1998 Nissan Altima — Known Issues & Recalls

Your car is veering unpredictably left and right while driving, especially on highways, and it's not caused by the steering wheel. The problem appears to be with the suspension system underneath the car, and it happens at any speed. This erratic pulling could make your car difficult to control and dangerous to drive. The fix will likely involve inspecting and repairing suspension components like struts, springs, or wheel alignment.

Your car is pulling to the left or right unexpectedly while driving at highway speeds (55-60 mph) and lower speeds, making it difficult to keep the vehicle straight on the road. This problem occurs intermittently and creates a safety hazard. The issue likely stems from suspension or steering components that need inspection and alignment adjustment.

While driving at 50 mph, your car made an unusual grinding noise and unexpectedly veered to the right. A mechanic found that the strut weld had separated from its mounting point. Your mechanic recommended replacing the sway bar, bushings, mounts, and entire strut assembly to fix the problem.

Your car is very difficult to refuel—gasoline backs up and spits out at you when you try to fill the tank. You'll need to pump gas very slowly to avoid this problem. The issue appears to be related to the fuel filler system and may require diagnostic work or replacement of internal filler components.

When you try to fill your gas tank, fuel spills back out instead of going in, so you have to fill it very slowly. This issue has been reported on 1997 Altimas and is related to a faulty evaporator control valve, which has also caused your check engine light to come on. The fix will likely involve replacing the evaporator control valve or related fuel system components.

When you shifted your 1998 Nissan Altima from Park to Drive, the car suddenly accelerated on its own. Your brake pedal went all the way to the floor without slowing the vehicle, forcing you to crash into a parked car to stop it. Both airbags deployed and you sustained a minor cut to your hand. The manufacturer is aware of the issue and has arranged for an inspector to examine your vehicle.

While driving in the rain at 30 mph and gently applying the brakes to slow down for a curve, your brakes locked up unexpectedly, causing you to lose control and collide with an oncoming vehicle. This has happened more than once on slippery surfaces, even though your ABS system checked out fine a month earlier. The brakes are locking up when they shouldn't, which suggests a problem with either the ABS system or the brake system itself that prevents normal operation in wet conditions. Repairs may involve diagnosing the ABS control module, brake sensors, or the hydraulic brake system.

While driving at highway speeds, your brakes failed to slow the car down and instead produced a burning smell as the brake pads appeared to overheat. Your accelerator also seemed stuck and wouldn't respond normally, and the cruise control appeared to be engaged and not responding to brake pedal input. After about 10 miles, the car finally slowed on its own, but the problem happened again later that day at lower speeds—you had to shift into neutral and pull hard on the emergency brake to stop. At the shop, the brake pads were found to be severely worn (one completely disintegrated, one paper-thin) and both rotors were heavily stained with dark deposits. The fix involved replacing both the brake pads and rotors.

After a long highway drive, your car sat for several hours. When you started it again, you noticed smoke and an unusual rubbing noise under the hood, with smoke pouring from the alternator. A fire developed inside the alternator that required a fire extinguisher to extinguish. The alternator failure created a serious fire risk that could have caused engine damage.

You received a recall notice in the mail regarding your airbag system. You should contact your Nissan dealer to schedule an appointment to have the recall work performed on your vehicle.

While driving in semi-heavy rain with your wipers on medium to high speed, your driver's side wiper suddenly stopped mid-stroke. The passenger wiper then ran over the driver's wiper, jamming them together. This requires replacement of the complete wiper linkage assembly to fix.

Your tire's sidewall failed while driving through a residential neighborhood, and you had to use your spare tire. When you took the tire back to Walmart, they refused to cover it under warranty because the tread wasn't worn down enough to qualify as a manufacturer defect, and you hadn't purchased their optional road hazard warranty. The tire was only 7 months old at the time of failure.

Your driver's side sun visor fell down while you were driving 55 mph and blocked your view of the road. The dealer told you the visor needed to be replaced, but the repair wasn't completed. This is a visibility hazard that needs attention.

Your car's lower radiator support bracket rusted through completely, causing the radiator to sag and damage the coolant and air conditioning lines. This required replacing the support bracket, related brackets, and repairing the A/C system. The fix involves replacing the rusted support bracket and any damaged cooling and A/C components.

Your engine started making a metallic whining noise and clicking sounds during a long drive. After you performed routine maintenance, your lower timing chain snapped, causing significant engine damage. The failure was caused by a piece of plastic from the timing chain guide breaking off and jamming the chain, while the chain tensioner was also severely worn. Repairing the broken timing chain, oil pump, chain guides, and related components required replacing multiple engine parts.

Your adjustable shoulder belt anchor sticks out about 1 inch from the side post, and when you adjust your seat to your preferred height, your head sits right next to this protruding anchor. In a side-impact collision, this could potentially cause severe head injury, especially since your model year doesn't have side airbags to provide protection.

Two screws fell out of your child safety seat's handle and ended up in the seat itself. When you tried to put the screws back in, you found the holes were stripped and wouldn't hold them anymore. The child seat handle may not be secure without these fasteners.

Your check engine light came on, and you experienced problems with your gas tank where gasoline would spill out when you tried to fill it up. The oxygen sensor needed to be replaced to address the check engine warning. The fix will likely involve replacing the oxygen sensor and inspecting or repairing the fuel tank filler system to stop the spillage.

When you try to fill your gas tank, it only accepts a small amount of fuel before gasoline spills out onto the ground. Your check engine light has also come on. This likely involves a problem with the fuel filler neck, vent system, or charcoal canister that's preventing the tank from accepting a full charge of fuel.

When you fill your gas tank, the fuel flows in very slowly and then overflows from the back of the pump before the tank is completely full. Your mechanic identified this as a problem with the evaporative emission control system's vent control circuit, which prevents proper air flow in and out of the tank during refueling. The repair will likely involve inspecting and potentially replacing components in the vent control system to restore normal fuel tank pressurization.