2014 Nissan Altima
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Exterior lighting is the leading concern among 1,113 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 3rd highest complaint count among 26 Altima model years with reports.
Of the 2014 reports, 51 involved a crash and 8 involved a fire. 58 people were injured and 1 person died.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Latches/locks/linkages, hood, latchMay 28, 2020
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2018 Nissan Altima vehicles. If the primary hood latch is inadvertently released, there is an increased likelihood that the secondary hood latch may corrode over time.
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.
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 Owners 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.
Campaign 20V315000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, sensor, occupant classificationDec 19, 2016
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima vehicles manufactured January 3, 2013, to July 29, 2013, 2015-2016 Rogue vehicles manufactured October 14, 2014, to August 12, 2016, and 2016 Maxima vehicles manufactured June 4, 2015, to August 19, 2015. An incorrect Occupant Classification System (OCS) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) may have been installed in the front passenger seat. The incorrect ECU and seat combination may misclassify the front passenger seat occupant.
If the front passenger seat occupant is misclassified, the air bag may deploy incorrectly in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ECU and update the OCS software free of charge. The recall began February 13, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
Campaign 16V911000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, sensor, occupant classificationApr 26, 2016
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crash.
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.
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.
Campaign 16V244000 on NHTSA.gov
Latches/locks/linkages, hood, latchJan 22, 2016
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Nissan Altima vehicles manufactured March 6, 2012, to December 31, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the secondary hood latch may bind and remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed.
If the primary latch is inadvertently released and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could unexpectedly open while driving, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
These vehicles were previously included in recalls 14V-565 and 15V-116, however the previous remedy plan may not have been performed consistently to remove the safety risk. To correct this issue, Nissan will re-notify all affected owners and dealers will replace the hood latch with a new one, free of charge. The recall began on February 17, 2016. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261. Note: This recall supersedes recalls 14V-565 and 15V-116.
Campaign 16V029000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, frontalOct 20, 2015
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima and Pathfinder vehicles, 2013-2014 Nissan Sentra vehicles, 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles, 2014-2015 Infiniti QX60 vehicles and 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid vehicles. The affected vehicles received an incorrect occupant classification system (OCS) control unit during a repair. These OCS control units may incorrectly classify the front passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.
If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger air bag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger.
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on November 30, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Campaign 15V681000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasolineAug 4, 2015
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) notified the agency on July 31, 2015, that they are recalling certain model year 2016 Nissan Maxima vehicles manufactured February 10, 2015, to August 18, 2015. On October 14, 2015, Nissan expanded the recall to cover an additional 41,388 vehicles, including certain model year 2013-2015 Altima 3.5 vehicles equipped with a V6 engine manufactured March 30, 2012, to August 18, 2015 as well as the vehicles covered by the July 31, 2015 notification. In the affected vehicles, due to an improperly installed o-ring that may not have been seated correctly at the time of assembly, fuel may leak during a crash from the area where the fuel sending unit attaches to the fuel tank.
If fuel leaks from between the fuel sending unit and the tank, it may increase the risk of a fire in the event of a crash.
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will install a retainer ring between the fuel tank and the fuel sending unit. The recall began on September 28, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
Campaign 15V486000 on NHTSA.gov
Latches/locks/linkages, hood, latchFeb 27, 2015
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Nissan Altima vehicles manufactured March 1, 2013, to December 31, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the secondary hood latch may bind and remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed.
If the primary latch is inadvertently released and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could unexpectedly open while driving, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will be instructed to modify the bend angle of the hood actuation lever to eliminate potential interference with the hood inner panel. In addition, dealers will clean and lubricate the latch joint as needed. If significant corrosion is observed, the latch assembly will be replaced. This repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began March 31, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261. Note: This recall is an expansion of recall 14V-565.
Campaign 15V116000 on NHTSA.gov
Electrical system, softwareMar 25, 2014
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, and Sentra, model year 2013 NV200 (aka Taxi) and Infiniti JX35 and model year 2014 Infiniti Q50 and QX60 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the occupant classification system (OCS) software may incorrectly classify the passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.
If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger airbag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger.
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on April 14, 2014. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Campaign 14V138000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
1,113 reports, newest first.
Exterior lighting, Sep 26, 2021
Head lights are not visible when on low beam at night
Exterior lighting, Sep 26, 2021
dangerously low headlight visibility. replaced headlight at Nissan a month ago and still dim headlight.
Exterior lighting, Sep 22, 2021
As many other complaints I have seen on here, the headlights on the car go dim over time. If we can switch the bulb, that would be great but that doesn't solve the issue. I can barely see at night when driving. I avoid driving at night because of that reason. The manufacturer should be responsible for replacing these for the customer. We shouldn't have to wait for someone to get hurt or worse before something is done about this.
Structure, Sep 18, 2021
I parked my car, I tried to exit my automobile. The front driver side door would not open, the handle being very loose. I had to climb over the console and exit the passenger side of the auto. At 82 years of age, this maneuver was something certainly not expected. After exiting the car, I tried the driver side door from the outside, the door opened. I drove the car to the Nissan service center. The service employee said that he has seen this happen about 3 or 4 times and that it was a poorly designed This interior. He quoted me a price of $500 to $600 to fix the problem. I would hate to think of my husband who has arthritis as well as circulatory problems being in this situation. God forbid if someone had to exit the car in an emergency. I wouldn't want to think of being trapped in this vehicle if an emergency exit was warranted.
Air bags, Sep 17, 2021
The contact's wife owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that at start-up, the air bag warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer and was informed to call the manufacturer to see if the repair would be covered under warranty. The manufacturer agreed to pay 60% for the cost of the repair; however, once the repair was performed, the failure persisted. The contact returned the vehicle to the same dealer and the manufacturer agreed to pay for the full repair of the air bag unit. Despite the second repair, the failure persisted, and the manufacturer stated that the repair was no longer covered. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
Exterior lighting, Sep 15, 2021
Low beam head lights are not bright enough. I have replaced the bulbs 2 times, but no improvement at all. it is dangerous to drive with this light at nights.
Air bags, Sep 14, 2021, crash
I was driving on the interstate and a deer struck my vehicle going approximately 60-65 mph. None of the airbags deployed.The sensor lights were not on and did not indicate any airbag sensor issues. The incident damaged the radiator and my vehicle had to be towed. I could have potentially suffered a serious physical injury. Insurance representatives were contacted and the vehicle is at the repair shop currently.
Exterior lighting, Sep 14, 2021
The lights are horrible on a Nissan Altima 2014. I have changed the bulbs 3 different times and it does not help. I am forced to drive with my bright lights on just to be able to see. This is a huge safety hazard because I am not able to drive without them on bright so it blinds the other drivers but I have no choice.
Steering, Suspension, Aug 25, 2021
My mother in law was driving this vehicle with 3 of her grandchildren (one was my son). She noticed the car seemed squirrelly on the highway. They stopped at a Restaurant and called me. I drove there and took a look. The right rear wheel was at a terrible angle. I looked underneath and noticed the right rear control arm was nearly broken apart. Picture will be attached. This could have ended much differently. The car was towed to a shop and they noticed both the left and right control arms needed to be replaced as they were both rusted out. This is on a car that was kept in a garage it's entire life. The shop told us there is a recall for Altimas for this but not for our VIN number. Why this recall was not for the vehicle is unbelievable.
Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Aug 24, 2021
When I bought the car the headlights were dim they driver side headlight keeps burning out they said it wasn't covered under the warranty whatsoever but yet you can't see at night to drive if it is dark I cannot drive my car never have been able to since about it but yet Nissan says nothing's wrong with it hit the repairs on me this is not the first time I've made a complaint about this but it does no good
Air bags, Aug 23, 2021
On May 9, 2014, I took in my 2014 Nissan Altima (which was still under warranty) to the dealership to repair the airbag sensor light since it came on even with someone in the passenger seat who weighed over 130 pounds. The Nissan service technician checked it and failed to duplicate the concern. Sometime after that, Nissan performed a recall on the sensor. After the recall, I again took the car in as the sensor still came on periodically incorrectly. This was on 10/11/16. At that time, they said the programming had not been completed and so they completed it. This also did not fix the sensor. I took it in again on May 10, 2017. The notes on the repair order say: "Customer states intermit when passenger is occupies in front passenger seat the passenger side air bag light comes on check and advise. No active codes. Performed zero point reset." Nothing was found again. Frustrated, I didn't know what to do. Fast forward to today (August 23, 2021), I took it in to finally resolve the issue as I am interested in selling it soon. I was shocked that they came back and said it would cost me $1010.68 to fix something that I have tried to get them to fix for 7 years. This faulty sensor is dangerous and they have refused to fix something that never worked from the start despite there being a recall.
Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Aug 10, 2021
Low beams are too dim while driving at night they look like they are practically not even on at all.
Fuel/propulsion system, Aug 9, 2021
On my 2014 Nissan Altima, sometimes from a stop when accelerating there is a delay. RPM's do not go up, just no movement. But if you leave the gas pedal engaged when the motor decides to work it hits hard. The danger is entering traffic. It's very scary. If it was to happen to my wife she would panic and press the accelerator more and that also creates a whole different situation... I have read that "Nissan" is not claiming any responsibility for this problem and actually hasn't fixed any customers cars because they cannot recreate this failure! Thank you, Tom
Exterior lighting, Jul 30, 2021
The headlights have deteriorated so badly that I cannot see to drive at night. A quick search online reveals this is a very common problem with this model. I bought the car new and it has been very well maintained. The reflective internal coating on the headlight assembly deteriorates apparently due to the high heat of the halogen bulbs. This is a tremendous safety issue. Please due the right thing and force them to recall these cars to fix this very dangerous situation.
Vehicle speed control, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Jul 23, 2021
While driving the car will suddenly jerk and starts to shake and when pressing the gas the car will not accelerate so I have had to turn on emergency lights to not get hit in the back the rpm goes up but not the mph
Exterior lighting, Jul 10, 2021
Low beams are extremely dim, truly making this vehicle unsafe to drive at night and at night while raining and seems the only way to correct is to replace with the same projector lights which are still defective.
Air bags, Jul 9, 2021
The vehicle does not detect the front passenger.
Air bags, Structure, Jul 6, 2021, crash
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH and coming to a stop, another vehicle crashed into the passenger side of the vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained injuries that she did not want to disclose and required medical attention the next day. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The approximate mileage failure was 76,000.
Other or unspecified, Jul 4, 2021
I've been to two different Nissan service dealerships with the past month and neither have been able to fix the hood latch recall from May 2020.
Power train, Jun 30, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the speedometer was increasing independently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 132,000.
Other or unspecified, Jun 28, 2021
Twice in 2 months my hood popped opened while driving on the interstate with my family in the car. The second time it popped open I was in the HOV lane which consisted of only one lane so it was quite the scare especially because there was no where safe that I could pull over. I took it to the car dealer shortly after the incident occurred and they maintenance the secondary hood latch but never did anything to the primary hood latch which should have never had opened especially while I was driving. I put in a claim with Nissan regarding the primary hood latch disengaging on its own two times in 2 months. I specifically told them numerous times that I do not feel safe driving my car anymore in that I would like to be financially compensated because now I have to go out and purchase another vehicle. I explained to them that I did not plan on buying a new car especially because my Nissan only had 77,000 MIles on it and was paid in full. I had also told them that I'm on a fixed income and having to purchase a new vehicle along with taking on car payments would cost me and my family a tremendous financial hardship. As of today Nissan has not done anything to compensate me. They are saying that I must have accidentally disengaged the primary hood latch both times the hood popped open.
Air bags, Seats, Jun 28, 2021
The airbag light is always on. When the car is taken to a dealer for inspection, they said that the sensor under the seat is not working properly. We worry that the airbag may not deploy during an accident because the seat cannot sense the people sitting on it. It is definitely dangerous The problem has been identified by a Nissan dealer. The vehicle was inspected by the manufacturer. The airbag light stays on, even after the dealer clearing the code. It seems a lot of Nissan Altima have a similar problem.
Suspension, Jun 17, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving at 35 MPH, the steering wheel became loose and he almost lost control of the vehicle. The traction control warning light illuminated. The contact stated he was able to park the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the driver and passenger rear lower control of the vehicle had failed due to corrosion. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed that the contact would be responsible for the cost of repair since the TSB only covered vehicles manufactured in 2013. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not provide assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 158,000
Exterior lighting, Jun 14, 2021
Low beam lights extremely low, I almost hit the median because I could not see it ahead at night , even when the low beam lights were turned on. I notice the low beam light are very dim and I often have to use the Hi beam lights to be able to see the road at night. This extremely low light issue has been going on for years even after I replaced the light bulbs with brighter light bulbs. The problem is really bad , both when driving in the city and driving on the road, .
Steering, Suspension, Jun 9, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving 35 mph, a popping sound came from the rear of the vehicle, which resulted in the vehicle losing the ability to properly steer. The contact pulled over and upon inspection, it was found that the driver’s side control arm had separated from the sub-frame of the vehicle. The contact stated that the low traction warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence and remained unrepaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The contact was informed that Vin was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 194,000.