The best Altima years to buy are 2019 and 2021. Avoid the 2013 and 2014: the 2013 drew about 3.5 times the Altima's average complaints, from CVT failures, passenger air bag faults and headlights that dim.
Best years: 20192021 Years to avoid: 20132014
Every Altima year compared
Owner complaints per 100,000 cars sold. Lower is better. The newest years have had less time to collect complaints, so they are marked too new to judge.
Known Altima problems
Year by year
| Year | Complaints | Per 100k sold | Recalls | Top issue | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 44 | - | 1 | Other | Too new to judge |
| 2023 | 30 | - | 0 | Electrical | Too new to judge |
| 2022 | 20 | 14 | 0 | Collision avoidance | Few reports |
| 2021 | 71 | 68 | 2 | Electrical | Good buy |
| 2020 | 183 | 133 | 6 | Electrical | Good year |
| 2019 | 234 | 112 | 7 | Electrical | Good year |
| 2018 | 226 | 108 | 2 | Other | Good year |
| 2017 | 394 | 155 | 3 | Transmission and drivetrain | Average |
| 2016 | 555 | 181 | 4 | Transmission and drivetrain | Average |
| 2015 | 956 | 287 | 10 | Exterior Lighting | Average |
| 2014 | 1,113 | 332 | 8 | Exterior Lighting | Skip this year |
| 2013 | 2,315 | 722 | 12 | Air bags | Skip this year |
| 2012 | 426 | 141 | 4 | Transmission and drivetrain | Good year |
About the Altima
The Altima is comfortable and good on gas, but its 2013 redesign was rough. The new CVT, a passenger seat sensor that wrongly switched off the air bag, and dim headlights drove complaints to one of the highest levels on this site. Altimas from 2018 on are much more reliable.
- 2013-2018: Fifth generation. 2013-2015 have CVT, air bag and headlight complaints; 2017-2018 are better.
- 2019 on: Sixth generation. Low complaint rates.
Altima warranty extensions and special coverage
Carmakers sometimes extend the warranty on a part that fails too often, or pay for a fix outside a recall. These notices come from the dealer bulletins Nissan files with NHTSA. 722 Altima bulletins are on file in total.
Active Grille Shutter Emission Warranty Extension Dealer Notification *****Dealer Announcement***** Nissan is committed to providing the highest levels of product quality and customer satisfaction.
Rear Lower Suspension Link Warranty Extension Dealer Notification In October 2019, Nissan launched a Voluntary Service Campaign (P9324) on MY2013 Nissan Altima vehicles registered in high road-salt-usage states (Connecticut, De...
Halogen Headlamp Class Action Owner Notification Beginning October 25, 2021, current and former owners and lessees of certain 2013-2018 Altimas will receive a postcard from a Settlement Administrator informing them of the terms...
Halogen Headlamp Warranty Extension Campaign Summary: On or around October 25, 2021, current and former owners and lessees of certain 2013-2018 Altima vehicles received a postcard from a Settlement Administrator informing them ...
2013-2018 Altima; FRONT COMBINATION LAMPS (HEADLAMPS) INSPECTION SERVICE INFORMATION Nissan is committed to providing the highest levels of product quality and customer satisfaction.
Halogen Headlamp Warranty Extension REVISED January 25, 2022 Please discard earlier versions of this bulletin.
Halogen Headlamp Warranty Extension REVISED February 23, 2022 Please discard earlier versions of this bulletin.
Halogen Headlamp Voluntary Service Campaign ***** Dealer Announcement ***** Nissan is conducting a Voluntary Service Campaign (VSC) on ~90,000 specific model year 2013-2018 Nissan Altima vehicles with halogen headlamps dimming ...
Halogen Headlamp Warranty Extension REVISED March 25, 2022 Please discard earlier versions of this bulletin.
Halogen Headlamp Warranty Extension REVISED April 12, 2022 Please discard earlier versions of this bulletin.
Ask a dealer to check a specific car by VIN. Extensions usually have a time or mileage limit.
Government investigations into the Altima
NHTSA opens an investigation when complaints point to a possible safety defect. Some end in a recall and some close without one.
Preliminary evaluation PE23023 · 2019–2021 · opened Dec 2023, closed Jul 2025 · led to recall 25V437
On December 13, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE23-023 to investigate allegations of engine failures leading to loss of motive power in model year (MY) 2021-2023 Nissan Rogue; MY 2019-2021 Nissan Altima; and MY 2019-2021 Infiniti QX50 vehicles.
Audit query AQ22003 · 2018–2022 · opened Dec 2022
NHTSA is opening this audit query to investigate whether The Hertz Corporation (Hertz) has complied with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Safety Act).
Engineering analysis EA21002 · 2013–2018 · opened Sep 2021
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L.
Engineering analysis EA19002 · 2013–2018 · opened Jul 2019, closed Jun 2025
On July 29, 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened EA19002 to investigate instances of alleged rear lower control arm failures in 2013-2018 Nissan Altima and 2016-2018 Nissan Maxima vehicles.
Preliminary evaluation PE18013 · 2013–2018 · opened Dec 2018, closed Aug 2019
PE18-013 was opened on December 1, 2018, with 4 complaints to ODI alleging incidents of the lower control arm fracturing at a connection point to the vehicle chassis due to corrosion.
Engineering analysis EA15004 · 2013, 2014 · opened Aug 2015, closed May 2017 · led to recall 15V681000
In May 2016, Nissan North America issued a safety recall (16V-244) to address the problem of improper classification of adult front seat passengers in approximately 3.3 million vehicles, including those in the scope of this investigation when it was opened (almost one million vehicles) and additional vehicles, as sh...
Recall query RQ15001 · 2013, 2014 · opened Mar 2015, closed Sep 2015
In April 2014, Nissan North America launched Safety Recall 14V-138 to address problems with the Occupant Classification System (OCS) algorithm in the following vehicles: model year (MY) 2013-2014 Nissan Altima, Pathfinder, Sentra and LEAF; MY 2013 Infiniti JX35; MY 2014 Infiniti QX60 and Q50; and MY 2013 Nissan NV 2...
Investigation EQ12002 · 2012 · opened Feb 2012, closed May 2012
The summary for this investigation, labeled EQ12-002 Autoliv Closing Resume, can be found attached separately to this resume.This EQ is closed.
Altima vs rivals
Questions
What is the best year for the Nissan Altima?
2019 and 2021. The best Altima years to buy are 2019 and 2021. Avoid the 2013 and 2014: the 2013 drew about 3.5 times the Altima's average complaints, from CVT failures, passenger air bag faults and headlights that dim.
Which Nissan Altima years should I avoid?
2013, 2014. These drew far more owner complaints per car sold than the Nissan Altima average.
Based on 6,567 complaints filed by owners with U.S. safety regulators for model years 2012 to 2024, and U.S. sales by calendar year. How we score.