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 2003 Nissan Altima owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Owner of a 2003 Nissan Altima - on 2/18/17 while taking my vehicle to a car wash in linden, nj, I had my vehicle on neutral and when the car wash was completed, I put the vehicle on drive and proceeded slowly towards the car wash employees as they instructed me to stay on my left side, as the other vehicle was on the right side and I had my foot on the brakes. As the two employees placed their towels on my front vehicle to dry out the vehicle, my vehicle immediately started to jolt twice while I had my foot on the brakes and immediately my vehicle accelerated at a high speed. Smoke started to come out of the front hood and the airbag came out. I had to control the steering wheel not to hurt any one as there were several parked vehicles and people vacuuming their vehicles or cleaning out their vehicles. Not sure how many parked vehicles were hit and my vehicle hit a parked SUV. …
Tl* the contact owned a 2003 Nissan Altima. While the vehicle was in neutral at a car wash, it accelerated independently and crashed into a parked vehicle. A police report was filed. The contact was injured and required medical attention. The air bags deployed and emitted smoke. The vehicle was destroyed and towed. The failure mileage was 128,000. ..updated 04/13/17
Tl contact owns a 2003 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The contact attempted to tap the brakes but the vehicle just accelerated faster. The vehicle jumped over a ditch and finally landed in a canal. The contact suffered severe injuries including open wounds, fractured ribs, two cracked disks, head injury and incidents of loosing consciousness. A police report was filed. The vehicle was totaled. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000. Updated evoq 07/20/10. The vehicle was inspected and the consumer was informed by the technician he found an electric crossover connection between the brake and accelerator pedals and May have been computer related. Updated 11/23/10. Updated 12/07/10. Updated 12/21/10 updated 12/30/10 updated 01/10/11. Updated 01/12/11. …
Tl contact owns a 2003 Nissan Altima s class. The contact stated that the motor has failed. On two occasions, the vehicle has automatically shut off while driving 60 MPH. The most recent failure occurred one week ago and smoke ascended from the engine. The first time he took the vehicle to Nissan, they did not offer an explanation other than possible engine failure. They are not providing any solutions to the failures and did not state whether the vehicle was affected by the recall. The dealer claimed that the recalls pertaining to the engine were previously repaired. The contact stated that the cruise control no longer works. The VIN and engine size were unknown. The current mileage is 71,000 and failure mileage was 69,000.
Driving 2003 Nissan Altima on two-lane country road, weather clear, no traffic. Car sped up, driver applied brakes, car sped faster, driver repeatedly & firmly applied brakes. Car overcorrected to the left, crossed roadway, crossed one dry ditch and made impact with inside wall of an irrigation ditch full of water. Driver received initial care at the scene and was taken to emergency room via ambulance. Driver sustained broken back, head and eye trauma, broken rib, dislocated shoulder joint, multiple cuts requiring stitches, glass embedded into skin. Driver spent several days in the hospital and was discharged under continuous family care. Car was totaled.
Tl contact owns a 2003 Nissan Altima. The contact experienced unintended acceleration in the vehicle. While traveling less than 2 MPH, the contact attempted to stop the vehicle. When the vehicle came to a complete stop, it suddenly lunged forward at high speeds. The vehicle crashed into a tree. The contact was uninjured. The vehicle was towed to the nearest Nissan dealer for repair, which was covered under his insurance. The current and failure mileages were less than 33,094.
On several instances the engine cuts off while driving. Major safety concern. Eventually, the check engine light came on. Took vehicle to dealer, and dealer informed me of recall campaign to reprogram the ECM. Also, they found error codes p0725 and p0335. They told me that I had to replace my crank shaft position sensor (at my cost -- this was not part of the recall). After the dealer completed the recall work, the car still stalled that very day on the way home. Took the car to my neighborhood mechanic who replaced the crankshaft position sensor. Check engine light was cleared by mechanic and has not lit up again, however, the vehicle has stalled while driving again. This sounds very similar to the symptoms which LED to the recall of the 2002 Nissan Altima's. My car was manufactured in December 2002, but was not included in the 2002 recall. …
Multiple times while driving between 30-45 MPH the vehicle has stalled and not produced full engine power when pushing on the accelerator. This has caused serious concern for the safety of my family and myself. Check engine light came on and I took the vehicle to Nissan service repair (August 2011, ~94K miles). Nissan ran diagnostics and stated that the circuit board for crank/cam sensors had failed. Paid $430 to replace crankshaft and cam/crank sensors. Fast forward to December 2012 (~110K miles) where I experienced the same exact issues along with reduced engine power when pressing on the accelerator. Another local mechanic detected that the cam/crank sensors needed to be replaced again. I did some research and found out about recall #03V455000, which describes the exact symptoms that I have been having. …
Owner of a 2003 Nissan Altima. On 2/18/2016, I took my vehicle to a car wash in linden, nj. When the car wash was completed, I put my vehicle on drive and proceeded slowly towards the car wash employees as they instructed me to stay on my left side, as the other vehicle was on the right side. While I still had my foot on the brakes, and as the employee placed the towel to dry out my vehicle, my vehicle immediately started to jolt twice while I still had my foot on the brakes and immediately unintended accelerating at a high speed. Smoke started to come out of the front hood and air bag came out. I had to control the steering wheel not to hit any one as there were several parked vehicles and people vacuuming/cleaning their vehicles. Not sure how many parked vehicles were hit and my vehicle hit a parked SUV. Ambulance and police arrived. …
1. Car stalled and once I held the gas pedal down and was able to hold the key over and crank the engine a huge puff of black smoke came out of the car and it seemed to run fine, although the service engine light came on. It eventually went away after a week or so. 2) a week or so later I started the car, it turned over fine but had no power, it simply would not go. It did not even realize I was pushing on the accelerator. 3) I removed the key from the ignition in frustration and then tried again. The second time the car worked fine. It revved when I put my foot on the gas pedal and then took off just fine. 4) this began to be a more common occurrence and if I took the key out or waited a few minutes it would straighten up. 5) not now! The car won't move forward. And now it is even starting to stall out and flood. 6) now the battery even seems to be running down. …
Acceleration complaints in other Altima years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2003 Nissan Altima?
NHTSA has 33 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2003 Nissan Altima, 4% of the model year's 883 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (3 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Nissan Altima acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2003 Nissan Altima, though it has 4 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 2003 Nissan Altima acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 67,000 miles, and 12% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 9 crashes, 2 fires and 5 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.