2015 Nissan Altima reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 953 complaints with NHTSA about the 2015 Nissan Altima over 12 years — 67 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Altima years here — over the median of the other years, which is 23. NHTSA has 10 recalls on file, including Latch, Emergency escape/exit, and Occupant classification.

2012 Nissan Altima — Photo by Elise240SX, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0

Complaints

953

Per year

Recalls

Years on the road

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Exterior lighting (270 of 953), then Air bags (177) and Powertrain (161). Those filings include 46 that report a crash, 5 that report a fire, and 25 that report an injury.

Next to 2014 and 2016

The 2014 Altima has 1,113 complaints, 83 per year, and the 2016 has 553 complaints, 31 per year. The 2015 has fewer complaints per year than the 2014. The 2015 has more complaints per year than the 2016.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2015 Nissan Altima. How we count. Data as of 2026-10-16.

Recalls (10)

Recall latches, locks, and linkages, hood, latch 2020-05-28 · NHTSA campaign 20V315000

Summary 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.

Remedy Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will install a stronger release spring in the hood release lever, a warning label near the secondary hood latch, and an Owners Manual addendum card with instructions on how to lubricate and maintain the secondary hood latch mechanism, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 30, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Note: Recall 16V-029 remains open for any unremedied 2013-2015 Altimas and this recall applies to all vehicles covered by 16V-029 even if those repairs have already been performed.

Recall Emergency escape/exit 2018-12-19 · NHTSA campaign 18V915000

Summary Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Altima vehicles, previously remedied under recall number 17V-040. The door latch-lock cable may not have been routed properly in the rear door when the remedy was applied. As a result, the cable may interfere with the window regulator causing the rear passenger door to unlatch and inadvertently open without warning when the window is lowered.

Remedy Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will secure the latch-lock cables in the correct position using the new remedy procedure, free of charge. The recall began February 5, 2019. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7669.

Recall latches, locks, and linkages, doors, latch 2017-01-18 · NHTSA campaign 17V040000

Summary Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Altima vehicles. The rear door latch/lock cable on the vehicles may have been improperly routed. As a result, lowering a rear window may inadvertently cause that door to unlatch and open.

Remedy Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will correct the rear door latch/lock cable routing, free of charge. The recall began on February 16, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

Recall air bags, sensor, occupant classification 2016-12-19 · NHTSA campaign 16V911000

Summary Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima vehicles manufactured January 3, 2013, to July 29, 2013, 2015-2016 Rogue vehicles manufactured October 14, 2014, to August 12, 2016, and 2016 Maxima vehicles manufactured June 4, 2015, to August 19, 2015. An incorrect Occupant Classification System (OCS) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) may have been installed in the front passenger seat. The incorrect ECU and seat combination may misclassify the front passenger seat occupant.

Remedy Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ECU and update the OCS software free of charge. The recall began February 13, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

Recall air bags, sensor, occupant classification 2016-04-26 · NHTSA campaign 16V244000

Summary Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crash.

Remedy Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669, Infiniti customer service at 1-888-833-3216 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.

Recall latches, locks, and linkages, hood, latch 2016-01-22 · NHTSA campaign 16V029000

Summary Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Nissan Altima vehicles manufactured March 6, 2012, to December 31, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the secondary hood latch may bind and remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed.

Remedy These vehicles were previously included in recalls 14V-565 and 15V-116, however the previous remedy plan may not have been performed consistently to remove the safety risk. To correct this issue, Nissan will re-notify all affected owners and dealers will replace the hood latch with a new one, free of charge. The recall began on February 17, 2016. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261. Note: This recall supersedes recalls 14V-565 and 15V-116.

Recall hydraulic brakes, foundation components, disc, caliper 2015-11-05 · NHTSA campaign 15V733000

Summary Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2015 Altima and 2016 Maxima vehicles manufactured October 6, 2015, to October 7, 2015. The affected vehicles have front brake calipers whose mounting bolts may not be properly tightened.

Remedy Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will check the brake caliper mounting bolts, tightening them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on December 14, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

Recall air bags, frontal 2015-10-20 · NHTSA campaign 15V681000

Summary Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima and Pathfinder vehicles, 2013-2014 Nissan Sentra vehicles, 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles, 2014-2015 Infiniti QX60 vehicles and 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid vehicles. The affected vehicles received an incorrect occupant classification system (OCS) control unit during a repair. These OCS control units may incorrectly classify the front passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.

Remedy Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on November 30, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.

Recall Fuel system, gasoline 2015-08-04 · NHTSA campaign 15V486000

Summary Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) notified the agency on July 31, 2015, that they are recalling certain model year 2016 Nissan Maxima vehicles manufactured February 10, 2015, to August 18, 2015. On October 14, 2015, Nissan expanded the recall to cover an additional 41,388 vehicles, including certain model year 2013-2015 Altima 3.5 vehicles equipped with a V6 engine manufactured March 30, 2012, to August 18, 2015 as well as the vehicles covered by the July 31, 2015 notification. In the affected vehicles, due to an improperly installed o-ring that may not have been seated correctly at the time of assembly, fuel may leak during a crash from the area where the fuel sending unit attaches to the fuel tank.

Remedy Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will install a retainer ring between the fuel tank and the fuel sending unit. The recall began on September 28, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

Recall latches, locks, and linkages, hood, latch 2015-02-27 · NHTSA campaign 15V116000

Summary Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Nissan Altima vehicles manufactured March 1, 2013, to December 31, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the secondary hood latch may bind and remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed.

Remedy Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will be instructed to modify the bend angle of the hood actuation lever to eliminate potential interference with the hood inner panel. In addition, dealers will clean and lubricate the latch joint as needed. If significant corrosion is observed, the latch assembly will be replaced. This repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began March 31, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261. Note: This recall is an expansion of recall 14V-565.

Complaints by component (953 total)

Exterior lighting

270

Air bags

177

Powertrain

161

Engine

Suspension

Structure

Electrical system

Steering

Latches, locks, and linkages

Speed control

Service brakes

Visibility and wipers

Fuel and propulsion system

Wheels

Seat belts

Electronic stability control (ESC)

Visibility

Seats

Forward collision avoidance

Fuel system, gasoline

Equipment

Adaptive and mobility equipment

Lane departure

Other or not sure

Tires

Show 17 more Show less

Crash-flagged

Fire-flagged

Injury reports

Death reports

Complaints filed per year

Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings

"The headlights are so dim we cannot see safely at night, we have had everything professionally cleaned and installed new super bright bulbs, it has made zero difference. Does someone really have to die for this to be…"
Exterior lighting · filed 2026-09-18
"My car was hit and airbags did not deploy from driver side. The front driver side of my car is totalled. Not sure what force of an impact is needed for airbags to deploy but if my driver side tire rod broke and tire…"
Electrical system, Air bags · filed 2026-09-11
"A vehicle airbag light is staying on which indicates my airbags will not work this is a common problem in a 2015 Nissan Altima SL but it is not showing up as a recall on my certain vehicle. This recently started…"
Air bags · filed 2026-09-10
"Service brakes, hydraulic foundation components: disc: caliper The bolts on all 4 of my tires are constantly going loose and I have problems with my front brakes never lasting as long as they should and always burn out…"
Wheels, Service brakes · filed 2026-09-09
"The passenger side rear spring mount/Lower Control Arm separated at the weld and failed at highway speed. Control of the vehicle was momentarily lost and I was able to safely pull to the side of the highway to await a…"
Suspension · filed 2026-09-01

NHTSA crash ratings

Version	Overall	Front	Side	Rollover
2015 Nissan Altima 4 DR FWD	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars	4 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim	Engine	Transmission	Drive	City	Hwy	Combined	Annual fuel cost
Altima	2.5L, 4-cyl	Automatic (variable gear ratios)	Front-wheel drive	27	37	31 MPG	$2100
Altima	3.5L, 6-cyl	Automatic (AV-S7)	Front-wheel drive	22	31	26 MPG	$2500

Specs and fitment

5th generation (L33), 2013–2018

Body styles Sedan

Oil 0W-20 (2.5L); 5W-30 (3.5L V6)

Tire size 215/60R16 to 235/45R18 (trim dependent)

Known issues for this generation

Nissan ran voluntary service campaign PC490 on certain 2013-2016 Altima (L33) vehicles to reprogram CVT software after hydraulic pressure could drop and allow belt slip (MIL P0776 and poor acceleration); Nissan states that campaign is not a safety recall. Separately, Nissan extended CVT assembly warranty coverage on 2013-2016 Altima (L33) to 84 months/84,000 miles. Safety recall 20V-315 covers certain 2013-2018 Altimas: if the primary hood latch is released, the secondary latch may corrode and bind unlatched so the hood can open while driving; dealers install a stronger release spring, a warning label, and an Owner's Manual addendum. Safety recall 18V-915 covers certain 2015-2017 Altimas previously remedied under 17V-040 whose rear door latch-lock cable may be misrouted and open the rear door when the window is lowered; dealers secure the cable.

Compare

Previous year 2014 Nissan Altima Next year 2016 Nissan Altima See every Nissan Altima model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2015 Nissan Altima reliable?

What are common problems with a 2015 Nissan Altima?

Is the 2015 Nissan Altima more reliable than the years next to it?

Has the 2015 Nissan Altima been recalled?

The 2015 Nissan Altima has 10 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2015 Nissan Altima?

Owners have filed 953 complaints about the 2015 Nissan Altima with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2015 Nissan Altima get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2015 Nissan Altima is 28.5 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What oil does a Altima take?

0W-20 (2.5L); 5W-30 (3.5L V6)

What does Nissan service campaign PC490 cover on the Nissan Altima?

What generation is the 2014 Nissan Altima?

5th generation (L33) (2013-2018).