2020 Nissan ALTIMA

Problems, Recalls & Reliability Report

Avoid This Year

Quick Summary

The 2020 Nissan ALTIMA has 277 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — that's 3.5x the segment average of 80. The most common issue is driver assist/cameras problems (16% of all complaints), specifically: my backup camera seems to be displaying the same issues that ended up in the 2019 nissan altima being recalled. it was working correctly. now, whenever i shift into reverse, it shows a blank screen only for the backup camera. all my other cameras are operating fine. the rear sonar still works, but t. ⚠️ 9 fire reports filed.

9 fire reports 16 crash reports 8 injuries

277

Total Complaints

Recalls Issued

—/5

Safety Stars

3.5x

vs Segment Avg

Known Problems

DRIVER ASSIST/CAMERAS

44 complaints

16%

• MY BACKUP CAMERA SEEMS TO BE DISPLAYING THE SAME ISSUES THAT ENDED UP IN THE 2019 NISSAN ALTIMA BEING RECALLED. IT WAS WORKING CORRECTLY. NOW, WHENEVER I SHIFT INTO REVERSE, IT SHOWS A BLANK SCREEN ONLY FOR THE BACKUP CAMERA. ALL MY OTHER CAMERAS ARE OPERATING FINE. THE REAR SONAR STILL WORKS, BUT T
• MY BACKUP CAMERA SEEMS TO BE DISPLAYING THE SAME ISSUES THAT ENDED UP IN THE 2019 NISSAN ALTIMA BEING RECALLED. IT WAS WORKING CORRECTLY. NOW, WHENEVER I SHIFT INTO REVERSE, IT SHOWS A BLANK SCREEN ONLY FOR THE BACKUP CAMERA. ALL MY OTHER CAMERAS ARE OPERATING FINE. THE REAR SONAR STILL WORKS, BUT T
• THE COLLISION LIGHTS KEEP COMING ON I HAVE TAKEN THIS CAR TO NISSAN NOW ABOUR 4/5 TIMES AND HAVE TO TAKE IT AGAIN AS THE PROBLEM IS NEVER RESOLVED. I WROTE TO CORPORATE AND WAS BRUSHED OFF. ITS A SAFETY ISSUE NOW BECAUSE IF IM DRIVING THE VEHICLE IT CAN ABRUPTLY STOP AND CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. I FEAR DR

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 8 crashes

“MY BACKUP CAMERA SEEMS TO BE DISPLAYING THE SAME ISSUES THAT ENDED UP IN THE 2019 NISSAN ALTIMA BEING RECALLED. IT WAS WORKING CORRECTLY. NOW, WHENEVER I SHIFT INTO REVERSE, IT SHOWS A BLANK SCREEN ONLY FOR THE BACKUP CAMERA. ALL MY OTHER CAMERAS ARE OPERATING FINE. THE REAR SONAR STILL WORKS, BUT T”

— NHTSA complaint filing

ELECTRICAL

41 complaints

15%

• TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING IN REVERSE THE AUTOMATIC ELECTRONIC BRAKING ACTIVATED ALTHOUGH NO OBJECTS WERE PRESENT BEHIND THE VEHICLE. ADDITIONALLY, WHILE SWITCHING TO THE REVERSE THE MESSAGE INDICATING AN OBJECT WAS BEHIND THE VEHICLE WAS DISPLAY
• BLIND SIDE WARNING NOT WORKING - RADAR NOT AVAILABLE DUE TO SIDE OBSTRUCTION. SEVERAL TIMES THE INSTRUMENT PANEL HAS MALFUNCTION - NISSAN CLAIMS CAR MUST BE SPOTLESS OR IT WON'T FUNCTION PROPERLY. I HAVE NEVER HAD SUCH ISSUES WITH OTHER MAKES. THE EBS WARNING LIGHTS COME ON MOST OF THE TIME WHEN
• CAR SLAMMING ON BRAKES WHEN NO OTHER VEHICLE IS AROUND GAS GUAGE START TO READ WRONG

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 6 fire reports

“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING IN REVERSE THE AUTOMATIC ELECTRONIC BRAKING ACTIVATED ALTHOUGH NO OBJECTS WERE PRESENT BEHIND THE VEHICLE. ADDITIONALLY, WHILE SWITCHING TO THE REVERSE THE MESSAGE INDICATING AN OBJECT WAS BEHIND THE VEHICLE WAS DISPLAY”

— NHTSA complaint filing

ENGINE

38 complaints

14%

• THE ENGINE LIGHT CONSTANTLY COMES ON. HAVE HAD THE SOLENOID VALVE TIMING CONTROL REPLACES TWICE AND ENGINE LIGHT BACK ON FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. I HAVE HAD MY CAR FOR 6 MONTHS AND HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP FREQUENTLY.
• DURING COLD TEMPERATURES THE CAR ACCELERATES POORLY, ENGINE RPM IS UNUSUAL. AT LEAST ONE INSTANCE OF THE ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATES WITH A "SERVICE NOW" MESSAGE DISPLAYED. IN ALL CASES THE VEHICLE ENGINE WAS RUNNING, IN (SLOW) MOTION, AND ON A CITY STREET AND ONE INCIDENT ON A HIGHWAY GOING
• PARKED THE CAR FOR ROUGHLY 10 MINUTES. CAME BACK AND STARTED CAR WITH ALL LIGHTS ON DASH ILLUMINATED. HARD TO DRIVE, HARD TO STEER AND COULD NOT TELL HOW FAST VEHICLE WAS MOVING AS SPEEDOMETER DIDN'T WORK. THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE, HAD IT TAKEN TO NISSAN DEALER. ADVISED THAT THEY COULDN'T DUPLICATE

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 2 fire reports💥 1 crashes

“THE ENGINE LIGHT CONSTANTLY COMES ON. HAVE HAD THE SOLENOID VALVE TIMING CONTROL REPLACES TWICE AND ENGINE LIGHT BACK ON FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. I HAVE HAD MY CAR FOR 6 MONTHS AND HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP FREQUENTLY.”

— NHTSA complaint filing

OTHER

35 complaints

13%

• I JUST PURCHASE THIS VEHICLE THROUGH NISSAN TWO MONTHS AGO AND IT ONLY HAS 2000 MILES ON IT. SINCE I HAD THE CAR MY CAR MAKES LIKE A CLICKING POPPING NOISE WHEN I TURN MY WHEEL WHILE HITTING BUMPS. SO I LOOKED AT REVIEWS AND PEOPLE HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT IT WITH THE 2019 NISSAN ALTIMA AND THERE HAPPE
• I TOOK POSSESSION OF MY CAR ON 1/21/2020. THE FIRST TIME I USED THE NAVIGATION, ON 2/3/2020 I MISSED A DENTIST'S APPOINTMENT I WAS GOING TO FOR THE FIRST TIME.I ENTERED THE TOWN THEN THE BUILDING NUMBER AND STREET NAME. THE DIRECTIONS SENT ME IN A COMPLETELY OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS. ON 2/25/2020 I WAS D
• THE VEHICLE'S SPEEDOMETER WILL "TWITCH" AT VARIED SPEEDS LIKE THERE IS AN ELECTRICAL "PULSE" GOING THROUGH THE SPEEDOMETER NEEDLE. I HAD THE CAR IN THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT OF BUTLER NISSAN IN MACON, GEORGIA; THE SERVICE WRITE ADVISED ME THAT THE MECHANIC DID SEE THE ISSUE AS I DESCRIBED, AND STATED T

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 1 fire reports💥 1 crashes

“I JUST PURCHASE THIS VEHICLE THROUGH NISSAN TWO MONTHS AGO AND IT ONLY HAS 2000 MILES ON IT. SINCE I HAD THE CAR MY CAR MAKES LIKE A CLICKING POPPING NOISE WHEN I TURN MY WHEEL WHILE HITTING BUMPS. SO I LOOKED AT REVIEWS AND PEOPLE HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT IT WITH THE 2019 NISSAN ALTIMA AND THERE HAPPE”

— NHTSA complaint filing

STEERING

20 complaints

• I JUST PURCHASE THIS VEHICLE THROUGH NISSAN TWO MONTHS AGO AND IT ONLY HAS 2000 MILES ON IT. SINCE I HAD THE CAR MY CAR MAKES LIKE A CLICKING POPPING NOISE WHEN I TURN MY WHEEL WHILE HITTING BUMPS. SO I LOOKED AT REVIEWS AND PEOPLE HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT IT WITH THE 2019 NISSAN ALTIMA AND THERE HAPPE
• DURING A SNOW STORM A COUPLE WEEKS AGO IN COLORADO MY 2020 NISSAN ALTIMA'S FORWARD COLLISION ADAS KICKED IN LOCKING UP MY BREAKS CAUSING ME TO SLIDE INTO A CURB AND NEARLY REAR END ANOTHER VEHICLE ALSO CAUSING ALIGNMENT ISSUE'S AND PROBLEMS WITH THE TRACTION SYSTEM. DUE TO LOCKING THE BRAKES THIS AC
• AS A TRUE AND FAITHFUL CUSTOMER OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS, I'M FINALLY THROWING IN THE TOWEL IN REGARDS TO MY RECENT 2020 NISSAN ALTIMA SR. WITH ONLY 7500 PRECIOUS MILES, THIS CAR HAS BEEN TO THE DEALERSHIP OVER FIVE TIMES NOW, WITHIN A SIX MONTH PERIOD. CONSTANT AND REOCCURRING ISSUE'S PERTAINING TO

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 3 crashes

— NHTSA complaint filing

Estimated Repair Costs

DRIVER ASSIST/CAMERAS(~50K mi)

$500

ELECTRICAL(~50K mi)

$500

ENGINE(~50K mi)

$500

OTHER(~50K mi)

$500

STEERING(~50K mi)

$500

Estimates based on average reported repair costs. Actual costs vary by location, shop, and severity.

🔍 Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist

Based on 277 owner complaints for this specific year, here's what to check or ask about:

☐
DRIVER ASSIST/CAMERAS: MY BACKUP CAMERA SEEMS TO BE DISPLAYING THE SAME ISSUES THAT ENDED UP IN THE 2019 NISSAN ALTIMA BEING RECALLED. IT WAS WORKING CORRECTLY. NOW, WHENEVER I SHIFT INTO REVERSE, IT SHOWS A BLANK SCREEN ONLY FOR THE BACKUP CAMERA. ALL MY OTHER CAMERAS ARE OPERATING FINE. THE REAR SONAR STILL WORKS, BUT T
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
ELECTRICAL: TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING IN REVERSE THE AUTOMATIC ELECTRONIC BRAKING ACTIVATED ALTHOUGH NO OBJECTS WERE PRESENT BEHIND THE VEHICLE. ADDITIONALLY, WHILE SWITCHING TO THE REVERSE THE MESSAGE INDICATING AN OBJECT WAS BEHIND THE VEHICLE WAS DISPLAY
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
ENGINE: THE ENGINE LIGHT CONSTANTLY COMES ON. HAVE HAD THE SOLENOID VALVE TIMING CONTROL REPLACES TWICE AND ENGINE LIGHT BACK ON FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. I HAVE HAD MY CAR FOR 6 MONTHS AND HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP FREQUENTLY.
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
OTHER: I JUST PURCHASE THIS VEHICLE THROUGH NISSAN TWO MONTHS AGO AND IT ONLY HAS 2000 MILES ON IT. SINCE I HAD THE CAR MY CAR MAKES LIKE A CLICKING POPPING NOISE WHEN I TURN MY WHEEL WHILE HITTING BUMPS. SO I LOOKED AT REVIEWS AND PEOPLE HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT IT WITH THE 2019 NISSAN ALTIMA AND THERE HAPPE
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
General: Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic ($100-$200)