Altima Coupe 3.5SE Issues and complaints

[Dr. Laplace]

On Feb 03 I received my Altima Coupe.

I found a few problems with the car that I want to share with the rest of the forum here.

1) Headliner is loose: There is a large gap between the moonroof and the headliner. This causes the headliner to rattle and squeak all the time. If I push the headliner with my finger, where the light dome is, the thing moves up about 2 inches.

2) The trim on the door zone module (DZM) on the passenger side is not completely seated: There is a line, perpendicular to the door panel that meets the padded handle on the door. Here, a sensible "lifted" area on this trim is felt and seen. On another altima coupe 3.5 that the dealer had on the showroom I notticed the same issue, this time on the driver's module.

3) The little door on the central console, close to the shifter, rattles: this was not observed on another altima coupe, 3.5SE that the dealer had in the showroom.

4) The stereo continues to produce sound even when it's off: When the car is running, or on ACC position, there is an audible hissing sound from the speakers. This could be a poorly grounded wire.

5) The garage shift is rough: when shifting from P to R, and D to N, the car shakes. This could be low transmission fluid or a loose mount.

6) There is a loud clicking noise on the brake pedal: during the travel of the pedal there is an audible and sensible clicking noise. The dealer says it's "normal" because there is a switch in there that it's actuated by the pedal. I said B.S. because that noise and clicking feel to the pedal makes you think that the thing is not working properly and might cause an accident.

7) Vibration on the gas pedal: feels like a damaged wheel hub bearing, when at certain speeds a vibration and rough feel to the pedal is present. I know that this car is drive by wire, but there should be no vibration or roughness on the pedal.

8) Rough Idle after engine warm: A very soft sputter is felt after driving the car for a while and then coming to a stop. The dealer has not said anything about this. In another thread, Plee52 said that a mechanic was able to adjust the idle on the car. I am still waiting on the dealer to find out if they took the roughness away.


There are some areas of opportunity for Nissan on this car:

1) The design on the seatbelts: The mating part of the seatbelts is very poor, since it's only a metal plate with the buckle on it. This design causes the whole thing to oscillate like a leaf spring when you undo the seatbelt. Adding mass to the metal plate will fix the problem.

2) The seatbelts rattle: The position where the buckle on the belt itself is makes the thing clang and bang against the interior trim. This drives me nuts.

3) The vacuometer should include a readout to see the average fuel economy while looking at the instantaneous performance (the moving orange bar). I recently bought a 2008 Lancer GTS and it has that gauge. I love it! Also, having the scale decreased would help...

4) It should have a memory function for seating and mirror position. Also, It would be nice if at least the driver's seat would back up automatically when you turned off the car and opened the door.

Other than that... I love my car!
I'm just picky...:)

[AltiKris]

I have a vibration in my gas pedal as well!

I have a 2007 3.5se 6 speed manual 4 door, but they are of the same design.

It looks to me like the vibration is being caused by the brake pedal. Since the Altima is drive by wire, the gas pedal is attached to the brake pedal assembly and in turn transferring all road and brake vibrations to the gas pedal at all speeds!!!

I have been to my dealership 6 times with no remedy as of yet.

If you figure out how to fix this problem, let me know man!

[solow]

thats why u get a maxima lol

i think it has all of that listed above^^

[kemsyko]

I also have the 3.5 SE Altima Coupe. I have noticed the "Rough Idle after engine warm: A very soft sputter is felt after driving the car for a while and then coming to a stop." Although I haven't noticed (that I can remember) when I use Premium gas. As far as your other complaints and issues, I haven't noticed any. Of course I might not be able to hear the rattles since I almost always have music playing (not too loudly of course). I do agree that there should be a memory function for the seats. Every time I have taken my car to the dealer for an oil change I have to play with my seat positions to get it just right again. (probably being a drawback from being 6'1")

Another thing to improve in the Coupe would be to add a hard drive or allow you to stream/control music via Bluetooth A2DP and AVRCP profiles. Although with XM Radio, I don't hook my mp3 player up as much as I did when I owned my '97 altima.

Let me tell you, my 2008 Coupe is a huge improvement in performance from my '97 Altima. I love my coupe!!! :)

[nrob88]

Hey all, I've got an 08 2.5S 6 speed, which suffers from the same strange running issues, as a matter of fact a large percentage of new altima owners experience the pedal vibration, rough idle, etc... I have experimented and discovered that using higher octane gas will usually eliminate these issues. I say usually because I can't test this theory on every new altima, but it fixed my car, and others. I would encourage everyone to try it, i use 89 in my 2.5 as opposed to 87 the difference is shocking, 3.5 owners should use 93. Good Luck.

[sergey85]

you just use what is says to use in the manual mine is 91 or higher and i use 93

[holbrook795]

I have a 2003 Frontier and the Brake pedal clicks when i push it to actuate the taillights For the most part it doesn't bother me. Also, if you want a car with the automatic features then you should consider an Infinite, you will probably find the cars more satisfying.

[tech22]

Take this list to the person you bought the car from and have them fix it.

[Dr. Laplace]

Well, I did take the car to the dealership.
Allegedly they have changed the headliner and the door panes speakers, however the issues with those components remain: the headliner comes loose and the speakers still make ground noise.

Also the center console, where the armrest is located has bagun to squeak which is unacceptable. The nosie is just too much... makes the car seem like it's a cheap car and not a quality vehicle. I have already complained to the dealer and will take the car in again next week.

It really sucks... I paid 30,000 USD for the car. For that money I could have bought an Acura TSX (which came out a few months after I got the Nissan) for the exact same amount. Needless to say I am pissed.

Any other Altima owners complaining?

[stevewaclo]

Hello Doctor!

"I'm just picky...:) "

Hey, don't beat yourself up...leave that to the rest of us on the Forum.

Really sorry to hear about all the shortcomings of your new Coupe. Must be one of those "Monday Morning" cars you hear about on occassion. We took delivery of our 3.5SE, 6sp in late January and I'm pleased to say it has been flawless. Other than getting used to that "digital" clutch, it's been a joy. In May, we drove from NV to our ancestoral home in PA and back, and, using the "miles/gallons" technique never saw less than 29mpg hwy. The computer showed as high as 34mpg on the flat in Kansas (doesn't get much flatter) with multiple resets as confirmation. Also, leaving NV, I was able to check the speedo with an NVHP officer, and we both agreed that 92mph was accurate. Will tell the happy ending to that story some day.

One of the patented solutions to the "they all do that" excuse is, "OK, lets go drive another one, and you can convince me". The other annoyances should certainly be fixable, cuz I can guarantee you, "They don't all do that". Clearly a matter of getting the shop's top diagnostician on the job. Nissan probably only pays $2.75/hr for warranty work, with the dealer picking up the difference. No surprise that the top guys are out on another car "making more $$$ with a pencil, than with a wrench".

On the subject of annoying noises, NVH on modern autos has gotten down to such a minimal level that sounds that used to be "under the radar" are now much more obvious. One reason we got the "dual mass flywheel" on the 6sp.

Great suggestion for improvements!

"...having the (MPG)scale decreased would help... " That area between 40 and 99mpg doesn't come in handy too often, does it?

"memory function for seating and mirror position" My wife only let's me drive "her" car on alternate Tuesday's following a full moon, and it such a pain to adjust everything.

Anyway, with your intelligence, determination and a quick rereading of Dale Carnegie's book, I predict ultimate success.

Finally, you said "I love my car!". My momma always told me not to love anything that can't love me back.

Cheers,
Steve

[cynbar1]

I have an 09 Altima Coupe 2.5s and I have numerous rattle noises.
1) passenger side dash speaker area
2) headliner and/or sunroof area makes a rattle sound and the clanking sound when going over harsh bumps
3) door panels are noisy when going over bumps
4) knob to adjust side mirrors rattles when the radios' bass is loud or even at the "3 level". I hold the knob with my hand and the rattle goes away.
5) it sounds like maybe a rattle coming from the rear of the car, possibly the a-pillar in the back or trunk/3rd brake light area..
6) Drivers' side window was making noises going up/down...had a new regulator put in..now passenger side is doing the same thing.

There are so many noises and rattles and the dealer hasn't fixed one of them yet! They attempted to fix the sunroof rattle; took the entire headliner off and didn't put it back on in the same condition (it was greasy and full of fingerprints and not secured all the way and the noise is better but not gone) I think I may take the car to another Nissan dealership. I guess it doesn't matter if it's the same dealership that sold you the car as long as the car is still under factory warranty?

[whitco]

You can take it to any Nissan Dealer for warranty. As far as finger prints I'd take the service manager out and show him, then tell him you want it cleaned, its a new car!!
Steve, I love the part "Also, leaving NV, I was able to check the speedo with an NVHP officer, and we both agreed that 92mph was accurate. " LOL thats great. I have a 2009 Alt.2.5s and KNOCK WOOD I have no weird rattles. I do agree with the Dr. about the seat belt tapping the piller. I wrote in another post that I got one of those soft seat belt slip-ons and slide it over the metal of the passanger seat belt. It keeps the tapping away. I just have to slip it back over when my passanger gets out or the tapping is back. I've felt the Bass on the radio in the steering wheel and gas pedal too. Minor, I just ignor it and it really does go away. You can put more sound to the rear speakers too. I will try a higher Octane if I feel any eng. Vibs, sounds feasable to me.