IllustrationWHILE DRIVING COULD PRESS HORN TO ALERT OTHER DRIVERS, BUT HORN WAS NOT AS LOUD AS IT SHOULD BE. CONSUMER SAID HORN COULD NOT BE HEARD THAT MUCH.*AK
1998 Nissan Altima
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1998 Nissan Altima do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 231.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Altima years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 29 of 123 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Air Bags. Review the 15 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 15 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 14 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
17 crash reports2 fire reports9 injury reports
Electrical System complaints
15 reportsTHE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILED AND SOMETIMES THE CAR WON'T START. I REPLACED THE ALTERNATOR AND BATTERY, BUT IT STILL HAPPENS.
UPON STARTING THE ENGINE, THE CAR BATTERY EXPLODED. AS A RESULT, I HAD TO PURCHASE A NEW BATTERY. THE CAR ALSO SUFFERED HOOD DAMAGE. I NOTIFIED NISSANS CONSUMER AFFAIRS DEPT. AND THEY SAID THAT THEY WILL RESPOND WITHIN THREE WORKING DAYS.
THE IGNITION SWITCH FUSE FAILED, CAUSING ALL OPERATIONS TO MALFUNCTION. *YC
CAR SHUTTING OFF WHILE DRIVING, RELAY SWITCH REPLACED BECAUSE
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.