"How reliable is the 2005 Nissan Altima?"

"Based on 1358 NHTSA complaints, the 2005 Nissan Altima has a median complaint mileage of 85000 miles. The most common issue is STRUCTURE:BODY."

"What are common problems with the 2005 Nissan Altima?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2005 Nissan Altima is STRUCTURE:BODY, accounting for a significant portion of the 1358 total complaints filed."

2005 Nissan Altima: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 1358 complaints

1358

Total Complaints

85,000mi

Median Mileage

STRUCTURE:BODY

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

50,311 25th Percentile

85,000 Median Mileage

115,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STRUCTURE:BODY

293

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

196

ENGINE

139

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

POWER TRAIN

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

AIR BAGS

STRUCTURE

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 70 MPH CONSUMER SLAMMED ON THE BRAKE PEDAL IN A PANIC SITUATION AND BRAKES LOCKED UP, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO SKID. VEHICLE SKIDDED 15 FEET BEFORE COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP. DEALERSHIP INDICATED THAT TIRES HAD FLAT SPOTS BECAUSE OF THIS INCIDENT. ALSO, THE TORQUE CONV..."

"THE CAR RADIO FOR THE 2005 NISSAN ALTIMA IS DEFECTIVE. I SPOKE TO NISSAN DIRECTLY AFTER THE DEALER COULDN'T FIX IT. I WAS GIVEN CASE # 4564607 ON 6/8/04 WHEN THE CAR HAD 2,650 MILES ON IT. THEY SAID THAT NISSAN WAS REDESIGNING THE RADIO WITH ITS ENGINEERS + WOULD HAVE IT IN A MONTH. IT'S NOW 7/25/0..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

STRUCTURE:BODY 293 complaints

25th: 82,500 mi Median: 104,704 mi 75th: 132,000 mi

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 196 complaints

25th: 51,000 mi Median: 74,000 mi 75th: 92,842 mi

ENGINE 139 complaints

25th: 66,202 mi Median: 97,000 mi 75th: 124,500 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 77 complaints

25th: 50,000 mi Median: 78,000 mi 75th: 119,000 mi

POWER TRAIN 62 complaints

25th: 63,249 mi Median: 92,000 mi 75th: 110,555 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

NY: 130 CA: 128 IL: 112 NJ: 71 MA: 68 FL: 67 TX: 62 PA: 58 GA: 55 MD: 52

Who Files Complaints?

14.1%

Original Owners

85.9%

Second+ Owners

Nissan Altima — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1993	150	122,000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	25
1994	120	126,000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	37
1995	216	110,500	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	49
1996	117	83,075	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	27
1997	141	120,000	AIR BAGS	40
1998	141	120,000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	20
1999	110	88,500	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	29
2000	199	84,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING	34
2001	201	69,500	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING	29
2002	1321	87,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING	41
2003	1099	86,300	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING	61
2004	334	71,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING	18
2006	1043	90,000	STRUCTURE:BODY	58
2007	597	65,000	SUSPENSION	39
2008	1373	71,000	STRUCTURE	73
2009	2149	78,000	STEERING	55
2010	538	51,603	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	40
2011	317	72,000	POWER TRAIN	18
2012	575	75,000	POWER TRAIN	39
2013	2970	62,000	AIR BAGS	104
2014	1376	62,500	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	74
2015	1188	51,000	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	61
2016	778	57,692	POWER TRAIN	43
2017	498	55,000	POWER TRAIN	32
2018	314	36,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	16
2019	326	14,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	40
2020	266	21,171	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	27
2021	96	41,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	11
2022	50	-	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	8
2023	33	5,300	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	8
2024	55	-	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	13

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28