# Help Please! '03 Nissan Altima



## sleepismy (Dec 31, 2006)

Ok let me start by saying I'm a chick....please have mercy. I've search the threads and found some answers but still have problems....and half the time I don't understand the explanation for why I have an issue to begin with. I don’t _looovvvveeee_ my car like many of you do but with 2 years left of car payments I know from friends that there are *many* knowledgeable enthusiasts to be found on the forums!

Anyway, I have a '03 Nissan Altima I bought in 2003 with 10k miles on it from the dealer. He assured me at the time there were no problems, no accidents etc etc etbullshit. Its obvious now that the paint is aging- the front end was in some kind of collision although nothing appears to be replaced under the hood. (lets be honest though...its a 50/50 chance of me recognizing something out of place)

About 2 months ago I noticed the water slosh noise from the front passenger area. That sounds like a long time but the engine did not seems to be affected in any way so didn’t bring the car in. Apparently that is air replacing coolant due to a loose clamp......the oil looks normal so I'm going to go ahead and rule out a blown head gasket. Please correct me if I'm wrong. 

*TO the unanswered question:* About 1 month ago as I was getting onto the freeway I floored the gas to get up to speed. The engine revved and RPM's went up but the car never actually shifted. The engine got really loud and the RPM's went into the red so I took my foot off the gas. Please note the engine was not cold at the time.....

So that problem or variation of problem has continued but is not constant. Sometime it will act like it doesn’t want to shift and all of a sudden it does, the engine makes a loud *thunk* noise and the entire car jerks as it goes into gear. 

The car is way more likely to drive crappy if its cold....but please note I live in AZ-the coldest it gets is 30degrees. 

Yesterday I was driving on the freeway accelerating to get up to speed from aprox. 60mph-75mph. The RPM's went up as normal until it got to 4 RPMs. The car suddenly dropped to 3RPMS then back up to 4 then 3....this happened 3 times before I took my foot off the gas and just let the car coast a little bit. When I accelerated again it performed totally normally. 

I went on vacation for X-mas and parked the car outside for 8 days (its usually garaged.) When I got back I loaded my suitcases and got in....all of the door lights etc worked fine. When I turned the key the lights flickered but then nothing happened....no clicking like a dead battery, no check engine light, nothing. Took the key out, tried again, same thing. Got out, opened suitcase to get AAA card and decided to try one last time (I've flooded the engine before...knew better than to try 1000 times) and car started RIGHT UP! Let it warm up and drove off....shifting problems continued on way home. Drove again today and nothing was wrong!!

Okay I know that was wicked long but don’t know which things are pertinent and which are not. I hope someone has suggestions about what the problem (s) might be so I can get an idea of how to budget....I really just want a new car but I DO NOT want a new car payment! Hopefully someone can give me an idea of what the issue is before I bring it in......I'm trying to decide if I should fix it or just call the new sales guy. 

THANK YOU!!!
:newbie:


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## LONDONDERRY (May 19, 2004)

The water sloshing is trapped air. My 2003 Altima has the same issue. To remove the air, remove the radiator cap, run the car and see if the coolant goes down then add some and then place the radiator cap back on.

Did you check the transmission fluid level?


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## KA24Tech (Feb 2, 2004)

How many miles since you bought it? Also have you done a major service in that time?


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## [email protected]$ey (Nov 14, 2007)

OKay first time on here and definitely have not a clue how to make a post so i'm hoping this works.... i have a 98 nissan altima and when i was on my way to work this morning it rev'd for a sec and then jerked forward to accelerate i mean other than that it's driving fine but when i'm at a stop light i take my foot off the brake and instead of slowly creeping forward like it usually does it just sits there not moving AT ALL then it jerks a little and starts creeping forward. Please help I don't want it to get worse. thnx!


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## roadkill2_0 (Sep 5, 2007)

[email protected]$ey said:


> OKay first time on here and definitely have not a clue how to make a post so i'm hoping this works.... i have a 98 nissan altima and when i was on my way to work this morning it rev'd for a sec and then jerked forward to accelerate i mean other than that it's driving fine but when i'm at a stop light i take my foot off the brake and instead of slowly creeping forward like it usually does it just sits there not moving AT ALL then it jerks a little and starts creeping forward. Please help I don't want it to get worse. thnx!


its ur transmission...get it checked


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## roadkill2_0 (Sep 5, 2007)

sleepismy said:


> Ok let me start by saying I'm a chick....please have mercy. I've search the threads and found some answers but still have problems....and half the time I don't understand the explanation for why I have an issue to begin with. I don’t _looovvvveeee_ my car like many of you do but with 2 years left of car payments I know from friends that there are *many* knowledgeable enthusiasts to be found on the forums!
> 
> Anyway, I have a '03 Nissan Altima I bought in 2003 with 10k miles on it from the dealer. He assured me at the time there were no problems, no accidents etc etc etbullshit. Its obvious now that the paint is aging- the front end was in some kind of collision although nothing appears to be replaced under the hood. (lets be honest though...its a 50/50 chance of me recognizing something out of place)
> 
> ...


well if you floored it when going on the freeway the car wont shift until it goes a little above redline and the "thunk" ur talking about probably happened because yuo took ur foot off the gas right when it was about to shift...as for the jumping RPM from 3-4, check ur air filter to see if its clean and not clogged up....and for the start up problem, it happens to my car too sometimes you should turn the key to the ON position and wait for the little noises(fuel pump etc.) to stop, then start your car......well thats it..hope it helps...ohh and always let ur car warm up before driving it


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## SPEEDO (Jun 9, 2003)

Agree with londonderry, trapped air, you'll need to get the nose of the car up, jack stands, ramps, some kind of incline, pull the rad cap start the engine and let the water circulate (this will be faster if the engine is up to temp) this should help "burb out the air pockets, add coolant and you should be good. Do you know if any/all racalls have been done??
Call your local dealer with your vin number and they should be able to tell you. Any corrosion at the battery?? Any lights on the dash??


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