2015 Nissan Altima
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Exterior lighting is the leading concern among 953 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 7th highest complaint count among 26 Altima model years with reports.
Of the 2015 reports, 46 involved a crash and 5 involved a fire. 27 people were injured.
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
Structure, emergency, escape/egress/exitDec 19, 2018
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Altima vehicles, previously remedied under recall number 17V-040. The door latch-lock cable may not have been routed properly in the rear door when the remedy was applied. As a result, the cable may interfere with the window regulator causing the rear passenger door to unlatch and inadvertently open without warning when the window is lowered.
If the rear passenger door opens while the vehicle is moving, the rear passengers have an increased risk of injury.
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.
Campaign 18V915000 on NHTSA.gov
Latches/locks/linkages, doors, latchJan 18, 2017
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Altima vehicles. The rear door latch/lock cable on the vehicles may have been improperly routed. As a result, lowering a rear window may inadvertently cause that door to unlatch and open.
If the rear passenger doors inadvertently open while the vehicle is in motion, it may increase the risk of injury to the rear passengers.
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.
Campaign 17V040000 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
Service brakes, hydraulic, foundation components, disc, caliperNov 5, 2015
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2015 Altima and 2016 Maxima vehicles manufactured October 6, 2015, to October 7, 2015. The affected vehicles have front brake calipers whose mounting bolts may not be properly tightened.
If the bolts were not properly tightened, the caliper may detach and reduce braking ability, increasing the risk of a crash.
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will check the brake caliper mounting bolts, tightening them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on December 14, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
Campaign 15V733000 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
Representative owner complaints
953 reports, newest first.
Steering, Structure, Wheels, Oct 17, 2022
Hello, On October 15th, close to 5 pm, I was driving on a busy highway surrounded by other cars when suddenly, the hood of my 2015 Nissan Altima slammed into my windshield. There was damage to the hood, a cracked windshield, the left side wheel was pulling to the side, and there was damage done near the sunroof top of my car. The interior light box inside the car was hanging. My insurance was made aware of the incident. I am a 67-year-old woman. I and others on that highway could have lost our lives. Please get in touch with me asap about this horrific incident. Photos were taken of the damages.
Exterior lighting, Visibility/wiper, Oct 14, 2022
Since I bought my 2015 Nissan Altima, the low-beam headlights have been dangerously dim. I stopped driving at night as I almost hit pedestrians. I'm jeopardizing my safety and others on the road. Installing a new headlight did not change visibility and the Nissan dealership inspected the problem and recommended an "Aftermarket" headlight assembly. There are no warning symptoms or signs of this problem and the vehicle is still equipped with its original headlight housing.
Other or unspecified, Oct 10, 2022
My husband was driving down a flat, smooth, paved road at 30 mph when both control arms on his vehicle broke. The car started "fish tailing" wildly, making the car extremely difficult to control and nearly causing an accident with my child in the car. No one has inspected it except for the dealer (in Jamestown, N.Y.). There were no warning lights or sounds on the dashboard prior to the incident and no indications of any failures after the incident either. My husband heard an odd sound at the exact moment the car started "fish tailing" wildly.
Exterior lighting, Oct 9, 2022
The front headlights of this car do not work properly. It is almost impossible to drive this car at night without always using the high beams - the front headlights do not provide enough light to see the road, people or animals clearly. This is a mayor safety hazard, not only for the driver but also for other vehicles and pedestrians. This is an issue that has taken place since the car was purchased. Therefore we opt not to drive this car at nighttime if we don't have to. I'm reporting it today because we were unable to return to the house before it got dark, and it was very scary to drive without properly lit roads. Thank you for your prompt attention to this issue
Exterior lighting, Oct 3, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at night, the headlights were extremely dim. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed and it was determined that the headlight assembly needed to be replaced. The parts were on backorder and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but no assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 140,335.
Power train, Oct 1, 2022
CVT failure and headlights failure
Air bags, Sep 21, 2022
My airbag light stays on with or without people in the seat. Vehicle has 120,000 miles.
Exterior lighting, Sep 21, 2022
Have trouble seeing where I'm going in the dark. Nissan knows about this problem, but says it could take 9 months to get replacement headlight assembly. How did Nissan get away with not getting a safety recall? Did they line the right pockets?
Suspension, Sep 20, 2022
Left rear lower control arm broke while driving due to rust and cracked weld. I was lucky to be going at a slow rate of speed when it happened. The rear left tire turned inward and it was undrivable.
Air bags, Sep 16, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the air bag warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the front passenger's side air bag sensors had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
Exterior lighting, Sep 13, 2022
Low beam headlamps very dim causing poor lighting. Had headlamps replaced per law suit settlement agreement. Still problem unresolved. Returned to dealership to complain and was told headlamps pass their testing. Still low beam lamps are so dim its creating a safety hazard, so, I drive with high beams on. Dealership refused to drive my car at night to verify hazard. Dealership told me to buy aftermarket headlamps and they will charge me to install. This issue is not being resolved with the law suit agreement and many consumers are very upset that they are driving around with very low beam lighting.
Structure, Sep 5, 2022
Both rear doors are not opening from the inside. At first the right side rear door wasn’t opening and I filed a complaint here-few years ago. Now the left side rear door has stopped opening from the inside.
Exterior lighting, Sep 5, 2022
Received a recall notice from Nissan USA that said headlights could dim below acceptable levels. Took the vehicle into Colonial Nissan in Charlottesville VA in April 2022. Dealership confirmed our car had the problem but said no parts were available. I have checked back every 30 days since then and am always told no parts are available and Nissan can’t say when they will be. We have ceased driving the car at night due to dim headlights.
Air bags, Sep 2, 2022
Passenger airbag repeatedly registering a warning light despite multiple attempts by mechanics to fix the issue. The light will usually go off briefly after attempted repairs (long enough for car to pass inspection, for example) but turns back on once the car is driven only a short distance. Unclear whether the problem is a sensor issue alone or whether the airbag is actually nonfunctional. Problem has existed since July 2022; it is currently the beginning of September.
Exterior lighting, Aug 31, 2022
Dim lights do not provide adequate lighting. Even after replacing bulbs, amour of light given off on dim setting does not provide adequate lighting for safe night driving.
Other or unspecified, Aug 31, 2022
Driver side rear door lock malfunction. Will not lock or unlock with power button or keyless remote system. Manual lock very hard to lock/unlock.
Air bags, Aug 29, 2022
Airbag light ON permanently all of the sudden on the dashboard. If the airbag system is not working properly it puts me and my passengers at risk of serious injuries if they don't work properly. No one has checked it since it appeared Aug 1, 2022. No warnings before it showed. Just one morning the light went on.
Power train, Aug 27, 2022
Original transmissional failed at 67,000 miles. Replaced under a Fidelity warranty. 54,000 miles later, the transmission failed again. My safety and the safety of others was at risk due to the car not accelerating properly. Car was revving to 4rpm and only going 20mph. No warning lights appeared, I drove straight to the dealer to have it diagnosed. 2 "red codes" came back indicating needs to be replaced again, at my own expense.
Exterior lighting, Aug 26, 2022
The headlights are too dim to pass safety inspection there has been no recall but there has been s sort of class action lawsuits Why no recall to get the headlights replaced The entire headlight assembly is bad
Exterior lighting, Aug 25, 2022
Low beam headlights on 2015 Nissan Altima are defective and Nissan or dealer are not replacing as needed. This is a safety issue.
Service brakes, Aug 19, 2022
I bought my car brand new in 2015 from a Nissan dealership. Few months after that the breaks started making noise. I took my car to the dealership thinking that I needed new breaks and learned that the breakes were fine and the issue was debris accumulations inside the breaks. Since then I had the same issue a number of times, roughly every 3-5 months depending mileage. Through the years I learned that this was a rather known issue with Nissan Altima 2015. The issue requires opening the breaks, cleaning, and then putting them back. Because this was a known issue, the dealerships fixed my car for free in the past. But last time, I took it to another dealership near my current location and they charged me almost $300 for cleaning the breaks. I'm reporting to see if it would be possible to investigate and find solutions for this recurring issue. I have several recipes dating back to 2015, not sure if they indicate details on the cleaning though.
Exterior lighting, Aug 19, 2022
Altima Headlight Class Action Lawsuit, issue did not begin to occur until after the deadline of 4/25/22 and did not receive a notice. Headlights are so dim and I have to drive in the dark that this puts myself and others at risk. The Nissan dealership will not look at the headlights until my VIN has been included in the NHTSA database they refer to.
Suspension, Aug 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving at 20 MPH and making a right turn, he lost control of the vehicle. There was no further information provided. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated prior to the failure. Despite the failure, the vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear driver's side control arm was fractured. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000. The VIN was not available. The consumer stated the company did have a recall and fixed the vehicle.
Air bags, Aug 10, 2022
I own a 2015 Nissan Altima, which I purchased in 2019 from the prior original owner. Recently, approximately 2 weeks ago, my airbag indicator turned on on my dashboard and has stayed lit ever since. I took it to a Nissan Dealership in Orlando, Florida and was provided with an estimated invoice for $2,500. I happened to learn online that Nissan had a recall campaign involving this same issue. I also learned that during the recall campaign, Nissan alerted its customers as follows: -This safety defect can KILL or seriously injure you or your passengers -All safety recall repairs are free at authorized Nissan dealerships -Replacement parts are available for all affected Nissan vehicles -A FREE loaner car, towing service or mobile repair in select locations may be available to assist with any inconvenience this repair may cause -Contact your local authorized dealer or call 1-888-546-1048 now to schedule your free recall repair I called the aforementioned phone # for Nissan and was told that this is a closed campaign. My concern is that despite the closure of the campaign, this serious safety issue has arisen for me. So, my call was escalated to the Nissan Consumer Affairs department at 800-647-4261. I was told that recalls are VIN specific and that according to Nissan's system, the VIN for my vehicle was not part of the recall campaign. I was told that I may contact you, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to report my safety concern. Can you help me with this? I need to have my car repaired and I would like to have Nissan pay for this serious safety issue.
Power train, Aug 10, 2022
The contact's wife owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, she noticed that the transmission was slipping. The contact's wife drove to their residence and informed him. The contact test drove the vehicle at 40 MPH and noticed that the transmission was slipping into a lower gear. The contact drove to his residence and used an OBD reader to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the continuously variable transmission (CVT) needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the warranty would cover half of the repair fee and he would be responsible for the other half. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.