2009 NISSAN ALTIMA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 1,595 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: STEERING (729 complaints · 45.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 37
  • Fires 8
  • Injuries 20
  • Deaths 2
Compare with 2008 →
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 STEERING appears in 729 of 1,595 owner complaints (45.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. STEERING: 729 complaints, 45.7% of reports STEERING 729 · 45.7% · 2 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 284 complaints, 17.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 284 · 17.8% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 75 complaints, 4.7% of reports POWER TRAIN 75 · 4.7% · 2 crash reports STRUCTURE: 69 complaints, 4.3% of reports STRUCTURE 69 · 4.3% · 2 crash reports 1 fire reports AIR BAGS: 66 complaints, 4.1% of reports AIR BAGS 66 · 4.1% · 8 crash reports ENGINE: 59 complaints, 3.7% of reports ENGINE 59 · 3.7% · 1 crash reports 2 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 36 complaints, 2.3% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 36 · 2.3% · 11 crash reports VISIBILITY: 26 complaints, 1.6% of reports VISIBILITY 26 · 1.6% · 2 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 24 complaints, 1.5% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 24 · 1.5% · 5 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 251 complaints, 15.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 251 · 15.7% · 7 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)
STEERING 729 45.7% 2 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 284 17.8% 1 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 75 4.7% 2 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 69 4.3% 2 crashes · 1 fires
AIR BAGS 66 4.1% 8 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 59 3.7% 1 crashes · 2 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 36 2.3% 11 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 26 1.6% 2 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 24 1.5% 5 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 251 15.7% 7 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 Oct 2008. 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2009-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2009-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2010-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2010-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2010-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2010-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2011-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2011-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2011-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2011-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2012-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2012-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2012-Q4: 52 owner reports 52 2013-Q1: 169 owner reports 169 2013-Q2: 26 owner reports 26 2013-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2013-Q4: 18 owner reports 18 2014-Q1: 45 owner reports 45 2014-Q2: 19 owner reports 19 2014-Q3: 31 owner reports 31 2014-Q4: 38 owner reports 38 2015-Q1: 52 owner reports 52 2015-Q2: 56 owner reports 56 2015-Q3: 43 owner reports 43 2015-Q4: 115 owner reports 115 2016-Q1: 97 owner reports 97 2016-Q2: 89 owner reports 89 2016-Q3: 86 owner reports 86 2016-Q4: 144 owner reports 144 2017-Q1: 98 owner reports 98 2017-Q2: 25 owner reports 25 2017-Q3: 23 owner reports 23 2017-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 2018-Q1: 21 owner reports 21 2018-Q2: 14 owner reports 14 2018-Q3: 17 owner reports 17 2018-Q4: 15 owner reports 15 2019-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2019-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 2019-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2019-Q4: 19 owner reports 19 2020-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2020-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2020-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 2020-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2021-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2021-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2021-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2021-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2022-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2022-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2023-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2023-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2023-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2024-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2025-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 2008 Jan 2026 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q1 Owner reports 6
2009-Q2 Owner reports 2
2009-Q3 Owner reports 4
2009-Q4 Owner reports 4
2010-Q1 Owner reports 18
2010-Q2 Owner reports 3
2010-Q3 Owner reports 4
2010-Q4 Owner reports 6
2011-Q1 Owner reports 6
2011-Q2 Owner reports 5
2011-Q3 Owner reports 7
2011-Q4 Owner reports 7
2012-Q1 Owner reports 8
2012-Q2 Owner reports 3
2012-Q3 Owner reports 7
2012-Q4 Owner reports 52
2013-Q1 Owner reports 169
2013-Q2 Owner reports 26
2013-Q3 Owner reports 13
2013-Q4 Owner reports 18
2014-Q1 Owner reports 45
2014-Q2 Owner reports 19
2014-Q3 Owner reports 31
2014-Q4 Owner reports 38
2015-Q1 Owner reports 52
2015-Q2 Owner reports 56
2015-Q3 Owner reports 43
2015-Q4 Owner reports 115
2016-Q1 Owner reports 97
2016-Q2 Owner reports 89
2016-Q3 Owner reports 86
2016-Q4 Owner reports 144
2017-Q1 Owner reports 98
2017-Q2 Owner reports 25
2017-Q3 Owner reports 23
2017-Q4 Owner reports 16
2018-Q1 Owner reports 21
2018-Q2 Owner reports 14
2018-Q3 Owner reports 17
2018-Q4 Owner reports 15
2019-Q1 Owner reports 10
2019-Q2 Owner reports 17
2019-Q3 Owner reports 16
2019-Q4 Owner reports 19
2020-Q1 Owner reports 10
2020-Q2 Owner reports 4
2020-Q3 Owner reports 15
2020-Q4 Owner reports 14
2021-Q1 Owner reports 14
2021-Q2 Owner reports 5
2021-Q3 Owner reports 5
2021-Q4 Owner reports 7
2022-Q1 Owner reports 12
2022-Q2 Owner reports 2
2022-Q3 Owner reports 1
2022-Q4 Owner reports 6
2023-Q1 Owner reports 4
2023-Q2 Owner reports 4
2023-Q4 Owner reports 5
2024-Q1 Owner reports 1
2024-Q2 Owner reports 1
2024-Q3 Owner reports 2
2024-Q4 Owner reports 5
2025-Q1 Owner reports 1
2025-Q2 Owner reports 1
2026-Q1 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
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 1,595 complaints · page 1 of 64

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