"How reliable is the 2009 Nissan Altima?"

"Based on 2149 NHTSA complaints, the 2009 Nissan Altima has a median complaint mileage of 78000 miles. The most common issue is STEERING."

"What are common problems with the 2009 Nissan Altima?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2009 Nissan Altima is STEERING, accounting for a significant portion of the 2149 total complaints filed."

2009 Nissan Altima: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 2149 complaints

2149

Total Complaints

78,000mi

Median Mileage

STEERING

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

55,000 25th Percentile

78,000 Median Mileage

107,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STEERING

854

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

461

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

146

ENGINE

107

POWER TRAIN

AIR BAGS

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

STRUCTURE:BODY

STRUCTURE

VISIBILITY/WIPER

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"A TRAFFIC OFFICER AND INVESTIGATED AN INCIDENT WHERE A VEHICLE OWNER WAS RUM OVER BY HIS VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE DOES NOT HAVE A PHYSICAL KEY TO OPERATE THE VEHICLE. THERE IS AN ELECTRONIC "KEY" AND A PUSH BUTTON START/SHUT OFF SWITCH. THE DRIVER PARKED THE VEHICLE IN A DRIVEWAY WITH A STEEP GRADE. THE..."

"THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE 2009 NISSAN ALTIMA IN WHICH THE PASSENGER AIRBAG TURNS OFF (INDICATED BY A PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF LIGHT), WHILE AN ADULT PASSENGER OVER 100 LBS IS CORRECTLY SEATED ON THE PASSENGER SIDE, SITTING SQUARE WITH SEATBELTS FASTENED. IF AN ACCIDENT OCCURRED WHILE THE AIRBAG IS ..."

"I RECENTLY (12/30/08) BOUGHT A 09 NISSAN ALTIMA 2.5SL WITH CONNECTION PACKAGE AND WITHIN THE FIRST WEEK OF DRIVING THE CAR I CAME ACROSS AN ISSUE WITH THE STEREO. I TURNED ON THE CAR AS I HAVE FOR THE PAST WEEK BY PRESSING THE START BUTTON, BUT THIS TIME THE STEREO SOUND WASN'T COMING THROUGH THE S..."

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

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