CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2006 Nissan Altima has a trend of engine & transmission problems.
Excessive oil consumption is the main problem reported by owners. Nissan did a recall back in 2006 for oil consumption due to bad piston rings, but many owners report to us that the recall didn't fix the problem. The dealer only had to check the oil consumption rate. Typically 1 qt per 1,000 miles is "acceptable" per OEM standards ... that's a lot of oil!
The 2006 Altima also has a defect trend of CVT transmission failure showing up around the 100,000 mile mark.
It's an expensive repair at over $2,000 average repair cost. For more information see Nissan Altima CVT defect info on NissanProblems.com.
Just got rid of a 2006 2.5 S due to severe rusting problems. I honestly thought it was some kind of issue dealing with snow/ice - salt corrosion but come on here to find other people with the same issue. A real bummer being as that I never had any major mechanical problems with the vehicle otherwise. Had it not been for this one issue I'd have easily owned the car another few years.
My wife said her car was dragging a good sized stick. I looked under the car to pull out the stick and lo and behold, the drivers side floor panel was rusted! So bad I could see carpet! Pissed! This should not be happening on this new of a car. Come to find out, I'm not alone with these Altimas. There is a flaw in the body where when it rains water gets into the floor board. I tweeted to Nissan only to get a BS response. One body shop quoted me over $2000. Screw that. I bought a piece of new sheet metal, cut out the rust and welded the new piece and added metal silicone and permetex undercoating all for around $100. What a pain in the ass. If you are going to buy an Altima stay away from 02-06 models or you might get more than you bargained for!
The floor boards should not be rusting out from the inside on both sides of the car. This is absurd that Nissan won't accept responsibility for this deficiency. This car is no longer safe and will not pass inspection. Does Nissan really want to advertise that their cars don't last ten years.
took my car in for inspection, told it wouldn't pass due to severe rusting of driver side floor panel. Must have gotten out of control this past year, because no heads up was given to me at last inspection. Now i cant get my inspection sticker until i fix it. I come online and see that there is a huge community of Altima users affected by this and it is a known defect that Nissan has not agreed to remedy! Will never buy Nissan again!
I have a 10 year old Altima. Floorboards rusted through - nothing but carpet between me and the road. Contacted Nissan Canada. Their reply was :
Thank you for allowing us an opportunity to review your concerns regarding your 2006 Nissan Altima. We regret the circumstances which prompted you to contact us and apologize for any inconvenience you may have incurred.
Nissan manufactures vehicles and parts to stringent quality standards. There are numerous factors that can cause rust such as environmental fallout, or, salt or submersion in water, sand or mud, to name a few. We cannot estimate the longevity of the body of the vehicle, as it can vary widely from one vehicle to another. It is for this reason that Nissan supplies a warranty with every new vehicle.
Nissan Canada realizes situations may occur with your Nissan vehicle. After reviewing your case, it has been determined that you are out of warranty.
Nissan Canada is unable to offer financial assistance with the repair of the rust due to the vehicle being outside of the New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
Nissan Canada must uphold the guidelines outlined in our warranty. We realize this may not be the answer you were looking for, but we hope that you understand our position.
Thank you for taking the time to contact us. Should you wish to discuss this matter further, kindly contact us 1-800-387-0122.
What a load of horse crap!!!!! I am close to 60 years old and have had many vehicles (Fords, GMs, BMWs, Hyundais) older than 10 years that have not had the floor boards rust out. ("submersion in water"...are they kidding me????)
Look - every car manufacturer has some part or system on an otherwise great car that was poorly designed, engineered, built, or whatever. I get that - no problem. It is what that manufacturer does about a known problem that speaks to that companies integrity and how it will stand by other problems in the future. For a company that spends millions to lure in customers and then blow them off over a safety issue just doesn't make sense.
Needless to say I will never get anywhere near a Nissan again, and in fact I will make an effort to spread the word far and wide to everyone to void Nissan at all costs. They are not a reputable, honest, trustworthy corporation.
This car was perfect when purchased and I have taken great care of this car, always kept washed/cleaned. Was informed in Sept. of 2015 that the floorboards were rusting. I have spoken to several shops, none of which will fix the problem. I have since given the car to my 18 yr. old. Now the carpet is falling out of the car. Time for inspection again and not sure how it will pass. Find myself again begging someone/anyone to fix. I need this car to last a few years for me kid. I had my last Nissan Sentra for 15 years before the rust issue got serious. I feel that Nissan needs to step up and pay for the repairs to these vehicles. I do have pictures but do not know how to attach. All of you out there with the same problem what are doing with your Altima floor boards?
I was replacing the brakes on my Altima, and when I had the front up on a jack, I saw this HUGE rust hole. I bought this car used about seven years ago (2009) and there was no noticeable rust at that time. Now I have a gaping hole in my floor boards! The grey area visible in the photos is the insulation under my carpet.
I have a quote from a small body shop for $1100 to fix it. Screw that. If I can't get those bastards at Nissan to admit this was an engineering/manufacturing flaw and pay for repairs, I will just pull the carpet back, cut out the rust and screw in some sheet metal. My time and money. And it will be the last Nissan I ever own.
Note:
I drove a 1985 Toyota Camry which I bought in 1989 for over 20 years. When finally sold it with 325,000 miles on it, there was some rust around the rear wheel wells, but no major rust underneath like this Altima with 177,000 miles. And everything worked. I have a 2000 Toyota Sienna mini-van that does not have this problem.
This is so ridiculous. I feel like I'm driving a Flintstone car with this gaping hole in my floorboard. I have a 2006 Altima. 10 years is not enough time for the floorboard to be rusting all the way through. As much as I love Nissan, I may have to put them down. I had a 2000 Maxima that was totaled after my son ran over one of those cinder parking blocks. I later found out the car tore up so easily because the bottom was rusted out and it just crumbled. I had no idea I would run into this problem again. Plus no one is going to give me a fair price if I trade it in and I wouldn't have the heart to sell it in this condition. The auto body shop who gave me an estimate said Nissan is notorious for this kind of workmanship. Nissan, be a respectable business and recall and rectify this situation. One person has already been injured. Are you waiting for a death?
Just discovered that my 2006 Nissan Altima has completely rotted on the front right passenger today. Decided to research if there were any recalls with this issue and discovered there had been hundreds of complaints and Nissan refuses to recall this issue. And all of the other models in the same time frame did not have this defect!!!! So..... what's the problem Nissan!!!! Use to think Nissan had the best vehicles ever..... will never purchase a Nissan again if they don't resolve this issue!
Thank you for this opportunity to rant. It's very hard to believe that Nissan can/will ignore the issue that I've shown in my attached pictures and will not accept the fact that it is an issue that many of us Altima owners are experiencing. I was made aware that the issue is in the model years 2002 thru 2006. I have a 2006 Altima.
Some people on there end need to get their heads out of their f*cking asses and realize how serious of a problem this is. I can't believe that they feel that they are not responsible for this. I did call a local Nissan dealer and they told me that I could pay to have this fixed and that I would be reimbursed "IF" this does become a recall. Anyone that cares to email me, feel welcome to; graphex101@gmail.com
This is absolute bullshit. I'm finding rusted sheets of metal on my driveway every day.
did not know it was even rusting until i did a brake job, jacking it up saw a little rough area started to push around on it, then I realized that i had a lot of rust. Could not tell because of the under coating. same on both sides, usually take it to a garage to get it worked on and never heard anything from them, guess the under coating hid it. going to take carpet up to see what needs to be done .
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Just got rid of a 2006 2.5 S due to severe rusting problems. I honestly thought it was some kind of issue dealing with snow/ice - salt corrosion but come on here to find other people with the same issue. A real bummer being as that I never had any major mechanical problems with the vehicle otherwise. Had it not been for this one issue I'd have easily owned the car another few years.
- Ramon S., New York City, NY, US