Poll of the Day > Something is wrong with my car, had to bum a ride to work

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've got a 2013 Altima with 72K miles and have had no issues with it so far. About a month ago a coworker said the idling was a little rough, but it didn't feel too serious to me. I've had to replace a coil pack on my previous car and THAT was a rough idle when it broke.

Anyway, I go to my car to leave for work and I turn it on and its idling with no issue. Everything normal.

I shift into reverse and it just jerks back a second and dies. All the interior lights are on, but the engine is off. I try again, same thing. I try to put it in drive and go forward, it does the same thing. Each time it does this the malfunction indicator light and battery light start blinking. Also the brake light is lit up. Surely its not the battery because the car stars and idles just fine.

I had to call a friend to come get me to take me to work after that.

Anybody know what the issue might be? I hope I'm not looking at like a grand here because I can't afford it.

I have a friend coming over this evening with a little diagnostic tool to see if it can give us a picture of what the issue might be.