2006 Nissan ALTIMA - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2006 Nissan Altima has received varying safety ratings across different crash scenarios. It scored a 5 out of 5 for both the front crash driver side and front crash passenger side ratings, indicating excellent protection in frontal collisions. However, its side crash ratings were lower, with a 3 out of 5 for both the driver side and passenger side. The rollover rating was 4 out of 5, suggesting a lower risk of rollover.

Unfortunately, this model does not come equipped with electronic stability control, forward collision warning, or lane departure warning systems, which could enhance its safety features.

In terms of feedback from consumers, there have been 818 complaints reported for this vehicle, along with 4 recalls. It's important for Nissan to address these issues to ensure the overall safety and satisfaction of Altima owners.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

818

Recall Count

4

Investigation Count

0

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2006 Nissan Altima 4-DR. Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2006 Nissan Altima 4-DR.

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

No
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2006 Nissan Altima 4-DR. Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2006 Nissan Altima 4-DR. Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2006 Score 2024 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 4
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 5 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 4

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2006 Score 2024 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 3 3 4
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 3 3 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2006 Score 2024 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Complaints for the 2006 Nissan ALTIMA

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"passenger side floor board rusted through. driver side seems ok (for now) maybe because i always do under-wash every time washing the car. first noticed the rusting after around 4 years of ownership when did a diy oil change but i just ignored it because i just thought i'm just one of the unlucky owner until did a diy oil change last month and my surprised the rust gotten worst and widened. bought the car brand new in june, 2006 and was garage kept since day one. it also get washed regularly by me and auto carwash in the winter of course with under carriage wash. the car has now 110k miles."
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2010-01-04

Complaint:
"i was totally shocked to find holes rusted through the floors of our car. as i researched i have found this a huge problem, even covered by major tv networks. ...i reached out to nissan and they said they wouldn't do anything."
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2020-03-08

Complaint:
"the floor panels have completely rusted through and will require replacement. apparently this is a known issue with this year and model of altimas"
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2014-01-01

Complaint:
"the floor pans of the driver and passenger fronts have been rusting on my nissan altima for years. i can not remember when i first noticed it but it would be about 5 years ago easily. also the exterior paint on my car has prematurely degraded to the point where i almost have no clear coat left on my car. the main issue is the rust. i have never had a car rust in a flat part under neath a car where water should not be able to sit. i will be attaching pictures that show the extent of the issue. i have also come across numerous chat pages that have the exact same thing happening to their cars as well. this is an obvious safety hazard that can not possibly be meeting the minimum safety standards. i do live in a cold weather state now but the rusting happened while i was still living in south carolina. the fixes for this issue are expensive and should not be the responsibility of the consumer to fix when it is a common issue for 2002-2006 altima series. not only do these rust spots allow for debris to possible come into the cabin from the underside of the vehicle but also allow for exhaust to fill the cabin. kobe steel is a know supplier for nissan and i would like to know if they supplied the floor panels for these year of altima's since they have admitted to using material that is not up to standards. i would like to have the floorboards fixed without having to pay or something to make this situation right. my car currently with the rust and paint issues is un-sellable and has lost 100% of its value. thank you for reviewing this complaint. again the exact start time for the rust or the paint is unknown but it started around 5 years ago."
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2013-05-03

Complaint:
"went out to my car ( parked) and noticed something hanging from underneath drivers side. a large mass of rusted floor board was hanging to the ground. i touched it and it fell off, about a foot long and just as wide.laid on ground to see under car and the drivers side floor board is rusted out.has been for regular oil changes and the mechanic has not mentioned this.i discussed with mechanic and he notified me that he has seen this before and i shouldn't allow my teen daughter to drive her car because it is unsafe.i then checked on the internet to find out that this was happening all nissan altima's from 2002-2006. yet, nissan has not taken responsibility for this in a recall . is nissan waiting for my daughters foot to go through the floor and crash and die before they do the right thing. this is clearly a safety issue. someone needs to step in or step up to resolve this before someone dies. so the car remains parked.question 'would they let there teen drive this car "? remember the drivers seat is also attached to this area will it stand up to a crash or give way throwing driver through front window ? taking pictures of damage to document. thanks"
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2018-01-01

Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan altima. while the vehicle was being serviced, the mechanic noticed a piece of metal hanging underneath the floorboard. upon further inspection, a hole was located on the front driver and passenger side floorboards. the dealer was not contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to take the vehicle to a nissan dealer for diagnostic testing. the approximate failure mileage was 113,000."
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2017-05-12

Complaint:
"i happened to look under vehicle and noticed that my drivers side floor board is completely rusted out. this is a design flaw and i have serious safety concerns with this. a whole new floor pan will be needed to hopefully fix this. had i not seen this, i could have been seriously injured. i do not know when this started to corrode, only when i noticed it which was today 10/15/2017."
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2018-03-10

Complaint:
"after a routine service call for oil change, rotate and check tires, etc., i was advised by the mechanic both floor boards were in need of repair. his advise was to drive carefully and not go over big bumps. i took it to a repair shop and immediately the owner knew exactly what the problem was. he the owner had already fixed at least 4 altimas same year. he said the steel was thin and rusted quick. my car was almost all the way through the floors. steel is, in fact made much better and very little rust shows on cars. mine car has no rust (except floor boards in front) it has been fixed $500."
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2019-03-06

Complaint:
"2006 nissan altima, the under body rusting and hole in underbody of passenger and driver side. just noticed since i saw something hanging from my car."
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2017-02-07

Complaint:
"floorboards rusted through.04/15/2017. found this out when car was in for service."
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2018-02-04

Recalls for the 2006 Nissan ALTIMA

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"certain passenger vehicles equipped with 2.5l engines may experience excessive engine oil consumption as a result of improper performance of the piston rings."
Consequence:
IF THE OIL IS NOT MAINTAINED AT LEAST AT THE MINIMUM LEVEL, ENGINE DAMAGE CAN OCCUR AND IN EXTREME CASES RESULT IN AN ENGINE FIRE.
Remedy:

DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE (ECM OR ENGINE COMPUTER). YOUR VEHICLE WILL ALSO BE INSPECTED TO DETERMINE IF IT HAS BEEN CONSUMING ENGINE OIL AT A HIGHER THAN NORMAL RATE. IN A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF VEHICLES, ENGINE REPLACEMENT WILL BE NEEDED. ON JUNE 9, 2006, NISSAN NOTIFIED OWNERS OF THE POSSIBILITY OF EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION AND THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING THE OIL AT A PROPER LEVEL. FOLLOW-UP LETTER TO OWNERS ADVISING THEM OF THE STATUS OF THE RECALL WAS SENT DURING AUGUST 2006. FOLLOWUP LETTER TO OWNERS WAS SENT ON NOVEMBER 15, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.

Component(s) Involved: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Date of incident: 2006-06-21

Recall:
"on certain passenger vehicles equipped with a 2.5l engine, the crankshaft position sensor can overheat causing a brief interruption in the signal output from the sensor."
Consequence:
IF THE INTERRUPTION IN THE SIGNAL FROM THE CRANKSHAFT POSITION 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. CERTAIN MY 2006 ALTIMAS WHICH HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY REMEDIED UNDER RECALL CAMPAIGN 06V223 (NISSAN R0606) ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS RECALL SINCE THE REPROGRAMMING FOR 06V223 ALSO INCLUDED THIS REPROGRAMMING. THE RECALL BEGAN ON DECEMBER 31, 2007. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.

Component(s) Involved: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Date of incident: 2007-11-14

NISSAN Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

NISSAN ranks 5 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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