What 544 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Nissan Altima

LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT SHINE TOO WEAK . i REPLACED BULBS AND NOTHING IMPROVED. i SPOKE WITH REPAIR FACILITY AND SAID HEADLAMPS MUST BE REPLACED DUE TO KNOWN ISSUE INVOLVING PROJECTOR IN HOUSING FAILING. ONLINE REASEARCH CONFIRMS KNOWN ISSUE. i ALMOST CRASHED INTO PEOPLE AND A CAR TONIGHT DUE TO ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI 11444075

Converter in transmission gave out and shot metal shreds into transmission and I had to replace the transmission

NHTSA ODI 11441210

Delayed acceleration issue. I am stopped at a light or in traffic and I press on the gas to go and it does nothing at all. This is occurring at various intervals...it just happens. I have been stopped to cross intersection and when light turns green, the car does not go at all for several seconds, 6-10 seconds. No warning lights are on. I have read this is a known problem for Nissan and there is no recall or action taken on their part. How many people have to be hurt or potentially killed before action is taken. I have taken it to the dealer and they cannot reproduce problem because it does not happen all the time and their is not error or warning code.

NHTSA ODI 11439748

The transmission has fail it accelerates on its own,jerking,hesitated

NHTSA ODI 11437344

Starting at around 80k miles I noticed a bit of jerking and stalling while driving with no warning indicator and got it checked out 2 times and was told it was a battery issue and bought a new battery. After the battery replacement I noticed it was still continuing but I was not getting the transmission issue on the reader until one day I was completely stalled in traffic with my newborn baby and tried to floor the accelerator but was slowly moving that it triggered the check engine light and finally the transmission error came up on the reader. Nissan is fully aware of the ongoing issues with the CVT transmission and will not extend the warranty to cover their defective CVTs. The transmission has been replaced by my own extended warranty at the Nissan dealership but I am still experiencing the same jerking and slight stall when I accelerate.

NHTSA ODI 11437145

I have had this 2016 Nissan Altima SR for the past 5 years (1st owner) and it just began giving me acceleration issues about 2 months ago. At random times, while at a stop, reversing, doing a u-turn or changing gears, I step on the accelerator and it will not move. I have pushed all the way down on the accelerator and it won't budge for about 10 seconds, until then, it will just throw itself at a really high speed. There is no warning or light on the dashboard stating something is wrong. It does it at random times. There have been numerous times were I have been put at risk of a car accident because of this issue. Once, I was at a green light waiting to make a left, and when I had a chance to turn before the oncoming cars, I went for it, only to have the accelerator not work and go REALLY slowly (as if it was on neutral). At that speed, I was midway and the oncoming car was honking at me as it was getting closer. I kept stepping on the accelerator and nothing would happen. Luckily, a few seconds later it threw itself to a really high speed and I was able to make it before the oncoming car hit me. I have taken it to the dealer, only to find out I would be charged $169 for a diagnostics test and even then they wouldn't guarantee anything because it doesn't have any kind of warning light on the dashboard. The dealer then stated it could possibly be the transmission or throttle body. How is it possible for me to waste so much money on something the dealer itself is so unsure of the results? How can they guarantee they can fix the issue without happening again and possibly getting into an accident? I have heard of other Altima owners who have been told it is the transmission and they change it, only to have the same problems all over again. This issue really needs to be looked at before it gets more serious and cause devastating accidents. Thankfully it has not done that to me on the fwy yet.

NHTSA ODI 11436533

For the past two years I have been experiencing dim headlights. I have had them change twice and still cannot see 5 feet ahead of me. I was unaware that this could be a common problem with this model. Also, the passenger air light stays on even when no one is sitting in the seat. this problem started about six months ago. Now I think the transmission maybe starting to slip.

NHTSA ODI 11435797

Transmission seems to get stuck and not want to move at times. Airbag light on dash and some times shows pass air bag light off when there is a passenger in the seat.

NHTSA ODI 11435629

The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving 73 MPH, the RPM began to raise and lower quickly. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to park on the right side of the road and turned off the ignition. The contact stated he waited around 10 minutes before restarting the vehicle but continued to experience the failure while driving to his residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 84,000.

NHTSA ODI 11434712

My would stall at every stop I made. Would barely pick up speed. My first experience with it was on the highway and I had to put my hazard lights on and turn my car on and off to get it on the side of the road. I then called a Nissan dealership to see what’s wrong but they told me I needed a whole new transmission Was just recently informed that transmissions are prone to fail online. I purchased this car in April 2020 it’s only September 2021. But most definitely there needs to be a recall I could’ve been hit seriously.

NHTSA ODI 11434189

I have jerking in what I believe to be the transmission when accelerating.

NHTSA ODI 11432445

Upon arriving to my grandson's daycare, I applied by brake and put my car in park and suddenly my car accelerated at a fast speed. My car moved forward across an area that the children are usually playing in, but because it was raining they were inside. Thank God! I can't even imagine what would have happened. My car finally stopped because I was trying to avoid the daycare's shed, but hit the corner of the shed and this stopped the car. The air bag did not deploy as well. I am thankful to be alive and unharmed, but most thankful that no one else was harmed. My husband took photos of the brake marks on the pavement and grass and of the vehicle after collision with the shed and showing it was in park.

NHTSA ODI 11431703

My problem: While i was leaving work returning to my apartment my car (2016 Nissan Altima S ~ 2.4L, 4 cylinder, 75k miles, Black) was operating fine nothing out of the ordinary. As I approached a stop sign and stop my car it was still acting normal. However, as i accelerated to take my turn i notice that my car wasn’t moving normal it didn’t accelerate pass 15 mph but the RPM was going up it went up to 5k RPM with no speed change it felt like i was on neutral. (No, I wasn’t in neutral) it was on D i even placed the car in Ds to see if the problem was only on drive but the same problem occurred on Ds. As soon as i noticed that the car wasn’t accelerating and after the person who was driving behind me got mad i moved my car to the break down lane. I powered cycled the car (turn it off and back on) and it was functioning correctly. My friend had the same problem occur to his car which is Answer to Question: 1)I don’t know which specific part is the problem. I do know this isn’t the first case the same problem occurred on a 2015 Nissan Altima S i have a 2016 Nissan Altima S. This happened to the other car a few months prior to the date of my incident which happened August 30, 2021 at approximately 5pm. Yes, it’s available for inspection upon request. 2)My safety was put at risk because I couldn’t accelerate properly to turn my car so I basically slowly cruised into traffic luckily i was able to steer to the side of the road. 3)No, it has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer. The problem is it happened suddenly with no warning of any problems. I only have 75k highway miles on the car with no lights, no accidents, only 5 years old and is in great shape. What makes it difficult to be reproduced is the fact that the problem randomly occurs and when the car goes through a power cycle the problem disappears and reoccurs randomly. 4)There were no warning lights and no problem prior to the car and it first occurred August 30, 2021 at approximately 5pm.

NHTSA ODI 11431115

I was driving the car was driving fine. No indicator lights came on to warn me. I drove to my cousin house. And when I turned the car off my doors didn’t unlock like they usually do. I tried to turn the car back on I wouldn’t do anything. The whole time my windows was up. I was stuck in the car . I had to climb out through my trunk. That is dangerous.

NHTSA ODI 11429819

The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving various speeds, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration and deceleration. The contact had to place the key fob next to the push to start button to start the vehicle. Additionally, the contact had to use a screwdriver to shift the gear shifter from park to drive, or into reverse. The vehicle also stalled after stopping at a stop sign and then lunged forward to accelerate. The dealer was made aware of the failure and scheduled an upcoming appointment for a diagnostic test. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was over the mileage warranty coverage. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

NHTSA ODI 11429920

This vehicle is a 2016 Nissan Altima with only has 36,000 miles. When driving this vehicle and stopping at a stop sign or traffic light the vehicle will not accelerate for a 10-30 seconds. No engine code or check engine light. This has happened two times when my wife drove the car and one time when I drove it. My wife will not drive this car anymore because she does not feel safe in it. She fears she will be rear ended or hit trying to make a turn. I talked to my local Nissan dealer today 8/19/2021 while having the hood latch recall done. The dealership didn't know anything about this problem with this or other Altimas but said it could be the valve body in the transmission ( without looking at the car, just my conversation) MMMMMMM. The dealership said they would charge me $130.00 to do a diagnostic check but without a check engine light it would not show anything and of course the car was doing fine when I went to there. This problem is sporadic and you don't know when it will occur again and can be very dangerous. I have looked at chat forums on google and see this is a big problem with Nissan Altimas of this model year generation. Thank you for your time.

NHTSA ODI 11429737

This vehicle's 1st transmission was changed at a Nissan dealership around 44,000 miles. At 120,000 it started having issues again which effect safety: vehicle would not respond to acceleration, causing the vehicle to be stuck in dangerous situation such as merging or even in the middle of intersections. Nissan is refusing to take responsibility.

NHTSA ODI 11429246

Passenger airbag light is always on. Nissan dealership said it is something with the sensor. Not covered under warranty. This should be recalled! I didn't do anything to make this mechanism screw up...

NHTSA ODI 11428500

The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Altima. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V315000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages) however, the part to the recall repair was unavailable. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI 11428068

CVT Transmission overheats then fails until it cools down.

NHTSA ODI 11427866

Transmission is not right

NHTSA ODI 11427057

The RPMS are jumping while driving ,, car shut off while driving , car is sputtering and jerking and changing gears are not smooth.

NHTSA ODI 11426690

Car loses power while driving on highways or roads and had nearly cost me my life on occasion where the vehicle cannot complete a turn from loss of power and I cannot proceed and obstruct oncoming vehicle paths. It has also revved up out of the blue to 6000-7000 RPMs despite a holding steady pace on the gas pedal. The speed jolts and has nearly caused me to rear end unsuspecting vehicles. Sometimes the vehicle cannot accelerate and has NO POWER after coming to a full stop at a red light or stop sign. I have been unable to receive help for any of these issues despite many diagnoses and lots of money spent. And it was not made aware to me, an owner of a Nissan Altima vehicle that there is a known probability of failure with CVTs in use in Altima’s of my hear. That lack of effort and total disregard for the lives of customers in similar Nissan vehicles is absolutely disgraceful and unacceptable! Furthermore, they try to deny it and try to take zero fault. Nissan is denying fault for faulty CVT in my vehicle and made NO ATTEMPT to notify owners of affected NISSAN vehicles and is NOT rectifying the issue or admitting their lack of effort on making owners of affected Nissan vehicles aware of issues and threatening consumer wellbeing

NHTSA ODI 11425859

After driving for a period of time (not too far, but more than just around the block) when I come to a stop at a stoplight or stop sign and try to accelerate again, there is a long delay of around 3-5 seconds and then my car will “launch”. I can push the pedal all the way to the floor and nothing happens. Then it will suddenly take off. This is a hazard while trying to turn out into traffic, if I would have to accelerate out of the way of a vehicle approaching me from any angle while at a stoplight or stop sign. Trying to cross intersections that only have 2 way stops, and for many other reasons that are pretty self explanatory. This sits very uneasy with me especially when my wife and child are riding with me. I brought this up to the dealer and they found no codes and could not recreate it, but did reprogram my ecm to most current programming per NTB13-054D. That cost $140 and did not fix my issue. It seems like to recreate the issue the car has to be driven for a little while (at lease 20-30 mins on the highway) before it begins acting up. It also seems like hot weather contributes to the issue as well.I drive an hour each way to work, so it pretty much acts up for me 2x a day since it has gotten warm out.

NHTSA ODI 11424282

Stopped propelling the car. Might be a transmission problem.

NHTSA ODI 11424115