The 2004 Nissan Altima has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 294,166 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 334 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine and engine cooling. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING06V2420002006-07-07294,166 affected
Defect
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A 2.5L ENGINE, THE CRANK ANGLE SENSOR IS AFFECTED BY TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS. UNDER CERTAIN DRIVING CONDITIONS, THESE VARIATIONS IN TEMPERATURE CAN BE LARGE ENOUGH TO CAUSE A BRIEF INTERRUPTION IN THE SIGNAL OUTPUT FROM THE SENSOR.
Consequence
IF THE INTERRUPTION IN THE SIGNAL FROM THE SENSOR IS SO BRIEF THAT THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE (ECM) LOGIC DOES NOT HAVE TIME TO DIAGNOSE THE CONDITION, THE ENGINE MAY STOP RUNNING WITHOUT WARNING WHILE THE VEHICLE IS DRIVEN AT A LOW SPEED INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE ECM FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 21, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
Complaints by component
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
72
STRUCTURE:BODY
35
ENGINE
30
1crashes1fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
26
3crashes1fires4injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
22
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
10
STEERING
10
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
9
2crashes2injuries
AIR BAGS
7
3crashes2injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CRANKCASE (PCV)
7
Total complaints334
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“The car has a fuel problem and crankshaft position sensor issue causing the car to die and also not start up normal idling. When I do get it to start up it idles very groggy.”
“The car has a fuel problem and crankshaft position sensor issue causing the car to die and also not start up normal idling. When I do get it to start up it idles very groggy.”
“The crankshaft position sensor (cps) was not responsive when the repair shop was testing the vehicle because of the "service engine soon" light came on. After a short search online they 1.) had no signal to the cps from the pcm 2.) that there was also a voluntary recall by nissan for this issue…”
“The crankshaft position sensor (cps) was not responsive when the repair shop was testing the vehicle because of the "service engine soon" light came on. After a short search online they 1.) had no signal to the cps from the pcm 2.) that there was also a voluntary recall by nissan for this issue…”
“This is the second time that I had to replace the transmission on this car then the axle twice and the brakes then etc”
“This is the second time that I had to replace the transmission on this car then the axle twice and the brakes then etc”
“This is the second time that I had to replace the transmission on this car then the axle twice and the brakes then etc”
“The frame of the vehicle is rusting away. There is a hole in the floor board on passenger side, from underneath the vehicle from rust. You can feel around the frame of the car and chunks of metal fall off . This was noticed during maintenance on the vehicle . Car was stationary , I had noticed…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2004 Nissan Altima as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.