Nissan · Altima · 2020
2020 Nissan Altima: problems & reliability
NHTSA has logged 182 owner complaints and 6 safety recalls for the 2020 Nissan Altima. The most-reported problem area is the electrical system (25% of complaints), followed by engine and forward collision avoidance. Make sure every open recall has been fixed by a dealer before you buy.
Common 2020 Nissan Altima problems
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Electrical system problems
46 owner complaints to NHTSA (25% of all complaints for this model year) involve the electrical system, including 6 fires, 1 injury. One owner reported: “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…”
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Engine problems
37 owner complaints to NHTSA (20% of all complaints for this model year) involve the engine, including 1 crash, 2 fires. One owner reported: “SUBJECT: Improper Recall Remedy Denial – NHTSA Recall #25V437000 (Nissan R25A8/R25A9) Vehicle: 2020 Nissan Altima 2.0L VC-Turbo Mileage at Failure: 147,540 Incident Description: The vehicle experienced a sudden catastrophic engine failure…”
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Forward collision avoidance problems
30 owner complaints to NHTSA (16% of all complaints for this model year) involve the forward collision avoidance, including 4 crashes, 1 injury. One owner reported: “This car is going to kill me! It randomly hits the brakes on the highways! I am literally driving a deadly weapon. I turn the emergency brakes off and had it checked and STILL brakes. It break everytime I pass a shade spot on the road and…”
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Steering problems
20 owner complaints to NHTSA (11% of all complaints for this model year) involve the steering, including 3 crashes, 2 injuries. One owner reported: “When making a routine right-hand turn, the steering system failed. Driver had an unresponsive vehicle which crashed into a bridge rail. Driver was taken for medical attention. No warning lights prior to the crash. Vehicle has only been…”
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Brakes problems
18 owner complaints to NHTSA (10% of all complaints for this model year) involve the brakes, including 3 crashes, 2 injuries. One owner reported: “The contact owns a 2020 nissan altima. The contact stated that upon approaching a stop light, he attempted to stop the vehicle but the brake pedal failed without warning. The contact depressed the brake pedal to the floorboard but to no…”
Owner complaints by area
| Area | Complaints | Share | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical system | 46 | 25% | |
| Engine | 37 | 20% | |
| Forward collision avoidance | 30 | 16% | |
| Steering | 20 | 11% | |
| Brakes | 18 | 10% | |
| Transmission & powertrain | 17 | 9% | |
| Visibility & wipers | 11 | 6% | |
| Airbags | 9 | 5% |
182 complaints filed with NHTSA in total, reporting 16 crashes, 7 fires, 15 injuries, 1 death. A complaint can involve more than one area.
2020 Nissan Altima recalls
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Engine and engine cooling › Engine › Hard parts internal/mechanical
Risk: Engine failure increases the risk of a crash. A bearing failure may cause a breach in the engine block, allowing hot oil to be discharged, increasing the risk of an engine fire.
Remedy: Dealers will reprogram the engine control module (ECM) software, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed April 8, 2026. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 800-647-7261 or Infiniti's customer service at 1-800-662-6200. Nissan's numbers for this recall are R25A8/A9 and R25B1/B2.
Full recall summary
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.
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Back over prevention › Sensing system › Camera
Risk: A rearview camera that does not properly display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the rearview camera and harness for damage and replace them as necessary. If no damage is found, the dealer will apply protective tape and reroute the rearview camera harness. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 19, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R23C3.
Full recall summary
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."
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Tires
Risk: Over cured tires may develop a break in the sidewall, resulting in sudden air loss or belt edge separation which could lead to tread/belt loss. Either condition can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the tires, and replace them as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 11, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is PC798.
Full recall summary
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.
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Steering › Linkages › Tie rod assembly
Risk: A detached tie rod ball joint can cause a loss of steering control, and increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will tighten the left and right-side tie rod ball joint fasteners, or install new fasteners as necessary, free of charge. The began March 31, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7769. Nissan's number for this recall is PC795.
Full recall summary
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.
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Tires
Risk: Over cured tires can result in a sidewall break causing a sudden loss of air or the tread separating from the tire. Both conditions increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicle's tires to see if they are affected, replacing them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began December 10, 2020. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-8677669. Nissan's number for this recall is PC765.
Full recall summary
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.
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Visibility › Glass, side/rear
Risk: Rear window glass that separates from the vehicle can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the back window glass, free of charge. The recall began November 4, 2020. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is PC752.
Full recall summary
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.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. To check whether a specific car’s recalls have been repaired, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
2020 Nissan Altima crash-test ratings
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2020 Nissan Altima 4 DR AWD. Ratings can differ between body styles and drivetrains (2 versions tested or listed).
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Specifications
- Drivetrains
- AWD, FWD
- Body styles
- 4-door
Other Nissan Altima years
About this data
Problems, complaint counts, recalls and crash-test ratings come from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) public databases, last checked 2026-11-03. Complaints are reports from owners and have not all been verified by NHTSA.
How we score reliability: every model year starts at 100. Points come off for the number of owner complaints (on a log scale, up to 40 points), for each safety recall (2 points each, up to 15) and for complaints involving crashes, fires, injuries or deaths (up to 15). Popular vehicles get more complaints simply because more are on the road, so compare scores between similar vehicles. More about our method.
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