Nissan Altima: which model years to avoid
Complaint and recall totals for every Nissan Altima model year we track, ranked by severity.
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls | Crashes | Fires | Severity | Most-reported system |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 423 | 4 | 23 | 2 | 73.8 Medium | POWER TRAIN |
| 2013 | 2,305 | 12 | 63 | 9 | 31.7 Low | AIR BAGS |
| 2014 | 1,110 | 8 | 51 | 8 | 68.1 Medium | EXTERIOR LIGHTING |
| 2015 | 942 | 10 | 45 | 5 | 44.4 Medium | EXTERIOR LIGHTING |
| 2016 | 547 | 4 | 28 | 3 | 77.9 Medium | POWER TRAIN |
| 2017 | 387 | 3 | 24 | 7 | 83.2 Medium | POWER TRAIN |
| 2018 | 223 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 41.3 Medium | UNKNOWN OR OTHER |
| 2019 | 224 | 7 | 22 | 5 | 92.0 Medium | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2020 | 175 | 6 | 16 | 7 | 152.0 High | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2021 | 68 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 91.2 Medium | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE |
| 2022 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 230.0 High | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE |
| 2023 | 29 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 144.8 High | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2024 | 40 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 205.0 High | UNKNOWN OR OTHER |
Across 13 model years, the 2022 Nissan Altima carries the highest severity index (230.0, driven by forward collision avoidance), while the 2013 is the cleanest at 31.7.
Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs. Complaint counts are not normalised by units sold; a high-volume seller will attract more filings than a rare trim.