Questions and Answers
Altima Is Eating Starters
Q. I own a 1996 Nissan Altima with an automatic transmission and about 80,0000 miles on it. A year ago I had problems with it not starting, I took it to a repair shop and they told me it was the starter, so I had it replaced. This year I am having the same problem again.
I took it back to the repair shop and this time they told me that they would not be able to pinpoint the problem unless the car wouldn't start for them. Which was not done the previous time, so I don't know why they told me it was the starter. I left it at the shop for a week and they could not get it to not start, so no repairs were done.
I took it to a Nissan dealership to see if they could locate the problem and they did a battery and starter check and found that it was the starter. I returned to the repair shop and had them replace the starter because it was under warranty and was free of charge. The car still will not start sometimes. When the car will not start it has been driven for a while and has been stop and started again.
It happens in the summer months when the temperatures are high in the 90's-100's. Jump starting the car does not work. There is one small clicking noise, but no other sound. The radio and lights come on. If you let the car sit awhile and cool off it will then start. If you could please give me some advice on this problem and a starting point to get it fixed I would greatly appreciate it because I'm tired of being stranded.
Thank You for your time.
JocelynA. Well gee whiz Jocelyn, I don't blame the starter. If it's 90° to 100° out I wouldn't want to start either.
But seriously, it sounds to me like you're getting poor quality rebuilt starters from this place. I know the starter from Nissan is a bit pricey, about $270.58, but you get a new starter and the quality is unquestioned. So that may be the way to go here. Have Nissan again confirm it is the starter, have them replace it with a Nissan starter and go back to the first place for a refund.
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