"How reliable is the 2001 Nissan Altima?"

"Based on 201 NHTSA complaints, the 2001 Nissan Altima has a median complaint mileage of 69500 miles. The most common issue is Engine And Engine Cooling."

"What are common problems with the 2001 Nissan Altima?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2001 Nissan Altima is Engine And Engine Cooling, accounting for a significant portion of the 201 total complaints filed."

2001 Nissan Altima: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 201 complaints

201

Total Complaints

69,500mi

Median Mileage

Engine And Engine Cooling

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

50,000 25th Percentile

69,500 Median Mileage

107,475 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Engine And Engine Cooling

Exhaust System

Engine

Suspension

Vehicle Speed Control

Electrical System

Power Window Devices And Controls

Rear

Air Bags

Frontal

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"VEHICLE WOULD ACCELERATE & GO INTO OVERDRIVE ON ITS OWN. WAS DRIVING 5MPH DOWN ALLEY WAY. PUT INTO NEUTRAL & ENGINE STARTED ROARING, AND RPMS WENT RACING HIGH. VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALER. *AK"

"CONSUMER HAD A HEAD COLLISION AT APPROXIMATELY 30-35 MPH, AND AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. TWO PERSON WERE INJURED , DRIVER AND PASSENGER. *AK *SLC"

"WHEN SHIFTING VEHICLE INTO 5TH GEAR, GRINDING NOISE IS HEARD. VEHICLE ONLY HAS 900 MILES. DEALER INDICATED THAT TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE ADJUSTED.*AK"

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

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Engine And Engine Cooling 22 complaints

25th: 55,560 mi Median: 65,000 mi 75th: 84,328 mi

Exhaust System 14 complaints

25th: 66,000 mi Median: 74,000 mi 75th: 107,475 mi

Engine 12 complaints

25th: 44,250 mi Median: 78,000 mi 75th: 97,250 mi

Suspension 9 complaints

25th: 169,000 mi Median: 187,000 mi 75th: 200,000 mi

Vehicle Speed Control 9 complaints

25th: 16,800 mi Median: 32,060 mi 75th: 34,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

NY: 30 CA: 23 MD: 11 PA: 10 VA: 10 AZ: 9 FL: 9 GA: 9 TX: 8 NJ: 8

Who Files Complaints?

29.9%

Original Owners

70.1%

Second+ Owners

Nissan Altima — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1993	150	122,000	Frontal	25
1994	120	126,000	Frontal	37
1995	216	110,500	Frontal	49
1996	117	83,075	Frontal	27
1997	141	120,000	Air Bags	40
1998	141	120,000	Frontal	20
1999	110	88,500	Frontal	29
2000	199	84,000	Engine And Engine Cooling	34
2002	1321	87,000	Engine And Engine Cooling	41
2003	1099	86,300	Engine And Engine Cooling	61
2004	334	71,000	Engine And Engine Cooling	18
2005	1358	85,000	Body	71
2006	1043	90,000	Body	58
2007	597	65,000	Suspension	39
2008	1373	71,000	Structure	73
2009	2149	78,000	Steering	55
2010	538	51,603	Unknown Or Other	40
2011	317	72,000	Power Train	18
2012	575	75,000	Power Train	39
2013	2970	62,000	Air Bags	104
2014	1376	62,500	Exterior Lighting	74
2015	1188	51,000	Exterior Lighting	61
2016	778	57,692	Power Train	43
2017	498	55,000	Power Train	32
2018	314	36,000	Unknown Or Other	16
2019	326	14,000	Electrical System	40
2020	266	21,171	Electrical System	27
2021	96	41,000	Electrical System	11
2022	50	-	Unknown Or Other	8
2023	33	5,300	Electrical System	8
2024	55	-	Unknown Or Other	13

Active Recalls (2)

Federal safety recalls issued for this vehicle.

Headlights

Campaign 07E074000 | 14/09/2007

DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.

EAGLE EYES WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER REIMBURSEMENT FOR ANY NONCOMPLIANT HEADLIGHTS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON DECEMBER 11, 2007. OWNERS MAY CONTACT EAGLE EYES AT 1-800-568-1098.

Tread/Belt

Campaign 01V065000 | 23/02/2001

UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, A BELT EDGE SEPARATION IS POSIBLE, WHICH COULD RESULTING IN THE LOSS OF TIRE PRESSURE.

BRIDGESTONE/FIRESTONE WILL REPLACE THE TIRES WHICH WERE INSTALLED AS ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT ON THESE ALTIMA VEHICLES. FIRESTONE IS CONDUCTING THE OWNER NOTIFICATION AND REMEDY FOR THIS CAMPAIGN. OWNER NOTIFICATION IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING MARCH 2001. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED

Extend Your Engine Life

Based on the most common issues reported for this vehicle.

Change oil on schedule — this is the single most important thing you can do
Use the manufacturer-recommended oil weight and type
Replace the air filter every 15,000-30,000 miles
Don't ignore the check engine light — small issues become expensive fast
Let the engine warm up for 30 seconds before driving hard in cold weather
Address coolant leaks immediately to prevent overheating damage

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Vehicle Rankings

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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