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.

9.3

really awful
Typical Repair Cost:
$3,330
Average Mileage:
79,900 miles
Total Complaints:
73 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. replaced transmission (45 reports)
  2. not sure (25 reports)
  3. new transmission (2 reports)
  4. rebuilt transmission (1 reports)
2013 Nissan Altima transmission problems

transmission problem

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2013 Nissan Altima Owner Comments (Page 4 of 4)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #13

Apr 112016

Altima S 2.5L

  • CVT transmission
  • 118,000 miles

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

Car started vibrating and cutting off weeks before. Took in for oil change before at trip. On my trip car would hesitate, slow down on highway. Finally on 4/11/16 car wold start but not move. Had towed was told transmission was shot. Called Nissan corporate and no help. My car has only been serviced at the dealership, dealership tried to help and spoke with Nissan corporate first Nissan I will never purchase another one. I will stick with toyota. They kow ther is an issue with this transmission and refuse to correct it. This particular transmission has been recalled in Japan. Shame on Nissan poor customer service will never ever ever purchase another one. I wouldn't take a free one

- Tamiko D., Madison, WI, US

problem #12

Dec 302015

Altima SV 2.5L

  • CVT transmission
  • 86,000 miles

Every 5k, like clockwork, at the dealer for service. The guys at work call me grandpa when I drive. I baby this thing. All highway miles. Mostly commuting with 1 210lb person.

It had to break over the holiday break, during a 500 mile trip. This sounds like a comedy, but this was the next to last day of 2015, mother in law in surgery the next morning, a 6 year old grandson in the car, and no one would repair in a reasonable time to make the return trip home except the dealer. I paid out the nose. Oh, wait! They included $100 of transmission fluid for free.

- John H., Oxford, NC, US

problem #11

Oct 092015

Altima Siver 2.5L

  • CVT transmission
  • 71,000 miles

Transmission went bad at 71K, had to have vehicle towed, lucky to make it home safely. Submitted concern with Nissan corporate, they called me back after 3 days and said they wouldn't help. No real reason because I wasn't speaking with a person who made the decision. The messenger didn't have any answers and was obviously reading from some boiler plate answer sheet. I wasn't allowed to speak to anyone who made the decision. So I'm SOL.

I spoke to dealer I bought it from. He was looking into helping me but I haven't heard anything back. So, I'm on the hook for a new transmission. It's funny, I have a couple of older used vehicle which I purchased extended warranties on. I never thought I would need it for the vehicle from 2013 but boy was I wrong. And still don't understand why they extended the warranty on some older models with CVT but not the newer ones. Very disappointed in Nissan for not standing by their vehicle knowing there are problems. Never again.

Update from Oct 21, 2015: Contacted the dealer's (from where I purchased) General manager via e-mail and no reply. I got his name off of google reviews because he was replying to bad reviews. I thought he would appreciate me contacting him directly. This tells me they know there's a problem and essentially have washed their hands.

Very important to owners- I have read some problems of people having issues at idle. My Altima did the same thing about 3 weeks before the transmission went. There were no code errors and I was told it was probably bad gas.

If this happens to you go trade the car in and cut your losses before the trans goes. I wish I had of.**

Update from Nov 12, 2015: General Manager called me from Mechanicsville, Va Nissan and left me message stating he had been out of town for couple weeks and he would look into it and call me the next day. That was 3 weeks ago. Got my car back from the shop after getting a used transmission put in with 16k on it. Total cost 1600. Found out another fun fact. These cars do not come with dipsticks and a new dipstick cost $400.00. Last Nissan for me.

- Robert A., Swansboro, NC, US

problem #10

Dec 182015

Altima S 4 cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 45,212 miles

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

We bought our 2013 Altima with only 3000 miles from the previous owner. At first at low speeds the transmission would shake the car at low speed acceleration, then after it happening so often I finally took it to Nissan. They said they had to adjust something. Last week I was coming home from working out and when I was at a traffic light, the light turned green and I stepped on the gas pedal and the car wouldn't move at all. Finally after about 10 seconds it engaged and started to move, but as I was driving I noticed the transmission jerking and then the engine rpms would jump about 2000 and then the car was acting like it was in neutral. Then the tranny would grab again and take off.

The next day I got in it to take it to Nissan and I put it in reverse and the car wouldn't move at all for about 10 seconds and then finally the tranny engaged and I was able to back out of the garage. The dealer said it would be a $120 diagnostic fee for the mechanic to look at it and if it was the tranny then it would be covered under warranty.They called me on Monday to tell me it needs a valve body and it will take 2 weeks to get the part, so I asked for a loaner car, but he said he Nissan doesn't give loaners for cars while they are getting repair, I guess its because there cars are junk.

Now after reading all of everyone else problems with the transmissions, I am worried that when I get it back that the transmission wont last long. Dont buy Nissans, do your research and find a reliable car.

- marknv, Las Vegas, NV, US

problem #9

Nov 132015

Altima S 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 93,000 miles

At 73,000 miles my car started shuttering one day. I stopped by the Nissan place and they said it was the transmission and they would fix it for $3,500. The problem seemed to fix itself for a while. I drove 20,000 more miles and it just left me stranded. A 2013 car is sitting in my driveway in 2015 not able to be driven and I am still making payments on the car. Now I am driving my 1999 Toyota Camry with over 325,000 miles on it and the transmission is fine in it.

I truly loved my Altima. It drove great and got very good gas mileage and it really is one of the best looking cars on the road of that class but mine just isn't on the road any more. I would not buy another Nissan.

- jeff_simp_son, Abbeville, SC, US

problem #8

Jul 012015

Altima LX 3.2L V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 10,000 miles

The dealership replaced 2 transmission and still having problems. I believed this car is a lemon. This has really pissed me off. I will never purchase a Nissan again.

- Marjorie B., Evanston, IL, US

problem #7

Nov 112015

Altima ES 3.2L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 55,000 miles

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

My car is almost new. The Nissan dealer told me that they have to change the torque converter.

Update from Feb 3, 2016: The transmission was replaced in Mossy Nissan between Kirkwood and Dairy Ashford Houston under my warranty of 60,000 miles

but now I have other problem My gear shift will not move from park

they said I have to change all for $ 1000 I'm using a little screwdriver to push the neutral safety switch each time

that I want to drive, I don't have extended warranty, I don't know if whey they changed the transmission something else was damaged.

- albertoharris, Houston, TX, US

problem #6

Oct 312015

Altima S 2.5L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 61,647 miles

I went to get my boyfriend and as I'm backing out, my automatic stalls like a standard shift and died. I looked at my dash and it said the brake was on but I turned it off and back on and it seemed fine. So I picked my boyfriend up as planned and we didn't make it to the shop, it stalled out again (this time at a very busy red light) Thank goodness my man has muscles!!! He tried to turn it off and on several times, I can't believe it worked for me once! I wish to god I would have looked on here first but this is god's plan. I am pretty sure the warranty is 60,000 or five years, but mine is 61,000, if they don't let the warranty slide I'm gonna be screwed.. Thankful for this site though.

- Mary E., Lexington, KY, US

problem #5

Oct 082015

Altima SL 4 cyl

  • CVT transmission
  • 50,042 miles

Started car and when put into R or D, car would die. Finally got the car to move and took to the dealer.

Dealer stated transmission was the problem. (Tech couldn't move the car from the bay until transmission was replaced) Nissan covered the transmission and all associated assembly parts under drive train warranty.

- Denise D., Huntsville, AL, US

problem #4

Aug 122015

Altima LE 2.5L

  • CVT transmission
  • 65,900 miles

I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE WORST AUTOMOBILE SITUATIONS I HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED. NISSAN WOULD NOT HELP BECAUSE THEY SAID I DIDN'T HAVE SERVICE RECORDS. HERE IS MY PROBLEM; WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING YOUR TRANSMISSION SHOULD NOT HAVE TO BE REPLACED AT 65,000 MILES. I GUESS THAT IS WHY THEY DON'T OFFER A 100K MILE WARRANTY LIKE SO MANY OTHER MANUFACTURERS DO NOW. I HAVE OWNED SEVERAL NISSANS IN THE PAST BUT THIS WILL BE THE LAST BECAUSE THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE RIP-OFF

- Ronald M., Mt Olive, AL, US

problem #3

Jul 162015

Altima 2.5L

  • CVT transmission
  • 62,000 miles

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

Any ideas how to get Nissan to pay for my transmission? Went out completely at 62000. It is irritable that they “thought about offering me good will support” when it is an obvious problems and they should be fixing it anyway. $32,000 car, Still owe $18,100. Has anyone gone through the voluntary surrender program and just told Nissan to come get their piece of crap car?

- Vicki C., Dixon, IL, US

problem #2

Jul 252015

Altima S 2.5L

  • CVT transmission
  • 27,700 miles

I have to say my selling dealer is taking care of the issue, but when I asked the service manager if they have had problems with these transmissions he replied a few but none like mine. My 2013 Altima has 27000 mi and has had a shutter for the last year at 60mph which I told my wife was the trans when I first felt it but due to warranty I didn't worry about it because it would go away after 60. On Saturday evening 07/25/2015 the car would die at red lights, on Sunday 07/26 it was fine. I got in the car Monday morning and it would not move without speeding up the engine so I went straight to dealer. Service manager wanted to take a test drive with me and at that point the veh. would no longer move without being pushed out of the way. Once again the dealer is taking care of the problem but as I have had time to research a little have found that this is a very common problem and thought I would post up the issue I have experienced for any future buyer.

- bnelson1, Poolville, US

problem #1

Jun 032015

Altima

  • CVT transmission
  • 45,000 miles

Three weeks prior to the 2013 Nissan Altima experiencing a complete transmission failure, the car would jerk or stutter once or twice a week. It was noticeable but not a big deal. On my way home from work, at a 4 way stop, I depressed the accelerator pedal, and the car died.

I started it up again, put it in drive, and poof it was dead again. I repeated this process 5 or 6 times - start the car, put it in drive, car would die, start the car... Mind you, each time the car died, the radio and everything else was fine.

Figured out that if I put the car in reverse, it would not die - shortly after putting it in reverse, I could put it in drive and go about a mile before it started jerking and stuttering. Had to do the "reverse then drive" trick several times to get it to a Pep Boys. They couldn't diagnose the problem after trying to replace an O2 sensor, clean the battery terminals, and replace the cabin air filter.

Next day, the car was towed to Nissan dealership. They said the transmission was beyond repair and would have to be replaced. This was at 45,000 miles, so the warranty was honored (standard warranty is 60,000 miles on the power train). It took 3 days for the dealership to replace the transmission.

The new transmission drives fine, but I am afraid that it will have to be replaced again because there's no telling what's up with CVT transmissions from Nissan. By the way, if I had to pay for the transmission to be replaced, it would have been $4,000 - I saw the bill!!!

- Jared B., Houston, TX, US

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