2018 Nissan Altima problems & reliability
223 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2018 Nissan Altima, alongside 2 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.
5 complaints report injuries (6 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2018 Nissan Altima vehicles were involved in 155 fatal crashes with 88 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown OR Other | 60 | 27% |
| Service Brakes | 48 | 22% |
| Electrical System | 37 | 17% |
| Air Bags | 35 | 16% |
| Power Train | 23 | 10% |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 15 | 7% |
| Engine | 13 | 6% |
| Exterior Lighting | 13 | 6% |
| Steering | 12 | 5% |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 11 | 5% |
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 37,628 miles (middle 50% between 18,992 and 49,000 miles), based on 102 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I am currently experiencing CVT failure as of I have filed a case with the nissan consumer affairs unit, case number 56846043. I was advised that even though there was a class action suit in 2022 for CVT issues, my CVT Warranty Extension expired on 12/09/2024 for this class action suit. I purchased the car in May of…”
Power Train · filed Jul 7, 2026
“So I have the 2.5L QR25DE engine with the exact exhaust failure from campaign PC717, and I need Goodwill Assistance because the part failed identically.”
Fuel/propulsion System · filed Jun 9, 2026
“Transmission stopped working on me in the highway cvt code that comes up is P17f0 was in the highway going 45 mph then dropped 5 mph very dangerous. Almost crashed”
Power Train · filed May 28, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Hertz/Vehicles Rented with Open Recalls
Audit Query AQ22003 · opened Dec 16, 2022 · open
- 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
Technical service bulletins
192 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2018 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
TELEMATICS SERVICE INFORMATION HINT: This bulletin applies to vehicles equipped with a 4G network compatible TCU. TCUs compatible with 3G network only are no longer supported. SERVICE INFORMATION The APPLIED VEHICLES…
NTB15-049CC · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 30, 2026
INTELLIGENT CRUISE CONTROL INOPERATIVE AND AEB/FEB WARNING LIGHT ON OR RADAR OBSTRUCTION MESSAGE DISPLAYED WITH DTC C1A16 OR C2582 IF YOU CONFIRM IMPORTANT: The purpose of ACTION (on the next page) is to give you a…
NTB19-033G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 20, 2025
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
INTELLIGENT KEY INITIALIZATION PROCEDURE STOPS OR WILL NOT CONTINUE This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Discard all previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB17-127C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 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
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 2018 Nissan Altima has 2 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 2018 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 37,628 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.