2009 Nissan Altima Reviews

My Nissan Altima has had my back through being a mom, working road construction, and even just traveling for pleasure. It's a very good reliable car for all my needs as long as the upkeep is well kept on it. (Oil changes, washing and waxing, cleaning inside regularly, etc. I have driven many vehicles in search of something bigger and it's hard to buy something cheaper than my car because my car is amazing. I love the luxuries in life and I definitely love my Nissan Altima.

Overall I'm happy with my car, however there has been a few issues. The CVT transmission had to be replaced which I didn't know was an issue with a range of years on the Altima. The dealership was able to replace it with a new one from Nissan since I bought the service plan, otherwise I would have been out of luck. Next is the sticky injectors. If I don't run injector cleaner in every other tank of gas I lose significant horsepower and it will stutter like it might die...still trying to get to the bottom of that issue. So now for the good! This car offers a smooth ride, and great stock sound system. I like the design and with adding custom rims and tint to the windows it looks a little more sporty even though it's only a 4cyl. Overall, you've got to do your maintenance and parts are not cheap like some other vehicle brands, so plan ahead and you'll have a great car for years to come.

I've been unfortunate enough to be an owner of 2009 Nissan Altima. I purchased it shortly before Christmas 2009. Today, almost eleven years later, the car has 63,635 km on its odometer. As you can see, it isn't driven often and spends most of its time resting in a cozy garage. Actually, it isn't driven at all these days, because it wouldn't start. The 2009 Nissan Altima sits in the driveway in front of the garage. Being a retiree I drive only occasionally, which explains the low reading on the odometer and many of my short trips are to do shopping for necessary supplies or infrequent visits to medical specialists. On September 28, 2020 I drove my 2009 Nissan Altima to a dentist's office with rather an unpleasant problem. After treatment I came back to my 2009 Nissan Altima on the parking lot, using the Intelligent Key opened the trunk to allow my wife to deposit some items there, then I unlocked the doors and we both settled in the car. I pushed down the brake pedal and pressed the Ignition Push Button. Nothing happened, except a small amber key shaped symbol, which briefly appeared on the instrument panel. I'll not try to describe what I've been through since the September 28, 2020, but I've been stuck with a car that wouldn't start. I've been driving numerous vehicles before, but Nissan Altima is the very first car that wouldn't allow me to limp home, or to the nearest garage, where someone could try to repair it. It has been a failure of ESCL. I had to walk back home and there, browsing an Internet, I have learned that I am an unlucky owner of a piece of c**p, which is, thanks to the ESCL system installed in these vehicles, unreliable, dangerous and largely impossible to get rid of, unless I decide to have it towed to the nearest scrap yard. Selling this masterpiece of engineering to someone else would be difficult, because this ESCL shortcoming is already well known. Having the ESCL replaced cost was quantified by several of these infuriated 2009 Nissan Altima owners in excess of $1,000.00, some of them claim paying $1,200.00 and I suspect that this was in U.S. Currency. Some of those more intrepid ones decided to replace the unit themselves, but they had to order the part at the Nissan dealership and the part itself costs somewhere around $600.00, most likely in U.S. Currency again. But it took a week to get the ESCL replacement part to the dealership. I conducted extensive research. I wanted to know whether, since there appear to be hundreds, if not thousands, of disgruntled 2009 Nissan Altima owners in North America, who experienced problems with the ESCL unit in their cars, there was any sort of a recall by Nissan. It appears that at some time there was, but there are conflicting dates specifying when this recall expired. I've read stories of satisfied 2009 Nissan Altima owners, whose ESCL units have been replaced free of cost and no questions asked, while others have been flatly refused and no one would talk to them at certain Nissan dealerships, although they also own 2009 Nissan Altima and they had to pay over a thousand bucks to have the ESCL unit replaced. These stories, however, apparently come from the U.S. I couldn't find any reference to a recall of 2009 Nissan Altima cars for replacement of the ESCL units here in Canada. This is what Nissan Altima owners in the United States had been offefed: "Nissan will re-notify owners of affected vehicles that have not yet had the campaign completed beginning in March 2020, via U.S. Mail." What about Canada? I approached the Nissan Canada Customer Care Centre and received a letter from Sandra, the Customer Care Specialist. It says, among other clichés: We understand . . . And so on. But, it goes further: . . . This warranty extensions are not corrective measures, but simply additional coverage to assist with the potential repair in the event of a failure during this time or KMs. At this time, the warranty parameters have already been exhausted and we are unable to provide any financial assistance. And it goes a bit further: We do not have you showing in our database as the registered owner of the above VIN so the information would not have been sent to you. Strangely, I had been receiving phone calls and also mail from the local Plaza Nissan for several years after purchasing this 2009 Nissan Altima, offering to show me the latest Nissan vehicles. I've always declined, but it is obvious that the Nissan people knew my phone number and my mailing address when they wanted to sell me a car. They didn't know who I was when there was a recall. The letter is signed by Sandra, the Customer Care Specialist. The very first paragraph of this letter states: As a company interested in winning lifetime customers . . . Some sixteen years ago I purchased a Nissan car for my son. He complained that it was unreliable (it was Nissan Sentra), but I thought that he was imagining things and I purchased a Nissan Altima regardless. This was almost eleven years ago. It was a terrible mistake. Now I know what my son was talking about. The Nissan people have certainly "won" two lifetime customers. My son has been happily driving a Toyota for a couple of years and I am heading to the Toyota dealership as soon as I have my 2009 Nissan Altima towed to a scrap yard.

I like a lot about my Nissan. As far as aesthetics. I like the overall shape. I love the style of factory tail lights. Headlights are fogged up which I don't like. I like that there is plenty of room inside the car & trunk. I bought my Nissan used so there were quite a lot of miles already on it. However Nissan engines are built very well & are known to last a long time. As long as you keep up regular maintenance. When I bought my car there was absolutely no oil in it! So needless to say there was quite a lot of initial upkeep that needed to be done. As of now every part that I've had to buy & have replaced has been fairly cheap compared to my other car. I love the Nissan brand in general and would never hesitate to recommend someone to get one themselves.

The brakes are good but very touchy sometimes and can leave you lurching if you are not careful. There is currently a problem with the exhaust or muffler where it is EXTREMELY loud when starting and acceleration. The inside is spacious and extremely comfortable with a light brown interior that hides dirt well. Super spacious trunk great for long car trips. One of my favorite features is the volume control on the steering wheel. The other audio controls don't really help me that much because I use the aux cord for my music instead of the radio. However, the radio is very cool in the fact that you can have up to 15 different stations saved, which is very nice when my phone isn't available for music at the time.

I love my Nissan! I have had it since I believe 2014. In the next 2-3 months I will own it! Finally! It is truly reliable and has taken me all over the world. What I love the most is the interior, black leather seats, sunroof and the space! Bluetooth capability for phone calls, I wish it was Bluetooth cable for music but it is not. I use the AUX input. Let’s me know when my car needs maintenance. Recently I had to get a new transmission the one I had was going bad:( but we are back rolling! Exterior is just fine minus a few scratches! I have custom rims as well. I love my car!

I loved this car for the most part.. Especially the push start which was kind of a new thing in 2008 to me at least. It was dependable, a smooth ride and just a fun car to drive. The steering locked and I shouldn’t start the car at about 45k miles and was stranded picking up kids from school and had to walk home in January. My brother found the recall online and the dealership fixed it. My dealership tries to charge me even though there was a recall and I had to show them the recall.

This vehicle has given me little to no issues. I purchased it used about two years ago and have loved it ever since. It rives perfect and gets great gas mileage. One of my favorite things about the Altima is that it has a lot of extra space both inside the vehicle and in the trunk. It is perfect for a college aged student like myself. The only issue that I have had with it so far is that my catalytic converter needs replaced so my car now burns oil when it runs. I think that this is a common issue with my year of Altima, but I have not yet gotten it fixed. I have been experiencing this issue for the past six months but have just been checking and adding oil more than would normally be necessary.

My vehicle, specifically, has had a few problems since I purchased it used. For instance, it seems to have an oil leak or to be burning oil from somewhere or for some reason. It also was getting rain water inside of the door that I had to drain out manually, but has since went away. As for the manufacturing part of it, the only problem I have had is that the steering column had a recall and it completely locked my car down from starting. That left me stranded waiting for a tow truck, but Nissan fixed it free of charge.

My Altima has been a great car. The only problem I have had involved a recall, and that was taken care of. It has been very reliable for me, as I have traveled over 100 miles a day for work. This has been a quite comfortable car, as well. I rarely have a problem with having enough passenger room. Having a tall person sit behind another tall person is really the only downside. I love having the push button start, locks, and trunk. I don't have to spend time looking for my keys!!

For the most part I really like the car. It's a fairly quiet, comfortable ride, and the fuel economy is pretty good as long as you keep your foot off the pedal. My only complaint so far is the CVT transmission sometimes acts like it's slipping and begins to make a whining sound, especially when going up a hill. There are nearly 150,000 miles on the car and it hasn't needed any major mechanical repairs, so I really can't complain. Also, it seats 4 large adults comfortably with plenty of legroom in the back. The trunk is also quite large. As far as driving, it handles well and has plenty of power when you need it. While the CVT transmission has been an issue for some, it does make for a comfortable driving experience, with no hard shifts or anything of that nature. Overall, I would recommend this car to anybody, it would be a great first car or even a family commuter. 9/10

This vehicle has been very dependable and trustworthy. I have had no major issues at all. The gas mileage is good as well. You can drive for days locally and not have to stop for gas. The inside has held up very well and takes little effort to keep it clean. The reminders and alerts for maintenance have kept me on target in keeping up with oil changes. It also has alerts for other important items such as tire pressure as well. The paint has not faded or chipped and still looks like new.

The 2009 Nissan Altima hybrid overall is a wonderful vehicle! I work far from home, it is 25+ miles one way. It being such a fuel efficient car I am not having to fill the tank up twice a week, but limits it to about once a week. It is a very quiet car, which is nice. It drives well, fairly quick acceleration. Some problems are the steering lock key is annoyingly needed to change the tires. The car will continue to run once turned one, even without the key fob - learned that the hard way.

This car has been pretty reliable with two exceptions: first, at about 100,000 miles a hole melted in my exhaust manifold causing the car to make a lot of racket. I ignored it until exhaust burned through an o2 sensor too (According to the dealership) and both had to be replaced. Second, and most importantly, the transmission tends to overheat after an hour or so of driving at highway speed, and when that happens the car goes into a fail-safe mode where it will no longer accelerate quickly or drive above about 50 mph regardless of how fast the engine is running.