These symptoms appeared immediately after taking my 1994 Altima GXE with auto transmission in for an alignment and oil change.
I wouldn't think an oil change could cause these, but it's an extreme coincidence.
My girlfriend noticed the hesitation when driving the car home from the service. When she initially tried to accelerate, she said the engine didn't respond until she stepped even harder.
2 days later, she drove the car again with no complaints. When I tried to drive it later that evening after it sitting for 1-2 hours, the car idled very low, and I could feel very bad vibrations through the car. I then shifted into Reverse and the idle got even worse. The car never died, but I did see the tach needle bouncing between 0 and approx 500 rpm. Putting into park helped, but I could tell the idle was still not as high as normal.
Another 2 days later, I drove it to work. I felt the hesitation that my girlfriend told me about, but it didn't have the idle problem. The hesitation seemed to occur only when lightly applying throttle while the car was already moving. It did happen when the car was traveling about 30mph. I did not step on the gas hard off the line to see if doing that would make it bog.
Driving back from work after sitting about 4 hours, there was no sign of any of the hesitation or terrible idle.
I read about idle problems that could be attributed to EGR/BPT, MAF, or Idle Control Valve. Would any of those in particular cause all the symptoms I experienced?
94 Altima Intermittent Hesitation and Severly Low Idle
I just read the Help Us Help You sticky which said improper oil filter change can cause MAF problems - I did a search on "oil filter maf" but found nothing...how can an oil filter change affect the maf?
My Altima has 127k miles, purchased in 1999 with 78k miles and the only thing I replaced is the radiator and oil changes.
This was the first time I let anyone else do an oil change on this car since I owned it. I have done all the oil changes myself previous to this one.
My Altima has 127k miles, purchased in 1999 with 78k miles and the only thing I replaced is the radiator and oil changes.
This was the first time I let anyone else do an oil change on this car since I owned it. I have done all the oil changes myself previous to this one.
first thing to do is check the oil level. If thats ok there is another problem very prone to the altima's 93 to 01 with the intake manifold gasket sucking in at the bottom of the #4 intake runner. Have a can of carb or brake clean handy and the next time the idle dips like that spray some carb clean around the intake manifold near #4 runner try to aim for the bottom on the #3 side. If the idle jumps up you found your problem.
I was going to look at it at my parent's house today.
Started up fine in the morning and I drove 3-4 miles to an electronics store.
Starting up as I was leaving the electronics store, I had the terrible idle. I drove it anyway. I was pulling into an auto parts store parking lot when the engine completely died. It was a slight uphill. Would not start at all after that - had to call a tow truck to tow it to my parents house.
Just checked the oil level and it looks at least 1 quart too high. Car still won't start, so I called the shop that did the oil change and they're sending someone over to drain some oil and check anything else.
I'm waiting for the guy to show up before I do anything else to the car.
Started up fine in the morning and I drove 3-4 miles to an electronics store.
Starting up as I was leaving the electronics store, I had the terrible idle. I drove it anyway. I was pulling into an auto parts store parking lot when the engine completely died. It was a slight uphill. Would not start at all after that - had to call a tow truck to tow it to my parents house.
Just checked the oil level and it looks at least 1 quart too high. Car still won't start, so I called the shop that did the oil change and they're sending someone over to drain some oil and check anything else.
I'm waiting for the guy to show up before I do anything else to the car.
Guy came, drained oil and just visually checked some other stuff which yielded no results.
At the time he left, it would start but idle so low that the tach wouldn't even register it, then die about 5 seconds later.
He recommended I change the following parts, which I have already done within the last hour, but it still acts exactly the same way.
O2 Sensor (the one in the exhaust manifold)Spark PlugsSpark Plug WiresDistributor CapDistributor RotorFuel Filter
The car is cold now, but it still starts and idles too low to register on the tach, then dies about 5 seconds later.
I also sprayed the MAF sensor with brake cleaner which didn't help.
Before the tow truck arrived when it stalled this morning, I sprayed the carb cleaner around the 3rd and 4th cylinder intake runners where they meet the head, but it didn't do anything.
After I smell the exhaust when it's been running for the 5 seconds, it really smells like unburned gasoline, which leads me to believe it has something to do with the ignition.
At the time he left, it would start but idle so low that the tach wouldn't even register it, then die about 5 seconds later.
He recommended I change the following parts, which I have already done within the last hour, but it still acts exactly the same way.
O2 Sensor (the one in the exhaust manifold)Spark PlugsSpark Plug WiresDistributor CapDistributor RotorFuel Filter
The car is cold now, but it still starts and idles too low to register on the tach, then dies about 5 seconds later.
I also sprayed the MAF sensor with brake cleaner which didn't help.
Before the tow truck arrived when it stalled this morning, I sprayed the carb cleaner around the 3rd and 4th cylinder intake runners where they meet the head, but it didn't do anything.
After I smell the exhaust when it's been running for the 5 seconds, it really smells like unburned gasoline, which leads me to believe it has something to do with the ignition.
The car seems to be running properly now, but I have only driven it home from the shop.
The shop claims that they used some Wynn Intake Cleaner because there were a lot of deposits in the intake.
Is that something that would cause my symptoms? Also, if the intake was clogged somehow, could that have been caused by overfilling the oil?
The shop claims that they used some Wynn Intake Cleaner because there were a lot of deposits in the intake.
Is that something that would cause my symptoms? Also, if the intake was clogged somehow, could that have been caused by overfilling the oil?