Problems owners report
Complaints filed with NHTSA about the 2020 Nissan Altima, by the system named in each complaint. One complaint can name several.
- Electrical system43
- Unknown or other35
- Engine34
- Forward collision avoidance28
- Service brakes17
- Power train17
- Steering13
- Visibility/wiper10
- Air bags8
- Fuel/propulsion system7
NHTSA ODI complaints (public domain) · updated 23 Oct 2026 · 13 injuries and 1 deaths reported
Compared with other years
NHTSA ODI complaints by model year
Fatal crashes in the US
From 2020 to 2023, 185 2020 Altima vehicles were involved in crashes on US public roads in which someone died; 98 people died inside them, and 10 of the vehicles rolled over. This is a count, not a crash rate: it grows with the number of cars on the road.
NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), crash years 2020–2023 (public domain)
New York safety inspections
At its first New York inspection the 2020 Nissan Altima failed the safety check 1.70% of the time — 44% more often than the average 2020 passenger car (1.18%). Median odometer at inspection: 36,888 miles.
NY DMV Vehicle Inspections (vezn-fmmk), initial inspections since Aug 2021 · how we count
Crash-test ratings
NHTSA 5-star results for 2 variants; 2 of 2 rated variants score five stars overall. Rollover risk is the estimated chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.
| Variant | Overall | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 Nissan Altima 4 DR AWD | ★★★★★ | 9.2 % |
| 2020 Nissan Altima 4 DR FWD | ★★★★★ | 9.2 % |
- Electronic stability control
- Standard
- Forward collision warning
- Standard
- Lane departure warning
- Optional
- Best overall rating
- 5 / 5
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program (5-Star Safety Ratings), api.nhtsa.gov · US federal work, public domain
Fuel consumption
Official Canadian test results for 2 variants: combined 8.0–8.1 L/100 km (about 29 mpg US), CO₂ 187–191 g/km.
| Variant | City | Highway | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altima AWD · Mid-size · Regular gasoline | 9.0 | 6.8 | 8.0 |
| Altima AWD SR/Platinum · Mid-size · Regular gasoline | 9.1 | 7.0 | 8.1 |
Litres per 100 km. Natural Resources Canada, Fuel consumption ratings (open.canada.ca) · Open Government Licence – Canada
Recalls in Canada
3 Transport Canada recalls for the 2020 Nissan Altima.
| 2023504 11 Sept 2023 | Visual System Issue: On certain vehicles, the rearview camera wiring harness could be damaged by movement and vibrations. If this happens, the rearview camera image may not… |
| 2021140 12 Mar 2021 | Tires Issue: Certain vehicles were built with tires that may have been cured too long. As a result, the sidewall could crack or the tread and belts could separate. … |
| 2021117 5 Mar 2021 | Steering Issue: On certain vehicles, the steering tie rod nut may not have been properly tightened. As a result, the tie rod could become loose and separate from the s… |
Transport Canada Vehicle Recalls Database · Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada
Recalls
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Rogue, 2019-2020 Altima, 2019-2022 Infiniti QX50, and 2022 Infiniti QX55 vehicles equipped with 3-cylinder 1.5L or 4-cylinder 2.0L variable compression turbo (VC-Turbo) engines. The engine bearings may have manufacturing defects that can lead to engine failure.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Altima and 2020-2021 Sentra vehicles. Damage to the camera harness can cause distortion or loss of the rearview camera display image. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Altima and 2018-2021 Titan vehicles equipped with Continental tires. On the affected vehicles, it is possible that one or more tires were cured for too long during tire production.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Nissan Altima vehicles. The tie rod ball joint fastener was not tightened properly, which could result in the tie rod ball joint detaching from the steering knuckle.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020 Altima S grade vehicles equipped with Continental ProContact TX tires, size 215/60 R16 H, with TIN date code 3320 and Mold ID S-419149. The tires may have been over cured.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020 Altima, Maxima and Leaf vehicles. The rear window glass may not remain properly secured to the vehicle.
Whether a recall was fixed on a particular car is known only to the manufacturer: check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
NHTSA recalls · summaries in NHTSA's own words
Service bulletins
What Nissan told its dealers about the 2020 Nissan Altima: known faults, fixes and updates.
| Bulletin | Summary |
|---|---|
| 11009069 | LANE CAMERA AIMING VEHICLE REFERENCE VALUES NOT IN ESM SERVICE INFORMATION If the lane camera requires aiming, the values in Table A on page 4 must be used. For all other models/model years, consult the Electronic Service Manual (ESM). |
| 11009068 | DTC B00A0-00 STORED This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. IF YOU CONFIRM DTC B00A0-00 (OCCUPANT DETECTION SENSOR UNIT) is stored, AND OCS zero point reset cannot be performed, (continued on the next page) |
| 11004972 | REAR AUTOMATIC BRAKING WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND/OR DTC C1B56-04 AND/OR C1B56-97 STORED IN THE ADAS CONTROL UNIT This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 11004971 | RAB WARNING LIGHT ON IN INSTRUMENT PANEL AND/OR DTC B2724-23 STORED This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 11004969 | DTC C1A17-49 OR C2580-49 STORED IN LASER/RADAR This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 11004962 | 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. |
| 11004961 | CAN COMMUNICATION NETWORK DIAGNOSTIC FLOW CHART This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 11004960 | CAN COMMUNICATION CODES DIAGNOSTIC TIPS AND GUIDELINES This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 11001208 | AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING WARNING LIGHT BLINKING This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 11001201 | WINDOW GLASS WARRANTY INFORMATION This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 11001194 | 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. |
| 11001192 | CVT/TCM CALIBRATION DATA WRITE PROCEDURE This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 11001191 | WINDSHIELD CRACKING This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 10251535 | SOFTWARE UPDATE FOR INFOTAINMENT ISSUES This bulletin is no longer active. To access infotainment software updates via the Infotainment Software Update Utility: Select SPECIALTY TOOLS, and then select Infotainment Software Updates on the left side of ASIST. Please discard previous versions of NTB23-018. |
| 10249914 | SOFTWARE UPDATE FOR INFOTAINMENT ISSUES This bulletin is no longer active. To access infotainment software updates via the Infotainment Software Update Utility: Select SPECIALTY TOOLS, and then select Infotainment Software Updates on the left side of ASIST. HINT: Initially, the Infotainment Software Update Utility will be available only on the CONSULT PC version of ASIST. The Utility will be added to ASIST WEB at a later date. Please discard previous versions of NTB23-018. |
| 10249904 | SOFTWARE UPDATE FOR INFOTAINMENT ISSUES This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY below. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 10249903 | VOLUME KNOB DOES NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 10249898 | TELEMATICS SERVICE INFORMATION This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 10248654 | TRANSFER ASSEMBLY SEAL REPLACEMENT FOR AWD FRONT DRIVE SHAFT REMOVAL This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 10248650 | FLUID LEAK CAUSED BY TRANSFER ASSEMBLY RIGHT SIDE DRIVE SHAFT OIL SEAL This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 10246454 | Active Grille Shutter Emission Warranty Extension Dealer Notification *****Dealer Announcement***** Nissan is committed to providing the highest levels of product quality and customer satisfaction. Therefore, Nissan is extending the emission warranty coverage on the model year 2019-2020 Altima Active Grille Shutter to 15 Years or 150,000 miles, whichever occurs first. All other warranty terms, limitations, and conditions remain unchanged. On affected vehicles, over time, the shaft connecting the grille shutter motor and shutter louvers may become twisted and/or cracked resulting in the |
| 10243708 | DIAGNOSIS OF VEHICLE PULL (DRIFT) AND/OR STEERING WHEEL OFF-CENTER This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 10242148 | SOFTWARE UPDATE FOR INFOTAINMENT ISSUES This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 10242141 | SOFTWARE UPDATE FOR INFOTAINMENT ISSUES This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 10240538 | HORN INOPERATIVE This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
NHTSA manufacturer communications (public domain)
NHTSA investigations
Complete loss of motive power due to engine failure
Hertz/Vehicles Rented with Open Recalls
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation