Complaint volume
171 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2020 Nissan Altima Complaints
171 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2020 Nissan Altima, grouped by component category.
171 Total complaints
16 Crash reports
7 Fire reports
10 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are unknown or other, electrical system, engine. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 16 crash reports, 7 fire reports, 10 injury reports, and 1 fatality report. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 45 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 39,198 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to unknown or other, electrical system, engine?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2020 Nissan Altima?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2020 Nissan Altima
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2020 Nissan Altima complaints?
16 Crash
7 Fire
10 Injury
1 Fatality
15 Towed
6 Medical attention
What are the most common 2020 Nissan Altima complaint categories?
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 18
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 16
ENGINE 15
POWER TRAIN 8
VISIBILITY/WIPER 6
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5
STEERING 5
AIR BAGS 4
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 4
STRUCTURE 4
171 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2024 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Altima, The contact stated that while attempting to unlock the front driver's side door with the vehicle remote, the door would not unlock. The contact also noticed that both rear doors would not unlock from the remote either. The contact stated that the doors were able to unlock with the vehicle's key, but not the remote. The only door that would unlock was the front passenger side. The local dealer was contacted however the vehicle was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage 40,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 40,000 |
| Nov 2024 | POWER TRAIN | While driving my vehicle on the freeway, the car suddenly went into limp mode then a few seconds later, the Warning Light appeared showing CVT failure alert. The car has 111,000 miles. This should be an issue that Nissan need to be responsible 100%. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | STEERING,ENGINE,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH around a curve, the steering wheel locked up. The vehicle shut off and turned back on. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined the key fob battery needed to be replaced. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 66,000 |
| Oct 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Car phantom brakes. There are multiple cases of it online where people are complaining when the front emergency brake warning light comes up at times and the car brakes automatically in empty highways. This happens fairly often | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My issue began 1 month after buying the vehicle. Regardless if I'm on the highway or back road no transition from one lane to another needs to be initiated , my whole dash will light up red and the car will come to a complete stop , at this time I just hold on and brace myself .Im a RN w/2 kids I went back to the dealer they said they checked it out but on my own I found out the car was in 2 accidents those things were not revealed to me during the buying process. I didn't know how to report this Im pretty ignorant to this type of thing however I did complain to gm by way of phone few times I called early on. No one at the dealership will help. Im literally in fear of me and my children's life. I test my luck because I don't know what else to do and can't afford another vehicle. Please help this complete dead stop sometimes turns the back end of my vehicle if im going over 70 when it stops, for this reason I drive like 40mph. I hope knowing this issue you can help there is no reason I know of for this incident which is now happening approximately once a week. Again this happen almost immediately after buying ,I went to the Mngr no one will help but this is very scary for me and two children will it take a nurse dying in an accident before someone does something , I dont now what else to do Again out of nowhere no matter the speed the dash turns red all lights come on and vehicle comes to ABRUPT STOP.Thank you and its at this point once a week,by the way I only guessed the parts involved d/t effects of incident I do notknow which or what from the car would have these issues from because I absolutely bought it like this | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | LANE DEPARTURE | The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the Lane Departure sensor warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failed Lane Departure sensor. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed Lane Departure sensor. The contact was informed that the Lane Departure sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 49,439. | Crash: No Fire: No | 49,439 |
| Aug 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I have a 2020 Nissan Altima SR that both rear door lock actuators have randomly gone out resulting in my back doors not unlocking in case of an emergency. My doors also do not lock with any of the buttons, and if I forget to manually lock my rear doors, they are left unlocked and someone can break into my car, resulting in injury. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Backup camera screen goes black/blue sometimes | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 3 OF 4 VEHICLE DOOR LOCKS FAILED SIMULTANEOUSLY CAUSED DIFFICULTY TRYING TO SECURE THE VEHICLE. APPEARS TO BE A SAFETY VIOLATION IF VEHICLE CAN'T BE SECURED PROPERLY BY THE DRIVER. APPEARS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE NISSAN VEHICLES | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES,BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I noticed a month ago I was driving and both the rear and front emergency braking lights came on in my dashboard but the car never actually began to brake. Fast forward to today when I was backing in to park my car and the emergency brake engaged and I could not back in. Nothing was around me, I wipe off the sensor and it still would not let me back in. I had to turn off the emergency brake system just to back up my car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | While accelerating from a complete stop, the car stalled with tires, powertrain, and steering wheel all locked. For 15 seconds, the steering wheel, tires, and car was unable to be manipulated. During acceleration, the speed was less than 15mph when it came to an abrupt stop. Another car behind me almost hit me when my car came to a stop. Car was just serviced for another warranty issue a few months ago by Nissan dealership. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | ENGINE | RECEIVED ENGINE MALFUNCTION REDUCED POWER SERVICE NOW MESSAGE WHILE DRIVING (RECEIVED MESSAGE 6 TIMES SO FAR). ERROR GOES AWAY WHEN I SHUT CAR OFF AND RESTART IT, NO CODE IS FOUND WHEN SCANNED AT NISSAN DEALERSHIP. CAR SEEMS TO SHIFT WEIRD DURING A STOP AND FEELS LIKE IT RUNS ROUGH BUT NOTHING IS EVER FOUND AT DEALERSHIP TO BE THE CAUSE. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the front driver’s side and rear driver’s side door locks failed to operate as designed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the lock actuators had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer also informed the contact that the front passenger’s side door had experienced the same failure. An independent mechanic had repaired all three doors. The manufacturer had not been made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 91,228. | Crash: No Fire: No | 91,228 |
| Jun 2024 | SEAT BELTS | •My driver’s seat motor tract assembly failed to move back & forth. It can be available for inspection. •My Safety was @ risk due to the seat inability to move back & forth. My foot couldn’t reach the accelerator or the brakes because the seat malfunctioned while the seat was moved so that I could get out of the car. •The problem has been confirmed & inspected by the Nissan Dealership where I purchased the car. •No, there were no warning signs or messages that indicated the seat malfunctioning. • This driver seat motor tract assembly has failed 2 times now. •The first time the seat motor tract malfunctioned was on 07/08/2023. The Dealership stated that a small comb was lodged in the tract. There was N/C. •The second time the seat motor tract malfunctioned was on 06/13/2024. There was nothing blocking the seats’ movement. The Dealership charged me $175.99 to find out what was causing the seat to fail again. The serviceman said that he beat on the motor until the seat eventually moved. It was stated that I’d have to replace the seat motor tract assembly if it malfunctions again. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I was driving on the Freeway and without warning my car reduced speed. Then there was a warning bell that showed engine malfunction power reduced. Then the check engine light came and my rear and front warning indicator came on | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | ENGINE | It’s been 2 times that I get the WARNING ️ Sign of Engine Malfunction Power Reduced Service now and at the same time another warning that’s says Malfunction see owners Manual and my car looses it’s power | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Trunk latch broke entirely, cannot shut trunk and cannot repair myself. Did not slam trunk lid, just shut normally. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | Engine failed prematurly with less than 40k miles. All service was completed in a timely fashion. Nissan is taking a long time to get back to me with what next steps are. They are still investigating after 10 days. Pls help. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | STRUCTURE | Unable to open driver’s door from the inside of the vehicle. To exit the car I have to climb over and exit through passenger door or roll down the window and open the door from the outside handle. This is a potential safety concern of not be able to get out of the car in an emergency or injuring myself when I have to climb over the console to exit through passenger door. This issue has bot been resolved and is still a concern. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | POWER TRAIN | Unpredictably vehicle acceleration is delayed by approximately 3-4 seconds. Car then proceeds to take off after transmission kicks in. I almost got hit by a semi during a left turn. And similar near miss incidents have occurred. Car also fails to accelerate in a predictable manner when needed rpm goes up but vehicle will stall/hesitate. The vehicle is under warranty and has been to the dealer 3 times. They will not perform any maintenance on the vehicle. Saying it needs to be replicated in person. The Issue is not easily replicated, but when the issue presents itself, it poses a great safety risk to occupants in the vehicle and all drivers/pedestrians on the road around the vehicle. This seems to be a known issue by Nissan but they fail to implement a recall or any other corrective action. I can provide invoices/Statements of work but will have to retrieve them from the dealer. I also have video evidence of the issues occurring. Dealer has seen the videos but refuses to repair, replace, or recompensate for the issues listed above off the videos alone. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | All four door lock actuators have failed when the car was only 2 years old. We have lived with it but this seems to happen and could be a safety issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | This has been happening multiple times since December 25th, 2023. Presently, it's in the shop for the 6th time. This orange light comes on and then right after the vehicle just stops or slows down. Nothing is in front of or behind me. It's random...happens at night or anytime during the day and it stops itself while driving. It has been taken to the dealership 6 times since December and the problem has not been remedied. It is scary getting into the vehicle every time because I wonder, will it happen today? And what if someone is behind me? That could cause a major accident with injuries. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2024 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the forward collision avoidance system chimed and the vehicle started braking. The contact stated that there was no vehicle in front of the vehicle. The contact stated that the forward collision avoidance system system engaged after several school buses had driven past his vehicle in the opposite lane. The contact stated that he was able to disengage the forward collision avoidance system, and he continued driving. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by a local dealer or an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 34,000 |
| Mar 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I can be driving and all of a sudden the collision symbol starts flashing,it has done it at least ten times | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |