foreign car that had been taken care of. For example my 1995 TOYOTA truck ran 125000 with ABSOLUTELY no issues except 2 sets plugs, 1 set disc brake pads, and one set of rear shocks. (not counting oil changes and air filter changes). I DID NOT EVEN CHANGE THE TIMING BELT (v-6) OR THE FUEL FILTER. When I sold it I had people "bidding" on it and got $6500 Jan 2005. (I bought the new model Tacoma)

NO MORE NISSANS FOR ME. I will pay a little more for a Toyota


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## fleshka (Aug 4, 2005)

ya man, i will never buy a nissan again. 73,000 miles on the car and it is dead and i didnt beat it up at all.


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## jserrano (Oct 27, 2004)

Research into the transmission shift solenoids. There should be a TSB on them.

Hard shifting or bad shifting can also come from something external to the transmission. I once helped someone identify a hard shifting problem due to a bad ECU which was not sending +5 volts to the TPS sensor. So look for engine related issues before assuming a transmission issue.


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## p_saravana (May 30, 2006)

*1993 Altima rpm goes high*

I have the same problem mentioned in the discussion here with Altima 1993 GLE model.
i.e rpm goes high and the vehicle is not moving 


Is there a solution for it??


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## Naijaboy (Oct 7, 2005)

Your IACV might be tuned too high.


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