2002 Nissan Altima spontaneously shut off!!?

Question

My husband was driving down the road the other day and his car spontaneously shut off!! He was able to pull off to the side of the road but It wouldn't start back up. We left it there for a couple hours when we went back it started up and he was able to drive it just a few hundred feet before it shut off again. Now when ever he does get it started, when he presses the gas it shuts off. But the last few times he wasn't even able to get it started. I thought maybe it could be the fuel pump? Does anyone know what this could be? We just moved to the Daytona area and don't know of any shops to take it to yet so we wanted to see if we could at least diagnose the problem ourselves. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

nissan has a problem with the distribors going out and it will run fine cool or for about 10 mins and then miss fire and then die

when the car stops running again sheck for spark it is very easy

put a s***w driver in one of the plug wires ends  and spin the motor over with the s***w driver close to a ground

if it will not fire there is your problem

i have seen this alot here in the bayou state

hope this helps  

Answer 2

This is most likely the fuel pump or the fuel pump relay.

Answer 3

I am not sure this will help but I had a similar problem with a car shutting down on the highway and spent a lot of money at garages trying to get someone to fix it.  It turns out it was a wire that connected to the postive cable that had broken.  I attached a new connector and tightened it back to the positive terminal and I have not had a problem since.  It is a long shot but if your battery is not "tied down" tightly then the wire will break.  My radio would kick out right before it would die.  Good luck I know how scary things can get.  

Answer 4

Check the fuel pressure that will rule out that system or confirm that is where your problem is...another problem spot in those vehicles is the mass air flow sensor...the latter requires special knowledge and equipment to test...there are to many things to list that can casue your car to shut down...it my be worth taking it to a reputable shop and having them diagnose and fix your problem...Good Luck

Answer 5

is it over heating? perhaps your gage could be bad. my brothers ford does that some times. or it could be the fuel pump. idk where it is on nissan's but in fords it's in the trunk. to the left or right side of the inside behind that carpet covered cardboard. just push the button all the way down once.

Answer 6

Nissan has a recall on some 2002-04 model vehicles fitted with the SR25 4-cylinder engine for faulty Crankshaft Position Sensors which can cause exactly the problems you are experiencing.  I just had the recall service performed on my 2003 Sentra SE-R Spec V which has the same motor as your Altima.

To find out if your car qualifies call your local Nissan dealer and give them the VIN number of your car.  They can look it up, see if your car is part of the recall and find out of the service was already performed.  If your car is elligable and if the recalled part is causing the vehicle to stall (it is) then they will cover towing as well as the repair.

Answer 7

there is a fuel re-set button on most cars now. It's found in different locations on different cars. The usual locations are inside the glove box, under the dash below the glove box, or on the kick panel usually on the passenger side. A short in the wiring would cause this problem.