There are 50 owner-reported body & structure complaints for the 2003 Nissan Altimain NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
HAD TO REPLACE FRONT PASSENGER FLOOR PAN BECAUSE THERE WAS A HOLE ABOUT 15 INCHES LONG AND 5 INCHES WIDE DUE TO RUST. MY FRONT SUBFRAME IS COMPLETELY RUSTED AT THIS POINT. RUST IS EXPECTED IN NEW YORK DUE TO SALT, BUT AFTER TALKING WITH NISSAN THEY SAID THEY HAVE NOT HEARD ANYONE ELSE HAVING ISSUES DESPITE THOUSANDS OF HITS ON A SIMPLE INTERNET SEARCH ABOUT RUST ISSUES FOR NISSANS.
FLOOR PANS ROTTED OUT
FLOORBOARDS ON DRIVERS AND PASSENGERS SIDE IS COMPLETELY RUSTED THRU. IT IS MY 82 YEAR OLD MOTHERS CAR, WHICH SHE BOUGHT NEW. THE CAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN GARAGE KEPT AND TAKEN CARE OF METICULOUSLY BY ME AND IS IN MINT CONDITION. NO RUST WHAT SO EVER ON THE CAR (EXCEPT THE FLOORBOARDS) AND HAS ONLY 50,000 MILES.
PURCHASED A 2003 ALTIMA, 1 OWNER CAR FOR MY 16 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER. AFTER HAVING CAR FOR ABOUT 9 MONTHS NOTICED METAL RUSTED MATERIAL IN THE DRIVEWAY UNDER THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE CAR. INSPECTED AND FOUND A HOLE THE SIZE OF MY FIST GOING ALL THE WAY THROUGH. ENDED UP REPLACING MOST ALL OF THE PASSENGER SIDE FLOOR PAN DUE TO A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE. IF NOT FOR THE CARPET THE PASSENGER COULD HAVE PLACED THEIR FOOT THROUGH THE AREA. HAVE TALKED TO OTHERS AT BODY SHOPS AND FOUND THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH THE ALTIMA FROM 2003-2006. NOT A CHEAP FIX EITHER.
FLOORBOARD IS RUSTED THROUGH
RUSTING UNDERCARRIAGE ON PASSENGER AND DRIVER SIDE
FLOOR BOARDS ARE COMPLETELY RUSTING THROUGH, AND IT SEEMS THIS IS A PROBLEM TYPICAL WITH NISSAN VEHICLES BUILT IN THIS TIME FRAME. I FEAR THIS WILL AFFECT SAFETY, AND POTENTIALLY LEAD TO INCREASED RISK OF CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH, THE FLOOR RUSTED AND FELL OUT THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE FLOOR PANEL NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 115,000.
TAKATA RECALL - THE DRIVER SEAT DOOR IS ALMOST FALLING OFF OF ITS HINGES. TAKATA RECALL - THERE IS CORROSION UNDER THE CAR FROM RUSTING, MAKING MAJOR HOLES UNDER THE CAR
BOTH THE DRIVER SIDE AND PASSENGER SIDE FLOORBOARDS ARE HEAVILY ROTTING OUT. THE PASSENGER SIDE SEAT IS EVEN MOVING.
THE UNDERSIDE OF VEHICLE ON THE PASSENGER AND DRIVER'S SIDE FLOORBOARD AREA HAS RUSTED THROUGH COMPLETELY THROUGH TO THE INSIDE CARPETING. UPON RESEARCHING, IT APPEARS TO BE A COMMON DEFECT THAT NISSAN REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE. THERE IS SIGNIFICANT AREA OF DETERIORATION ON BOTH SIDES OF UNDERBODY OF VEHICLE.
THERE IS A LARGE HOLE IN THE PASSENGER SIDE FLOOR BOARD, COMPLETELY RUSTED THROUGH TO THE INTERIOR CARPET.
THE FLOOR BED IS RUSTED AND HAS HOLES ON BOTH DRIVER SIDE AS WELL AS PASSESNGER SIDE.
VIN [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).' *JB
I HAVE A LARGE RUSTED HOLE UNDERNEATH THE DRIVERS FLOORBOARD. IT IS APPROXIMATELY 5" WIDE X 12" LONG. THERE IS A HARD PLASTIC PIECE THAT IS NOW DRAGGING ON THE GROUND AND THE INSULATION IS READY TO FALL OUT. THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN BECAUSE MY FEET ARE ABOUT TO POKE THROUGH THE FLOORBOARD ALLOWING EXHAUST INTO MY CAR. I HAVE A CALL INTO THE ATTORNEYS FOR THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AND WILL NOT BE BUYING ANOTHER NISSAN BECAUSE OF THEIR LACK OF CONCERN FOR THIS KNOWN ISSUE.
I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF A 2003 ALTIMA. RECENTLY I WAS NOTIFIED WHILE GETTING MY TIRES ROTATED THAT I HAVE A LARGE HOLE RUSTING THRU THE BOTTOM OF MY CAR IN THE FRONT PASSENGER FLOOR. THE AFFECTED AREA IS ROUGHLY 18" LONG X 10" WIDE. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN AS NO ONE EVER LOOKS UNDER THE CAR TO CHECK FOR RUST. LUCKILY NO INJURY OCCURRED BUT IT'S JUST AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. HOW MANY INJURIES OR WORSE YET DEATHS WILL NEED TO OCCUR BEFORE A RECALL IS ISSUED. CLEARLY THERE IS A PROBLEM YET NISSAN IS NEGLECTING TO ACT UPON IT.
OUR ALTMAN FAILED INSPECTION DUE TO A 9 INCH HOLE IN THE PASSENGER SIDE FLOOR. THIS APPEARS TO BE A WIDESPREAD ISSUE WITH THIS MODEL. THERE ARE ENOUGH COMPLAINTS REGARDING THIS ISSUE SO THAT IT TO BE A RECALL.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FLOOR BOARDS WERE RUSTED TO THE POINT OF DETERIORATION. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO FURTHER INSPECT THE VEHICLE AND UPON TAKING IT TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR ROUTINE SERVICING IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE FLOOR BOARDS PREMATURELY RUSTED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 77,900.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRONT DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE FLOORBOARDS PREMATURELY RUSTED TO THE POINT OF DETERIORATION. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THERE WERE HOLES NEAR BOTH SIDES OF THE FLOORBOARDS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 185,000.
MY FLOOR PANEL IS RUSTING AND I CAN SEE THE GROUND WHEN DRIVING. ALSO IT ISN'T SAFE FUMES ARE GETTING IN AND I HAVE A 4 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER.
Showing 1–20 of 50 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026