Other brake problem on the 2005 Nissan Altima
When other brake problem gets reported
Owners of the 2005 Nissan Altima report other brake problem at a median of 35,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 20,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles, from 13 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 88,000 miles. It is the 14th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 5,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 105,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 100,060 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
46% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6,940 miles | 22,000 miles | 36,000 miles | 91,279 miles | 107,000 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $300–$1,800 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 22 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2019, at a median of 10,000 miles, and latest on the 1998 at 150,000 miles.
By volume the 2018 carries the most reports, with 37; the 2005 has 19. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Since I got the vehicle I had problems with it. The vehicle does not want to turn on, the key does not turn I have to jiggle with it so it can turn on. The brakes are making a lot of noise at least that is what I think the noise is .for the time I have had the vehicle there is no reason for it to be doing what it is doing I don't want a car like this that is the reason I got a new vehicle to have no problems and that is all its given me. *jb
I purchased a 05 altima s in august and at 4000 mi the brakes started to grind and make noise, I took the vehicle into the dealer and they replaced the brakes and resurfaced the rotors. A week later the brakes began making noises again and grinding , I took the vehicle back and the dealer said that the factory said the have to show them something is wrong with the ca and that they couldn't duplicate the problem. I took the car back a week later and once again complained of the braked grinding and noise and this time I recorded the noise on my cell phone and played it for the service advisor to hear. The service manager told me that if it was dangerous it would be making the noise all the time an that everything looked fine. I called the manufacturer and filed a complaint and was advised to take the car to the purchasing dealer, or another dealer to get a second opinion as they purchasing dealer tends to take care of their "babies" I stated that that should be a company policy for nissan not a dealer policy and that I am scared to drive the vehicle as brakes are a required safety feature. *nm
Dt*: the contact stated while accelerating the transmission hesitates to shift. And when it shifts, it is a rough transition. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who changed the ground wire. This did not correct the problem therefore the dealer determined the transmission needed to be replaced. Also, while depressing the brake pedal the brakes squeaked and when driving at 10 MPH the brakes made a squeaking noise. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on four occasions. The first time dust was blown off the brakes. On the second and third visit the brake pads were replace. The fourth time, the brakes were determined to be 'glazed' and nothing could be done to repair the problem.
Also reported on the 2005 Nissan Altima
Other body or interior problem
Other engine problem
Rust or structural corrosion
Engine sensor failure
Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure
Other powertrain problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 19 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other brake problem happen on the 2005 Nissan Altima?
Across 13 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 35,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 20,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other brake problem on the 2005 Nissan Altima?
19 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed