Nissan Altima tie rod replacement cost,
$170 outer per side, $280 inner.

The Nissan Altima has been one of the best-selling mid-size sedans in the US for two decades, and its fleet population runs into the millions across the generations still on the road. That scale is good news for the owner facing a tie rod job: every independent shop and alignment shop has done the Altima many times, and the aftermarket parts catalogue is deep and competitive. The tie rod failure window on the Altima sits around 100,000 to 150,000 miles for the outer end, with the inner end typically lasting longer.

The one Altima-specific thing worth flagging is parts quality on the inner end. Some independent shops report that bargain-tier aftermarket inner tie rod ends can develop play sooner than expected on the Altima, which is why the practical advice is to fit a Moog Premium, Mevotech Supreme, 555, or Nissan OEM inner rather than the cheapest catalogue part. The outer ends are less fussy and any reputable brand is fine. Because the inner end is the labor-intensive one to redo, spending the extra $20 to $40 on a quality inner is the cheapest insurance on the whole job.

As with most Japanese sedans, the dealer-to-independent spread on the Altima is moderate rather than extreme. Nissan OEM parts are priced above the aftermarket but not at the level of European luxury brands, and a good independent using Moog or 555 parts delivers effectively identical service life for meaningfully less money than the dealer.

The breakdown below reflects typical independent-shop pricing as of 2026, cross-referenced against RepairPal Altima estimator data (which puts a single-end job at $217 to $257, labor $85 to $125, parts around $131), RockAuto current parts pricing, and platform labor times from the ALLDATA service database. Dealer quotes typically run 20 to 30 percent above these numbers.

Pricing as of 2026. Add $85 to $135 for the four-wheel alignment that every tie rod job requires.

Trim level (S, SV, SR, SL, or the older 2.5 and 3.5 badges) does not change the tie rod job on the Altima; the linkage is common across the trims within a generation. The two things that matter are the generation split and whether the car is AWD, which is only offered on the 2019-onward L34 and adds a little front-linkage labor.

Moog Premium and Mevotech Supreme deliver comparable real-world durability at roughly half the OEM cost. 555 (Sankei) is a sleeper pick worth knowing about: the Japanese supplier ships original-equipment tie rod ends to several Japanese automakers, and its Altima parts are OE-grade. Nissan OEM is priced above the aftermarket but well below European luxury linkage. For the inner end specifically, avoid the cheapest MAS-tier catalogue part on a keeper Altima and step up a tier.

One Altima-specific note: on the 2013-2018 (L33) run, the Moog outer ends are ES801196 (right) and ES801197 (left), and the Moog inner end is EV801066 (shared with the same-era Maxima). Always confirm against your specific year, trim, and VIN before ordering.

Representative scenarios for a 2015 Altima SV with 130,000 miles, full inner-plus-outer both-sides job plus four-wheel alignment. These are illustrative estimates, not collected quotes.

• Dealer (Nissan): around $1,150 with Nissan OEM parts and four-wheel alignment. Top of the range.
• Independent JDM specialist: around $900 with 555 (Sankei) OE-grade parts and alignment. Excellent value from a Japan-vehicle expertise shop.
• Alignment specialist: around $790 with Moog Premium parts and alignment in one stop. Mid-range indie pricing.
• Independent mechanic: around $650 with Mevotech Supreme parts plus alignment subcontracted. Bottom of the range for a full job.
• Mobile (YourMechanic): around $400 outer ends only at the driveway, with a separate $115 alignment stop. All-in roughly $515.

The dealer-to-best-independent spread is roughly $500. It is a typical mid-size-sedan gap, wider than the Corolla or Civic because Nissan OEM parts carry a slightly larger premium, but nowhere near the spread on a European luxury car.

Altima alignment runs $85 to $135 at independents and $115 to $165 at the dealer. Most Altima owners will need an alignment once or twice in the car’s life (after tie rod work, after curb strikes, occasionally after major potholes), so the straightforward transactional alignment is the right answer for most owners rather than a lifetime plan.

Skipping the alignment after a tie rod change scrubs the inside edge of a front tire inside a few thousand miles, and a replacement tire costs more than the alignment you skipped. On the AWD L34, a proper four-wheel alignment matters even more because uneven front toe loads the driveline unevenly.