Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2000 Nissan Altima owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I bought this 2000 Nissan Altima new. Since approximately December of '03 the instrument cluster has repeatedly (too many times to keep track of) malfunctioned at arbitrary times giving either no info (gauges all go to 0) or incorrect info (130 MPH at 1K RPM w/no water temp and suddenly full tank of gas). Problem can last any where from minutes to 24 hours+. The cruise control also malfunctions whenever this occurs. First took to dealer on 12/31/03, they could not diagnose problem, told me to bring it back while malfunctioning. Finally was able to get the car while malfunctioning to same dealership on 8/1/05. Problem has started to increase in frequency and duration. The second they hooked diagnostic equip to it the cluster corrected. They kept for 2 days, did not malfunction again so they could not diagnose 100%. …
Car automatically rapidly accelerates when stopped. The anti-lock off light appeared. This rapid acceleration has happened to me three times in a two week period. I am 50 years old and have never had an accident. Now I have rear ended two people when I was completely stopped. The first time, the car stopped when I hit the car in a drive through mcdonald's. The second I was stopped 2-4 feet behind a pick up truck at a light and my car accelerated and hit him. I had to put my car in park to stop it after I hit him. The third time it occurred I was the first one in line at an intersection. I did not hit anyone, but had to shut the car off for it to come back to a complete start. The dealership has had my car on two occasions and it did not malfunction when they had it in their possession. However, the service manager told me that they have had problems with the sentra model. …
While driving the dashboard goes out completely. You can not tell how fast you're going or what the RPM is or anything, including the gas gauge. When this happens, sometimes the car begins to lose power as if the gas pedal isn't working and then all of a sudden it comes back and you get propelled forward. This happens very frequently and I'm afraid that I am going to get a speeding ticket one day because there is no way for me to tell how fast I am going when the dashboard goes dead and even worse I'm afraid I'm either going to lose speed and get rear-ended or gain speed and be propelled into the vehicle in front of me. I have researched this, and this is a very common problem with this year, make, and model vehicle. In all the other complaints that I have found online, they all go to the mechanics and they can not figure out the problem. …
My vehicle is a 2000 Nissan Altima se. (also I have heard there are other nissans with this problem not just Altima) the problem is the guages on the instrument panel failing during operation, ie. Speedometer, tachometer, gas guage, and temp guage. The first time it happened and just like every other time it happens there is nothing different the guages will just shut off and normally fall to the zero postion. Sometimes the will freeze in place. After the first month I owned the car (bought as a preowned vehicle) the check engine light came on during the guage failures I had the code checked and it was determined the speed sensor was bad. I bought and replaced the speed sensor with an OEM part. However the guage failure was not fixed it still happens. …
I own a 2000 Nissan Altima gxe, and have been experiencing a failure in the speedometer, tach, odometer, and temp gauge while driving. The gauges will freeze up at any time and stay at their last position, while the car continues to operate as normal. The cruise control will also kick off if it is being used at the time. This leads to a vehicle that is only drivable by using the naked eye and judging your speed by other cars, and a failure in correct reporting of mileage. A solution is still under investigation, and a dealer has not been able to diagnosis it yet. I have seen many other reports of this same problem on several models of nissans of this year (frontier, sentra, pathfinders) posted at various online car forums. Obviously this is a dangerous issue that has been overlooked by Nissan USA.
While going 75mph on cruise control all of a sudden all the gauges (RPM, MPH, fuel, engine temp) dropped down to zero. Only the cruise control lights remained on. All while a combination of #'s and letters came up on the odometer (even the odometer went blank). It was a shock and I did not know how to react to this. My first reaction was to turn off the cruise control via the buttons on the steering wheel, as soon as I did it this caused all the gauges to come back to life including the odometer. Very weird issue.
Consumer was approaching a red light applied brakes, and vehicle suddenly accelerated at a high rate of speed while foot was on brakes, causing vehicle to hit tree/ rocks, and ran into a canal. Upon impact, airbags deployed, and consumer unbuckled seatbelt. Also, jumped into canal from passenger's side because driver side door was stuck.
While traveling 15-20 MPH vehicle suddenly accelerated up to 50 MPH, even after shifting into reverse, vehicle continued to accelerate up to 50 MPH until vehicle struck another vehicle. Dealer inspected vehicle,and was unable to locate the problem. Please feel free to provide any further details.
The throttle/accelerator stuck, 3 times, the RPM's or the car roared, I was in the garage once, at the end of my driveway the second time moving forward, and the 3 rd time in reverse the vehicle was spun around 360 degrees, I hit a stationery vehicle going about 40-50 MPH. Within 15-20 feet.
Tl contact owns a 2000 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the vehicle automatically accelerates when idle and he must slam on the brake pedal to keep the vehicle from moving. The failure occurs at random. The current mileage is 37,000 and failure mileage was 32,000.
Acceleration complaints in other Altima years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2000 Nissan Altima?
NHTSA has 21 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2000 Nissan Altima, 13% of the model year's 160 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2000 Nissan Altima acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2000 Nissan Altima, though it has 1 recall for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2000 Nissan Altima acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 63,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 5 crashes, 0 fires and 3 injuries to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.