Open safety recalls, the components owners report failing most often, crash-test results and running costs for the 2017 Nissan Altima, assembled from NHTSA and EPA records.
Everything on this page applies to the model as a whole. Run its VIN to decode that exact car, its engine, trim, assembly plant and factory equipment, alongside these records.
Open a VIN recordRecalls and complaints are filed against a specific model year, so figures differ from one year to the next even within a single generation. See every Nissan Altima year.
Over 5 years this costs $750 more in fuel than an average new vehicle.

NHTSA frontal crash test
3 open NHTSA investigations into this model. Investigations come before recalls, so these are potential defects not yet covered by one.
Rated configuration: 2017 Nissan Altima 4 DR FWD
NHTSA lists 3 recalls for this make, model and year. Recalls apply to the model, so some may already be fixed on this specific car. A dealer can confirm from the VIN.
Issue: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Altima vehicles, previously remedied under recall number 17V-040. The door latch-lock cable may not have been routed properly in the rear door when the remedy was applied. As a result, the cable may interfere with the window regulator causing the rear passenger door to unlatch and inadvertently open without warning when the window is lowered.
Risk: If the rear passenger door opens while the vehicle is moving, the rear passengers have an increased risk of injury.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will secure the latch-lock cables in the correct position using the new remedy procedure, free of charge. The recall began February 5, 2019. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7669.
Campaign 18V915000
Issue: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Altima vehicles. The rear door latch/lock cable on the vehicles may have been improperly routed. As a result, lowering a rear window may inadvertently cause that door to unlatch and open.
Risk: If the rear passenger doors inadvertently open while the vehicle is in motion, it may increase the risk of injury to the rear passengers.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will correct the rear door latch/lock cable routing, free of charge. The recall began on February 16, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
Campaign 17V040000
Issue: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2018 Nissan Altima vehicles. If the primary hood latch is inadvertently released, there is an increased likelihood that the secondary hood latch may corrode over time.
Risk: Corrosion to the secondary latch may cause it to bind and remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed. If the primary latch is inadvertently released again and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could unexpectedly open while driving, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will install a stronger release spring in the hood release lever, a warning label near the secondary hood latch, and an Owners Manual addendum card with instructions on how to lubricate and maintain the secondary hood latch mechanism, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 30, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Note: Recall 16V-029 remains open for any unremedied 2013-2015 Altimas and this recall applies to all vehicles covered by 16V-029 even if those repairs have already been performed.
Campaign 20V315000
The parts named most often across 391 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this make, model and year.
1 crash · 2 injured
6 crashes · 8 injured
2 crashes · 1 fire · 2 injured
1 crash · 3 fires
1 crash
1 crash · 2 injured
2 fires
Complaints are self-reported and skew toward problems people find alarming, so read this as where to look rather than as a defect rate.
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 replaced. The manufacturer was contacted by phone and was made aware of the failure. The manufacturer stated that the electrical fault from the air bag was not under warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
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 manufacturing defect which has been confirmed by Nissan, and is actually subject of a class action settlement, however I was unaware of the class action settlement at the time and didn't participate before the deadline. 4. I have not been inspected yet, but am able to do so. 5. No, there are no warnings, the headlights are just too dim to see.
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.
Shuddering and loss of acceleration/vehicle slowed on its own while driving on the highway. Managed to get to Firestone and diagnostic codes P0776 and P0841 came up. Advised to take vehicle to dealer shop as work could not be done on CVT there. Car was towed to Nissan Bonney Road Virginia Beach. Transmission replacement recommended and my car only has 53,000 miles on it but is outside the 84 month extended warranty drafted from class action lawsuits and settlement. I was not aware of these lawsuit when this vehicle was recommended to me by Hall Honda as Hall Nissan sent it to them for me to see. No additional warranty was given nor was I informed that since the car only had 21,000 miles it was covered under the settlement of 80,000 miles 84,000 month. I WOULD HAVE WALKED, NO RAN, AWAY FROM THIS CAR IF I HAD BEEN TOLD OF THE LAWSUITS. Nissan wants me to pay nearly 6,200.00 for a new transmission that they knew was faulty to begin with. The only other option they gave was that they would give me a 3,000.00 allowance for them to purchase my car and apply that to another (probably faulty) vehicle from them. The issue I have with this is that I still owe 8,700.00 on a car that cost me over 17,000.00 which would make me have to roll the remaining 5,700.00 into another loan. Ludicrous that the dealerships are able to get away with this because they don’t want to admit their cars are faulty! I need Nissan to own up to this and perform a “goodwill” repair at no cost to me for the transmission. Nissan consumer complaints was not helpful at all. The only option I have after this is to file a claim in small claims court which I will probably lose.
The contact owns a 2017 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle with a passenger inside the vehicle, the air big warning light illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to two separate dealers to be inspected, and it was determined that the air bag sensor module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact to reach out to the Better Business Bureau to report the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 27,016.
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2017 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that after purchasing the vehicle from a private seller on Facebook Marketplace, the vehicle was then sold to a third person. The contact was informed by the third owner that the mileage on the vehicle was incorrect. The contact obtained a vehicle history report and discovered the mileage discrepancy. At the time the contact purchased the vehicle on the Facebook Marketplace, the seller listed the mileage at 108,757. It was later discovered that in June 2022, the mileage was listed as 156,000.
Driving on the freeway and car goes into limp mode very dangerous situation as spend was reduced and almost got rear ended by truck
AIRBAG LIGHT UNEXPECTANTLY CAME ON WITHOUT ANY COLLISION ACTION, OR OTHER UNUSUAL ACTIVITY ON 5/28/26. DELAY GETTING CAR FOR INSPECTION DUE TO PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. ON 6/29/26 CAR CHECKED A NISSAN DEALERSHIP. INSPECTED AND CHECKED CODES. CODED AS B0020-13 FOR AIR BAG MODULE DEFECTIVE. RECOMMENDED REPLACING DRIVER SIDE FRONT SEAT BACK. THIS NISSAN ALTIMA 2017 NOT UNDER RECALL, AND CALL NOT UNDER WARRANTY. SAFETY OF DRIVER AND PASSENGERS AT RISK.
Car not starting. Narrowed down to brake light switch not functioning properly. Jumped across the switch, car started. Push button ignition requires brakes to be depressed to start the vehicle. We have been close to being rear-ended twice lately. No warning lights signifying a problem. This is the second Altima I owned with this exact same failure to occur. First was a 2010 Altima S 2.5
The rear lower arm control snapped while driving on even surface road. I’m a female and when I heard the pop I got out and inspected the car. Could have caused injury to myself or other motorists. Confirmed with two mechanics that this in fact was the rear arm control and that they have had these issues with a lot of Nissan Altima and Sentra. Was advised to take to Nissan dealership to see if they will repair-which I did, but I’m currently awaiting a response by Nissan to see if they will cover it. The car has been making a squeaky sound but it comes and goes. The check engine light came on but displayed loose fuel cap and it goes out when I put gas in my car from time to time. I’ve also heard that is another issue with Nissan with the loose fuel cap. I just want my vehicle repaired. It is maintained although it is a 2017 and has 157,000 miles. No real issues until now.
The contact owns a 2017 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, the hood unexpectedly opened and struck the front windshield. The failure caused windshield glass shards to fly into the contact's eyes. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and called the insurance company, which dispatched a tow truck to the location. The contact was waiting for the ambulance to arrive to receive medical attention. While waiting for the ambulance and tow truck to arrive, the contact researched and discovered that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V315000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages); however, the contact had not received the recall notification. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The first code it threw was for the master air flow sensor then it started bogging out not going over 1RPM -throwing the code "P17F0 CVT Judder" and has left me in some really,really bad situations in traffic, and when it boggs down like that (no matter how many times I turn it off and restart it, even if the battery drains all the way out and I have to get a jump) I have to wait two hours after unhooking the battery and sit for an hour if not more before I can start it up and actually get down the rd. And it runs great like nothing was wrong it. But doesn't get far before doing it again
Showing 12 of 391 complaints.