CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2013 Nissan Altima has multiple problem trends including the CVT transmission, and now that this model is out of warranty, it earns our "Avoid Like The Plague" badge.

Owners complain about vibration and transmission failure related to the CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission), a whining noise from the power steering pump, and constant windshield problems that appear to be the result of poor design.

Be warned: the 2014 & 2015 Nissan Altima appears to share these same problems.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
8 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
58,569 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.

2013 Nissan Altima drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2013 Nissan Altima Owner Comments (Page 2 of 25)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #468

Aug 282021

Altima

  • miles

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

I own a 2013 Nissan Altima SV with about 70,000 miles. It had an extended warranty, that expired late May 2021 and started have problems thereafter. The CVT transmission would cause the car to lunge and stall when shifting from park. The car would stall once you backed out onto the road. Several times at a busy traffic signal, the car would lunge forward, even though you had your foot on the brake. I had the car towed to the local dealer after the first incident. They kept the car about 4 days, but mainly worked on the recalls. They said, nothing showed up on diagnostic. However, I drove my car south about 1000 miles and the situation became worse. Made an appointment, at the local dealership and drove my car there. Within 1 hour, the service guy stated I needed a new transmission, a $5,600 repair. It was mentioned that I may want to contact Nissan about the situation. By reading many reviews, this is a serious problem that Nissan should fix. s

- Moores Hill, IN, USA

problem #467

May 152022

Altima

  • miles
I key system error. Engine control module malfunction. Car loses power when accelerating, not safe when driving on road. Car will not start up at times.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #466

Apr 252022

Altima

  • miles
I was driving on a road that is 40 mph. I was getting close to a stop light that had been red and cars had not moved yet once the light turned greened. I started pressing my brake to slow down and my cars emergency brake came on by itself and I got stuck in the middle of the road. My cars brake light and battery light came ln and the car was stuck- could not change gears or drive. I had to turn the car on and off five or six times in order for it to finally I brake itself and let me drive very slowly. Got the car checked by two auto shops, one was Nissan and the other David-??s Auto repair Service. David-??s said code P17F1 and I would need a new transmission. Nissan said it was my battery, got my battery changed and the car kept doing the same thing, got inspected again by Nissan and they also got the same code and said I would need a new transmission. My car only has 107k miles - no other issues prior to this. I cannot drive my car now because it judders and brakes itself and it-??s dangerous to drive

- Vancouver , WA, USA

problem #465

Jun 042021

Altima

  • miles

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

CVT- erratic shifting, shuddering.The same well known problems that Nissan knows about.

- Jasper, AL, USA

problem #464

Mar 162022

Altima

  • miles
While driving, the vehicle began to make a loud noise followed by shuddering. It was taken to the dealership and a code was returned that indicated a transmission failure. This same CVT Transmission was replaced in August 2017 and has been driven only 23,000 more. While Nissan is aware that their transmissions are defective, they offer no assistance outside of the limited warrant that only lasts 3 years. No warning light appeared.

- Dallas, TX, USA

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problem #463

Mar 152022

Altima

  • miles
Transmission shifter would not come out of park have put new transmission fluid in this car twice in 112,000 miles Had to replace whole shifter assembly $1300 been warned this CVS TRANSMISSION DEFECTIVE AND SHOULD BE RECALLED EVERYONE INCLUDING DEALERSHIP SAYS THIS TRANSMISSION IS NO GOOD AND NEED TO CHANGE FLUID AND FLUSH EVERY 30,000 miles now -?? $300 to do it !!!! I-??ve owned 3 Nissans never had anything like this ?

- Tulsa, OK, USA

problem #462

Mar 092022

Altima

  • miles

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

The car starts good engine sounds good but when you put it in drive or reverse the car turns off

- Rogers, AR, USA

problem #461

Feb 172022

Altima

  • 87,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power without warning. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle however, after several attempts the vehicle failed to start-up. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who replaced the transmission fluid; however, while the contact was driving home, the failure recurred without warning. The contact attempted to notify the manufacturer but was unsuccessful. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.

- Flushing, NY, USA

problem #460

Aug 152020

Altima

  • miles
Known issue of cvt transmission needs replaced... original owners did not receive notification and was denied warranty when presented the issue

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #459

Oct 032021

Altima

  • 97,722 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle suddenly jerked and would no longer accelerate properly. The vehicle was driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact indicated that the transmission was previously replaced for the same failure, but the failure recurred. The failure mileage was 97,722.

- Milpitas, CA, USA

problem #458

Sep 012021

Altima

  • 44,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the gear shifter would remain stuck in the park position and a screwdriver was used to unlock the gear shift lever. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the gear shift actuator was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 44,000.

- Boise, ID, USA

problem #457

Sep 132021

Altima

  • 135,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while his wife was driving 55 MPH, the vehicle began to jerk and then seized. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle was towed to a storage garage. The contact called and notified the local dealer about the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 135,000.

- Milwaukee, WI, USA

problem #456

Sep 012021

Altima

  • miles
Gear shift got stuck in park one day at grocery store. When trying to shift out of park the gear shift will not shift. We had to engage the shift override button using a screwdriver. This is dangerous because having the shift override button exposed makes it easy for anyone to shift the car out of park accidentally. We plan to take the vehicle to a dealer on 10/1/2021 to have it inspected. Second issue : low beam headlights are very dim not bright at all making it difficult to see at night without using my high beams which is dangerous to myself and other drivers.

- Bellwood, IL, USA

problem #455

Sep 012021

Altima

  • miles
When trying to shift out of park the gear shift will not shift. We have had to engage the shift override button using a screw driver. From what we have researched online it has happened to many people with a 2014 Nissan Altima. This is dangerous because having the shift override button exposed makes it easy for anyone to shift the car out of park accidentally and without mashing the break to do so. We have had this inspected by a mechanic and it was going to cost over $1000 because we would have to have the entire shift assembly replaced rather than just the part affected by this issue.

- Griffin, GA, USA

problem #454

Jun 252021

Altima

  • miles
Steering it-??s heavy A/C stop working it self Airbag check light on dashboard

- New York , NY, USA

problem #453

Aug 012021

Altima

  • miles
car over heats passanger door latch suspention in front is messed up when they did the computer update as a recall my car tranny slips and jerks it sucks more gas

- North Fairfield, OH, USA

problem #452

Aug 022021

Altima

  • miles
my car over heats passanger door wont open from the inside its a latch issue ive told the dealer ship in mansfield and they done nothing about it front suspenction has issues still dealer does nothing about it every since they did the recall update with programing my car its like my tranny slips and jerks

- North Fairfield, OH, USA

problem #451

Aug 062021

Altima

  • miles
CVT Transmission failed when driving on interstate. The car lost power, jerked and stopped. I have a special needs child (3 year old) in the car during the incident and it almost put both of our lives in danger. We followed all the manufacturer's maintenance recommendations for the engine and transmission and changing the fluid and filters at the proper recommended mileage and time. All services including a transmission fluid (last one on Dec 2020) were done at the dealership. THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY NO WARNING SIGNS. THERE ARE NO DIAGNOSTIC CODES ALSO WHEN TESTED AT THE dealership. NO WARNING SIGNS ALSO. THIS IS THE SCARY PART OF THE PROBLEM. It just broke down all at once in the middle of interstate. When towed to the dealership, they said, it would cost about $4500 to replace transmission. My car has only 75k miles on it and Nissan extended transmission warranty up to 85k miles. Dealer refused to repair/replace the transmission indicating Nissan had already settled a law suite which covers only up to 7 years or 85k miles whichever occurs first. Since I used it for 9 years, they refused saying law suites are settled. We understand all cars have repairs, but not $4500 kind. When approached Nissan Consumer affairs, they mentioned they are not going to help and gave me an address if I would like to approach an Attorney. It's clear on the call with Nissan that Customers are not important. They know that their CVT transmissions are faulty. I'm sure they have an army to fight their faulty transmissions. But for an average customer with very limited resources, this is INJUSTICE. They know, we cant fight and few complaints will not hurt their sales. There are many reported customer issues related to CVT transmission. Please do something about negligence of Nissan installing faulty transmissions and gladly selling remanufactured transmissions at $4500. This is INJUSTICE to an average customer. Hope this complaint helps some current and future customers.

- Saint Johns, FL, USA

problem #450

Jul 282021

Altima

  • 130,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while at a stop sign, the vehicle began to hesitate and jerk upon the depression of the accelerator pedal without warning. The contact also stated that an abnormal whining sound would emit from the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure persisted until she started driving above 40 MPH. The contact called an independent mechanic who informed her that the failure appeared to be related to the transmission. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed her that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

- Colchester, CT, USA

problem #449

Jul 082021

Altima

  • miles
The original transmission on this car failed and I had it replaced at a Nissan Dealership. In less than two years, the new transmission also failed. I was driving on the highway and transmission gave up and the vehicle would not accelerate putting my Life and others' life in danger/unsafe. I contacted Nissan consumer/customer service and the case manager was not helpful and literally, stonewalled my concerns. Gross negligence by Nissan about the vehicle owners and their safety. The Nissan Altima cars that were manufactured between 2013-2015 are pure LEMONS.

- Greensboro, NC, USA

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