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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2018 Nissan Altima — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 226 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

226
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
11
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
0
Involved Fire
owner-reported
6
Injuries
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.

241 complaints

426 complaints

2,312 complaints

1,113 complaints

954 complaints

553 complaints

391 complaints

226 complaints

232 complaints

179 complaints

70 complaints

20 complaints

29 complaints

41 complaints

7 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Unknown Or Other 60 reports
Service Brakes 49 reports
Electrical System 37 reports
Air Bags 36 reports
Power Train 24 reports
Forward Collision Avoidance 15 reports
Engine 14 reports
Exterior Lighting 13 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Exterior Lighting ODI 11708109 12/31/2025

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed at night, the halogen headlights failed to function as intended and were dimmed, which reduced the visibility of the roadway. There was no warning light illuminated.  The vehicle was taken to a collision center, where the headlight assembly and bulbs were replaced. The vehicle …

Air Bags ODI 11445563 12/30/2021

OCS system is faulty causing the airbags for the passenger to disengage. I am out of warranty for mileage at the time of the problem by 6,000. The car was 3 years old and it is an on going problem again. OCS switch showing improper voltage and cannot be reset unless the factory mechanic does the reset which holds me, the owner, responsible for the diagnostic fee. Additiona…

Forward Collision Avoidance ODI 11385682 12/30/2020

EVERY TIME I AM DRIVING, THE AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING LIGHT ILLUMINATES AT AROUND 55MPH AND IT STAYS LIT CONSTANTLY. THE SYSTEM AUTOMATICALLY BRAKES WHEN NOTHING IS IN FRONT OF MY VEHICLE ALMOST CAUSING THE PERSON BEHIND ME TO HIT ME. THE CRUISE CONTROL WILL NOT ALLOW ME TO SET IT AFTER TURNING IT ON EITHER.

Suspension ODI 11632878 12/28/2024

For the transmission I was driving at normal speed in the freeway when out of no where the car started to jerk and lost power I almost got hit by the car behind me it was a traumatizing experience for me and my son I haven’t gotten my car to get repaired because as a single mother it is very hard on me and with the suspension it had been making loud squeezing noise from my rea…

Electronic Stability Control (esc) ODI 11291607 12/27/2019

THE FRONT RADAR IS FAULTY AND IS CAUSING ISSUES WITH THE FRONT EMERGENCY BRAKING (FEB). THERE IS A NOTIFICATION THAT SAYS "FEB UNAVAILABLE: FRONT RADAR OBSTRUCTION". THIS IS CAUSING A REGULAR DISTRACTION TO THE DRIVER AND ALSO POSES IN A RISK THAT THE VEHICLE MAY AUTOMATICALLY BRAKE UNEXPECTEDLY OR NOT BRAKE IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION.

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2018 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 2018 Nissan Altima reliable?
Owners have filed 226 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2018 Nissan Altima, most often about unknown or other. 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.