The Nissan Altima 2.5 is a four-door sedan. If you are having problems with your Nissan Altima 2.5 there are a few things that you can do before you take it to a Nissan dealership for repair. Common problems occur with the fuel, battery, and the cooling system. Checking these aspects of the car is not invasive and can be done by anybody with minimal knowledge of how the car works.
Turn the key in the Altima's ignition to see if the instrument panel will turn on. If the instrument panel does turn on, check over the fuel level in the gas tank. If you don't have enough fuel to start the Altima fill it up. If the instrument panel does not come on, you have a problem with your battery.
Open the hood from the hood latch on the grill. Open the hood and then locate the battery next to the engine block. Check over the connections from the battery cables to the battery terminals on the battery. Make sure that the connections are tight so the electricity can flow to the car. Use channel locks to tighten the connections.
Test the battery if the car will not restart after the connections have been tightened. Use a voltmeter to test the 12-volt battery. If you are getting a reading below 11 volts, use a battery charger to charge the battery.
Connect the positive and negative leads from the battery charger to the battery. Plug the battery charger into an electrical outlet and allow the charger to charge your battery overnight. Try to start the car the next morning. If the car won't start, have the battery replaced.
Look over the cooling system if your Altima is overheating. The cooling system is on the left side of the engine block. A small tank holds the coolant. Check the coolant tank to make sure there is enough coolant in the system. Pour 50/50 coolant into the tank until it has reached the fill line to eliminate overheating.
