2004 Nissan Altima buying guide

A data-driven checklist for buying a used 2004 Nissan Altima, built from 276 owner complaints, 1 recall campaigns, 91 service bulletins and federal safety records — not opinions.

Know before you buy

1 recall campaigns affect this model year. Check each one and confirm the repairs were done — recall work is free at any authorized dealer.
Main problem areas: engine and engine cooling (109), structure (42), electrical system (32), engine (30), power train (17).
Symptoms owners describe: stalling (73), rust / corrosion (36), check engine light (28), hesitation / surging (9), vibration / shaking (9), loss of power (8). Test-drive with these in mind.
Reported incident mileage: among 222 complaints with a usable odometer reading, half were filed between 53,000 and 101,533 miles (median 74,000). This describes when owners reported problems — it does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop one.
Fuel economy: 20–23 MPG combined (EPA; engines: 2.5L 4-cyl, 3.5L 6-cyl).

When problems get reported

Reported incident mileage among 222 complaints with usable odometer readings.

under 20k		18
20–40k		10
40–60k		44
60–80k		49
80–100k		41
100–150k		47
150k+		13

Before you hand over money

Run the VIN through our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact build.
Check open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls — a recall that was never fixed is a free repair you can claim.
Get a pre-purchase inspection focused on the problem areas listed above.

This guide is generated from official NHTSA, EPA and FARS records. Complaints are unverified owner reports and raw counts are not adjusted for sales volume.