Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2002 Nissan Altima owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
My dad recently informed me that he saw a story on the news about Nissan Altima's and rusted out floorboards. Sure enough, my floorboards on the driver and passenger sides are in bad shape. Especially the driver side. The car looks like new otherwise. I am the original owner and have taken my car to state line Nissan for all maintenance. Nobody there ever told me that this was happening under my car. I looked online and found quite a few Nissan Altima owners with the same problem. Some of the complaints go back 5 years. It is clear that Nissan knows about this design flaw and wants to avoid a costly recall. I went to hendrick collision center in merriam kansas who are in the Nissan network for repairs. It will take 10 days and cost $3,232.38. I then took the car to santa fe body inc. Which is an independent body shop. …
After hearing a scraping noise, while pulling out of a driveway, it was discovered that a 6-inch section (approx.) of metal was hanging from the undercarriage of the front passenger side of the vehicle. After looking at the area, it became clear that the floor pan under the front passenger side of the vehicle was corroded/rusted/rotted. After calling my local Nissan dealership, I was directed to Nissan corporate, who then passed me along to a regional consumer affairs rep. The bulletin number provided by that rep was ntb15-059 (floor pan repair). I was told that they knew of others also having this problem, but they said there was nothing they could do and that I should call around for repair estimates. After getting several estimates, it was discovered that the floor pan under the front driver side was even more rotted out than the passenger side. …
I was turning my car on the corner of my block. My passenger who was about to get out the car stepped one foot out of the car and the other foot went through the carpet and landed outside of my car underneath. I got out the car and noticed that my passenger side underneath was rusted and had a big hole in it. I than looked on my driver side and seen that side was the same but not as bad. I went to get an estimate and the mechanic said it would be $800 to fix my 2002 Nissan Altima. I can not afford to get my car fixed. I tried to sell it but no one was interested in buying due to the holes. Riding around in the winter was very cold and when it rained it would soak up the carpet that's hanging and felt like it made my car ride heavy. I would hope that Nissan could look at this problem and see how dangerous it is to drive a car with holes in the bottom.
Got in my car and my boot literally went threw the floor in my driveway not on or anything !! This is dangerous Nissan has a bulletin number ntb15-059 but will not pay to fix the issue they caused ??? Insane a car shouldn't be doing this anymore where not in the 80s the metal shouldn't be rotted and so thin that in 10 years its shot like an 80s truck. If this happened in the back seats with my daughter what would the problem be then my child getting cut on rust and having possible health issues !!! This is dangerous and if I was driving I would have lost my foot .. Please make Nissan fix this issue its getting way out of hand and sorry not all of us can afford new cars to replace this issue.
The floorboards under where the passenger's feet are placed rusted out and a football sized chunk of metal flew off from under the car while on the freeway today. It was a definite hazard to the people who were driving behind me and they had to quickly switch lanes so as to avoid it. No there is nothing but interior carpet between the passenger's feet and the road below them. It appears very dangerous to have a hole rusted out right there. The car has always been parked on a driveway and washed after every snow/salting of the roads. There is very minimal rust anywhere else on the car, leading me to believe there was some sort of defect in that location.
Tl* the contact called on behalf of the owner of a 2002 Nissan Altima. While entering the vehicle, the rear driver's side door handle fractured. The contact stated that the front driver's side exterior door handle fractured. Additionally, the front driver's side window was also inoperable. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was informed of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000. Consumer states that all door handles on vehicle are fractured, making it impossible to enter the vehicle. Consumer says this is a common problem with Nissan altimas in his area.
Passenger side floor panel was noted to be rusted through upon inspection after smelling exhaust fumes while driving the vehicle. It appears to have rusted from inside the panel out as the bulging of the rusted panel downward toward the ground suggests. I would like to get this inspected but from what has been shared thus far, Nissan has not accepted responsibility (yet) for repairs. I am hoping Nissan will voluntarily inspect this model to determine a suitable remedy, otherwise this will be the last Nissan I choose to own.
Structure: both front floor panels have rusted out. There are large holes and sagging of the floor that have weakened the overall floor structure and created an unsafe condition. It appears that a drain hole in each floor panel never had a rubber plug inserted. Over the years, water splashed up through the holes and was absorbed and trapped by the insulation material between the carpet and floor.this is not the result of normal wear and tear. If the drain holes had been plugged, this never would have happened!
While performing an oil change, noticed a soft-material flap had dislodged from underneath passenger side floor board. Upon further inspection, noticed excessive rust that has left a hole that goes through and reaches the interior carpet. The surrounding area is very soft and brittle, same on drivers side. Concerned about weakening structure overall especially seat placement, and possible injuries caused by not having a protective surface from the outside road.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the floor pan under the front driver and passenger side of the vehicle was rusted through and created holes in the floor. The failure occurred due to rusting of the floor pans. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was 120,000. Updated 09/30/16
Body complaints in other Altima years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2002 Nissan Altima?
NHTSA has 128 complaints about the body & structure of the 2002 Nissan Altima, 12% of the model year's 1,047 complaints. The component named most often is body (92 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2002 Nissan Altima body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 2002 Nissan Altima, though it has 5 recalls 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 2002 Nissan Altima body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 100,000 miles, and 4% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 1 fire and 2 injuries to body & structure 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.