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.
Steering, Dec 3, 2024
While driving on a highway at approximately 40 mph. My car lurched and felt like I lost control of the steering. I slowed down and it felt like the car was straight but the steering wheel was turned. I thought maybe I had a flat tire. I drove again slower and the same thing happened. I heard a sound that sounded like a flat tire- a constant thumping noise. I had the car towed to a repair shop and the repairman said I had rusted lower control arms that should be covered by an extended warranty that I was never notified of an issue from Nissan. When contacting Nissan they said the extended warranty ran out and I would have to wait approximately one month without a car for them to do an inspection. Had this incident happened 2 months ago I beleive the repair would have covered. I'm so upset that something might have happened more tragically. I wanted to make the NHTSA aware of the problem. Do I have any recourse? The said it would take a month to have an inspection done by Nissan. How does one go without a car for a month?
Other or unspecified, Nov 25, 2024
Unknown
Power train, Nov 19, 2024
While driving, my transmission stopped accelerating, and started making a scraping/ticking noise. The car almost cut out in traffic, nearly causing a rear end collision!
Air bags, Nov 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the air bag warning light had been illuminated on the instrument panel after the vehicle was serviced for an air bag recall(recall unknown). Years later, the check engine warning light also appeared on the instrument panel, and the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed the check engine light failure; however, the mechanic also informed the contact that the air bag warning light needed to be checked and referred the contact back to the dealer. The contact called the dealer that performed the recall and informed them about the failure that occurred years prior. The contact was informed that due to the long stretch of time that had passed since the repair, the contact would have to pay for a diagnostic to be performed on the vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and spoke to a manager who later agreed to wave the diagnostic fee. The contact was then informed that the back seat assembly and side air bag sensor had failed; the contact was given an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
Exterior lighting, Oct 29, 2024
My headlights have not been working for about 2 years. It’s $1200 to get them fixed and I heard there had been a rebate if you pay for it Nissan will reimburse you but there’s no way I can pay $1200 for headlights. My family elderly and I have spent a lot of nights heading to an hospital with dim lights. I was working where I got off at 10pm but had to quit. I’ve been pulled over for three times for my headlights. Although I really think it’s the part behind the headlight they said was bad. You can’t drive safely at night. Nissan please fix!!!
Suspension, Air bags, Lane departure, Oct 13, 2024
Rear lower control replaced on recall repair. Dealer diagnosed front control arm needed repair but refuse to complete repair. I paid out of pocket for front. When both front and rear control arm should have been replace under recall
Suspension, Oct 12, 2024
Was making right hand turn and heard clunk as if hitting pothole. There was no pothole. After examining vehicle I noticed left rear wheel was out of alignment. Control arm had rusted through and broken off. I’m fortunate that I was not driving at highway speed. This is really a serious problem considering how many of these vehicles are still on the road.
Suspension, Oct 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for routine maintenance. While the vehicle was on the lift, the contact became aware that the driver's side lower control arm was cracked. Additionally, both sides were heavily rusted. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 55,200.
Suspension, Oct 8, 2024
Control arm snapped on the highway. Caused me to swerve into another lane. After researching this is a known issue with this make and model. Nissan had an extended warranty for the issue that ran out last year. Nissan claims its not a safety issue yet my mechanic confirmed it is extremely dangerous and I almost caused an accident.
Suspension, Aug 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 MPH, the rear end of the vehicle suddenly became unstable. While inspecting the vehicle it was discovered that the rear driver's side wheel was slanted inward. The vehicle was slowly driven to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the rear driver's side lower suspension linkage had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 180,000.
Electrical system, Air bags, Engine, Jul 18, 2024
Components that failed: -2019 & 2023 Entire headlight assembly 2x - with continuous wiring in headlight that must be adjusted before every drive. -2021 Internal lighting to illuminate the gear shift, which no longer works. -2021 Heater constantly squeals like a pig and blows every fuse, once the several fuse boxes were located. -2017 Engine revs up to 3k-4k rpm's while driving a steady 40 mph. Car went to shop after purchase for this, which is now starting again 6 yrs later. -2022 Window tint is impossible to see through and crispy to the touch. -2017 Engine sputters and car shakes signaling that the 3k miles are almost up and it's time for an oil change. -Years ago- There was a recall for passenger airbags, which hasn't been fixed, but also isn't showing up here. -Mechanics, State Inspections etc have been done as normal.
Air bags, Jul 16, 2024
There was an airbag recall around 2016 for airbags. I took it to the dealer and they checked it out and said there was no problem. Now my air bag light stays on and the dealer says I need a new air bag in the driver's seat. Is this airbag covered under the recall?
Suspension, Jul 15, 2024
Rear lower control arm snapped this model isn't under recall it really should be
Suspension, Jul 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle swerved into the next lane. The vehicle was steered into a parking lot where several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was then shifted into reverse(R) and the contact heard a loud bang coming from under the rear of the vehicle. The contact stated that the rear control arms were fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the rear control arms were fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 85,000.
Other or unspecified, Jul 2, 2024
My Nissan Altima would not accelerate properly. I was told that to drive the car could put me at risk as the car might totally stop. The dealer diagnosed that the CVT transmission failed. It cost over $5,000 to replace the transmission. 1. Is there any recourse as a consumer? 2. I understand that Nissan has been involved in several class action lawsuits, but I don't know what happened. Is there agency that can help me with information?
Other or unspecified, Jul 2, 2024
Dealership never contacted me after recall stated they didn't have part available.
Suspension, Other or unspecified, Jun 26, 2024
The rear lower suspension link on our car cracked and completely separated causing the car to be un-drivable. My husband was pulling out of a parking lot with our son and my son’s friend [XXX] and [XXX] old) and the car started fishtailing. We were lucky this happened at a very low rate of speed. The next day my husband would have been on a highway and I’m sure we would be talking about injuries or worse instead of just a tow. Nissan knew about this issue but failed to tell their customers directly of the issue. They extended the warranty to 10 years and unlimited miles but DID NOT inform owners of the defect, warranty extension OR the ability to get it fixed (and Nissan admitted to this that they didn’t have to tell customers). They told us that in midwestern states (we are in Illinois) the rear lower link could rust quicker with the salt and break. There were no warning signs of the issue that we noticed and no one mentioned any issues when we’ve had it in the shop. Nissan however only agreed to pay half of the cost to fix it since we are 4 months past the date of the extended warranty. This is a problem that should have been communicated to us in the first place so we could have had it fixed before it completely separated. The regional specialist who made this decision was completely uncaring when expressing concerns of how this could have had a much worse outcome. We asked for towing to be re-imbursed and for a rental car and both were denied. Rental car we were told was at the dealerships discretion to which they said they would need to get approval from the person who told us the dealership decided that. So we have been without our car for 2 weeks now having to juggle around 2 kids and their activities and our own jobs. We are very lucky that this issue known to Nissan didn’t end in a far worse outcome with injuries to my family. Unfortunately we don’t have the invoice for the repair cost yet as it’s still in the shop. They said it would be around $500. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Exterior lighting, Jun 14, 2024
The projector housing in my headlights has been determined to be defective and Nissan was sued because of this. However I have dim headlights on my vehicle which will cost me $1200 to replace and Nissan has told me that I am no longer eligible for a one time replacement. This is unfair in that I was never notified by Nissan about defective headlights which have deteriorated to a point where they are so dim it is unsafe to drive at night.
Air bags, May 29, 2024
-The component that malfunctioned is the airbag light for my vehicle, and yes it is available for inspection upon request. -My safety and others are at risk because my airbag may not deploy if I get into an accident. -The manufacturer (at a local Nissan dealership) diagnosed the problem after an inspection, which confirmed it was an airbag light for the driver's seat airbag. There is currently a warning lamp that's turned on. After the dealership's inspection, they turned off the warning lamp, but it turned back on within a month. There were no other symptoms that could have prompted and provoked this warning lamp to be triggered.
Other or unspecified, Visibility/wiper, May 22, 2024
The hood of my car flew up while I was driving and hit my windshield
Latches/locks/linkages, May 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the hood unlatched, rose, and cracked the windshield. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure; however, the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 139,000.
Suspension, Apr 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while in reverse, the rear driver’s side tire felt abnormal as if the tire was going to detach. The contact lifted the vehicle and noticed that there was a crack in the rear suspension control arm. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
Suspension, Apr 20, 2024
Recently after lending my 2014 Nissan Altima to my daughter to drive out of state she made a turn in a parking lot and the rear lower control arm broke in half. The car was undrivable and had to be towed to a local repair shop. After doing some checking online I found out that Nissan is well aware of the issue and has issued a service bulletin P9324. However, I am very upset as Nissan never mailed out any notices to owners to bring the cars into a nissan dealership and have them inspected, owners were never made aware of the potential problem. Not only that, I live in a state which uses road salt, which their service bulletin says compounds the issue and I was still never notified. Nissan is well aware of the cracking lower control arm issue and had a redesign done in I believe 2018 to eliminate the issue. Additionally, I had the car in at a Nissan dealership 2 weeks before the failure occurred for a different recall issue and I feel there is no excuse for this to at least not have been checked when the car was in at a dealership for service, especially in a road salt use state. Looking back the car was making a clicking noise from the right rear where the control arm broke for the last year and a half only rarely when going over one particular speed bump where I live. Had I been notified by Nissan about the potential issue I immediately would have bought it into a dealer for inspection. Additionally Nissan did extend the warranty on this part but the failure was six months outside of their extended warranty and they will not cover repair expenses either. I strongly feel this breakage could have caused a loss of life if it happened at highway speeds as my daughter informed me the car was completely undrivable when it broke in the parking lot and had to be towed. I am in possession of the failed lower control arm. Once again shame on Nissan for failing to notify owners of this potential hazardous problem.
Latches/locks/linkages, Mar 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V315000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages) however, the recall repair was not completed. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the hood opened by wind flow. The contact stated that the hood latches and the frame under the windshield had been crimped and bent by the hood. The contact stated that the dealer had not diagnosed the vehicle and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 193,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
Engine, Mar 15, 2024
We have a 2014 Nissan Altima. Last few months it has not been driving right. We have had mechanics look at it with no answer. When the problems got worse, suggestions were made that a new transmission was needed. No one was wanting to work on it at that point. The car finally broke down while at a stoplight and we had to have it towed home. When we went to the bank, we were told that in that timeframe of when 2014 Altima’s were manufactured, a new type of transmission was installed. Then was told after a few years the transmission went bad. I would like to know if there is any truth to this, and if our Altima was a statistic of that.