Nissan Altima vs Chrysler 200: which is more reliable?
The Nissan Altima and the Chrysler 200 are level on the federal record — 68/100 against 69/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Nissan Altima
- 15 model years scored
- 6,792 owner complaints on record
- about 46 complaints per year on the road
- 62 recall campaigns, 28 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (95/100) · worst 2013 (23/100)
Chrysler 200
- 7 model years scored
- 4,167 owner complaints on record
- about 57 complaints per year on the road
- 24 recall campaigns, 17 safety-critical
- best year 2017 (92/100) · worst 2015 (28/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Altima against 200
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Nissan Altima
- Power Train — 1,484 complaints
- Air Bags — 1,159 complaints
- Exterior Lighting — 1,053 complaints
Chrysler 200
- Electrical System — 1,220 complaints
- Engine — 1,207 complaints
- Power Train — 866 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Altima's complaints concentrate in Power Train, the 200's in Electrical System. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Nissan Altima — avoid: 2013, 2014, 2015.
Chrysler 200 — avoid: 2015.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Nissan Altima prices at about $28,100 and a Chrysler 200 at about $13,900 — the Chrysler 200 is roughly $14,200 less, and they return 31.0 against 27.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Nissan Altima or the Chrysler 200 more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Chrysler 200 scores 69/100 against the Nissan Altima's 68/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Nissan Altima and Chrysler 200 years should I avoid?
Nissan Altima: 2013, 2014, 2015. Chrysler 200: 2015. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Nissan Altima and the Chrysler 200?
The largest complaint group on the Nissan Altima is Power Train (1,484 complaints); on the Chrysler 200 it is Electrical System (1,220).
Is the Nissan Altima or the Chrysler 200 cheaper to own?
A recent used Nissan Altima prices at about $28,100 and a Chrysler 200 at about $13,900, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.