2017 Nissan Altima problems & reliability
391 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2017 Nissan Altima, alongside 3 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Sep 21, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several components.
19 complaints report injuries (23 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2017 Nissan Altima vehicles were involved in 246 fatal crashes with 132 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Power Train → | 133 | 34% |
| Air Bags → | 73 | 19% |
| Unknown / Other | 62 | 16% |
| Vehicle Speed Control → | 41 | 10% |
| Engine → | 39 | 10% |
| Electrical System → | 27 | 7% |
| Service Brakes → | 19 | 5% |
| Exterior Lighting → | 18 | 5% |
| Structure → | 18 | 5% |
| Fuel/propulsion System → | 17 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 25 reported components →Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Among the 154 complaints that included a usable odometer reading, the median reported incident mileage was 59,000 miles (middle 50% between 35,157 and 80,000 miles).
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“The contact owns a 2017 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving 80 MPH, the air bag warning light illuminated and remained illuminated. The dealer was contacted and diagnosed the vehicle with an electrical fault inside the air bag, and it was determined that the air bag inside the seat back needed to be…”
Air Bags · filed Sep 10, 2026
“1. Headlights. The headlights are dim to the point that vision at night is greatly impaired unless I use my high beams. It is available for inspection. 2. Impaired vision at night, I cannot see very well when driving at night, and others may be affected by not being able to see me as well. 3. This is a known…”
Exterior Lighting · filed Aug 12, 2026
“I was driving home from the store like 4 blocks away and on the road there’s dip n the road you can’t avoid it so after i drive over it the airbag light comes on with hitting anything.”
Steering · filed Aug 11, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Engineering Analysis EA21002 · opened Sep 17, 2021 · open
- Rear Suspension Control Arm Failure
Engineering Analysis EA19002 · opened Jul 29, 2019 · closed Jun 16, 2025
- Rear Suspension Control Arm Failure
Preliminary Evaluation PE18013 · opened Dec 1, 2018 · closed Aug 21, 2019
Technical service bulletins
247 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2017 Nissan Altima. The 10 most recent:
CERTIFICATION LABEL AND VIN PLATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION Because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “Certification Label” or “VIN Plate/Label” may be needed. HINT: Certification Label =…
NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 13, 2026
CERTIFICATION LABEL AND VIN PLATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION Because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “Certification Label” or “VIN Plate/Label” may be needed. HINT: Certification Label =…
NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 13, 2026
INTELLIGENT CRUISE CONTROL INOPERATIVE AND AEB/FEB WARNING LIGHT ON OR RADAR OBSTRUCTION MESSAGE DISPLAYED WITH DTC C1A16 OR C2582 IF YOU CONFIRM IMPORTANT: The purpose of ACTION (on the next page) is to give you a…
NTB19-033G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 20, 2025
DTC B00A0-00 STORED This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. IF YOU CONFIRM DTC B00A0-00 (OCCUPANT DETECTION SENSOR UNIT) is stored, AND…
NTB19-071D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 19, 2024
CVT/TCM CALIBRATION DATA “WRITE” PROCEDURE This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB12-103I · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 7, 2024
INTELLIGENT KEY INITIALIZATION PROCEDURE STOPS OR WILL NOT CONTINUE This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Discard all previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB17-127C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
VEHICLE KEY NOT DETECTED / AUTHENTICATED, ENGINE WILL NOT START This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB13-107G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
CAN COMMUNICATION – NETWORK DIAGNOSTIC FLOW CHART This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB13-027D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
CAN COMMUNICATION CODES – DIAGNOSTIC TIPS AND GUIDELINES This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB10-066C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
WINDOW GLASS WARRANTY INFORMATION This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB17-019H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 30, 2024
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2017 Nissan Altima has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2017 Nissan Altima?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Among complaints with usable mileage, the median reported incident mileage was 59,000 miles. This does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop a problem.