2016 NISSAN ALTIMA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 551 complaints · 4 recalls
Most-reported system: POWER TRAIN (185 complaints · 33.6%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 28
  • Fires 3
  • Injuries 32
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 2015 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution POWER TRAIN appears in 185 of 551 owner complaints (33.6%) in this vehicle snapshot. POWER TRAIN: 185 complaints, 33.6% of reports POWER TRAIN 185 · 33.6% · 1 crash reports AIR BAGS: 52 complaints, 9.4% of reports AIR BAGS 52 · 9.4% · 9 crash reports 1 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 41 complaints, 7.4% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 41 · 7.4% · 2 crash reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 36 complaints, 6.5% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 36 · 6.5% ENGINE: 30 complaints, 5.4% of reports ENGINE 30 · 5.4% · 1 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 17 complaints, 3.1% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 17 · 3.1% · 2 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 17 complaints, 3.1% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 17 · 3.1% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports STRUCTURE: 16 complaints, 2.9% of reports STRUCTURE 16 · 2.9% STEERING: 12 complaints, 2.2% of reports STEERING 12 · 2.2% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 145 complaints, 26.3% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 145 · 26.3% · 7 crash reports 1 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
POWER TRAIN 185 33.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 52 9.4% 9 crashes · 1 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 41 7.4% 2 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 36 6.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 30 5.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 17 3.1% 2 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 17 3.1% 1 crashes · 1 fires
STRUCTURE 16 2.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 12 2.2% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 145 26.3% 7 crashes · 1 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Apr 2016; the first recall shown was reported in Apr 2016. 2016-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2016-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2017-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2017-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2018-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2018-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2018-Q3: 17 owner reports 17 2018-Q4: 15 owner reports 15 2019-Q1: 20 owner reports 20 2019-Q2: 30 owner reports 30 2019-Q3: 35 owner reports 35 2019-Q4: 30 owner reports 30 2020-Q1: 20 owner reports 20 2020-Q2: 19 owner reports 19 2020-Q3: 24 owner reports 24 2020-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 2021-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2021-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2021-Q3: 18 owner reports 18 2021-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2022-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2022-Q2: 19 owner reports 19 2022-Q3: 22 owner reports 22 2022-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2023-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2023-Q2: 16 owner reports 16 2023-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2023-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2024-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2024-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2024-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2024-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2025-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2025-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2025-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2025-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2026-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2026-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2026-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 Owner reports Apr 2016 Jul 2026 Recall campaign 16V244000 ◆ Recall campaign 16V244000 Recall campaign 17V040000 ◆ Recall campaign 17V040000 Recall campaign 18V915000 ◆ Recall campaign 18V915000 Recall campaign 20V315000 ◆ Recall campaign 20V315000 Investigation PE18013 ● Investigation PE18013 Investigation EA19002 ● Investigation EA19002 Investigation EA21002 ● Investigation EA21002
  • Campaign 17V040000 was reported 194 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 18V915000 was reported 894 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 20V315000 was reported 1,420 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2016-Q2 Owner reports 2
2016-Q3 Owner reports 5
2016-Q4 Owner reports 7
2017-Q1 Owner reports 3
2017-Q2 Owner reports 3
2017-Q3 Owner reports 5
2017-Q4 Owner reports 14
2018-Q1 Owner reports 10
2018-Q2 Owner reports 13
2018-Q3 Owner reports 17
2018-Q4 Owner reports 15
2019-Q1 Owner reports 20
2019-Q2 Owner reports 30
2019-Q3 Owner reports 35
2019-Q4 Owner reports 30
2020-Q1 Owner reports 20
2020-Q2 Owner reports 19
2020-Q3 Owner reports 24
2020-Q4 Owner reports 16
2021-Q1 Owner reports 18
2021-Q2 Owner reports 11
2021-Q3 Owner reports 18
2021-Q4 Owner reports 10
2022-Q1 Owner reports 14
2022-Q2 Owner reports 19
2022-Q3 Owner reports 22
2022-Q4 Owner reports 12
2023-Q1 Owner reports 11
2023-Q2 Owner reports 16
2023-Q3 Owner reports 16
2023-Q4 Owner reports 10
2024-Q1 Owner reports 7
2024-Q2 Owner reports 13
2024-Q3 Owner reports 7
2024-Q4 Owner reports 7
2025-Q1 Owner reports 7
2025-Q2 Owner reports 10
2025-Q3 Owner reports 13
2025-Q4 Owner reports 6
2026-Q1 Owner reports 5
2026-Q2 Owner reports 3
2026-Q3 Owner reports 8
Recall campaign 1 16V244000
Recall campaign 1 17V040000
Recall campaign 1 18V915000
Recall campaign 1 20V315000
Defect investigation 1 PE18013
Defect investigation 1 EA19002
Defect investigation 1 EA21002
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (4)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 16V244000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    Consequence:
    If the passenger frontal air bag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury.
    Remedy:
    Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669, Infiniti customer service at 1-888-833-3216 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 17V040000

    Report date
    Component:
    LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES
    Consequence:
    If the rear passenger doors inadvertently open while the vehicle is in motion, it may increase the risk of injury to the rear passengers.
    Remedy:
    Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will correct the rear door latch/lock cable routing, free of charge. The recall began on February 16, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 18V915000

    Report date
    Component:
    LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES
    Consequence:
    If the rear passenger door opens while the vehicle is moving, the rear passengers have an increased risk of injury.
    Remedy:
    Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will secure the latch-lock cables in the correct position using the new remedy procedure, free of charge. The recall began February 5, 2019. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7669.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 20V315000

    Report date
    Component:
    LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES
    Consequence:
    Corrosion to the secondary latch may cause it to bind and remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed. If the primary latch is inadvertently released again and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could unexpectedly open while driving, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
    Remedy:
    Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will install a stronger release spring in the hood release lever, a warning label near the secondary hood latch, and an Owner’s Manual addendum card with instructions on how to lubricate and maintain the secondary hood latch mechanism, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 30, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Note: Recall 16V-029 remains open for any unremedied 2013-2015 Altimas and this recall applies to all vehicles covered by 16V-029 even if those repairs have already been performed.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
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EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources