Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (power steering, steering column, rack and pinion).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Nissan Altima owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle made an abnormal grinding and whining sound. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where an unknown diagnosis was made, and the contact was referred to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the power steering pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred, and the vehicle stalled while driving at various speeds and while at a complete stop at the red traffic light. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the crankshaft position sensor had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. …
Car engine cuts off. After that I have no power steering, no acceleration, brakes need to be pumped. The first years of me owning the car I had the sensors replaced by auto shop and dealership under extended car warranty. Pretty much been replacing the sensors ever since for the past 8 years. I believe I replaced over 10 sensors of the time I owned my Nissan. I can be on the hallway, streets anywhere with out any warnings my car engine will stop. It has to do with turning back on the car while it's warm. That's when I seen the problem the most.
My daughter was driving her 2005 Nissan Altima and over corrected in a curve. She hit a tree and the air bag in the steering wheel deployed. She was wearing her seat belt and was held back by the seat belt her head impacting the center or the steering wheel. The cover over the air bag blew out hinging itself at the top and making two very pointed and sharp edges on each bottom corner. The right bottom point pierced the skin between her nose and the corner of her left eye missing it by less than a sixteenth of an inch and breaking her nose. The dangerous part is the two sharp points on the flap where the air big deployed should be considered a design flaw.
While attempting to give my vehicle gas after stopping at a red light, I heard a hissing sound coming from the front passenger tire. When the light turned green and I began to give the vehicle gas, the steering wheel was incredibly hard to turn. I tried to turn the steering wheel to the left and as a result, I lost control of the vehicle. The steering column felt as though it did not have power steering at the time. When my vehicle came to rest, I was facing oncoming traffic in the middle of the median and had additionally taken out several roads signs. The vehicle was towed away and inspected by a mechanic for the cause of the accident. The mechanic discovered the right tie rod had broken. As a result of this failure, the radiator was busted, headlight busted and many other costly expenses. At present time, my vehicle remains in the body shop awaiting repairs. …
Nissan has recalled my car under recall campaign # 3213-3192, for rotted rear subframe due to north eastern north American winter climate and use of salt. Nissan replaced the subframe . The recall should and must include the front subframe also. The exact problem with rotted subframe occurred with the front subframe that supports the front wheels, steering & braking. Please investigate into Nissan reason for not extending the recall campaign for the both subframes not one for identical conditions. At the minimum , Nissan should have provided undercoating to protect the rest of the frame & submembers to this vehicle. I have already paid for the passenger side floor replacement & undercoating. It is obvious the car was not prepared for use in new england states at time of purchase.
Tl* the driver owns a 2005 Nissan Altima. The contact, on behalf of the driver, stated that the driver was involved in a crash in which the steering wheel became extremely hot and burned the driver's hands. A police report was filed and no other injuries were reported other than the driver. The vehicle was towed by the contact's insurance company. The failure was not diagnosed and the vehicle was in the process of being repaired for body damages. The failure and current mileage was 120,000.
Driving home on 202 freeway going east. All of a sudden something on the steering broke on the left drivers side of car. Car turned left and went into concrete divider of freeway. Totaled car. Examination shows broken ball joint of some kind and tire was distroyed on drivers front side.
I recently experienced my vehicle stalling as I was driving. It took several minutes for me to restart leaving me venerable to a vehicle crash. The same evening I learned of recall# 07V527000. The following day I brought my vehicle to a Nissan dealership to have the recall resolved. They advised the recall only covers reprogramming computer not replacing defective crank sensor. I feel that reprogramming computer will not resolve safety issue as the sensor is defective and could fail even with reprogramming computer. I was charged 96.00 dollars to have problem diagnosed. Dealer refused to replace defective part. To my understanding many other Altima owners experience this same problem and are forced to pay for defective parts that fail.dealer did not offer to reprogram computer they insisted that only replacing the defective part would resolve my issue which was not covered by recall.
First thing I noticed the rusting of the floor underneath the screw bolts holding down the driver seat to be completely rusted, my concern is that if that screw bolt snaps or pull away from the floor board there could possibly be a serious accident while making a turn and the seat slips out of place while turning. I questioned this at the Nissan dealership this past December 2014 when I took my car in for the 61,000 mile check up. Then I also was told that my steering had contamination in it, which from January of 2005 Nissan is the only company that performs maintenance on my car. I came home and looked this up on the internet about any recalls on Nissan concerning steering problems. I had read where there have been car wrecks concerning the steer going out while driving.
Nissan part #480808j000 called the coupling shaft & column locked up on me, causing my steering to go out in my vehicle. Vehicle was not drivable as it was, tried to do a u-turn, steering went and all most hit a building. I was told this part was on back order nation wide and they had no idea when the part would be in. I do have the new part, kept the old part and if you try to move the bottom shaft portion, that should move freely, you have to wrench on it to move the part, it is rusted. If you are driving this vehicle it might go at 21,000 or 50,000 miles, I have 51,000 miles on my vehicle and it went, the shop had a vehicle that matched mine except for mileage 21,000 and the part went out 6 weeks before mine did and that owner was still waiting on the part.
Steering complaints in other Altima years
Frequently asked questions
How common are steering problems on the 2005 Nissan Altima?
NHTSA has 31 complaints about the steering of the 2005 Nissan Altima, 3% of the model year's 1,091 complaints. The component named most often is linkages › tie rod assembly (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2005 Nissan Altima steering problems?
No. NHTSA lists no steering recall for the 2005 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 2005 Nissan Altima steering problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 85,000 miles, and 20% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 7 crashes, 1 fire and 4 injuries to steering 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.