The Lemon Index$4,900 middle bill · most between $3,900 and $5,100
Lower than the $8,000 middle bill owners of all 168 models reported.
Owners who gave their mileage: a middle of 94,000 miles (29 reports).
Nissan Altima owners reported paying a median of $4,900 for a engine replacement, with the middle half of bills between $3,900 and $5,100. That's from 32 owner reports (32 complaints to NHTSA). Costs vary by shop and region.
What owners paid
- Under $5000%
- $500–$1,0000%
- $1,000–$2,5003%
- $2,500–$5,00047%
- $5,000 and up50%
Share of the 32 owner reports in each price band.
By model year
- 2002 Nissan Altima21$5,000 middle bill
- 2003 Nissan Altima7$4,200 middle bill
- 2006 Nissan Altima3$5,000 middle bill
- 2020 Nissan Altima1too few for a middle
Reports per model year, with the middle bill where there are 3 or more. YouTube amounts count for the generation the video covers.
How often owners report the failure
- 2002 Nissan Altima97 complaints name it9% of that year's complaints
- 2003 Nissan Altima36 complaints name it4% of that year's complaints
- 2006 Nissan Altima27 complaints name it3% of that year's complaints
- 2019 Nissan Altima9 complaints name it4% of that year's complaints
Owner complaints to NHTSA whose own words name a engine failure. Raw counts: popular years get more complaints. A complaint is a report, not proof of a defect.
Engines in these years
Engines with a page of their own that this model was sold with in the years above. Owners don't always say which engine they had.
Keep going
- Nissan Altima reliability by year
- Engine replacement cost on every car
- Car symptoms and what they can mean
Other repairs Nissan Altima owners reported
Transmission replacement (71) · Crankshaft position sensor replacement (34) · Intake manifold replacement (19) · Catalytic converter replacement (18) · Steering column repair (18) · Control arm replacement (14) · Brake master cylinder replacement (13) · Wiring harness repair (13) · ECM (engine computer) replacement (12) · Brake repair (9) · Clutch replacement (8) · Camshaft position sensor replacement (6) · Radiator replacement (5) · Throttle body replacement (5)
The details
How we count
Every number here is a repair bill an owner reported, never a shop's price list. Two sources: the bills owners wrote in their own complaints to the U.S. government (NHTSA), and the dollar amounts owners said out loud in YouTube repair and ownership videos. A figure counts for a repair when that repair is the part named nearest to it. Left out: purchase prices, payments, rentals, towing, warranties and deductibles, amounts under $50 or over $15,000, parts-only prices ("the part was $80 on Amazon"), bills for two different repairs named together, and money someone else paid. One number per complaint (or video) and repair: the biggest, so it's the bill, not the diagnosis fee.
The range is the middle half of the bills (the 25th to the 75th percentile), so one wild number can't swing it. Owners who complain to the government often had expensive repairs, so a typical bill can be lower. Costs vary by shop and region, by dealer vs independent shop, by parts and by miles. This is what owners reported, not a quote for your car.
Check the bills yourself
NHTSA complaint numbers (search them at nhtsa.gov): 11772284, 11191066, 10950248, 10644282, 10618655, 10475750, 10443218, 10441108, 10428670, 10406751, 10368469, 10310011 and more.
Quick answers
How much does engine replacement cost on a Nissan Altima?
Nissan Altima owners reported a median of $4,900, and the middle half paid $3,900 to $5,100, from 32 owner reports. Costs vary by shop and region.
Is a Nissan Altima engine replacement more expensive than on other cars?
The Nissan Altima middle bill of $4,900 is lower than the $8,000 owners of all 168 models we have reports for paid.
Where do these Nissan Altima repair costs come from?
From 32 complaints to NHTSA: what owners themselves said they paid. They aren't verified bills or a shop's quote.
Which Nissan Altima years report this failure most?
In complaints to NHTSA, owners of the 2002 (97), 2003 (36), 2006 (27) Nissan Altima named it most. Raw counts, not a failure rate.
Sources: NHTSA owner complaints and YouTube videos (amounts said out loud), sorted by The Lemon Index. Owner reports, not a price quote. Costs vary by shop and region.