These help you judge whether this one is worth its price.
Costly problem zones ahead at your miles come with a Car Hunt Pass or Pro. See plans
Loading the EPA's yearly fuel cost
What about the price? Check the asking price on two listing sites. Buying from a dealer? Run its offer through the offer X ray.
Education, not financial or mechanical advice. Have any used car checked by a mechanic you trust before you buy.
The full record
Tap to open
What owners complain about
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Seller kit
Questions for the seller, test drive checks and price points
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Walk up to the seller ready
Questions to ask the seller of a 2009 Nissan Altima, built from this year's owner complaints and recalls. What to feel, hear and look at on the test drive, with boxes to tick at the car. Honest points to raise on price, from the records and never from guesses. Copy the questions to your phone in one tap.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
Write your offer
A ready to send offer for the seller, by text or email
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Send the seller a fair offer
Type the asking price and your own offer for the 2009 Nissan Altima, tick what you found, and get a polite message ready to text or email. Its reasons come from this year's owner complaints, recalls and crash ratings, and never from made up repair prices.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
When problems show up
Loading mileage at failure
Will it outlast the loan?
The month of your loan each problem zone lands in
Loading the problem zones
Recalls
4 recalls on file
Loading recalls
Crash ratings
NHTSA's stars out of five, for each version it tested. Front crash stars only compare cars of about the same size and weight. The tests changed for 2011 models, so these stars do not line up with newer ones.
Loading crash ratings
Fuel economy
The EPA's estimates for each engine and transmission, and its own yearly fuel cost. Yours depends on how you drive and the shape the car is in.
Loading fuel economy
True cost to own
The loan, fuel, insurance and upkeep, a month and over 5 years
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What it really costs to own
What the 2009 Nissan Altima costs a month and over 5 years: the loan and its interest, fuel worked out from the EPA's figures for the version you pick, and your own insurance, registration and upkeep. A cost a mile, a link that reopens your numbers, and the breakdown copied to your phone in one tap.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
Every year of the Altima
Owner complaints for each model year, this one outlined. Tap a year to open it. The newest 2 are not judged yet. Bars are totals, so older years stand taller; the verdict compares every year at the same age.
Loading every year of this model
Before you buy this one
Built from this year's numbers. Whatever the data says, the car in front of you is the one that counts.
A history report such as Carfax or AutoCheck pulls in more of the car’s past than these checks can:
Crashes and damage reported by police, insurers or shops, even when it was fixed.
Service visits that shops reported, with the miles each time.
How many owners, for how long, and the states it was registered in.
Whether it was a rental, fleet or lease car, when that was reported.
It only knows what was reported to it. A clean report is not proof of a clean car. Ask the seller first: many dealers hand one over for free.
Red flags in a history
Salvage title
Usually an insurer called it a total loss. In most states it cannot be driven on the road until it is rebuilt and inspected.
Rebuilt title
A salvage car that was fixed and passed a state check. It can be fine, but it is worth less, can be harder to insure, and needs a careful inspection.
Flood damage
Water can ruin wiring and sensors months later. Be wary of a flood brand that vanished after a move to another state.
Lemon or maker buyback
The maker bought it back over a defect it could not fix. Ask what the defect was and how it was fixed.
Odometer rollback
A mileage reading lower than an earlier one, or a title marked not actual miles.
Many owners, fast
Three owners in two years can mean a problem each one passed along.
Gaps in the records
Years with no service or registration. Ask why: it may have sat, been off the road, or been rebuilt.
Title words and rules differ by state. Not legal advice.
Before you pay
Pre purchase inspection
Have a mechanic you choose, not the seller, put it on a lift and look it over before you pay.
Insurance quote
Get a quote on this exact car before you sign. Ask your own insurer and one or two others.
Not every car needs every fix. Run the VIN at NHTSA to see which are still open. Repairs are usually free at a dealer for the brand; ask before any work.
Equipment and accessories
Sep 10, 2010 · Recall 10V401000
Nissan is recalling certain vehicles that were equipped with a garmin nuvi model 750 navigation system. The batteries contained in the affected gps units can overheat.
What can happen
Overheated batteries could result in a fire.
The fix
Nissan will notify owners and the repairs will be performed by garmin technicians by replacing the battery and inserting a spacer on top of the battery free of charge. The safety recall began on september 16, 2010. Owners may contact garmin directly at 1-866-957-1981 or Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Suspension
Sep 16, 2009 · Recall 09V358000
Nissan is recalling certain model year 2009 and 2010 altima and maxima passenger cars. The upper front strut insulators may have been manufactured out of specification resulting in a potential for the strut insulator to crack.
What can happen
If the strut insulator is cracked, there is a potential for the strut rod to come out of its mounting position, which could affect vehicle stability and increase the risk of a crash.
The fix
Nissan will notify owners and dealers will replace both left and right side front strut insulators free of charge. The safety recall began october 2009. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-nissan1 (1-800-647-7261).
Body and frame
Jan 9, 2009 · Recall 09V006000
Nissan is recalling 225 my 2009 altima vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 214, "side impact protection." these vehicles may have been manufactured with an out-of-specification weld on the door assembly.
What can happen
This does not meet the standard requirements.
The fix
All the affected vehicles have been brought back from the dealerships and remedied at the factory. No vehicles had been retailed.
Wheels and tires
Sep 15, 2008 · Recall 08V464000
Nissan is recalling 3,403 my 2009 altima vehicles equipped with 16-inch alloy wheels. Some these wheels may not have been manufactured to specification. This could cause one or more of the five lug nuts attaching the wheel to the vehicle to become loose.
What can happen
If the lug nuts become loose, it could eventually result in a loss of control and a crash without warning.
The fix
Dealers will inspect the vehicle to determine if it is equipped with one of the affected wheels. If it is, the wheels will be replaced with new ones that have been manufactured to the correct specification. The recall is expected to begin during september 2008. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
1,547 complaints; the part named most is the steering
Unverified reports, not adjusted for sales. One complaint can name several parts, so shares add up past 100%. Filed Nov 17, 2008 to Jan 16, 2026. 19% name a part that is usually costly to fix.
Owners reported 36 crashes, 8 fires, 21 injuries and 2 deaths in these complaints.
Steering859 · 56%
Electrical466 · 30%
Other or unknown146 · 9%
What one owner wrote about the steering
The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. While attempting to start the vehicle, the steering wheel was locked, preventing the remote start feature from functioning as designed. The vehicle was towed to the residence and was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 145,000.
Filed Jan 16, 2026NHTSA complaint 117114321 of 18 owner quotes
Car Hunt Pass or Pro
16 more parts, and 18 owner quotes
Every part owners name for the 2009 Nissan Altima, with their own words about what went wrong. Usually costly to fix among them: Engine, Transmission and drivetrain, Body and frame.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
5 checks, with a close look at the steering
The bar holds the middle half of the complaints that gave a mileage; the dark mark is the middle one. 310 complaints of 1,547 gave one. Owners file when something fails, so this shows when problems were reported, not how long the cars last.
EngineCostly60,000 to 105,000 mi
Half of these 36 complaints came between about 60,000 and 105,000 miles, the middle one around 70,000.
050K100K150K200K250K
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Mileage for 6 more parts, 2 usually costly
The mileage band for every part owners name, and your car's miles laid across them.
Run the VIN at NHTSA to confirm every recall was fixed.
This year has 4 recalls on file. Recall repairs are usually free at a dealer for the brand. Ask the dealer to confirm before any work is done. Look up a VIN at NHTSA.
Ask the seller for the service records.
Look closely for any work on the steering. It is the part owners complain about most for this year.
Have a mechanic you trust inspect it before you pay.
Ask them to look at the steering first.
Look at a vehicle history report.
It can show reported crashes, flood or salvage titles, and mileage that does not add up.
On the test drive, pay attention to the steering.
Feel for play, pulling or heavy steering, and listen for noise at full lock.
