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Nissan Altima Starting Issues

13 messages,  Last post on Apr 30, 2009 at 12:28 PM

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#4 of 13 Re: Inadvertant contact with start botton [karpediem] by ken75 Jul 16, 2008 (6:02 am)
Replying to: karpediem (Jul 15, 2008 7:15 pm) The tow from Waseca, Minnesota to Clements Nissan in Mankato, Minnesota (about 22 miles) was a little less than $100.00 and the service work was done at no charge. The tow was covered by the warranty so I paid zero for the experience plus giving up about 4 hours of my time and learning something about this particular method of starting a car.   There was no audio or visual signal to alert me to an ignition "on" situation so I may have to go back to the dealer to determine if a problem exists. This is something I will always be cognizant of in the future as I do not want to waste more time with a problem of my own (?) making.   There was a time when head lights could be left on for a full day and you would still be able to start your vehicle. Are batteries that poor or is the electrical load on the newer cars that much higher. I had a tough time believing that with only the ignition on, a battery could be sucked down in about 5 hours. Live and learn. Replies to this message: busiris (Jul 16, 2008 2:06 pm) ken75 (Jul 16, 2008 6:32 pm) busiris (Jul 17, 2008 12:46 pm) jd10013 (Jul 18, 2008 5:07 pm) ken75 (Jul 23, 2008 11:23 am)
#5 of 13 Re: Inadvertant contact with start botton [ken75] by busiris Jul 16, 2008 (2:06 pm)
Replying to: ken75 (Jul 16, 2008 6:02 am) There was a time when head lights could be left on for a full day and you would still be able to start your vehicle. Are batteries that poor or is the electrical load on the newer cars that much higher. I had a tough time believing that with only the ignition on, a battery could be sucked down in about 5 hours. Live and learn.         Sorry, but I have never seen any car able to start after the lights have been on for a full day. I would say that would definitely be an exception... Replies to this message: ken75 (Jul 16, 2008 6:32 pm) busiris (Jul 17, 2008 12:46 pm)
#6 of 13 Re: Inadvertant contact with start botton [busiris] by ken75 Jul 16, 2008 (6:32 pm)
Replying to: busiris (Jul 16, 2008 2:06 pm) Sears used to advertise the earlier Diehard batteries being in cars in International Falls with the lights on for extended times in below zero weather and the car would start. This was about 20 or 25 years ago and of course they could have been pulling everyone's leg but it made for a good commercial. Present day batteries with newer technologies I would expect to operate for more than 5 hours unless the drain was extremely high. What I am saying is that with just the ignition on and the only draw is electronic components and no heavy starting draw, a battery charge should last a little longer than that. If you are aware of what constitutes the heavy draw, please enlighten me as to the source. I'm not being a smart ass but I sure would like to know what pulls this kind of current. Thank you. Replies to this message: busiris (Jul 17, 2008 12:46 pm)
#7 of 13 Re: Inadvertant contact with start botton [ken75] by busiris Jul 17, 2008 (12:46 pm)
Replying to: ken75 (Jul 16, 2008 6:32 pm) As for the current draw, I can only guess...If you have the Bose stereo, it has a pretty big amp, which draws quite a bit of juice if the radio is on.   In regard to batteries, remember that all a car needs to sell is a functioning battery. It isn't unusual for a battery to expire around the time the warranty ends...Obviously aftermarket batteries would be more durable, as they live and die on their lifetime reputation...
#8 of 13 by ken75 Jul 17, 2008 (3:51 pm)
No Bose stereo in this car and no big amp. Stock radio that Nissan puts in it's Altimas and I use it very little. The car is a 2008 Altima 2.5 SL purchased in November of 2007 so unless the battery may have a shorted cell (questionable) I must assume it is functioning as it should. None the less, I think a trip to the dealer to check the ignition system may be in order just to satisfy my curiosity.   Thanks for the input and if I should learn something useful, I will pass it on. Replies to this message: busiris (Jul 17, 2008 4:39 pm)
#9 of 13 Re: [ken75] by busiris Jul 17, 2008 (4:39 pm)
Replying to: ken75 (Jul 17, 2008 3:51 pm) No Bose stereo in this car and no big amp. Stock radio that Nissan puts in it's Altimas and I use it very little. The car is a 2008 Altima 2.5 SL purchased in November of 2007 so unless the battery may have a shorted cell (questionable) I must assume it is functioning as it should. None the less, I think a trip to the dealer to check the ignition system may be in order just to satisfy my curiosity.    Thanks for the input and if I should learn something useful, I will pass it on.   I agree..weird.   Even a decent battery, even discharged at the rate you would expect with the ignition "on", should regenerate enough power to start the car after the ignition was turned "off" for a while....
#10 of 13 Re: Inadvertant contact with start botton [ken75] by jd10013 Jul 18, 2008 (5:07 pm)
Replying to: ken75 (Jul 16, 2008 6:02 am) There was no audio or visual signal to alert me to an ignition "on" situation so I may have to go back to the dealer to determine if a problem exists. This is something I will always be cognizant of in the future as I do not want to waste more time with a problem of my own (?) making.   if the ignition were on, it should have said so. around the outside of the button it should say.........Lock.........AC.........ON. whichever of those positions it was in should have been illuminated. My guess would be just a bad battery. As someone else said, they only need the car to start for you to drive it off the lot. on top of that, there's no telling how long the battery sat before it was put in your car. And I'd be willing to bet that batteries are something a car manufacture would gtry to save money on to keep costs down. Replies to this message: ken75 (Jul 23, 2008 11:23 am)
#11 of 13 Re: Inadvertant contact with start botton [jd10013] by ken75 Jul 23, 2008 (11:23 am)
Replying to: jd10013 (Jul 18, 2008 5:07 pm) You have brought something up I had not considered or did not understand what it meant. The area around the "push "button" did have "lock" illuminated but this disappeared every time I pushed the button and depressed the brake. A cursory look in the owners manual showed nothing about this. Looks like I am still on the low side of the learning curve and should spend some time learning and talking to other owners about these problems. Next time I see this I will know what to do. Thank you for the reply.
#13 of 13 Nissan Altima Starting Problems by earl15 Apr 30, 2009 (12:28 pm)
I have read several of these complaints and believe I know the underlying problem. I have checked all the way from my dealer to the national headquarters. Newer Nissan Altimas have a "safety" feature that if you park, turn off the engine and stay in your car the headlights will stay on (15 min, 30 min, longer depending on ambient light) if they are on the Auto setting. Supposedly, this is so that if someone is watching the car, they will think the engine is still on and you can escape easily. However, how safe is it if someone is watching, the car battery runs down and you can not even start the car to escape?   I have been told by the service department and confirmed by the national headquarters that there is no adjustment or setting to prevent this from happening. Watch out if you drive with the lights on auto, park the car, turn off the engine and wait several minutes to pick up your child from school. Your new Nissan Altima might not start when you get ready to go. Their only fix: use the manual switch to turn the lights on and off or open and CLOSE the door after you turn off the engine. If you open the door BEFORE you turn the engine off, the lights will stay on until the battery is completely drained!   I have another fix that I plan to use. I am trading my 2008 Nissan Altima and will NEVER by another Nissan product. If their engineers are this stupid, what else did they do that I have not found yet.

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