Nissan Altima
Problems & Worst Years

Six model years of Altima complaints span a wide range, but 2016 stands out immediately as the volume leader: 338 total occurrences, more than double the next-highest year, spread across 13 distinct problems with two rated safety severity. The top complaint that year is a hood latch failure allowing the hood to open while driving, logged 76 times and rated safety severity, followed closely by transmission failure causing jerking and stalling at 72 occurrences, also safety-rated. A related transmission complaint describing stalling and loss of power adds 66 more occurrences at high severity, meaning transmission problems alone account for well over a third of the year's total complaints. Electrical issues triggering the check engine light (37 occurrences) and steering difficulty controlling the vehicle (32 occurrences) round out that year's top five.

2019 carries the highest safety-severity count in the data set at five distinct problems, even though its total volume (136 occurrences) is far below 2016's. Electrical issues affecting door locks lead that year at 54 occurrences, and forward collision avoidance system malfunctions, service brakes failing to operate properly, and electrical backup camera issues are all rated safety severity. Three recall campaigns — 18V922, 19V316, and 25V437 — apply to this model year and should be confirmed as resolved.

Transmission trouble is the thread running through nearly every year in this data set: slipping in 2011 and 2017, stalling and jerking in 2016, hesitation in 2017, and CVT failure specifically called out in 2018 alongside airbag system malfunction. 2011 also introduced a dashboard melting and glare complaint, rated safety severity at 45 occurrences. 2020 is comparatively the cleanest year shown, with 72 total occurrences and no safety-rated complaints, though door lock and electrical malfunctions still appear, and two recall campaigns, 21V138 and 25V437, apply to it as well.

Given how consistently transmission and electrical issues surface across nearly a decade of model years, both deserve dedicated attention during a pre-purchase inspection — a test drive under varied conditions and a scan for stored electrical fault codes are reasonable minimums. As with any NHTSA data, these are owner-filed reports rather than a precise failure rate; the newest year here, 2020, has simply had less time on the road to accumulate complaints than the others, and confirming open recalls have been completed on the specific VIN matters as much as the model year itself, alongside a full service history review.