2004 Nissan Altima problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine And Engine Cooling (65) · Structure:body (33) · Engine (24)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Nissan Altima model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
225 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (0)
No recalls on record for this model year (campaigns announced since 2010).
Service bulletins (91)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure:body 2026-04-13 · NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certification label and vin plate replacement service information because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “certification label” or “vin plate/label” may be needed. hint: certification label = fmvss (federal motor vehicle safety standards) label. these items may be availabl
Structure:body 2026-04-13 · NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certification label and vin plate replacement service information because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “certification label” or “vin plate/label” may be needed. hint: certification label = fmvss (federal motor vehicle safety standards) label. these items may be availabl
Electrical System 2024-05-21 · NTB13-107G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
vehicle key not detected / authenticated, engine will not start this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
Visibility/Wiper 2024-04-30 · NTB17-019H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
window glass warranty information this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
Visibility/Wiper 2024-04-30 · NTB13-028I · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
removing foreign material from the window glass this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
Visibility/Wiper 2024-04-30 · NTB09-081K · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
windshield cracking this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
Showing the 6 most recent of 91 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2023-09-07 · Fuel/Propulsion System“the car has a fuel problem and crankshaft position sensor issue causing the car to die and also not start up normal idling. when i do get it to start up it idles very groggy. …”
2023-06-01 · Engine“the crankshaft position sensor (cps) was not responsive when the repair shop was testing the vehicle because of the "service engine soon" light came on. after a short search online they 1.) had no signal to the cps from the pcm 2.) that there was also a voluntary recall by nissan for this issue covering this make an model. i called nissan and told…”
2023-01-02 · Wheels“this is the second time that i had to replace the transmission on this car then the axle twice and the brakes then etc…”
2019-08-13 · Structure:body · 136,200 mi“the frame of the vehicle is rusting away. there is a hole in the floor board on passenger side, from underneath the vehicle from rust. you can feel around the frame of the car and chunks of metal fall off . this was noticed during maintenance on the vehicle . car was stationary , i had noticed that i was getting an extreme amount of dust inside th…”
2018-06-04 · Air Bags · 120,000 mi · 💥 crash“my vehicle was in a front collision at 35mph. the driver was the only occupant in the vehicle at the time of the accident. the passenger airbag deployed there was no one sitting in that seat. the driver airbag did not deploy.…”
2018-04-17 · Unknown Or Other“the sound packaging was peeling ; yet truly the floor boards on driverside and front pasenger have completely rusted off!! so dangerous! and i have horrible allergies and the carpet is full of dust and mildew.…”
2018-04-10 · Unknown Or Other · 240,600 mi · 💥 crash“car was stalling 2 days ago shut it off and drove away just fine not even 4 hours later my fiance was driving the car home he came up around a hill /bend on a city street the car locked up on him along with the oiil brake and battery light the breaks wouldn't do anything car wouldn't stop he ended up going head on into a tree in the neighbors yard.…”
2018-01-24 · Engine · 200,000 mi“engine stalls during driving. this happens almost everyday. cam shaft sensor replaced several times.…”
2017-09-11 · Engine · 214,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2004 nissan altima. while attempting to start the vehicle, it failed to operate. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine control module burned too much fuel to the catalytic converter and need to be replaced. the catalytic converter was replaced; however, the failure recurred tw…”
2017-08-29 · Engine · 192,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2004 nissan altima. while attempting to start the vehicle, the extended crank failed to spark the crank sensor. while the gear shifter was placed in drive, the vehicle began to shake and the engine stalled and the check engine warning indicator illuminated. the contact called middletown nissan at 860-632-6550 (located at 1153…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.