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 2009 Nissan Altima owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I went to Autoworx on February 9, 2023 to purchase a 2009 Nissan Altima. The vehicle was very nice, looked good, no warning lights or anything. Drove great for about a week or 2. Then the car started breaking without me pressing the breaks. So I returned the car to Autoworx to have them check it out. The mechanic was assuring that the problem had been taking care of. After making another large payment that day, I left drove the car about a week. That's when the car started shaking. I mean shaking hard too and the SERVICE ENGINE SOON light comes on the dash board. So I take the car back to them on Monday March 13, 2023. The mechanic says "oh, make an appointment for Friday and I'll take the car to the shop so I can see what is going on". I made the appointment & continued to drive the car. In the days between Monday to Friday, the car began shaking harder. …
A nightmare while awake. While backing out of a bank parking lot I hit a pole lightly. I stopped the car before shifting into drive. When I accelerated the car lurched forward at a fast speed. I tried braking but the car kept going forward slamming into the back of a parked SUV with the driver inside pushing it from the parking space up onto the side walk. And side swiping a parked truck pushing it into the SUV passenger side.. The acceleration was so great I am so my car is totaled. I am physically and emotional sicken by this and the damages caused from something Nissan could have prevent by fixing the problem. The car was still trying go after being stopped by the vehicle I hit and my foot on the brake. The lady from the bank told me to apply the emergency brake and that stopped the car. …
Issue: unintended acceleration conditions: 2 pm/clear/parking lot while making u-turn to the right, brakes did not respond. Stepped again on brakes, more firmly, but did not slow car which continued to roll slowly forward about 7 MPH. Suddenly, loud revving, car continued forward roll. Immediately, added left foot to brake, pressing with full weight. No response. About 2-3 second after revving/hard braking, the car opened full throttle and hurtled forward about 1-1/2 to 2 car lengths; slammed into wall. Airbag did not deploy my car had only 25290 miles (only about two years of normal usage) at the time the system failed. My left knee sustained small gash from the underside of the steering column when I was slammed back after impact threw me forward, forehead knocked the upper steering wheel. …
My grandson and I were taking a 2 and 1/2 hour trip to visit family I was driving about an hour on the freeway going on an uphill and I began to hear a whining sound and my speed started to decrease from 70 then to 60 and it started to decrease more so I then got off the freeway turned off the car and waited about a half an hour I then decided that it would not be safe to continue my trip but the location that I was in was not a safe area for me and my grandson to wait for a tow truck I then decided to head back one exit down where they would be more lighting the car drove fine I was able to pick up speed with no problem but again I thought it would not be safe to continue driving so I then call the tow truck and how does tow back home what I did notice was when I accelerate the gas pedal the engine did not rev at a higher level nor did the speed increase but to my little knowledge with …
While in motion and making a left turn onto an intersection my steering wheel was making it more difficult to continue turning left and then it locked. Was going to hit a concrete barrier between road and sidewalk where pedestrians walk, had to hit the brakes to prevent a crash. After a couple of seconds the car iluminated all the lights in the dash and told me the car was off. I was able to turn on the car, the steering wheel unlocked and was able to go in reverse a bit to complete my left turn. Had a similar scenario many years ago when first purchasing the car, when accelerating in the highway nd driving straight the steering wheel locked and the car stopped accelerating because the gas pedal locked, couldnt turn tge steeribg wheel at all. Felt as if the car turned itself of even though car electronics were on such as the radio. …
In a rented 2009 Nissan Altima I backed out of the garage, lightly tapped a tree on the side of the driveway and then came to a full stop. I put the car in drive to realign it and the car accelerated uncontrollably crashing through the closing garage door and came within inches of the wall of the house. The car only stopped when it hit the edge of the stair leading into the house. Airbags deployed and the passenger suffered a broken rib. All of the recent problems with Toyota made me believe even more that this was an uncontrollable acceleration problem. Hertz examined the car but claimed nothing was defective. My car insurance premium has risen as a result of this accident (my first ever) and I worry about others driving this model. This took place in Plymouth, ma. This was a harrowing accident that could have ended with far more destruction and serious injury. …
The first incident occur while driving on the interstate at about 75 MPH. All of a sudden the car began to slow down at a steady pace. It would not let me accelerate even with the pedal pressed all the way to the floor and it began to make a whining noise. I pulled over and let the car sit for a while and when I started driving again the drove normal like nothing happened. The second incident occur about 7 months later while driving on the interstate again at about 60mph. This time the car didn't slow down, but it would let me accelerate pass 60 MPH and the RPM needle never moved. After letting the car sit I started to drive again and every time I accelerated the car began to jerk violently and started making the same whining noise. After letting the car sit for a while longer it drove normal. The Nissan dealership repair shop couldn't find a problem. …
Driving on interstate with cruise control engaged at 70 MPH, speed dropped to approx 30-40 MPH. I had the pedal to the mat and it wouldn't go any faster than 30-40 MPH. Took it off cruise control, it still wouldn't pick up speed with the pedal to the mat. Suddenly car accelerated to approx 80-90 MPH and would not slow down when I removed my foot from the gas pedal for at least 30-60 seconds. The speed then dropped again to 30-40 MPH for about 5-10 minutes until it would take off again. It would accelerate for only about 30-60 seconds then would lose power again and wouldn't go above 30-40 MPH. Tried to reset cruise control and still would not fix the issue. This is a safety issue and needs to be addressed asap. If travelling on the interstate in normal traffic, this could have caused an accident very easily. This happened late at night with no other cars on the road at the time.
On more then one occasion when driving on the freeway for about 45 min. The acceleration speed drops to about 40 MPH. And when going on hills its even worse. This has been going on for some time now, but now I have a second Altima that is having very similar issues. After sitting on the side of the freeway for a hour, the car returns to normal. This can not be a normal problem, I have searched and found that a number of people have had very similar issues and in fact I received a letter stating that 2014-2018 nissans where having acceleration issues. ( I have attached the letter) I have 2 cars now that have the same issue and I can not afford to fix them, especially if I am not 100% sure what the correction is. I have also attached copies of others that have the same issues, and you will see that some have tried to fix but get different responses on the fix. Please help!! Thanks
When the brake pedal of my 09 Altima 2.5s sedan is pressed, the car slows down as it should and then all of a sudden accelerates until the brake pedal is pressed harder when it comes to a complete stop. This does not happen always and the amount of sudden acceleration varies from time to time. Today around 12:30 pm, I tried to stop the car by pressing the brakes and it suddenly accelerated and hit another car. The police arrived, listened to what happened, and reported the accident as my fault. When I told her (officer dick) about the brake malfunction, she made fun of me saying -- "are you trying to pull off a Toyota here?" I find the brakes of my car very unpredictable and that was the reason for today's crash. Hope NHTSA will take this report seriously and do the needful.
Acceleration complaints in other Altima years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2009 Nissan Altima?
NHTSA has 49 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2009 Nissan Altima, 3% of the model year's 1,547 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2009 Nissan Altima acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2009 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 2009 Nissan Altima acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 68,000 miles, and 27% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 13 crashes, 0 fires and 6 injuries and 1 death 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.