2018 Nissan Altima: owner complaints and recalls
Analysis of 223 owner complaints filed with NHTSA and 2 recall campaigns. Updated 2026-07-25.
223
Complaints
2
Recalls
11
Crash reports
0
Fire reports
6
Injuries
41.3
Severity index
Severity index 41.3 - Medium. This weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints; see methodology.
Among the 121 2018 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2018 Nissan Altima ranks 70 of 121 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 42% of its model-year peers. See the full 2018 ranking.
What actually fails
| Component | Complaints | Share of complaints citing it |
|---|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 60 | 26.9% |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 49 | 22.0% |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 37 | 16.6% |
| AIR BAGS | 35 | 15.7% |
| POWER TRAIN | 23 | 10.3% |
| FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 15 | 6.7% |
| ENGINE | 13 | 5.8% |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 13 | 5.8% |
The single most-reported system is UNKNOWN OR OTHER, cited in 60 of 223 complaints (26.9%). One complaint can name several systems, so these shares overlap and do not total 100%.
Complaints filed per year
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 6 |
| 2019 | 57 |
| 2020 | 47 |
| 2021 | 34 |
| 2022 | 18 |
| 2023 | 14 |
| 2024 | 19 |
| 2025 | 18 |
| 2026 (year to date) | 10 |
Complaint volume is declining, consistent with a defect that was addressed by recall or that affected early builds.
Recall campaigns
| Campaign | Reported | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20V315000 | 28/05/2020 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH | Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2018 Nissan Altima vehicles. If the primary hood latch is inadvertently released, there is an increased likelihood that the secondary hood latch may corrode over time. |
| 19V654000 | 12/09/2019 | BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA | Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Nissan Altima, Armada, Frontier, Kicks, Leaf, Maxima, Murano, NV, NV200, Pathfinder, Rogue, Rogue Sport, Sentra, Titan, Titan Diesel, Versa Note and Versa Sedan vehicles, as well as Infiniti Q50, Q60, QX30 and QX8 |
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.