CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2015 Nissan Altima shows multiple problem trends, continuing the poor reputation of the 2013 & 2014 Altima, prompting us to give it our "Beware of the Clunker" badge.
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.
Over the last 2 years I had both left and right side rear "lower link" suspension elements "rot out" and break while operating the vehicle. Both times leaving me stranded roadside. After the the 2nd failure I felt it couldn't be a coincidence and found Nissan has issued a voluntary action and admitted using faulty parts in Altima's between 2013 to 2018. They voluntarily extended the warranty to 10 years and unlimited mileage. They are now denying repair of my issue because I am 2 weeks beyond their arbitrary 120 month warranty extension. I say arbitrary because how can they put a time limit on parts you know to be faulty and are corroding" I have one of these known faulty parts and simply based on random circumstances mine failed 2 weeks too late. So they dodge responsibility for selling me a poor quality car" At the urging of the dealer, I escalated with Customer Satisfaction believing they would own up to this and acknowledge responsibility. Customer Satisfaction mandated I must tow the car to Nissan to confirm failure of the part - which I did at my expense. The dealer confirmed the part failure but Customer Satisfaction parroted the "denied because it was 2 weeks too late" position. I believe Nissan 1) Minimized to the NSTB the safety risk this failure poses (breaking while at moderate to high speeds and stranding people in traffic roadside), 2) Is failing to act in good faith to cover a know manufacturers defect and 3) is employing "bait and switch" tactics by telling customer to have vehicles towed to their service centers to only then deny coverage based purely on "calendar date" (in hopes of forcing a customer to pay to use their service center).
Upon entering highway and reaching 75 mph, vehicle pulled hard to right.I made a correction to keep vehicle in center lane of a three lane highway. Shortly after I made the first correction, the vehicle again pulled rather aggressively to the right, I again made a correction back to maintain center of lane. After making second correction, I noticed my steering wheel very off center to maintain vehicle tracking straight in the lane. (Steering wheel indicating a left turn to maintain a straight track). Simultaneously, the vehicle traction control indicator illuminated on the drivers display. I quickly checked my tire pressures to rule out a flat tire. I pulled off to the shoulder of the highway, as the vehicle was getting more difficult to control in a straight line. Not noticing any obvious damage and the need to vacate the highway environment, I illuminated my hazards and drove approximately 5-10 mph to the next exit 1/8 mile away. Arriving in a safe location, I again exited the vehicle to inspect all four wheels at which time I observed the right rear tire angled inward at a harsh angle. Upon further inspection, the right rear lower suspension control arm had broken free at the bushing and angled the coil spring downward at an angle. The vehicle was not able to be driven and subsequently towed via flatbed 45 miles to my auto repair facility.
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving 42 MPH, the rear end of the vehicle was shuddering. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the rear passenger's side upper control arm was fractured. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: EA19002 (Suspension). The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,500.
Out of town and control arms went while turning a corner. My steering wheel was sideways and I was going straight. There was no warning, noises or dashboard lights prior to this happening. My vehicle has 130k but well maintained. Prior to this happening I was driving on the Thruway at 65mph, this could of broke then causing a potential accident or something worse. Why wasn't there any warning lights advising of this potential problem?
Rear lower control arm failed while driving. Luckily I was able to maintain control. Not sure if I would have been so lucky had I been on the highway. Car rear end was unstable and hard to control. Had vehicle towed to private repair shop then researched warranty campaign. Currently having it towed for the second time to a Nissan dealership.
My low beam headlights very low, so low seems like they aren't on, have to drive with high beams on, there was a recall in 2022, that I wasn't made aware of also the control arm front driver and passenger side is cracked and my car has never been wrecked. Brought it brand new off the Nissan dealership lot. Had issues from the start with the interior they call themselves fixing ( but did not).
This is my 3rd Altima. The first 2 were amazing. This 1 is not. I bought it used from Shift.com with 73k miles on it. About 6-8 months later I started feeling something wrong in the steering. The shop I took it too said the lower control arms were in the rear were corroded and the bushing were going bad. Tried to get it repaired thru the extended warranty I paid extra for but that was a nightmare and we ended fixing it ourselves. Something was still wrong. I put new tires on it, still wrong. Changed out the struts on front and shocks on rear, new control arms, , bushings, sway bar links, and tie rods. New brake pads and rotors. Then I bought custom wheels and another set of new tires for it. Took it and had an alignment done. The shop said everything looked good. Not long after it started drifting all over the road and I started hearing a whining noise. The next shop said the electric hydraulic power steering pump was going bad. Again the warranty company only allows the shop to call in and handle any repair claims and then they make them sit on hold forever. This is my only transportation and I can't wait for it to break in order for the warranty to repair it. In the meantime trying to figure out what to do the car is getting harder to drive straight down the road. I turned left thru an intersection and ran over the center median blowing out a tire. In 2 other occasions I hit my new wheels on the curb because the steering wheel has excessive play in it. We ended up changing the power steering unit without help from the warranty. After some research I had the lower steering shaft replaced also. The entire suspension has been replaced(front struts 2x) and it only has 115k miles on it. It's had 3 alignments in 2 years and yesterday the man at Les Schwab said the rack and pinion has some play in it. As well as the upper steering shaft needing to be replaced also. Oh and the CVT transmission is now leaking.
I was driving along on slightly rough pavement and the car sort of twitched in the rear end and then every few rotations of the rear wheel, the car shuddered-accompanied by a grinding noise. Then I noticed, that to continue in a straight line, the steering wheel was about 30 degrees, clockwise, to the right of center! I managed to limp on down the shoulder of the road at 10 mph and made it the mile and a half to my house. I thought a wheel bearing had failed, but when I took off the driver's side rear wheel, I discovered that the lower control arm was rotten with corrosion and rust and had collapsed. I searched online for the broken part but, fortunately, found out that Nissan had extended the manufacturer warranty due to pressure from NHTSA. I had the undriveable vehicle towed to the local Nissan dealer (Matthews) and they fixed the car- SAME DAY, NO APPOINTMENT, NO CHARGE. AND they took care of the hood latch recall at the same time. I still can't believe I have my car back, and functional, in what would be considered-in the car repair business- as the 'blink of an eye'. All's well in Vestal, NY. Thank you, NHTSA.
Right rear control arm broke while driving down the road causing the car to lose control. Appears to only have very small contact points to the bushing.
Passenger side rear lower control arm snapped when backing my car out of the driveway. Through inspection looks like driver side is starting to crack. There are recalls on the USA for this problem up to 2013 and in Canada for 2013 and 2014.
My car only has 36,400 miles. I went for an oil change at a third party garage and was told my front control arms are cracked and need to be replaced. I went to the dealer who confirmed this and also said there was a recall on the rear control arms. I have talked to numerous mechanics who said that the control arm should not be failing at 36,400 miles. I contacted Nissan asking them to help me with the cost of the front control arms since they are failing at such low mileage. They are not willing to do anything. I feel like the front should be replaced by the dealer.
The right rear lower control arm broke away from where the bushing is. It was the innermost bushing towards the center of the vehicle. It appears the metal is rather thin and rusted away. While driving, loss of control happened. With a bit of occasional snow on the road it was really bad as the car went from tar to a later of snow. The tire sat a bit sideways
On 7/22/2022, our 2015 Nissan Altima began to shake heavily while being driven at approximately 30 mph. Please note that our 16 year old newly licensed son was driving the vehicle when this occurred. The traction control light came on and the vehicle was unable to be driven safely. Thankfully, he was able to get to the side of the road and we were able to have the car towed to our mechanic. It was determined that the driver side left rear lower control arm had completely broken off due to corrosion. Pictures attached. The left rear control arm was replaced by our mechanic. On 2/3/2023, our 2015 Nissan Altima was being driven at approximately 30mph by our 16 year old son when he reported a knocking sound and the car began to shake. He reported the traction control light came on and he had to maneuver the car to the side of the road. Photos attached. The car needed to be towed to our mechanic as it was unsafe and unable to be driven. It was determined that that the passenger side right rear lower control arm had completely broken off due to corrosion. The car is currently waiting to be repaired.
I changed out my sway bar links cause I keep hearing a klunk sound ( metal on metal) and noticed how rusted and brittle the rear control arms. I'm afraid to drive the car.
The left back lower control arm broke into while I was driving. There is not a recall on it yet. I was traveling over a bridge with light traffic when the traction control light came on and I was hearing a lot of noise coming from the Vechile.I turned my emergency flashers on And looked around the Vechile but did not see anything. So I drove with the flashers on to my car repairman. When he lifted the Vechile up he showed me what had happened it had rusted through. I consider myself very lucky if there had been heavy traffic I would have most likely been in a crash. The part too replace it is very hard too find.
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.
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.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Brookfield, CT, USA