Owner-reported complaints naming the steering system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2004 Nissan Altima submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 11 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
FOUND OUT THAT THE SUB-FRAME ASSEMBLY PANELS (FRONT FLOOR PANELS) ARE ROTTING OUT. ISSUE IS IF THEY FAIL CARS TIRES WILL TILT IN AS THE SUSPENSION IS TIDE INTO THE FRONT FLOOR PANELS. *TR
ITS AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPENED, ITS HARD TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL LEFT OR RIGHT,EVEN WHEN CHANGING LANE AT LOW SPEED LIKE 20 MPH,IT REQUIRED EFFORT TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL,THE BINDING FORCES WAS INTERMITTENT AT CERTAIN STEERING WHEEL POSITION,NISSAN SHOULD RECALL THIS(48080-8J000 LOWER STEERING U_JOINT),BEFORE SOMEONE HAVE A DEADLY ACCIDENT. *TR
MY NISSAN IS DOING THE SAME THING WITH THE STEERING COLUMN THAT NISSAN JUST RECALLED 2002-2004 FRONTIER AND XTERRA VEHICLES OVER 600,000 VEHICLES WERE RECALLED IN THE US. (THIS RECALL DOES NOT INCLUDE MY ALTIMA) THE STEERING COLUMN SHAFT AND JOINT HAS CORROSION THIS IS CAUSING THE STEERING WHEEL TO NOT OPERATE CORRECTLY. APPARENTLY MY VEHICLE WAS MADE IN THE SAME PLACE THAT THE RECALLED VEHICLES WERE MADE. SO WHY IS MINE NOT RECALLED. I SEARCHED ONLINE NISSAN HELP AND WAS TOLD THE PARTS PRICE IS ABOUT $129.00 BUT APPARENTLY IN YORK PA IT IS $227.00 FOR THE PART AND ANOTHER $115.00 LABOR. I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR EVEN TO A SERVICE CENTER TO GET IT FIXED. SO ON TOP OF THE $360 PLUS DOLLARS TO FIX IT I NOW HAVE TO PAY TO GET IT TOWED $95.00 *TR
PROBLEM VEHICLE IS 2004 NISSAN ALTIMA WITH 50,000 MILES. NOTICED WHEN DRIVING THAT STEERING WHEEL WAS BINDING WHEN I TRIED TO TURN THE VEHICLE. SEEMS LIKE POWER STEERING IS GOING OUT. HAD EVERYTHING CHECKED WITH FLUID AND POWER STEERING PUMP. NOT THAT SO DURING THE COURSE OF THE DRIVE THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD BIND BOTH DURING TURNING AND WHEN RETURNING THE WHEEL TO STRAIGHT. THE BINDING (REQUIRING BOTH HANDS) TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL AND ALSO REQUIRED EXTRA EFFORT TO RETURN THE WHEELS TO STRAIGHT BECAUSE THE BINDING PREVENTED THE WHEELS FROM RETURNING TO STRAIGHT . THE BINDING IS BAD ENOUGH THAT IT COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT I AM SCARED TO DRIVE IT. BECAUSE OF THE EFFORT REQUIRED TO TURN THE WHEEL AND THE DIFFICULTY IN STRAIGHTENING THE WHEELS. THE BINDING FORCE WAS INTERMITTENT AND SEEMED TO BE RELATED TO CERTAIN PLACES IN THE ORIENTATION OF THE WHEEL. AFTER RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET I DISCOVERED THAT MANY OTHER PEOPLE ARE HAVING THIS PROBLEM WITH SIMILAR YEAR AND MODEL OF CAR. IS THERE A RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM. IT REALLY NEEDS TO BE MAJOR ACCIDENTS COULD HAPPEN. I AM AFRAID THE STEERING IS GOING TO GO OUT COMPLETELY AND CAUSE A HEAD ON COLLISION. *TR
THE POWER STEERING LAST WEEK HAS STARTED TO TIGHTEN UP IN PLACES. WHILE TURNING THE WHEEL, THERE IS A HARD SPOT THAT THE WHEEL SEEMS TO GET "STUCK" OR "CATCH" AT. I TOOK IT INTO A MECHANIC AND HE INFORMED ME THAT THE STEERING RACK WOULD MOST LIKELY NEED TO BE REPLACED. I DID MORE RESEARCH ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND IT SEEMS TO BE A COMMON ISSUE IN NISSAN ALTIMA VEHICLES. THE MECHANIC ALSO TOLD ME HIS 2003 ALTIMA HAD TO HAVE THE SAME REPAIR LAST YEAR ABOUT THIS TIME. *TR
THE VEHICLE MAKES A CLUNKING SOUND AND POWER STEERING ?STICKS? WHEN TURNING THE WHEEL. THOUGH NO ACCIDENTS, THERE HAVE BEEN NEAR MISSES DUE TO ME NOT BEING ABLE TO TURN ON TIME. THIS PROBLEM IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND SHOULD BE RECALLED. *TR
DESCRIPTION/ISSUE: MY 2004 NISSAN ALTIMA'S STEERING IS VERY STIFF AND HARD TO TURN. I WOULD LIKE AVOID ANY LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL AND PREVENT ANY RISK OF CRASHING. I WILL GET THIS FIX IMMEDIATELY BUT WANTED TO OFFICIALLY REPORT THIS. I DID SOME SEARCHING ONLINE AND FOUND OTHERS WHO OWN ALTIMAS HAVE REPORTED AND FOUND VERY SIMILAR ISSUES WITH VERY TIGHT STEERING. PLEASE HELP INVESTIGATE IF NISSAN ALTIMAS HAVE STEERING DEFECTS TRAVELING AT LOW SPEEDS? PLEASE HELP INVESTIGATE IF THERE IS A MANDATORY RECALL BY THE MANUFACTURER. PLEASE NOTE - I HAVE CONFIRMED NISSAN FRONTIER MODELS HAVE ALREADY STARTED THE RECALL. THE ALTIMA PROBLEM I HAVE DESCRIBED ABOVE IS THE SAME. SINCERELY, CONCERNED ALTIMA CONSUMER
I HAVE A 2004 NISSAN ALTIMA 2.5S, I HAVE BEEN HAVING STEERING PROBLEMS AND HAVE HAD 3 MECHANICS LOOK AT IT AND CANNOT FIGURE OUT WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE STEERING. WHEN I TAKE TURNS IT IS REALLY TIGHT, I HAVE TO PULL THE STEERING WHEEL BACK MYSELF. I TRIED EMAILING NISSAN OF NORTH AMERICA, THEY DID NOT RESPOND, THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM MANY PEOPLE HAVE THIS PROBLEM FROM WHAT I READING ONLINE. THERE HAS TO BE A WAY TO FIX THIS PROBLEM, PLEASE HELP ME FIND A WAY. I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE ANY HELP YOU CAN PROVIDE. THERE IS ALSO A CREAKING SOUND ON THE LEFT SIDE IN THE FRONT OF THE CAR THAT STARTED AT THE SAME TIME AS THE STEERING PROBLEM. THIS STEERING PROBLEM OCCURS WHEN IT IS COLD OUTSIDE. I HAVE HAD THE SWAY BAR LINKS CLEANED THINKING IT WAS THAT , BUT THAT DID NOT WORK A FEW MECHANICS INCLUDING A NISSAN MECHANIC CANNOT FIGURE OUT WHAT IS WRONG. *TR
A DEFECTIVE STEERING UNIVERSAL ASSEMBLY. OCCURRED SUDDENLY. I COULD BARELY STEER THE CAR. VERY DANGEROUS . THANK GOODNESS IT HAPPENED IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND NOT ON THE HIGHWAY.58,000 MILES ON THE CAR. I WROTE NISSAN CANADA ABOUT THE PROBLEM AND THEY CONTACTED ME BY TELEPHONE. I WAS TOLD THAT NISSAN DIDN'T CONSIDER IT A PROBLEM, THE REPAIR COST ME $539.00. IT'S NOT THE REPAIR COST THAT IS IMPORTANT, IT'S THE DANGER TO THE PUBLIC; NOT ONLY TO THE DRIVER OF THE VEHICLE, BUT TO THIRD PARTIES. I HAVE SINCE L,EARNED OF THE SAME PROBLEM WITH A 2005 NISSAN ALTIMA. IT IS JUST ABOUT IMPOSSIBLE TO STEER THE VEHICLE WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL ASSEMBLY IS DEFECTIVE. *TR
PROBLEM VEHICLE IS 2004 NISSAN ALTIMA WITH 80,000 MILES. NOTICED WHEN PULLING OUT OF DRIVEWAY AFTER CAR HAD SIT OVERNIGHT IN GARAGE THAT STEERING WHEEL WAS BINDING WHEN I TRIED TO TURN THE VEHICLE. DURING THE COURSE OF THE DRIVE THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD BIND BOTH DURING TURNING AND WHEN RETURNING TO STRAIGHT. THE BINDING CAUSED EXTRA EFFORT (REQUIRING BOTH HANDS) TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL AND ALSO REQUIRED EXTRA EFFORT TO RETURN THE WHEELS TO STRAIGHT BECAUSE THE BINDING PREVENTED THE WHEELS FROM RETURNING TO STRAIGHT ON THEIR OWN. THE BINDING WAS BAD ENOUGH THAT IT COULD HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE OF THE EFFORT REQUIRED TO TURN THE WHEEL AND THE DIFFICULTY IN STRAIGHTENING THE WHEELS TO STOP TURNING. THE BINDING FORCE WAS INTERMITTENT AND SEEMED TO BE RELATED TO CERTAIN PLACES IN THE ORIENTATION OF THE WHEEL. AFTER RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET I DISCOVERED THAT MANY OTHER PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM WITH SIMILAR YEAR AND MODEL OF CAR AND THEY ALL REFERENCED THE LOWER UNIVERSAL JOINT IN THE STEERING LINKAGE AS THE PROBLEM PART (NISSAN PART 48080-8J000). WHEN I REMOVED THE PART IT WAS RUSTY AND EXTREMELY TIGHT (I WILL HOLD ONTO THE OLD PART IN CASE ANYONE WANTS TO SEE IT OR USE IT AS EVIDENCE). THE REPLACEMENT PART WAS BACK ORDERED BY NISSAN WHEN I ORDERED IT FROM THE DEALER. THE DEALER SAID THAT THEY HAVE BEEN SELLING LOTS OF THIS PART AND THE PART HAS BEEN TAKING A FEW DAYS TO TWO WEEKS TO ARRIVE DUE TO HIGH DEMAND. CLEARLY THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE DESIGN OF THIS PART. WHEN I FINALLY GOT THE NEW PART (48080-8J000 LOWER STEERING U-JOINT) AND INSTALLED IT THE STEERING WORKED SMOOTHLY AGAIN. *TR
STEERING BECOMES TIGHT TURNING IN BOTH DIRECTIONS. BETTER WHEN IT'S WARM, WORSE WHEN IT'S COLD. OVER THE COURSE OF 4 WEEKS THE TIGHTENING HAS GOTTEN SO BAD THAT WHEEL CAN ONLY BE TURNED WITH BOTH HANDS AND PULLING HARD. SOMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE IT WON'T TURN AT ALL, THEN LOOSENS BACK UP JUST ENOUGH TO COMPLETE TURN. INDEPENDENT AUTO SHOP DIAGNOSED IT INCORRECTLY, DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSED IT CORRECTLY BUT THE PART TO FIX IT IS BACK ORDERED FOR AT LEAST 2 WEEKS BECAUSE SO MANY CARS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. I HAD TO PREPAY TO ORDER THE PART, AND SCHEDULE THE REPAIR. HAD TO DRIVE AROUND FOR ANOTHER 2 WEEKS WAITING FOR THE PART AND HOPING THE STEERING DOESN'T LOCK UP COMPLETELY. *TR
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .