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Selling a junk Nissan Altima

Any Altima sells for scrap or parts, running or not. Below: what owners report most often for each model year, the recalls on file, and which of those change the offer. Enter your ZIP for a buyer near you.

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What owners report about the Nissan Altima

NHTSA has 19,917 owner complaints on file for the Nissan Altima, model years 1995 to 2022, the 13th-most of the 423 models in our data. The most-reported components are transmission and drivetrain (2,196, 11%), engine and cooling (2,003, 10%), air bags (1,907, 10%). 1,174 complaints involved a crash, 311 a fire, and 609 say the vehicle had to be towed. The median mileage when the problem was reported is 75,000 miles. The 2013 model year has the most complaints (2,985). Data as of 2026-10-12.

When the top complaint is transmission and drivetrain, the question for a seller is whether a buyer will resell the car, pull the parts or scrap it. Read our guide to selling a car with a bad transmission: it explains which offers assume the part works and how to describe the car so the price holds at pickup.

Nissan Altima by model year

YearComplaintsMost reportedCrashFireRecallsMedian miles
1995216Air bags49115110,500
1996117Air bags2752—
1997141Air bags4073120,000
1998141Fuel system2034120,000
1999110Brakes293488,500
2000199Engine and cooling346285,700
2001202Engine and cooling292270,000
20021,321Engine and cooling41431289,597
20031,099Engine and cooling61161087,000
2004334Engine and cooling183572,917
20051,364Body and structure7125287,000
20061,043Body and structure5818495,000
2007598Suspension3929368,000
20081,379Body and structure7422472,500
20092,150Steering5515479,000
2010543Other4014356,800
2011320Transmission and drivetrain188178,000
2012581Transmission and drivetrain415477,800
20132,985Air bags104191269,076
20141,397Lights7411868,000
20151,212Lights63111057,000
2016791Transmission and drivetrain444460,000
2017523Transmission and drivetrain338360,000
2018325Other160239,585
2019360Driver assistance407720,500
2020289Driver assistance3010635,000
2021121Driver assistance1832—
202256Driver assistance830—

Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not confirmed defects. Median miles is the odometer reading owners gave when they reported a problem, shown only where 20 or more reports include it.

Nissan Altima recalls

NHTSA lists 61 recall campaigns across these model years, most often for lights (10), air bags (10), engine and cooling (7). Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer. Before you sell, check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a buyer who plans to resell the car will.

  • 2019 model year, engine and cooling (campaign 25V437000, Jun 2025): Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Rogue, 2019-2020 Altima, 2019-2022 Infiniti QX50, and 2022 Infiniti QX55 vehicles equipped with 3-cylinder 1.5L or 4-cylinder 2.0L variable compression t…
  • 2019 model year, driver assistance (campaign 23V628000, Sep 2023): Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Altima and 2020-2021 Sentra vehicles. Damage to the camera harness can cause distortion or loss of the rearview camera display image. As such, these vehi…
  • 2019 model year, tires (campaign 21V169000, Mar 2021): Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Altima and 2018-2021 Titan vehicles equipped with Continental tires. On the affected vehicles, it is possible that one or more tires were cured for too l…
  • 2020 model year, steering (campaign 21V138000, Mar 2021): Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Nissan Altima vehicles. The tie rod ball joint fastener was not tightened properly, which could result in the tie rod ball joint detaching from the steer…
  • 2020 model year, tires (campaign 20V685000, Nov 2020): Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020 Altima S grade vehicles equipped with Continental ProContact TX tires, size 215/60 R16 H, with TIN date code 3320 and Mold ID S-419149. The tires may have bee…

What a Nissan Altima is worth as a junk car

Buyers price a junk Altima on four things: its weight at today's scrap steel price (the floor), the parts still on it that can be resold, whether it starts and drives, and how far they have to tow it. None of those come from a complaint database, so use this page to describe the car accurately and our junk car value guide to work out a ceiling for the metal. Then get more than one offer.

Guides for selling this car

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Questions people ask

What is a junk Nissan Altima worth?
What a yard can recover: the car's weight at the current scrap steel price, plus parts it can resell (the catalytic converter, engine, transmission and wheels if they're good), minus towing and processing. The same Altima gets different offers from different buyers, so compare at least two. Our value guide shows the public benchmark.
Will a junkyard buy a Nissan Altima that doesn't run?
Yes. Junkyards and junk car buyers take cars that don't start, and most arrange the tow. Tell them honestly whether it starts, whether the engine and transmission are still in it, and whether the catalytic converter is on; those are what change the price.
Should I fix an open recall before selling a Nissan Altima?
Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer for as long as the car exists. If the car is going for scrap, the repair won't change the scrap price. If a buyer might resell it or pull parts, a completed recall can help. Check your VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup first.
Where do these Nissan Altima numbers come from?
From the complaint and recall data NHTSA publishes for every make and model, counted by model year on 2026-10-12. A complaint is an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and the count rises with how many of the model were sold.