Faulty crankshaft and camshaft sensors UNKOWN

- Columbus , GA, USA

Owner of a 2003 Nissan Altima. On 2/18/2016, I took my vehicle to a car wash in linden, NJ. When the car wash was completed, I put my 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. While I still had my foot on the brakes, and as the employee placed the towel to dry out my vehicle, my vehicle immediately started to jolt twice while I still had my foot on the brakes and immediately unintended accelerating at a high speed. Smoke started to come out of the front hood and air bag came out. I had to control the steering wheel not to hit any one as there were several parked vehicles and people vacuuming/cleaning their vehicles. Not sure how many parked vehicles were hit and my vehicle hit a parked SUV. Ambulance and police arrived. I was in shocked, surprised and cried and told the police about my vehicle unintended accelerated so quickly without any warning while my foot was still on the brakes. All I kept saying is oh my god, how could my vehicle unintended accelerated while I still had my foot on the brakes. Were there any recalls? I told the officer that my foot was on the brakes and the more I pressed on the brakes, the faster my vehicle unintended accelerated at a high speed with no control of stopping. There were no indicator lights. My vehicle was totaled and taken away by the tow truck. I had injuries swollen/bruised on my knees, ankles, head, neck, should, hands and back. Police report was taken and not available as this takes a couple of days. See also ODI 10956663.

- Colonia, NJ, USA

The contact owned a 2003 Nissan Altima. While the vehicle was in neutral at a car wash, it accelerated independently and crashed into a parked vehicle. A police report was filed. The contact was injured and required medical attention. The air bags deployed and emitted smoke. The vehicle was destroyed and towed. The failure mileage was 128,000...updated 04/13/17

- Colonia, NJ, USA

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. See also ODI 10957901.

- Colonia, NJ, USA

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.

- Belfair, WA, USA

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.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

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.

- Pearland, TX, USA

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.

- Sewell, NJ, USA

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.

- Seminole, FL, USA

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 Altima 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.

- Bartlett, IL, USA

My daughter was driving home from work in my 2003 Nissan Altima when the car suddenly stopped running, the steering wheel froze and she nearly ran off the road. Thank goodness there were no other cars coming and she was able to pull off the road with no incident. I pulled the codes and found it to be the P0335 (crankshaft position sensor) and P0725 (engine speed sensor). After searching the web, it appears there are many people with the same issue. I looked on the NHTSA website and found NHTSA campaign id number: 03V455000, Nissan recall no. R3022 that states exactly what did happen - the check engine light came on and the engine stopped without warning. The remedy is that a dealer replace the crankshaft position sensor. So, I called Nissan, found the other recall that is related to the sensor, took the car to the dealer (barely - I drove and the car stopped twice - again, lucky there was no crash). The dealer called and said he could not fix this recall because the sensor was bad. Now I have to go back and pickup the car and pray again that I don't have a crash coming home. Seems totally unreasonable that Nissan would have a recall for this exact problem - the crankshaft position sensor - for, among many others, 2002-2003 Altima and yet there are many people out there with these cars that Nissan won't fix. I was laid off and certainly cannot afford a $300 fix for a $40 part so we will have to drive this death car until I can figure out how to get it fixed. And pray every time I get in it that we don't end crashing the car, hurting myself, my young twins, my older daughter or anyone else on the road. This is a severely dangerous issue and Nissan should replace all cars - not just a select few.

- Clemmons, NC, USA

Recently while driving my ses light came on. I took my vehicle to the nearest service center and had them read the codes which were 0725 engine speed sensor and 0335 crank shaft position sensor. Upon looking into the problem I found that this is a common problem with many Nissan owners, particularly the Altima models. Nissan has issued a recall to reprogram the ECM free however this does not solve the problem. The problem is the crankshaft sensor, and Nissan should be responsible for replacing the defective part (the part has been modified from plastic to metal because of other complaints however they will not cover the replacement, ridiculous!) this is particularly dangerous due to the fact that I can cause the car to stall randomly while driving, which has happened to me on two occasions (luckily not in heavy traffic of on the highway! but it has happened in more serious situations to others).

- Rochester, NY, USA

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.

- Elmira, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 mph, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The contact attempted to tap the brakes but the vehicle just accelerated faster. The vehicle jumped over a ditch and finally landed in a canal. The contact suffered severe injuries including open wounds, fractured ribs, two cracked disks, head injury and incidents of loosing consciousness. A police report was filed. The vehicle was totaled. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000. Updated evoq 07/20/10. The vehicle was inspected and the consumer was informed by the technician he found an electric crossover connection between the brake and accelerator pedals and may have been computer related. Updated 11/23/10. Updated 12/07/10. Updated 12/21/10 updated 12/30/10 updated 01/10/11. Updated 01/12/11. The consumer stated it was a clear day and traffic was very light. He had just left his home and was less than 2 miles from his home, driving about 40 mph, when his vehicle suddenly accelerated. He tapped the brake several times; each time the vehicle accelerated faster. The vehicle jumped over a ditch and finally landed in a water-filled irrigation canal. The consumer sustained severe injuries. The vehicle was totaled. Updated 01/13/11

- Elmira, CA, USA

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.

- Tallmadge, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Nissan Altima. The contact experienced unintended acceleration in the vehicle. While traveling less than 2 mph, the contact attempted to stop the vehicle. When the vehicle came to a complete stop, it suddenly lunged forward at high speeds. The vehicle crashed into a tree. The contact was uninjured. The vehicle was towed to the nearest Nissan dealer for repair, which was covered under his insurance. The current and failure mileages were less than 33,094.

- Columbia, MD, USA

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.

- Newark, DE, USA

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.

- Seal Beach, CA, USA

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 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.

- Haughon, LA, USA

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.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA