# Acceleration hesitation



## geordiegirl1 (Jul 14, 2013)

Hi!
My son has a 97 Altima GXE 4 cyl. He purchased it second hand about 2 months ago. It ran OK although it definately need a tune up until 3 weeks ago when it hesitated a couple of times while in Drive, and finally hesitated and died as he was accelerating from a Stop sign.

There had been heavy rain for days and on advice from a mechanic we ran some Gas Dry through. Same issue a couple of days later so we replaced the fuel filter (which really needed it) and the car drove home without incident.

One week later the car stumbled and died while driving on a slow uphill incline. We replaced the fuel pump, and inspected the fuel tank at the same time expecting to have to clean it out in light of the foul fuel filter we had replaced earlier, but the inside of the tank was immaculate.

Car made it about 4 miles with issue to a friends house he was going to visit and he parked it overnight. Next morning, car started but stumbled and died as he accelerated from a stop again. Tested for vaccuum leak but did not seem to find any issue, not can we hear anything that suggests a vaccuum line is leaking. We unplugged the MAF as a test and found that the car no longer died although it ran rough. Now had a CEL so we read the ECU codes (12 and 34 MAF and Knock sensor). So we cleaned the MAF (with CRC cleaner), cleaned the throttle body a little (as much as we could reach while in a parking lot) and replaced the spark plugs which we found were black and covered in carbon. Put it all back together and success!! Immediate startup, nice steady idle at ~750RPM, much quieter and smoother running, and no hesitation or dying.

That was 4 days ago. This morning the car started to hesitate again. Here is the status as of this morning:
unplugged neg terminal, and depressed brake for 1 minute. Reconnected terminal. Did not clear CEL light, and did not seem to make much difference. 

Car starts immediately and without issue.
Holds 750 RPM idle in P and N.
No knocking or unusual sounds from engine.
Car revs smoothly up to 3000RPM in P & N *; drops immediately to 750 without hesitation or sputter when accelerator is released.
Reverses, goes into gear smoothly.
Holds steady when allowed to move on idle (ie rolling idle).
Accelerates from standstill without issue so long as you don't stomp on it.
Hesitates with shift from 1st to second, and if accelerator is pressed with any force.

One time (out of 5 or 6) when I revved up to 3000RPM while in idle, the car did start to sputter at around 2500 but then almost immediately smoothed out and did not do it again. From that point, it seemed that the hesitation was a little less while in drive, but it was still there and acceleration while in 2nd seems weaker that it should be.

We are thinking our next move may be to clean the fuel injectors, but would appreciate ANY suggestions. Sorry for the long post, but wanted to give as much detail as possible.

Thanks!


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

If it's not running right, it would make sense that the knock sensor code was triggered. Since you unplugged the MAF before checking the codes, it would make sense that you had a code for the MAF. You should have checked for codes before disconnecting it. Anyway, there are a number of things that could cause these issues and they may not necessarily be fuel related. Never assume parts are bad (like fuel pumps) unless you can confirm they are bad unless you want to waste a lot of money. Fuel pressure can be easily tested with a fuel pressure gauge and many auto parts stores have them available in loaner programs if you don't own one. A factory service manual for you Altima would come in handy; you may be able to find a used one in the $25-35 range or you may be able to get lucky and find a downloadable version online for free. A scantool that would allow one to view datastream data from the ECM would be helpful and may at some point be necessary. There are a couple of areas you may want to check. Remove the distributor cap and look for engine oil inside the cap; oil inside the cap would be a sign of a failed shaft seal inside the distributor, which could cause contamination of the cam position sensor and ring and interfere with the signal. Intake gasket failure was fairly common on KA24DE-powered Altimas and would result in rough idle after the engine has warmed up, carbon-fouled spark plugs and hesitation/stalling; spray carb cleaner where the intake runners meet the cylinder head with the engine running and listen for an increase or flare in the engine RPM which would indicate a problem. Make sure the base idle and timing are properly set per the factory service manual procedure and make sure the IACV-AAC valve is operating. It would also be a good idea to check the TPS signal, which is best done with a scantool to graph the signal, but can be done with a multimeter. Disconnecting the battery cable will not erase the codes, but may turn of the CEL, at least temporarily. For info on how to check for codes and erase them using the ECM diagnostic mode screw:
Trouble Codes


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## geordiegirl1 (Jul 14, 2013)

sorry for the delay in reply and update but here is what has happened so far.

Unplugged the battery and let it sit overnight. Started up the next morning and allowed to sit and warm up to full operating temp. Test drove cautiously around parking lot. No issues. Switched off engine. Restart 5 mins later and drove through lot and around adjacent neighborhood. No issues. Drove 10 miles home. No issues.
Have driven daily back and forward about 10 miles each way. No CEL. but slowly the hard shift issue between 1st and 2nd has returned (albeit intermittantly) and once that occurs, then the acceleration in 2nd starts to drop and eventually barely gets up a hill. Example: this evening I drove the car to the grocery store. Everything seemed fine until about 3 miles down the road, when the acceleration uphill began to decrease. Over the next 5 minutes the acceleration in second decreased to barely any at all, then acceleration in 1st began to decrease. a couple of times there was an actual stutter, but the engine never died, and I managed to limp it into the parking lot. After 15 minutes in the store, and no other way to get home, I crossed my fingers and started on my way. This time NO PROBLEM all the way home, absolutley humming along especially in 3rd/4th where 65 was no effort even on a hilly road! There was a slight hard change from 1st to 2nd once in the subdivision, but nothing else. And of course no CEL at any time in this trip

I realize I have not done everything suggested so far, but will be examine the distributor this weekend. Just wanted to give an update.


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## altimanum1 (Jun 19, 2009)

I have own many Altima's an the number one problem that goes wrong with them is the distributor an/or its components for example distr. cap, rotor.

I had previous problems with distributors an depending what goes wrong with them they would make the car act differently.

If it gets oil inside it the distributor it will go out completely an wont let the car turn on.

I recently had the distributor rotor go out in my manual 95 Altima, at first i thought i had run out of gas since my meter/gauge is not working. When i took off from a red light the car started hesitating like it was about to cut off and when i pull to the side it just cut off. It took a while for me to turn the car back on an when it did it hesitated a lot kind of like a misfire. I had to keep the gas pressed otherwise it would cut off. I took a look at the engine bay to see for any obvious problem it might have, an i heard a weird ticking noise. An when i put my hand around the distributor it shocked the s**t out of me. I took the distributor cap off an I saw the issue right away, the rotor little metal contact broken off. I replaced it with a spare one i had an the car ran like new.

Now the spark plugs that you remove were black because your car has been running rough so it contaminating your plugs. When you replace them it made your car feel better because they were clean/ new but as soon as they got contaminated it made the car feel the same.

The knock sensor code is also from your car running rough. An the shifting issue is due most likely to your engine having low power cause of the issue it having.

You should start by checking distributor, followed my spark plug cables, and last the injector.
I bet anything your issue is the distributor cap or rotor. Either way it should be a cheap an simple fix.


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## geordiegirl1 (Jul 14, 2013)

Just wanted to update, and hopefully close, this episode.
The problem continuued, but finally the CEL appearred again, and this time threw out a few different codes, 1104, 23 and 34, (non-electrical incorrect shift into second gear, cylinder 2 misfire, and cylinder 4 misfire). After considering a few different options regarding this 1st code, (should we flush the transmission? run Seafoam through it? Change or not change the filter? etc.) for budgetary reasons we decided to try what we could do ourselves - drain the fluid via the plug, drop and clean the pan, change the filter, and refill with fluid and Lucas. We warmed the car up first before draining and manage to get a good 6 quarts out of the system, before refilling.
Immediate difference! After warming and taking up the road in our neighborhood, we could barely even feel the shifts!. 
Next we rechecked the sparkplugs, rechecked the gapping (just to be sure) and replaced the wires with NGK wires. Much smoother.
Disconnected the battery overnight to clear the ECM, and next morning took it out for a tentative drive. No issues.
It has been over a week since then, and we have slowly increased the amount of time the car has been on the road. So far no problems at all. In fact, the car runs better, stronger and smoother than our primary car. So hopefully, we have resolved this issue!:thumbup:


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## dasliz (Jan 17, 2014)

Not sure if I am doing this right but I have a question...I am having hesitation in accelateing and i think i feel a "kick" when driving Nissan 2009 versa..29000 miles. Could something be wrg with transmission? All transfluids are ok..thank you


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