2016 Nissan Altima
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Power train is the leading concern among 553 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 10th highest complaint count among 26 Altima model years with reports.
Of the 2016 reports, 28 involved a crash and 3 involved a fire. 32 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
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 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
Representative owner complaints
553 reports, newest first.
Fuel/propulsion system, Oct 19, 2022
The fuel tank was supposedly punctured and had a fuel leak. This according to the mechanics, never happens and sounds oddly like the recall this vehicle had in 2015/2016. I’ve checked my vin and says no recalls, but my entire fuel tank needs replacing now.
Engine, Oct 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds and after turning on the air conditioner, the vehicle intermittently stalled with no warning lights illuminated. The contact then stated that while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the check engine light was illuminated as the vehicle was stalling. The contact stated that despite depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to accelerate and then lost motive power. The contact managed to pull over and after successfully restarting the vehicle, the check engine light remained illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic or a local dealer for diagnosis or repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.
Power train, Sep 27, 2022
CVT failed while driving on a busy inclined highway (towards Denver Airport) without any prior warning or check engine alert. The car came to a complete stop before I can judge the problem and pull over. Got it towed to the nearest Nissan service center (Tynan's Nissan, Denver) where they identified code P0776 and P17F0 after inspection. The check engine light turned amber only after the car came to a complete stop.
Air bags, Sep 17, 2022
The light for airbags stays on. It has been on for about two weeks. I see there is a recall call for this problem but it is not coming up with a recall for my vehicle.
Power train, Sep 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while at a stop light, the vehicle failed to accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. Additionally, on other occasions while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle failed to respond as needed with the accelerator pedal depressed. The contact stated the failure was intermittent. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure or retrieve a fault code. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 72,000.
Power train, Sep 11, 2022
My 2016 Altima began loosing power in spurts, wouldn't move after stopping until accelerator was pushed to the floor then it would lunge forward. Took the car to a dealership and found out the transmission needed replaced at 91,000 miles! Nissan did agree to pay half the cost but, here I am 4weeks later and I still don't have my vehicle...No loaner car was provided either, they wanted me to pay $44 a day with 100 free miles. By the time I drove from the dealership to my home I would use 65-70 of those miles alone. Very disappointed in both Nissan and Ricart Automotive!
Exterior lighting, Aug 31, 2022
The safety of the vehicle and individuals are put into a potentially dangerous position due to the knowledge that Nissan has concerning the headlamps of Nissan Altima. This is a known issue that the headlamps are defective and are dimming due to deamination, they have already settled a class action case of Suarz v. Nissan North America, Inc. My car is affected by this issue but I never received notification of the settlement. If this is a know issue and has been settled once already and poses a danger to the general public why has there not been a recall on this issue? The lights on my car were inspected by a certified Nissan dealer and failed inspection, I had reached out to Nissan about having this issue resolved and they have denied any remedies to correct this and make it safe. What needs to happen for this to rise to the level of have Nissan recall and fix this know danger?
Other or unspecified, Aug 29, 2022
My CVT transmission failed on my 2016 Nissan Altima. I almost had an accident on the expressway. These transactions fail often on these Nissans. My warranty has expired. Nissan refused to compensate me. There needs to be a recall on them.
Air bags, Aug 25, 2022
About a month ago my driver side airbag indicator light came on. I called the dealership and they said there were no recalls on my airbag nor had any airbag been repaired. I took my vehicle to an independent mechanic and he told me that the module was disconnected from the airbag and he reconnected it and reset the module and the light indicator went off. Yesterday, the airbag indicator light came on again. It came off and on several times yesterday and this morning. I was told by the private mechanic that when the airbag indicator light is on the airbag will not deploy. Is my vehicle under the Takata airbag recall even though my dealership says no?
Exterior lighting, Visibility/wiper, Aug 23, 2022
The headlights are very dim. It is available for inspection upon request. It is a safety hazard at night time due to low visibility. The problem has not been reproduced by a dealer or independent service center. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacurer, police, insurance or others. There were no warnings, it seemed to happen gradually. I discovered there was a class action settlement, but I was not receive notification and had already missed the deadline.
Air bags, Aug 18, 2022, crash
car was in a accedent the air bags did not deploy
Power train, Aug 14, 2022
On 8/11/22,I was driving my car and came to a stoplight. I went to accelerate and the car seemed slow to respond when I applied the accelerator. This happened several times during this one particular trip. When I made a lefthand turn and the car barely moved along. I got to my destination and let the car sit for about 20 minutes. I then proceded to drive home and the car worked fine. On 8/12/22, I took it a Nissan Dealership and was told the transmission may be failing. No warning lamps came on. I was told that I may have a hard time pleading my case because no warning lamps came on. This happened several times last year. I took it to the same Nissan Dealership and they reprogrammmed the computer. I plan on taking it to a Nissan Dealership and having it checked out again as I have 3000 miles left on the extended waranty.
Power train, Aug 13, 2022
CVT transmission failed. We are safe but the situation cause a lot of stress. The problem had been confirmed by Ancot transmission in South Carolina and the transmission had to be replace. After the Nissan dealership had to programmed the new one. The problem happened before the check engine light appear, when the light went on , we took the car at Ancot transmission. We are Canadian citizen, the problem happened during are vacations. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Power train, Aug 12, 2022
I have been having transmission issues, started in 2019 i have taken it to multiple dealership they can never find the issues, after my vehicle warranty expired they miraculously found the issue with my cvt transmission, when calling nissan customer care they would only cover 2500.. after i havr been taking it over 2 years to 4 different dealerships
Power train, Aug 8, 2022
Evidently there have been numerous issues with 2016 Nissan Altima transmissions that Nissan has neglected to issue a recall for. Mine started several months ago, sometimes I'll be driving, stop at a light and the car will just not move. Additionally it will sometimes just start revving over 6K rpm while driving on the highway. I have to use my car for personal use every day, I drive my 7 year old to school/summer camp and myself to work daily and this is a serious danger for us. I have had the vehicle inspected and it has been confirmed that this is a transmission issue and that they have numerous people bringing their Altimas in for the same reason. My engine light never came on until these issues started to occur.
Power train, Aug 1, 2022
When you are driving down the road and come to a stop the car will stall and not go like it is not shifting! The check engine light comes on sometimes sometimes it don’t. It may get up to 40 mph when this happens sometimes it might not go at all!
Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Jul 26, 2022
Car will not accelerate when depressing gas pedal. Will hesitate from 1 to 5 seconds. Example, driving on the freeway doing 60 mph changing lanes and lose acceleration. This happens at dead stop to 60 mph. MAJOR safety concerns. Brought my vehicle to Nissan dealership and the issue came back the next day. My vehicle is 2016 Nissan Altima
Other or unspecified, Jul 17, 2022
Delayed acceleration when placing foot on gas pedal , eventually acceleration completely went out, took car to dealership to get fixed was told cvt transmission needed replacement in order to fix problem, got replaced lasted about 3 weeks and vehicle again is delaying in acceleration when gas pressed down
Vehicle speed control, Other or unspecified, Jul 15, 2022
My vehicle stalls whenever I am stopped, and will not move , then it accelerate really fast, sometimes it loses speeds in which I can not accelerate the vehicle. I have taken this vehicle to 3 mechanical shops and no can tell me what the problem is. I have had this problem since I purchased the vehicle.
Exterior lighting, Jul 13, 2022
Head lights have become dim to the point of even with bright lights on it’s difficult to see. I read of a head lamp recall and contacted the dealer. I was informed there is a recall on the Altima head lights which did not include my vin number.
Power train, Jul 6, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while making a left turn at a stop light, the vehicle began to hesitate without warning. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal to the floorboard as the hesitation continued before resuming normal operation. The contact also stated that the failure had continued while driving at various speeds without warning. The dealer was notified and offered no additional assistance with the failure. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
Power train, Jul 6, 2022
Vehicle unexpectedly stalls WITHOUT illuminating brake lights! MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE with AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FAULTY CVT. (Potential causes to unexpected Collisions) It unexpectedly Shakes, hesitates while shifting, struggles to change gear, wont change gear, stalls, and makes noise such as whining and/or grinding. These problems happen WHILE DRIVING HIGHWAY SPEEDS. It also happens coming from a stop. Completely dangerous happen once to me crossing an intersection car dodged me preventing a MAJOR accident/collision. This is a KNOWN ISSUE FOR THIS MODEL AND MANY OTHER NISSANS. NEED TO BE A RECALL ON TRANSMISSION ASAP. MANUFACTURE SHOULD BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS SAFETY ISSUE NOT CONSUMER!! NOT a the weak manufacturer extended warranty from class action lawsuit. Nissan requires this $5k repair on these defective transmissions over 84k miles to be at owner expense. That repair cost extends well above what the average owner can immediately cover. Putting that owner/family and millions of others on highway/roads at risk of major accidents/collisions due to the unexpected failure of the transmission stalling, hesitating, shuddering, & distracting noises without brakes illuminating making cars around aware of an immediate unexpected speed decrease.
Vehicle speed control, Other or unspecified, Jul 3, 2022
The car hesitates accelerating. After coming to a complete stop, when the gas pedal is pressed, the car will not go. This happens after in town driving for about 20 min or so when it stops and goes, stops and goes. The gas pedal will be pressed and the rpms will be going up but the car just sits there until all of a sudden taking off. No warnings appear. I explained issues to service techs at Nissan and they were able to replicate it and attempted to repair but it is doing it again less than a month later. It has been very dangerous especially when trying to merge into oncoming traffic.
Power train, Engine, Jul 3, 2022
Vehicle jerks as RPM needle rapidly bounces between 10rpm and 40rpm when accelerating, sometimes subtle jerk when decelerating.
Power train, Jun 30, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where the transmission was replaced. However, the failure reoccurred two years later. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, the RPM revved up however, the vehicle lost motive power and started jerking while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that upon depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle remained stuck in first gear. The contact was able to drive to her residence at a slower speed while still experiencing the failure. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer who informed the contact that the vehicle could not be repaired under warranty due to the mileage. The contact referenced Nissan Technical Service Number: 15-084A. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.