2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid

No clear pattern

0% of complaints about the 2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2009 vehicle, but with only 81 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is steering (26 complaints), typically at 6.4 yr or about 68,000 miles.

Complaints: 81
Median age at failure: 6.1 yr
Median mileage: 65,000 n=77
Crash / fire / tow: 7.4% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

In owners’ own words

Electrical system 10,897 mi 1.3 yr in service

ON A SUNNY COLD AFTERNOON IN AVON CT, DOING 35 MPH, THE ABS AND BRAKE LIGHTS SUDDENLY CAME ON MY DASH OF 2009 NISSAN ALTIMA HYBRID WITH 10897 MILES. AN AUDIBLE CONTINUOUS ALARM WAS ON IN THE CAR. THE BRAKES WERE TOTALLY INOPERABLE. IT WAS A TOTAL CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE NEAREST DEALER AND NISSAN CLAIMS IT WAS A FAULTY ABS ACTUATOR THAT NEEDS REPLACEMENT. *TR

Electrical system 32,000 mi 4.4 yr in service

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO START THE IGNITION BUT THE ENGINE FAILED TO OPERATE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE COMPUTERIZED CHIP WAS REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 32,000.

Electrical system 44,489 mi 5.4 yr in service

STARTING SYSTEM DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THE KEY FOB. I CAN LOCK AND UNLOCK THE CAR WITH THE FOB BUT CAN NOT START IT. INSERTING THE FOB INTO THE ACCESSORY KEY PORT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE. RESEARCH CONCLUDES THIS IS A COMMON MALFUNCTION THAT LEAVES MOTORISTS STRANDED AND THAT THE SOLUTION IS RESOLVED WITH THE REPLACEMENT OF THE STEERING LOCK MECHANISM. AGAIN, THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMON, KNOWN ISSUE. *TR

Steering 63,000 mi 4.3 yr in service

THE KEY FOB UNLOCKED THE CAR BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT START WHEN I TRIED TO START IT. THE YELLOW KEY LIGHT INDICATOR WAS ON THE DASH. THE PUSH-START BUTTON STAYED IN THE LOCK POSITION. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE NISSAN DEALER. THEY TOLD ME THAT THE STEERING LOCK UNIT MALFUNCTIONED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CAR WILL NOT START UP UNTIL IT IS REPLACED. THE PART IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY. MY FINAL QUOTE WAS $775 FROM THE DEALER. MY STORY IS SIMILAR TO OTHER STEERING LOCK UNIT COMPLAINTS NISSAN SHOULD RECALL THIS DEFECTIVE PART. *TR

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

In owners’ own words

How to read this