CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2012 Altima has a defect trend of CVT transmission failure showing up around the 100,000 mile mark.

It's an expensive repair at nearly $2,000 average repair cost. For more information see Nissan Altima CVT defect info on NissanProblems.com.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
67,474 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 Nissan Altima engine problems

engine problem

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2012 Nissan Altima Owner Comments (Page 1 of 3)

problem #47

Jan 112023

Altima

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

What component or system failed or malfunction and is it available for inspection upon request. The CVT failsafe high fluid temperature protection mode enacted while I was driving on the highway at speeds of 65 to 70 mph going with the flow of traffic it is not available for inspection upon request because this issue only occurs while you're driving down the highway. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? My safety and the safety of my passengers and the safety of my fellow commuters was put in jeopardy due to negligence of the manufacturer of the 2012 Nissan Altima when this occurs all acceleration ceases your foot can be all the way to the floor on the gas pedal and your car will not accelerate and in the fast lane on the highway when this happened I became a Sitting Duck in the flow of traffic cars are flying by me and my passengers and I can't get enough speed to change lanes and get out of danger due to a failsafe that Nissan put in these cars on purpose they were fully aware of these issues this is a direct quote from the 2012 Nissan Altima owners manual page 5-17 warning when the high fluid temperature protection mode or fail safe operation occurs vehicle speed may be gradually reduced the reduced speed may be lower than traffic which could increase the chance of a collision be especially careful when driving if necessary pull to the side of the road to a safe place and allow the transmission to return to normal operation or have it reparative necessary. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. Unknown. has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer police Insurance Representatives or others. Unknown. Where there any warning lamps messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure and when did they first appear. Zero warning lamps no messages just all of the sudden no acceleration and I am in a very dangerous situation which could have cost many people their lives

- Vallejo, CA, USA

problem #46

Jan 112023

Altima

  • miles
Hi I-??m having trouble with my transmission in my car due to a safety feature that Nissan has installed on there cvt transmissions. After driving for 1 1/2 to 2 hour trips my car does not accelerate or will have a slow time gaining speed. Nissan has a high fluid temperature protection mode that basically when the transmission temp gets too high the computer cuts you off completely and intentionally stops you from going any faster. This is a serious issues if your in traffic or driving somewhere on the highway and not able to move to the side of the roadway or to a median. If my car was to completely stop in the middle of the road due to this safety feature, it could cause collisions and life threatening injuries.

- Augusta , GA, USA

problem #45

Oct 232021

Altima

  • miles
Cvt transmission jerking, can-??t accelerate. The vehicle has been inspected by multiple mechanics my vehicle stopped accelerating in the highway while everyone was going 80 mph mine dropped to 60 causing almost a collision also my car had turned off because of the jerking was so bad there is no check engine light on at all

- Horizon City , TX, USA

problem #44

Aug 272021

Altima

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

3 times car has decelerated when driving on interstate for 1 to 2 hours. Last time speed dropped to 20 mph when most cars were doing 70 to 80 mph. This creates a very dangerous situation that could result in loss of life if not corrected. Nissan refuses to address the matter and problem is well documented on the internet and lawsuits. Nissan should have issued a recall covering the defective CVT. My college age grandson is driving the car as he has no other option but he is putting his life and friends at risk each time he goes on an extended trip. Nissan should at minimum replace the transmission as a safety issue but have denied our claim. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

- Gastonia, NC, USA

problem #43

Sep 042021

Altima

  • miles
We had a near fatal accident on the highway because the car suddenly lost speed drastically and later on a few incidents won't move up on the slope. My daughter had a hard time reaching home but somehow managed. A quick online research showed many people sharing similar issues due to faulty transmission and sensors. It seems that Nissan is simply hiding behind its 60,000 mile Warranty and not addressing and fixing this issue for the consumers and thereby putting lives at risk.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #42

Nov 202020

Altima

  • miles
Three hours into my drive, I was going about 70 mph and noticed my car started to slow down and was making a noise. I pulled over, got out, checked my power steering fluid. It was fine so I drove off and as I was entering the freeway, I noticed the car wasn't picking up speed again. I drove to the next exit and got off. I literally coasted to a parking lot of an industrial building. After several attempts at trying to leave the parking lot, I noticed I couldn't go up the hill. I waited about 30 minutes, picked up speed and made it up the hill and onto a 2 lane road. I drove to a hotel about 4 miles away, going about 40 mph. I realized that as long as I didn't stop, I would be fine. The next morning I found a mechanic shop, called and drove there with minimal problems. He told me the year, make and model of my car had been having issues with the cvt transmission. He hooked a machine up and it gave him these codes: P0746, P0826, P1778 step motor, P0868. He told me to check for recalls. I was able to drive the car 3 hours back to my house in woodbridge.

- Woodbridge, VA, USA

problem #41

Jun 302020

Altima

  • 215,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while his son was driving about 70 mph, the vehicle decelerated to 60 mph without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced a mass air flow sensor. The failure recurred about three weeks later. The dealer was not called. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the vehicle was out of warranty. The contact referenced a service bulletin: Ntb13-079D dated November 25, 2015. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 215,000.

- Pace, FL, USA

problem #40

Aug 232020

Altima

  • 103,000 miles
I had driven about 350 miles using the cruise control I would accelerate or cancel and then accelerate with traffic this worked throughout my trip until I reached between 350 to 400 miles then it stopped working for acceleration at 75 miles an hour would not go any faster with the steering column controls or the gas pedal

- Glendale, AZ, USA

problem #39

Jul 302020

Altima

  • 135,000 miles
Car automatically reduces speed from 65 mph to 35 mph while in motion on highway and will not increase speed when driving at an hour or better at 65 mph or greater. When it autodecelerates it makes a whining noise and will not accelerate again until you turn the engine off and allow the car to sit for 30 mins or better.

- Snellville, GA, USA

problem #38

May 012017

Altima

  • 60 miles
2012 Nissan Altima 2.5S sedan, purchased new plus extended warranty with 3 miles on it. At 64K miles while driving on the highway after about a. hour at normal speeds on a hot day the car started making a whining noise from the engine compartment. The vehicle became sluggish and the speed reduced to 60mph. The RPM gauge began to rise ant the car began to decrease it's speed eventually descending to 20 mph while the RPM gauge fluctuated from 2K to 5K RPM. The gas pedal was non responsive except for a louder whining noise as it was pressed. We pulled over for a while and the vehicle went to normal. This exact same issue happened 2 more times before we arrived home. The dealer responded stating a new transmission was needed but not covered they said my warranty was not valid. I complained, they contacted headquarters I guess and stated to me because the car was under 70K miles the company would pay partial for the repair but my out of pocket expenses would have been about 1200. Not only did I think this was unfair but I also didn't have an extra 1200 lyng around. So unfortunately I've been dealing with this issue for years car drives fine for about 40 min. So no long commutes.

- Highland, CA, USA

problem #37

Mar 062020

Altima

  • 184,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving for 1/2 hour or more my car loses power this has caused my car to die in the middle of an intersection and almost getting hit. In order to get power back you have to shut the car off and let it sit. We have checked all fluids replaced spark plugs battery alternator filters and it still does this. Upon researching this I have seen other complaining about the same issue with their 2012 Nissan and due to it being a safety harvard should be recalled and fixed.

- Northfield, VT, USA

problem #36

Sep 292019

Altima

  • 130,000 miles
2012 Nissan Altima cvt transmission issues. Altima has recalled from 2007-2010 and then again after 2012 for the cvt transmissions. Mine is doing the same things and Nissan doesn't have a way for me to check the fluids. The dealership said they can fix the problem for over $7000. I'm in the dealership right now and he says again that he can't check the fluids but that I can replace it if I want but that it might make it worse. The vehicle sometimes doesn't shift and engine revs without acceleration at any speed. Pulling into traffic is very difficult and if I am unable to pass if needed because sometimes it accelerates and sometimes it doesn't.

- Alvin, TX, USA

problem #35

Jul 132019

Altima

  • 120,000 miles
When driving on the highway my vehicle will deaccelerate going from 70 miles to 45 miles, even though my pedal is flush to the floor. This happens sfter I have been driving for approximately 2 and 1/2 hours. I have had this checked out by auto repair and have not found a solution to this problem. When this first happened I was in the fast lane and was barely able to get over to the right shoulder. The second time I had my grandchildren with me and we were basically stranded on the side of the road 2 and a half hours from home with no way to get anywhere for help.

- Stockton, CA, USA

problem #34

Sep 012019

Altima

  • 100,000 miles
This was a used pre-certified car, purchased from the dealer in which did not have any issues until its warranty was practically no longer valid. The cars electrical system started to have issues. The issues with the electrical system started with the usb port connection to a cellular device. Sometimes the car will recognize the phone, other times I have to disconnect the usb to phone connection, turn the usb cord around and reconnect a few times for the radio to recognize the phone. After this issues, one speaker went out. Later on, a second speaker went out. I replaced both speakers to find out that it is possible the in-car amplifier blew. After this, the radio unit would at times go completely black, causing me to have to turn the car off and back on. After this, the driver side door no longer locks electronically, I have to lock and unlock driver side door manually but the passenger side does indeed work. After these issues, I noticed the check engine light had come on for a mass air flow sensor. I cleaned the sensor, and the engine light went away. About 300 miles later, it came back on and the car hesitates/bucks consistently with a loss of power once the speed hits about 60 mph. I-75 hills, I can no longer accelerate to maintain speeds. I replaced the maf sensor, check engine light is still on. I had it cleared from O'reilly's since the same code was appearing on the car. After 10 miles sitting in idle, the traction control sensor appeared. 10 miles afterwards this on I-75, the car will not climb hills, drops power, bucks and jerks the car forward and back. I stopped at a part store, turn the car off and back on. Traction control sensor goes away, engine light comes back on with same code reading. I cleaned the throttle body, check engine light is still on. I've read a lot of articles about this, no one has figured out how to fix this.

- Chattanooga, TN, USA

problem #33

Aug 092019

Altima 4-cyl

  • 146,000 miles
Traveling West on hwy 44 started having trouble going up hills. Put pedal to the floor, and nothing extra. It was starving for fuel. Turned around to go back home, eventually stopping in sullivan mo. While going back I had to gain speed going downhill in order to make it uphill. On two occasions I had a semi rider my rear bumper even though I was in the slow lane. One time while gaining sped down hill, I had to pass the semi in front of me, or lose the speed that I had gained, so I tried to pass on left, as usual, but then the acceleration stalled once again. I then had another semi riding in rear view mirror, and was fearful of what could happen. I was eventually passed by semi on right, I got over, and then the semi on the left passed. Needless to say it was not a good situation. I have seen on-line that there is a class action suit against Nissan, but no recall for the cvt's. in my opinion, this is a must. Even the guy at Nissan had told me that he has heard of many stories just like this. Someone is going to get hurt/killed if nothing is done. Nissan knows of problem, hence the cooling device started in 2013 model. Even this did not fix the issue. Please force Nissan to correct their error in judgment before it is too late. Oh, Nissan does want to fix my issue, for several $$$'s thank you, a concerned driver.

- Ballwin, MO, USA

problem #32

Aug 102019

Altima 4-cyl

  • 95,300 miles
We were driving up hill in a canyon going 80 mph when we suddenly lost all power. We had only been on the road for 30 minutes before this occurred. We had to pull over and let the car sit for a minute before attempting to drive it home. It happened two more times on the way to taking it back home.

- Layton, UT, USA

problem #31

Oct 082017

Altima

  • 100,500 miles
While in motion, the vehicle begins to drasticly slow down from speeds of 60 to 70 mph down to 20 to 30 mph. This usually happens during the day after driving for an hour + and in any kind of incline road. At hard inclines I can bearly drive upward even hhaving to come to a complete stop. The RPM gage begins to jump rapidly to 5 and 6 RPM when even slightly pressing the gas peddle, and once it adjust, the vehicle will not go more that 3 RPM while still at a mph slower than 30. This will stay for the remainder of the drive until I have stopped and turned my vehicle off for a significant amount of time. Tbis began happening at 100,000 miles and now at 150,000 miles it happens very frequently. I feel this is unacceptable, and clearly very unsafe for driving long distances on large highways, when my vehicle should work as it should.

- Lakeside, CA, USA

problem #30

May 112018

Altima

  • 93,000 miles
Vehicle was in motion on the highway and after two and half hours of driving could not accelerate past 45-50 miles an hour and stuck on this speed even with the gas pedal being pressed down to accelerate. I had serious safety issues with this on the highway in regards to ascending hills and had near serious encounters with trucks and other vehicles on all incidents I have had to drive more than that duration. I am on a website called cargurus and have a lot of Nissan 2012 Altima owners with the same year, make and model having exactly the same terrifying experience. I have called Nissan about this and that they should do a qa of their call logs and check other complaints from other customers and all they could say is "there is currently no recall on your VIN". informed them about medicine after death not possible and problems like this with frequent complaints by customers should be investigated and not ignored till people start dying before there is a need to fix this or issue a recall. The gear box and cv axle based on what I have read may be the cause of this. I am not a technician but this is a very serious safety issue that should be investigated. Every time you are in a car on the highway on long distance journey with this car your life is on a live wire because of this gear box issue. I have also been to the dealership in South holland il for this and was told to call Nissan and complain about this which I have done. I will appreciate your looking into this please! thanks.

- Lansing, IL, USA

problem #29

Jun 262019

Altima

  • 161,000 miles
As I was starting to slow down in preparation of taking a turn off the frontage road my car completely shut off, my brakes and steering locked and luckily I was able to complete my turn into a gas station where I immediately put it in park and restarted via push start., 2 days later this occurred again on a fairly busy street where I repeated the steps to start it again. I am extremely scared to have this happen again on a heavily traveled street causing me to be involved in a collision, I have researched online and see other reports/complaints of the same issue I described yet do not see any recall issued regrading this extremely dangerous defect.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #28

May 122019

Altima

  • 130 miles
I have a automatic 2012 Nissan Altima w. 130K miles. While driving, my car automatically shifted to neutral and in order for me to stop, I had to place my emergency brakes on. The gear was stuck in between neutral and reverse and unable to move. Thought it was a shifter console, but turns out it was my transmission. In this model car, there is a class action law suit against Nissan for failing cvt transmissions/engines. My failure happened while driving and could have caused a major accident. Due to the miles, I am out of warranty and I do believe that Nissan should be at fault seeing that there is a suit pending.

- Lithia Springs, GA, USA

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