2021 Nissan Altima problems and recalls

Owners have filed 69 complaints on the 2021 Nissan Altima, and NHTSA has issued 2 recalls. The most cited component is the Forward Collision Avoidance (22 complaints).

69
Complaints
2
Recalls
6
Crash reports
1
Fire reports
4
Injuries
72.8
Severity index

Severity index 72.8 Medium. The index weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints. How it is calculated.

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 72.8p25 46p75 80cleanestworst
Severity index against the quartile range for all tracked vehicles.

Ranked 20 of 92 by severity index among 2021 vehicles with at least 40 complaints, highest first. 78% of those vehicles scored lower. Full 2021 ranking.

Components cited in complaints

Forward Collision Avoid…Forward Collision Avoidance: 22 complaints (31.9%)22 32%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 21 complaints (30.4%)21 30%Service BrakesService Brakes: 20 complaints (29.0%)20 29%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 12 complaints (17.4%)12 17%SteeringSteering: 7 complaints (10.1%)7 10%EngineEngine: 6 complaints (8.7%)6 9%SuspensionSuspension: 5 complaints (7.2%)5 7%Back Over PreventionBack Over Prevention: 4 complaints (5.8%)4 6%
A single complaint can cite more than one component, so shares total over 100%.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE2231.9%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM2130.4%
SERVICE BRAKES2029.0%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER1217.4%
STEERING710.1%
ENGINE68.7%
SUSPENSION57.2%
BACK OVER PREVENTION45.8%

Complaints filed per year

010192021: 22022: 62023: 142024: 122025: 192026: 16 (partial year)21222324251926
Complaints by the calendar year they were filed. The hatched bar is the current year to date.
YearComplaints
20212
20226
202314
202412
202519
2026 (year to date)16
Filings in 2023 to 2025 ran 5.6x those in 2021 to 2022 (45 against 8).

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
21V13800004/03/2021STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLYNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Nissan Altima vehicles. The tie rod ball joint fastener was not tightened properly, which could result in the tie rod ball joint detaching from the steering knuckle.
23V62800008/09/2023BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERANissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Altima and 2020-2021 Sentra vehicles. Damage to the camera harness can cause distortion or loss of the rearview camera display image. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor

Other Nissan Altima model years

Severity index for every other model year on file. Compare all 13 years side by side.

Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-28. Complaints are unverified consumer reports. Totals vary with units sold and years on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.