2014 Nissan Altima problems & reliability
1,114 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2014 Nissan Altima, alongside 8 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Sep 21, 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 components.
40 complaints report injuries (60 injured, 1 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2014 Nissan Altima vehicles were involved in 194 fatal crashes with 95 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Exterior Lighting → | 299 | 27% |
| Power Train → | 209 | 19% |
| Air Bags → | 208 | 19% |
| Suspension → | 132 | 12% |
| Unknown / Other | 82 | 7% |
| Engine → | 77 | 7% |
| Electrical System → | 71 | 6% |
| Steering → | 58 | 5% |
| Structure → | 52 | 5% |
| Latches/locks/linkages → | 31 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 31 reported components →Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Among the 680 complaints that included a usable odometer reading, the median reported incident mileage was 67,500 miles (middle 50% between 32,000 and 97,000 miles).
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“My 2014 Nissan Altima has experienced loss of visibility from the headlights significantly to the point of feeling unsafe driving at night. I believe the cause of these issue is due to degradation of the reflective coating within the headlamps. New bulbs installed have not improved the quality of the headlights…”
Exterior Lighting · filed Sep 7, 2026
“Rear lower control arm broke while driving on interstate car darted to the left but control was maintained”
Suspension · filed Aug 9, 2026
“Right rear lower control arm fully broke while traveling 35 mph and going around a curve. The car immediately pulled hard right into the adjacent lane. Fortunately, there were no vehicles in that lane at the moment. I have contacted the dealership. This issue is addressed in Service Bulletin NTB21-045. However, the…”
Suspension · filed Aug 7, 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
317 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2014 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 2014 Nissan Altima has 8 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 2014 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.
- · Among complaints with usable mileage, the median reported incident mileage was 67,500 miles. This does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop a problem.