2003 NISSAN ALTIMA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 871 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (490 complaints · 56.3%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 41
  • Fires 13
  • Injuries 25
  • Deaths 2
Compare with 2002 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ENGINE appears in 490 of 871 owner complaints (56.3%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 490 complaints, 56.3% of reports ENGINE 490 · 56.3% · 6 crash reports 6 fire reports STRUCTURE: 109 complaints, 12.5% of reports STRUCTURE 109 · 12.5% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 64 complaints, 7.4% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 64 · 7.4% · 2 crash reports 2 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 38 complaints, 4.4% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 38 · 4.4% · 1 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 29 complaints, 3.3% of reports POWER TRAIN 29 · 3.3% · 5 crash reports AIR BAGS: 21 complaints, 2.4% of reports AIR BAGS 21 · 2.4% · 12 crash reports 1 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 21 complaints, 2.4% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 21 · 2.4% · 6 crash reports 2 fire reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 16 complaints, 1.8% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 16 · 1.8% · 2 crash reports 1 fire reports VISIBILITY: 10 complaints, 1.2% of reports VISIBILITY 10 · 1.2% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 325 complaints, 37.3% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 325 · 37.3% · 18 crash reports 5 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ENGINE 490 56.3% 6 crashes · 6 fires
STRUCTURE 109 12.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 64 7.4% 2 crashes · 2 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 38 4.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 29 3.3% 5 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 21 2.4% 12 crashes · 1 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 21 2.4% 6 crashes · 2 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 16 1.8% 2 crashes · 1 fires
VISIBILITY 10 1.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 325 37.3% 18 crashes · 5 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 2003. 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2003-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 2004-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2004-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2004-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2004-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2005-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2005-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 2005-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2006-Q1: 15 owner reports 15 2006-Q2: 20 owner reports 20 2006-Q3: 37 owner reports 37 2006-Q4: 19 owner reports 19 2007-Q1: 27 owner reports 27 2007-Q2: 23 owner reports 23 2007-Q3: 25 owner reports 25 2007-Q4: 21 owner reports 21 2008-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2008-Q2: 25 owner reports 25 2008-Q3: 35 owner reports 35 2008-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 2009-Q1: 21 owner reports 21 2009-Q2: 23 owner reports 23 2009-Q3: 25 owner reports 25 2009-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2010-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2010-Q2: 20 owner reports 20 2010-Q3: 26 owner reports 26 2010-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 2011-Q1: 15 owner reports 15 2011-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 2011-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2011-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2012-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2012-Q2: 14 owner reports 14 2012-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 2012-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 2013-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2013-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2013-Q3: 23 owner reports 23 2013-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2014-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2014-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2014-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 2014-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2015-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2015-Q2: 27 owner reports 27 2015-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2015-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 2016-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2016-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2016-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2016-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2017-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2017-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2017-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2018-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2018-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 2003 Apr 2022 Investigation RQ06001 ● Investigation RQ06001
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 3
2003-Q3 Owner reports 6
2003-Q4 Owner reports 16
2004-Q1 Owner reports 13
2004-Q2 Owner reports 8
2004-Q3 Owner reports 7
2004-Q4 Owner reports 4
2005-Q1 Owner reports 6
2005-Q2 Owner reports 11
2005-Q3 Owner reports 11
2005-Q4 Owner reports 12
2006-Q1 Owner reports 15
2006-Q2 Owner reports 20
2006-Q3 Owner reports 37
2006-Q4 Owner reports 19
2007-Q1 Owner reports 27
2007-Q2 Owner reports 23
2007-Q3 Owner reports 25
2007-Q4 Owner reports 21
2008-Q1 Owner reports 18
2008-Q2 Owner reports 25
2008-Q3 Owner reports 35
2008-Q4 Owner reports 16
2009-Q1 Owner reports 21
2009-Q2 Owner reports 23
2009-Q3 Owner reports 25
2009-Q4 Owner reports 11
2010-Q1 Owner reports 17
2010-Q2 Owner reports 20
2010-Q3 Owner reports 26
2010-Q4 Owner reports 16
2011-Q1 Owner reports 15
2011-Q2 Owner reports 17
2011-Q3 Owner reports 16
2011-Q4 Owner reports 9
2012-Q1 Owner reports 13
2012-Q2 Owner reports 14
2012-Q3 Owner reports 15
2012-Q4 Owner reports 16
2013-Q1 Owner reports 6
2013-Q2 Owner reports 11
2013-Q3 Owner reports 23
2013-Q4 Owner reports 8
2014-Q1 Owner reports 7
2014-Q2 Owner reports 8
2014-Q3 Owner reports 11
2014-Q4 Owner reports 11
2015-Q1 Owner reports 6
2015-Q2 Owner reports 27
2015-Q3 Owner reports 13
2015-Q4 Owner reports 13
2016-Q1 Owner reports 8
2016-Q2 Owner reports 6
2016-Q3 Owner reports 4
2016-Q4 Owner reports 12
2017-Q1 Owner reports 6
2017-Q2 Owner reports 3
2017-Q3 Owner reports 7
2017-Q4 Owner reports 4
2018-Q1 Owner reports 4
2018-Q3 Owner reports 3
2018-Q4 Owner reports 3
2019-Q2 Owner reports 2
2020-Q1 Owner reports 2
2020-Q2 Owner reports 1
2020-Q3 Owner reports 2
2020-Q4 Owner reports 1
2021-Q1 Owner reports 1
2021-Q3 Owner reports 1
2021-Q4 Owner reports 1
2022-Q1 Owner reports 2
2022-Q2 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 RQ06001
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 871 complaints · page 1 of 35

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources