There are 44 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2008 Nissan Altimain NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
After driving over a hour or so the rpm will stick at 3 and the mph will not go over 60. The car occasionally lose power as well. I have already had the throttle body and the alternator recently done.
Was driving and heard a knocking sound similar to taps coming from the engine. Pulled over turned car off and turned it back on and knocking sound stopped. Drive about another mile and black smoke came out the vents. Pulled over and got out of vehicle. By the time I was out of the vehicle the car was on fire. By the time the fire department arrived car was completely engulfed. No check engine light was on and car gave no previous warning as to what could have happened.
Leaking power stearing fluid. The seems to be an issue with fuel system. No light just does not seem to accelerate properly.
I purchased a crankshaft from CarID and had a friend replace it with the old one in my 2008 Nissan Altima. Immediately after the repair, I noticed my steering power was gone. I had them put in the old crankshaft and regained my steering. I told CarID that the part was either defective or the wrong part despite their website claiming otherwise. They told me it wasn't under warranty and refused to refund or exchange the crankshaft. Well, this isn't a warranty issue, this is a defective part issue. On their own website they list the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which my situation falls under. Their part (WVE 5S11487 - Crankshaft Position Sensor) led to the failure of my steering. I called WVE, who said they do not sell directly to CarID and the part was most likely bought from a third party, hence the lack of warranty. The last I heard from CarID on this issue, they told me they would assist within 24-72 hours. That was 7 days ago. I emailed them a follow-up email yesterday that has gone ignored as well. CarID has not only shown any interest in resolving this issue amicably but shown willful disregard for the danger that their defective parts pose to their customers.
EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION AT 120K PLUS MILES. THE LAST TWO OR THREE OIL CHANGES MY CAR HAS REQUIRED AN UNUSUAL AMOUNT OF OIL. I'VE CHECKED A FEW ONLINE FORUMS AND THIS APPEARS TO BE AN ISSUE WITH NISSAN VEHICLES. I HAD AN OIL CHANGE TODAY AND I CONFIRMED THAT MY ENGINE OIL WAS LOW AND THIS WAS AFTER 4K MILES BETWEEN CHANGES.
MY NISSAN 2008 ALTIMA STARTED STALLING WHILE I PULLED INTO TRAFFIC. IT WAS HAPPENING FOR SEVERAL MONTHS AND WAS RANDOM. I TOOK MY CAR INTO NISSAN, AFTER REALIZING THERE WAS A CVT TRANSMISSION RECALL FOR THIS CAR. THEY EXAMINED THE CAR AND DETERMINED THAT THERE WAS NO PROBLEM WITH THE CAR, BECAUSE THE CAR DID NOT REPORT ANY DIAGNOSTIC CODE. THEY TOLD ME TO COME BACK, WHEN THE CAR STALLED AND THEY COULD GET THE NECESSARY CODE, SINCE THE CAR WAS EXPERIENCING THE PROBLEM THE CODE WOULD BE IN THE SYSTEM. I HAD REPORTED THIS PROBLEM TO NISSAN CORPORATE AND GOT CASE NUMBER. ON MAY 7, 2018, NISSAN FOUND THE CODE AND THE PROBLEM WAS A BAD CVT TRANSMISSION. NISSAN DETERMINED TO PAY HALF THE COST OF REPLACING MY TRANSMISSION. ON MAY 18,2018, I PICKED UP MY CAR AND EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM DRIVING AWAY FROM THE DEALERSHIP. I CALLED BACK AND THE MANAGER SAID THE PROBLEM WAS CAUSED BY HIGH FLUIDS AND TO DRIVE THE CAR OVER THE WEEKEND AND IT SHOULD BE FINE. WELL, I STALLED WHILE DRIVING INTO TRAFFIC TWO MORE TIMES OVER THE WEEKEND. I CALLED NISSAN CORPORATE TO SAY THAT THE PROBLEM IS NOT FIXED. THEY HAVE REFUSED TO DO ANYTHING. I DO NOT FEEL SAFE IN THIS CAR AND AM TERRIFIED TO DRIVE IT. I'M DRIVING AN UNSAFE CAR AND NISSAN IS NOT HELPING ... AT LEAST FOR NOW
LOUD BANG AND OIL COOLER BUSTED WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AT 55 MPH, IT STARTED SMOKING AND THEN FIRE COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD I PULLED OVER TURNED OF THE IGNITION AND GOT OUT AND THE CAR WAS FULLY ENGULFED IN FLAMES WITHIN MINUTES
LOSS OF POWER. CAN'T DRIVE OVER 60 MPH. RPMS KEEP GOING UP BUT CAR WON'T GO ANY FASTER.
TAKATA RECALL THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD HAS A LARGE CRACK IN IT, LEAKING FUMES INTO THE CABIN OF THE VEHICLE. I REPLACED THE PART 6 MONTHS AGO. I'M ALREADY HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE NEW PART. I'VE SEEN NUMEROUS NISSAN ALTIMA'S ON THE ROAD WITH THE SAME PROBLEM (VERY LOUD EXHAUST). THERE MUST BE A DESIGN FLAW THAT CAUSES THE METAL TO WEAKEN AND BREAK.
"TAKATA RECALL" LOUD NOISE ON THE OUTSIDE OF CAR AND WHINING NOISE WHEN RIDING BRAKES.
TIMING CHAIN
THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD CRACKED ALLOWING CARBON MONOXIDE TO ENTER THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. THIS IS A SEVERE SAFETY HAZARD THAT NISSAN IS AWARE OF. NISSAN REFUSED TO REPAIR THIS UNDER WARRANTY AS THE VEHICLE HAD 100K MILES ON IT. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM ON 4 CYLINDER ALTIMA'S THIS IS CAUSED BY A DEFECTIVE PART WHICH SHOULD BE REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY DUE TO IT'S INHERENT SAFETY CONCERNS. THIS CAN CAUSE OCCUPANTS TO PASS OUT WHILE DRIVING WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF CAUSING DAMAGE AND INJURY TO THIRD PARTY INDIVIDUALS. NISSAN SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO REPAIR ALL ISSUES SURROUNDING A CRACKED EXHAUST MANIFOLD UNDER WARRANTY. THIS SHOULD NOT HAVE A MILEAGE LIMITATION IMPOSED. SIMPLY STATED AN EXHAUST MANIFOLD SHOULD NOT EXHIBIT CRACKING UNDER NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS FOR THE LIFETIME OF A VEHICLE. THIS IS A SOUTHERN CAR WITH NO EVIDENCE OF RUST ON THE EFFECTED PART. PART IS AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION. *TR
WHEN DRIVING ON LONG AND SOMETIMES SHORT TRIPS, THE AIR FLOW STOPS BLOWING, LIKE A VENT WAS CLOSED. THE BLOWER FAN MOTOR IS STILL WORKING AND THE A/C IS STILL WORKING BECAUSE IT IS STILL COLD AT THE VENT BUT THERE IS NO AIR FLOW. *TR
STICKY SUBSTANCE ON DASH/ 2ND TRANSMISSION IS GIVING ME PROBLEMS
SPEED WENT FROM 70 TO 60 MILES PER HOUR, IT JUST DROP
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE PUSH BUTTON SYSTEM FAILED TO START THE ENGINE. THE ENGINE STARTED WHEN THE PUSH BUTTON WAS ENGAGED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE FOB DID NOT START THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO HOWARD BENTLY BUICK GMC (1230 HUNTSVILLE HIGHWAY, FAYETTEVILLE, TN 37334, PHONE: 931-433-1585). THE BUICK DEALER ADVISED THE CONTACT TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO A NISSAN DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING; HOWEVER, THE BUICK DEALER REPLACED THE BATTERY, WHICH DID NOT CORRECT THE FAILURE. THE BUICK DEALER STATED THAT THE BRAKE STOP SWITCH MAY NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000.
THE VEHICLE HAS STALLED WHEN DRIVING ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. AT 20 MPH ON LOCAL ROADS, CAR SUDDENLY STALLED AND WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. THIS HAPPENED AGAIN ON THE HIGHWAY AT 65 MPH AND AGAIN WHEN DRIVING AT 5 MPH IN A PARKING LOT. THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED AFTER EACH EVENT. CAR HAS BEEN TAKEN TO 3 SEPARATE DEALERSHIPS FOR EVALUATION BUT NO CAUSE OF THE MALFUNCTION HAS BEEN DETERMINED. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SMOKE STARTED TO EMIT FROM THE HOOD AND UNKNOWN FLUID WAS DISCOVERED ON THE ENGINE AFTER INSPECTING THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO SHIFT OUT OF PARK. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER, WHO DIAGNOSED THAT A COOLANT HOSE CLAMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000.
I HAVE A WHINING NOISE UNDER THE HOOD. WHINING NOISE IS LOUDER AS YOU ACCELERATE. *TR
I WENT TO ACCELERATE AND CAR, I GUESS YOU COULD SAY IT JUST GAVE OUT. IT WAS STILL RUNNING BUT AS I HIT GAS IT WOULD NOT GO ANY FASTER. THE CAR IMMEDIATELY STARTED RUNNING VERY ROUGH SO I PULLED OVER AND TURNED ENGINE OFF. I TOOK IT TO A NISSAN DEALERSHIP FOR DIAGNOSIS, AND WAS TOLD I NEED WHOLE NEW MOTOR DUE TO THE FACT THE CAMSHAFT BROKE. NOW THIS IS A PART I AM BEING TOLD THAT SHOULD NOT BREAK AND IT MUST BE A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. I WAS TOLD TO CHECK AND SEE IF ANY RECALLS HAVE BEEN PUT OUT ON CAMSHAFT. I DID AND THERE HAVE NOT BEEN. I AM FILING COMPLAINT BECAUSE I THINK THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL. I NOW HAVE TO PAY OUT OF POCKET (EST. IS OVER $4,800!!!!) FOR REPAIRS DONE TO MY CAR FOR SOMETHING THAT SHOULD NOT HAVE BROKE IN THE FIRST PLACE. AND BY THE CAMSHAFT BREAKING IT CAUSED A LIST OF OTHER MAJOR DAMAGE TO MY ENGINE, WHICH IS WHY I NEED TO REPLACE IT! *TR
Showing 1–20 of 44 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 26, 2026