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Criticism of the Nissan Altima’s continuously variable transmission has been mounting for years. Some consumers, frustrated by the lack of a Nissan Altima transmission recall, have complained to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as well as various online consumer forums. Others have gone the legal route, filing class action lawsuits against the automaker.
What Are the Transmission Problems in Nissan Altima?
A continuously variable transmission, or CVT, shifts through an endless range of “gear ratios” during driving, as opposed to a standard fixed number of gears that a traditional transmission moves through with “hard shifts,” Car and Driver magazine explains. The design is meant to give drivers smoother acceleration. However, many consumers have reported the opposite occurring.
The CVTs installed in the Nissan Altimas have caused a variety of problems – shaking, losing acceleration and stalling, among others – according to owners who are regularly posting complaints on websites such as Autonews.com, CarComplaints.com, and Cars.com.
This may be due to the vehicle struggling to change gear ratios. Other early signs of CVT transmission problems may include a burning smell coming from the car, weird noises such as whining, grinding, or humming while driving, gears slipping out of place, fluid leaking underneath the vehicle, or the check engine light coming on.
In some cases, the car may stop suddenly or become unresponsive when changing gears, or switching from park to drive. Bringing your car in to the dealership as soon as possible after experiencing symptoms of a possible transmission issue may prevent more damage from occurring to the vehicle.
According to court documents in a 2018 lawsuit against Nissan, the NHTSA “had received 263 complaints regarding the CVT power train on the 2013 Nissan Altima and 99 complaints regarding the CVT power train on the 2014 Nissan Altima.”
In April 2019, AutoNews.com reported that the car company set aside $590.5 million to extend warranties from five years to seven on the CVTs used in 3 million cars sold between 2012 to 2017, including the Altima.
Was Nissan Aware of the CVT Defects?
Was Nissan Aware of the CVT Defects?According to Automotive News, in 2013, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn announced that the automaker planned to ramp up its oversight of the company manufacturing its CVTs because of poor customer satisfaction with the transmission.
A Nissan Altima transmission recall has never been issued.
What Nissan Altima CVT Lawsuits Have Been Filed?
Two class action lawsuits were filed against Nissan Motor Company in federal court in 2018 by three Altima owners who claim their transmissions were defective and Nissan knew it. Both cases were brought to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, where Nissan’s U.S. headquarters is located.
The first lawsuit was initiated by California residents Salome Madrid and Terese Miranda, whose complaints about the Altima are similar.
Miranda claims that she had to take her Altima back to the dealership for transmission problems at least four times in the four years after buying her car. Meanwhile, Madrid in 2014 purchased a new Altima, also with the CVT transmission, and over the next two years, brought the car back to the dealership three times due to problems with the transmission.
On the third trip, the dealership replaced the transmission. A year later, the problems persisted, and the dealership replaced the transmission a second time, Madrid claims.
In September 2018, Christopher Gann said his Altima was also dogged by transmission problems. Three years after purchasing the car new, it began to shake and vibrate and eventually stalled and could not be restarted. Gann claims he was told the transmission would have to be replaced. He paid the dealership $3,754.49 to do the work.
Another Nissan owner claims that she already had two transmission replacements, but now needs a third. Her car only has 130,000 miles on it, but the transmissions keep failing. According to her, the car runs normally at first, but after driving for more than an hour it begins to experience difficulty with the transmission, including over-revving and making whining sounds.
Additionally, as the car is past the warranty period and the manufacturer has not issued a Nissan Altima transmission recall, she worried that she would be on the hook to pay for a third transmission replacement out of pocket. The cost to replace a transmission may be upwards of $3,500. Although Nissan agreed to cover the cost of the third replacement, there is no guarantee that the vehicle won’t require a fourth.
Should You Join a Nissan Altima Class Action Lawsuit?
Consumers frustrated about the lack of a Nissan Altima transmission recall may have grounds to participate in a class action lawsuit against the automaker if they have experienced problems with the CVT.
The Nissan Motor Company Class Action Lawsuits are Madrid, et al v. Nissan North America Inc., et al., Case No. 3:18-cv-00534 and Gann v. Nissan North America Inc., Case No. 3:18-cv-00966, both in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Join this Free Nissan CVT Transmission Defect Class Action Lawsuit Investigation
If you own a Nissan vehicle that is newer than a 2013 model year and have been affected by CVT transmission problems, you may be eligible to join this FREE Nissan CVT transmission class action investigation.
This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.
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208 thoughts onIs There a Nissan Altima Transmission Recall?
I just bought a used 2018 Nissan Altima, and am regretting it after reading all this. My car has 50,000 miles on it so far. We put 15,000 miles on it this last year, and the transmission seems fine. It is my understanding that if you let the car warm up for 5 minutes before driving it, the transmission will last longer. However, it looks like this has its own set of problems, and now I am going to worry if I will be stranded somewhere. Regretting buying a Nissan.
I brought my son a 2013 Nissan Altima may 2020 for his high school graduation. Less than a year at 90,000 the transmission has went out!!!! This is ridiculous. I didn’t even get my money’s worth!
I have 2016 altima with same cvt issue. I took it to dealer and they quoted me $3500 to 4000 to fix my altima. If I had known problem with nissan cvt. I would never bought this vehicle.
100% agree I am on my 2nd transmission
1st one at 81,000
It just went out again at 124,000
Very upset
Same problem here
I have experienced same problem with my Nissan Altima. Took to the they keep telling me nothing is wrong with my transmission. I need to take in again.
I just topk my 2019 Altima in today because I lost all power, and after restarting it seenmed fine. Butstalled again to just 20 mph. Luckily I was a mile from the dealership when yhe CVT warning came up on the dash, so dropped it off this evening.
I have a rental whole they check on it.
I’m currently having the same issues mentioned above with my CVT. I have a 2013 Altima, which is currently at the dealership due to these issues. The dealership has identified that the transmission is bad and needs to be replaced, the car is covered under a lifetime warranty…. but they are refusing to replace it (or do anything with it) because I don’t have a perfect record of all maintenance performed on the car since 2013. Nissan knows it has put bad and dangerous transmissions in these cars, and should legally be required to make it right. This should be criminal on their part!!
2013 Altima 3.5 SV with CVT…piece of garbage!!! Shudders, hesitates, shift drags…why no recall???
i purchased a 2013 nissan altima 2 years ago i am second owner the car itself i truly it was wll taken care of before and after i purchased vehicle . we bought my 2013 it 83000 miles on it and now it only has 96000 and trans is bad bands are stretch out broken pcs well i cannot afford a 3800. bill to put one in . i believe that is not my fault trans should have lasted many more miles . i dont go far but i want to feel safe / i believe nissan should put new trans for me asap.
We are at 124,000 miles 2nd transmission just went out…
First one at 81,000 miles.
This is bullshit!
I’ve had my Nissan repaired at Nissan due to a faulty transmission but would not repair free because of branded title what difference does that make due to all other transmission without branded titles just an excuse to make money off an already defective part. How could I get help
It’s not just the Altima!! I had a 2012 Nissan Rogue bought it with 64,000 miles on it a few months later in the hot summer months my Rogue would stall in the middle of crossing a busy highway leaving me and my 4 year old daughter stranded in the middle of a highway with oncoming cars coming At us at 65 miles an hour! This happened 3 times luckily after several attempts to get the car to accelerate it either creeped through the intersection just barely or I had to shut the car off and restart it and push my foot on the pedal to the floor before it would finally accelerate to get through!! Then a few weeks later on the interstate it stalled or lost power causing cars to swerve not to hit me!! I had it towed and replaced the transmission at around 72-75,000 miles on it paying almost 5 grand and then not even a year later approximately 19-23,000 miles on the new transmission it started doing thd same exact thing but only after driving for at least a half hour and or really hot days!! How can a transmission go out in less than a year or less than 30,000 miles on it?! The mechanic who did the original transmission work said with no check engine light and not being able to re create the issue they would not just put in another new one even though it was under warranty!! Problem is the check engine light never came on when the last transmission went out and they based replacing the first transmission off how the fluid or transmission looked! Also the transmission only acts up when you drive the vehicle at at least 55-60 for at least 30 minutes or more so of course they can’t re create the problem!! So I wanna know Nissan what’s ur explanation or excuse for a brand new cvt transmission going out twice in less than a year?! What did I pay 5 grand for?! Is it gonna take a kid or any person for that matter getting killed before you recall all ur pos cvt defective transmissions?! Ur company is shit and you need to cut ur losses and own up to your mistake!! Be honest it’s all Nissan models with cvt transmissions not just a few models it’s all of them!! You owe me 5 grand for the transmission and $4500 I lost because I had to get rid of the vehicle in fear of it killing my family! Mine was a 2012 Nissan Rogue. I tried filing on here but apparently my 2 bad transmissions in less than a year and me and my daughter almost being killed several times wasn’t good enough for this site either as I got a rejection email from whom ever you file a claim to on this site!! I have receipts and proof of it happening so why don’t I qualify?! Maybe if you took all cases of Nissan cvt faulty transmission cases you might get somewhere! Very frustrated at this site and Nissan. You can’t really care if you just turn real cases down!
Transmission failure on my 2013 Murano also