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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2013 Nissan Altima — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 2,312 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

2,312

Complaints

filed with NHTSA

Involved a Crash

owner-reported

Involved Fire

owner-reported

48 / 1

Injuries / Deaths

across all reports

Years to Avoid

Nissan Altima — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

2010 Nissan Altima

381 complaints

2011 Nissan Altima

241 complaints

2012 Nissan Altima

426 complaints

2013 Nissan Altima AVOID

2,312 complaints

2014 Nissan Altima

1,113 complaints

2015 Nissan Altima

954 complaints

2016 Nissan Altima

553 complaints

2017 Nissan Altima

391 complaints

2018 Nissan Altima

226 complaints

2019 Nissan Altima

232 complaints

2020 Nissan Altima

179 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Air Bags 514 reports

Power Train 505 reports

Exterior Lighting 442 reports

Suspension 289 reports

Unknown Or Other 240 reports

Electrical System 159 reports

Engine 158 reports

Structure 134 reports

In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Suspension ODI 11292258 12/31/2019

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 NISSAN ALTIMA. WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SHAKE WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT PULLED OVER, EXITED THE VEHICLE, LOOKED UNDER THE VEHICLE, AND NOTICED THAT THE REAR PASSENGER LOWER CONTROL ARM WAS FRACTURED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO NISSAN OF CANTON (42175 MICHIGAN AVE, CANTON, MI 48188, (734) 392-8248) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE …

Exterior Lighting ODI 11292307 12/31/2019

THE LOW BEAMS ARE AT THE POINT WHERE IT ALMOST LOOKS LIKE THEY ARE NOT ON. I HAVE REPLACED THE BULBS, DIDN'T HELP AT ALL. I ADJUSTED THE 2 DIFFERENT ADJUSTMENT PIECES, ONE IS UNDER THE HOOD AND THE OTHER IS BEHIND THE INNER FENDER. THAT DIDN'T CORRECT IT.I CALLED NISSAN AND THEY ARE NOT AWARE OF THIS ISSUE . I DID SEE ON A NISSAN FORM LISTED AS WWW.NISSANPROBLEMS.COM/ALTIMA-PR…

Exterior Lighting ODI 11164270 12/31/2018

THE LIGHTS ARE SO DIM IT IS LIKE I DON'T HAVE THEM ON AT NIGHT. VERY HARD TO SEE DRIVING AT NIGHT. *DT THE VIN PROVIDED HAS NO DISPLAYABLE RECORDS. *JB

Air Bags ODI 11633237 12/30/2024

This car seems to have the same software issue as other altimas but the VIN does not record a recall. When someone is in the passenger seat, there is no dashboard confirmation and we are worried that the airbag might not deploy.

Exterior Lighting ODI 11292051 12/30/2019

WELL DOCUMENTED ISSUE. "5TH GENERATION ALTIMA'S LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS ARE EXTREMELY DIM" AND UNSAFE FOR DRIVING AT NIGHT. MINE HAVE BECOME WORSE OVER TIME TO THE POINT WHERE I NOW FEEL UNSAFE DRIVING AT NIGHT. AS OTHERS HAVE STATED REPLACING THE BULB WITH A BRIGHTER VERSION DOES NOT HELP AS THE REFLECTIVE MATERIAL WITHIN THE PROJECTOR DETERIORATES TO THE POINT OF MAKING ANY BUL…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2013 Nissan Altima, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2013 Nissan Altima reliable?

Owners have filed 2,312 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2013 Nissan Altima, most often about air bags. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.

Which Nissan Altima years should I avoid?

The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.

Where do these complaints come from?

Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.

Do complaints mean a recall is coming?

Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.