Nissan Altima Forum banner

Car sometimes won't accelerate, but will hold current speed when I try to accelerate.

2K views 7 replies 3 participants last post by  markismail 
#1 ·
I have a 2013 Nissan Altima. It has about 85k miles on it. Recently I've noticed that my car will not accelerate sometimes. It is a hard issue to duplicate, as for now it has happened very intermittently, but it definitely has occurred enough times to not be a fluke. What will happen is when I'm already driving and go to press the acceleration the car won't get any gas. However, it will maintain whatever speed I'm currently going. I also noticed once my cruise "set" light was blinking. So if I'm going 40 mph cruising and go to give the car some gas, my speed won't increase, but I will maintain that 40 mph. Almost like the acceleration is acting as a cruise control setting.

I've seen some other Altima owners speak on a similar issue but their car would do sudden jerks after not accelerating. Mine does not.

I am hoping beyond hope that this isn't an transmission issue, but ultimately it is going to be whatever it is. Anyone have any ideas of what might be going on with my car?
 
#2 ·
Chances are you just have a bad brake pedal switch. The TCM monitors the brake lamps and won't let the car accelerate if they're lit. The flashing cruise indicator can also be from a bad switch, a signal conflict between the two pedal switches (cruise and lamps) will cause the ECM to flag a problem.
 
#3 ·
Well, I hope you're right! Because that looks like a pretty easy fix. But do you think it is that even tho I have never had any of the other issues that are related to a bad break pedal switch, like my car not shifting out of park or my lights staying on?
 
#4 ·
Not shifting out of P only happens if the switch is failing to turn on and not sticking on, and the flashy CC icon makes the switch a good bet. It's not like it's a big investment, they're like $15 at Rock Auto and no tools needed. So you're not exactly out a fortune if it turns out to be something else. If you still get a flashy CC icon after replacing it, then the cruise switch was the culprit and not the brake (also not a major investment).
;)
 
#5 ·
Yeah, I did some more looking around, and learned about the cruise switch as well, and it does seem likely that it is one of those. Today I had my issue happen, and I sat on the gas for a good while, maybe 5 seconds, and it held the speed as normal. Then, with your post in mind, I tapped the break and then the car began to accelerate. So it does seem like the problem is stemming from one of those break switches.
 
#6 ·
Just an update in case anyone down the line finds this post -- I replaced the cruise control switch and cleaned the brake light switch (I was sent the wrong part, but saw people had success with cleaning the part and mine had some crud in it), and my issue seems to have vanished. Not ready to call it yet, but so far looks like one of these two very cheap repairs/replacements solved the issue.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I have a 2013 Nissan Altima. It has about 85k miles on it. Recently I've noticed that my car will not accelerate sometimes. It is a hard issue to duplicate, as for now it has happened very intermittently, but it definitely has occurred enough times to not be a fluke. What will happen is when I'm already driving and go to press the acceleration the car won't get any gas. However, it will maintain whatever speed I'm currently going. I also noticed once my cruise "set" light was blinking. So if I'm going 40 mph cruising and go to give the car some gas, my speed won't increase, but I will maintain that 40 mph. Almost like the acceleration is acting as a cruise control setting. Nox Vidmate VLC

I've seen some other Altima owners speak on a similar issue but their car would do sudden jerks after not accelerating. Mine does not.

I am hoping beyond hope that this isn't an transmission issue, but ultimately it is going to be whatever it is. Anyone have any ideas of what might be going on with my car?
The TCM monitors the brake lamps and won't let the car accelerate if they're lit.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top