2020 Nissan Altima problems
NHTSA has received 265 complaints about the 2020 Nissan Altima, and 16% of them involve electrical system. After that come engine (15%) and forward collision avoidance (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 265 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 16% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 28 and 8
- Injuries and deaths
- 17 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 15,000 miles 44 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 28 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 4 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 5 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 0 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 44 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 14,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 28 complaints mention a crash; 8 complaints mention a fire; 17 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2020 ranks 17th most-complained-about out of 32 model years of the Nissan Altima with enough data (241 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 6 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Caught on fire, burst into flames within minutes of seeing smoke. My son barely got out before it blew up. His dog in the backseat unfortunately didn’t make it out. Would like investigation on what could have caused this. Before someone else loses theryre life
I was in a nissan altima with three passengers, two in the back seats and one in the front seat. When in the process of turning left someone crashed into the rear of my vehicle. Both the front seats broke at the hinge pushing the seats back into the backseat passengers. This resulted in minor injuries to them; scraps on leg and head, bloody nose and bruised teeth. If the seats had not failed, these minor injuries would not have occured.
The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while the vehicle was at a standstill in a parking lot and using the seat heater for approximately 30 minutes, the front driverside seat heater caught fire. The contact extinguished the fire with bottles of water he had available. The contact sustained superficial burns on his lower back and continues to have trouble breathing but hasn't sought medical attention.
During a snow storm a couple weeks ago in colorado my 2020 nissan altima's forward collision adas kicked in locking up my breaks causing me to slide into a curb and nearly rear end another vehicle also causing alignment issue's and problems with the traction system. Due to locking the brakes this accident was caused. It was on a city street while I was in motion however the forward collision kicked in way early and slammed the brakes which is extremely dangerous in cold and wet road conditions.
During cold temperatures the car accelerates poorly, engine RPM is unusual. At least one instance of the engine warning light illuminates with a "service now" message displayed. In all cases the vehicle engine was running, in (slow) motion, and on a city street and one incident on a highway going straight ahead. A service department of a nissan dealer was contacted and they stated that they have received multiple complaints of this nature about this call year and model.