OwnerReports
Nissan Altima / 2020

2020 Nissan Altima problems

Owners have filed 262 complaints about the 2020 Nissan Altima with NHTSA. Electrical system accounts for 16% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of forward collision avoidance at 12.6%.

Complaints262
Crashes28
Fires8
Injuries17
Deaths1

What owners report breaking

Electrical system 16.0% · 42
Unknown or other 13.4% · 35
Forward collision avoidance 12.6% · 33
Engine 12.6% · 33
Power train 6.5% · 17
Service brakes 6.5% · 17
Steering 5.0% · 13
Visibility/wiper 3.8% · 10
Severity

Of those complaints, 28 describe a crash, 8 describe a fire, 17 report an injury and 1 report a death.

Reading the numbers

Across the 29 model years of the Nissan Altima in this data, 2020 sits 19th by complaint volume. 2013 draws the most.

Filings are rising — 134 in the last three years against 98 in the three before. For a vehicle this age that usually points to a wear-related failure owners are hitting now.

The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 14,500 miles.

In owners' own words

The brake switch keeps coming loose making it difficult to start the car when pressing the brake down. When the switch is not secure, the electrical connection is lost and it is very hard to press the brake down. What if this happens in the middle of traffic? The issue also causes the brake lights to remain on and not turn off. This has to be a faulty part. My car is a 2020 and the it's too soon for wear and tear. Electrical system
Crash Malfunction is randomly coming on while driving. It comes on even when there is NO vehicle in front of you. It comes on at random speeds from 2 to 40 MPH. I feel that if there was a warning, it may not come on. Problem has been going Vehicle is being inspected by Nissan today however the technician cannot duplicate the issue since it is random. It has come on 12 times in the past 15 days. Electrical system
Vehicle caught on fire while inside home @ 4:00am cst. Fire department and police department were at the scene as well. Fire department was forced to pry open the trunk to stop fire from spreading. Police gave police report at the scene due to the incident. State Farm is involved as well as the investigation team currently. State Farm insurance informed me to provide this information. Electrical system

Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.

Safety recalls

Checking NHTSA for open recalls…

Other Nissan Altima years

2015 1,203 complaints · 22.3% exterior lighting 2016 790 complaints · 29.7% power train 2017 521 complaints · 25.5% power train 2018 322 complaints · 14.9% service brakes 2019 355 complaints · 16.3% electrical system 2021 120 complaints · 21.7% forward collision avoidance

Compare all 29 model years →