AutoUtility currently tracks 552 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2016 Nissan Altima. Powertrain & Transmission issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 235 complaints (42.6% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 28 filings cite a crash, 3 cite a fire, 17 report one or more injuries, 1 reports one or more fatalities.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 552 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Powertrain & Transmission (235 reports • 42.6% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Air Bags & Restraints (74), Engine & Cooling (73)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 28 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 3 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 17 injury filings • 1 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2016 Nissan Altima
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Powertrain & Transmission
Air Bags & Restraints
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #16V244000 AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION
Engine & Cooling
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
Body & Structure
NHTSA records list 3 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #20V315000 LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH
- Campaign #18V915000 STRUCTURE:EMERGENCY:ESCAPE/EGRESS/EXIT
- Campaign #17V040000 LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Nissan Altima
Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis
AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.
Loss of Motive Power While Driving
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Nissan Altima
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"To recap: •Nissan manufactured defective transmissions. •Nissan granted me a warranty extension with a fleeting expiration date (2023) to shift the cost away from them. •In 2020, Nissan performed work on my car. The work they performed masked the problem, didn’t fix it. And it deferred the problem,..."
"The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the driver's side headlight had become inoperable. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed with an internal headlight failure, and it was determined that the headlight assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was..."
"My 2016 Nissan Altima has approximately 68,900 miles. When I am stopped and press the gas pedal, the vehicle sometimes hesitates before it begins moving. It does not accelerate normally, which is dangerous when I am pulling into traffic, crossing an intersection, or making a turn. At other times..."
"There is an active recall for the generic 2016 Nissan Altima OCS sensor, but it does not apply to my specific VIN apparently. This sensor is a problem with other vehicles of the same year, make, and model, but I am apparently on the hook for almost $1000 repair cost because the recall did not..."
"Hood popped up while driving and smashed windshield and did additional body damage. Secondary hood latch safety mechanism was non operable according to mechanic who looked at it after incident. Hood latch was replaced as part of recall in 2022. Spoke to Nissan but they are dismissing because there..."
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 | 947 | 45 | 10 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Nissan Altima Current Page | 552 | 28 | 4 | Current |
| 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 → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2016 Nissan Altima
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 107 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 153 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 51 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 42 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 7 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SEATS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE,SERVICE BRAKES | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,ENGINE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,AIR BAGS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEAT BELTS,SEATS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 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 |
| EQUIPMENT,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,TIRES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,AIR BAGS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,STRUCTURE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VISIBILITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SEATS,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION,WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 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,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VISIBILITY,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VISIBILITY,STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WHEELS,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WHEELS,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (3)
Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
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...
Rear Suspension Control Arm Failure
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...
Rear Suspension Control Arm Failure
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...
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.