2020 Nissan Altima problems & reliability
156 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2020 Nissan Altima, alongside 6 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 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 vehicles.
9 complaints report injuries (13 injured, 1 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2020 Nissan Altima vehicles were involved in 185 fatal crashes with 98 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 42 | 27% |
| Unknown OR Other | 35 | 22% |
| Engine | 33 | 21% |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 28 | 18% |
| Power Train | 17 | 11% |
| Service Brakes | 17 | 11% |
| Steering | 13 | 8% |
| Visibility/wiper | 10 | 6% |
| Air Bags | 8 | 5% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 7 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 15,000 miles (middle 50% between 3,000 and 55,000 miles), based on 25 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I currently own a 2020 Nissan Altima with 49,186 miles and I am reporting a recurring power door lock failure. This vehicle was inspected at the Nissan of Cumming location this morning to confirm the issue. Three of the passenger-side door lock actuators have failed within a short period of time. The two rear door…”
Electrical System · filed Jul 30, 2026
“When I am driving my car randomly states check engine and makes a beeping noise and then the engine starts to make some type of combustion noise and then slows down and then turns off.”
Engine · filed Jul 26, 2026
“Both passenger-side and driver's side rear door lock mechanisms ceased working. They do not work when attempting to lock/unlock the doors from the inside controls in the front seat. These doors also do not lock/unlock when using the remote key fob either. Both rear doors have to be lock/unlocked manually from the…”
Electrical System · filed Jul 20, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Complete loss of motive power due to engine failure
Preliminary Evaluation PE23023 · opened Dec 13, 2023 · closed Jul 18, 2025
- Hertz/Vehicles Rented with Open Recalls
Audit Query AQ22003 · opened Dec 16, 2022 · open
Technical service bulletins
146 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2020 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
TELEMATICS SERVICE INFORMATION HINT: This bulletin applies to vehicles equipped with a 4G network compatible TCU. TCUs compatible with 3G network only are no longer supported. SERVICE INFORMATION The APPLIED VEHICLES…
NTB15-049CC · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 30, 2026
FALSE ACTIVATION OF AEB OR FCW IF YOU CONFIRM The customer states they have experienced false activation and/or unexpected braking of the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) or Forward Collision Warning (FCW) system, AND…
NTB26-003 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 16, 2026
AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING WARNING LIGHT BLINKING APPLIED SYSTEMS: Vehicles equipped with a lane camera (see Figure 1) SERVICE INFORMATION If the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) warning light or is blinking (but not…
NTB19-042F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 20, 2025
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
LANE CAMERA AIMING VEHICLE REFERENCE VALUES NOT IN ESM SERVICE INFORMATION If the lane camera requires aiming, the values in Table A on page 4 must be used. For all other models/model years, consult the Electronic…
NTB20-066C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 4, 2024
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
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
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 2020 Nissan Altima has 6 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 2020 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.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 15,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.