2013 Nissan Altima problems & reliability
2,307 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2013 Nissan Altima, alongside 12 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
36 complaints report injuries (48 injured, 1 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2013 Nissan Altima vehicles were involved in 246 fatal crashes with 151 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 513 | 22% |
| Power Train | 505 | 22% |
| Exterior Lighting | 441 | 19% |
| Suspension | 288 | 12% |
| Unknown OR Other | 240 | 10% |
| Electrical System | 159 | 7% |
| Engine | 158 | 7% |
| Structure | 133 | 6% |
| Steering | 94 | 4% |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 60 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 69,000 miles (middle 50% between 33,503 and 95,000 miles), based on 1,554 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“The headlight housings metallic coatings for reflectivity are failing and reduce the efficacy of the headlights. There has been a class action lawsuit against Nissan for this but many, like myself, were not notified. The headlights are very dim and create a safety hazzard when driving in an area where high beams can't…”
Exterior Lighting · filed Aug 1, 2026
“Front passenger door lock actuator fails to unlock door when driver's, passengers or key fob to unlock is activated. All other doors (3) work as they should. This creates a safety issue as the door must manually be unlocked which during a panic situation may not be easily accomplished. I am in the process of having…”
Electrical System · filed Aug 1, 2026
“Rear left wheel busted off of car while driving. Flew up into the back end of car totaling the vehicle. We were very lucky no one was hurt.”
Wheels · filed Jul 20, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Engineering Analysis EA21002 · opened Sep 17, 2021 · open
- Rear Suspension Control Arm Failure
Engineering Analysis EA19002 · opened Jul 29, 2019 · closed Jun 16, 2025
- Rear Suspension Control Arm Failure
Preliminary Evaluation PE18013 · opened Dec 1, 2018 · closed Aug 21, 2019
- Occupant Classification System Failure
Engineering Analysis EA15004 · opened Aug 31, 2015 · closed May 2, 2017 · led to recall 16V244000
- Occupant Classification System Failure
Recall Query RQ15001 · opened Mar 18, 2015 · closed Sep 1, 2015
Technical service bulletins
370 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2013 Nissan Altima. The 10 most recent:
CERTIFICATION LABEL AND VIN PLATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION Because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “Certification Label” or “VIN Plate/Label” may be needed. HINT: Certification Label =…
NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 13, 2026
CERTIFICATION LABEL AND VIN PLATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION Because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “Certification Label” or “VIN Plate/Label” may be needed. HINT: Certification Label =…
NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 13, 2026
DTC B00A0-00 STORED This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. IF YOU CONFIRM DTC B00A0-00 (OCCUPANT DETECTION SENSOR UNIT) is stored, AND…
NTB19-071D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 19, 2024
CVT/TCM CALIBRATION DATA “WRITE” PROCEDURE This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB12-103I · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 7, 2024
VEHICLE KEY NOT DETECTED / AUTHENTICATED, ENGINE WILL NOT START This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB13-107G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
CAN COMMUNICATION – NETWORK DIAGNOSTIC FLOW CHART This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB13-027D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
CAN COMMUNICATION CODES – DIAGNOSTIC TIPS AND GUIDELINES This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB10-066C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
WINDOW GLASS WARRANTY INFORMATION This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB17-019H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 30, 2024
REMOVING FOREIGN MATERIAL FROM THE WINDOW GLASS This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB13-028I · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 30, 2024
WINDSHIELD CRACKING This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB09-081K · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 30, 2024
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2013 Nissan Altima has 12 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2013 Nissan Altima?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 69,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.