AutoUtility currently tracks 947 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2015 Nissan Altima. Exterior Lighting issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 269 complaints (28.4% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 45 filings cite a crash, 5 cite a fire, 24 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • • Total NHTSA Complaints: 947 reports
  • • #1 Reported Problem Area: Exterior Lighting (269 reports • 28.4% of submitted complaints)
  • • Secondary Problem Areas: Air Bags & Restraints (178), Powertrain & Transmission (161)
  • • Crash-Citing Complaints: 45 filings
  • • Fire-Citing Complaints: 5 filings
  • • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 24 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
947
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
45
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
5
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
24
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2015 Nissan Altima

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 28.4% of complaints

Exterior Lighting

269 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 8 crash reports
#2 Problem Area 18.8% of complaints

Air Bags & Restraints

178 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 3 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 22 crash reports 🩹 15 injury report entries
#3 Problem Area 17% of complaints

Powertrain & Transmission

161 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 4 crash reports 🔥 1 fire report 🩹 3 injury report entries
#4 Problem Area 11.2% of complaints

Body & Structure

106 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 3 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 3 crash reports 🔥 2 fire reports 🩹 1 injury report entry
#5 Problem Area 6.5% of complaints

Suspension

62 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2015 Nissan Altima

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Exterior Lighting NHTSA ODI ID: #11757201
Filed: 08/15/2026

"The headlights are dangerously dim. There has been a class action lawsuit for these specific makes and models for the reflectors in the headlights being damaged over time, resulting in the entire headlight assemblies needing replaced."

Incident Date: 08/15/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Suspension NHTSA ODI ID: #11757200
Filed: 08/15/2026

"Today (8/15/26) the vehicle broke down while driving. A component to the rear left suspension has busted off that appears to be the rear lower control arm/link. Not drivable. Steering wheel and tire are crooked. I have read that for the years 2013-2018 this is a known issue for these makes and..."

Incident Date: 08/15/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: SUSPENSION
Air Bags & Restraints NHTSA ODI ID: #11753801
Filed: 07/30/2026

"The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the SRS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a driver's side air bag module internal failure. The dealer recommended replacing the driver's side air bag module and informed the..."

Incident Date: 05/18/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: AIR BAGS
Air Bags & Restraints NHTSA ODI ID: #11752882
Filed: 07/26/2026

"SRS - Airbag LF Side Impact: B0020-13 Error 2,000.00 to replace faulty air bag"

Incident Date: 10/02/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: AIR BAGS
Suspension NHTSA ODI ID: #11752680
Filed: 07/24/2026

"The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while making a right turn into a parking space, the steering wheel was difficult to turn. While inspecting the vehicle, the son discovered that the rear passenger’s side wheel was turned inward due to a fractured rear passenger’s side..."

Incident Date: 06/26/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: SUSPENSION
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Nissan Altima

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Nissan Altima Current Page 947 45 10 Current
2016 Nissan Altima 552 28 4 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Nissan Altima 390 24 3 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Nissan Altima 225 11 2 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Nissan Altima 229 22 7 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Nissan Altima 178 16 6 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Nissan Altima 69 6 2 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Nissan Altima 20 4 0 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Nissan Altima 29 5 0 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Nissan Altima 41 7 1 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Nissan Altima 6 1 2 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Nissan Altima 0 0 0 View 2026 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2015 Nissan Altima

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 128 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 239 7 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 137 13 0 9 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 106 3 1 1 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 49 3 0 2 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 42 0 0 0 0
Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 40 0 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 37 2 0 1 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 20 0 0 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 18 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 15 3 0 3 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 14 0 1 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 13 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VISIBILITY/WIPER 9 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 9 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 6 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 6 0 0 0 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 6 1 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 6 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 5 2 0 2 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 4 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 4 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 4 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 0 0 1 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,WHEELS 4 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 4 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,AIR BAGS 3 1 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS 3 1 0 1 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION 3 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,SERVICE BRAKES 3 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 2 1 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,ENGINE 2 0 2 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 1 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,STRUCTURE 2 0 0 0 0
Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,EQUIPMENT 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 1 0
AIR BAGS,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
Equipment & Accessories NHTSA category: EQUIPMENT 1 0 0 1 0
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
OTHER/I AM NOT SURE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
SEAT BELTS,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,AIR BAGS,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,STRUCTURE,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,STRUCTURE,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,TIRES 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,WHEELS 1 1 0 1 0
STEERING,WHEELS,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,ENGINE 1 1 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,AIR BAGS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 1 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
VISIBILITY,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (947). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (3)

1 OPEN 2 CLOSED

Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Official Federal Inquiries: NHTSA opens a defect investigation when safety screening or consumer defect trends indicate a potential unreasonable safety risk. An open investigation is a formal inquiry and does not by itself confirm a defect or result in a mandatory recall.
OPEN Engineering Analysis (EA) ODI Action #EA21002
Opened: 2021-09-17 • Currently Active

Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

Affected Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious...

Active federal investigation. Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Engineering Analysis (EA) ODI Action #EA19002
Opened: 2019-07-29 • Closed: 2025-06-16

Rear Suspension Control Arm Failure

Affected Component: SUSPENSION:REAR

On July 29, 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened EA19002 to investigate instances of alleged rear lower control arm failures in 2013-2018 Nissan Altima and 2016-2018 Nissan Maxima vehicles. At the time the investigation was opened ODI had 91 consumer complaints alleging rear lower control arm failures in the subject vehicles.ODI was concerned about these complaints because many of them alleged an increased steering effort or los...

Closed without associated recall campaign. Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Preliminary Evaluation (PE) ODI Action #PE18013
Opened: 2018-12-01 • Closed: 2019-08-21

Rear Suspension Control Arm Failure

Affected Component: SUSPENSION:REAR

PE18-013 was opened on December 1, 2018, with 4 complaints to ODI alleging incidents of the lower control arm fracturing at a connection point to the vehicle chassis due to corrosion. ODI has received an additional 87 complaints since the PE was opened. During PE18-013, Nissan indicated model years 2013-2018 shared a common rear lower control arm design. Nissan provided complaint and warranty data regarding 48 incidents of the subject failure. Th...

Closed without associated recall campaign. Official NHTSA File →

Related Official Reports for 2015 Nissan Altima

Cross-reference safety recalls, crash test safety ratings, and EPA fuel economy for this model year

Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.