CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2011 Altima has a defect trend of CVT transmission failure showing up around the 100,000 mile mark.

It's an expensive repair at nearly $4,000 average repair cost. For more information see Nissan Altima CVT defect info on NissanProblems.com.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
81,486 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2011 Nissan Altima drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2011 Nissan Altima Owner Comments (Page 2 of 4)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #45

Jul 242019

Altima

  • 127,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I bought a 2011 Nissan Altima and at 127,000 miles the transmission is slipping and when it warms up the car will not go over 50 mph. Transmission will not shift. There should be a recall for these transmission from everything I'm finding out about them now. At this point with what this is costing I won't by another Nissan when they don't believe there's an issue with these transmission.

- Mooresville, IN, USA

problem #44

Jun 082019

Altima

  • 15 miles
Cat transmission failure at 129K miles. Winding noise and slipping. Car would not accelerate at any given time. This is a cvt transmission that Nissan has an issue with and refuses to own up to it. Not a safe vehicle to be driving in city or open highways. Nissan want me to pay 3-4 grand to fix. Can someone please wake these people

- Collinsville, OK, USA

problem #43

Apr 252019

Altima

  • 160,000 miles
Cvt transmission failed. Doesn't go forward or reverse.

- Lafayette, LA, USA

problem #42

Mar 212019

Altima

  • 166,782 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2011 Nissan Altima. While driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle would stall, decelerate, and power down without warning. In addition, the transmission warning indicator illuminated. The failures occurred often. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that a new transmission was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. The dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 166,782.

- Lithia Springs, GA, USA

problem #41

Mar 282019

Altima

  • 82,000 miles
Our 2011 Nissan Altima just went over 80,000 miles and the transmission stopped working. My son was driving along some back roads at a low rate of speed and all of a sudden it gave out, the engine wil lrev but no power. Had it towed to a transmission repair shop who does a lot of work on these cvt transmissions and he said it needed to be replaced. Quoted me $3500 for a brand new Nissan factory transmission and said he recommended getting the new one rather than trying to fix the old one because he has ton a lot of work on these transmissions. I do no understand why Nissan stopped their extended warranty coverage on the cvt transmission at the 2010 model year.

- Greer, SC, USA

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problem #40

Feb 052019

Altima

  • 61,000 miles
Failing to accelerate, slipping, jerking, stalling

- El Dorado Hills, CA, USA

problem #39

Feb 042019

Altima

  • 145,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I have a 2011 Nissan Altima. Car was "acting up" and so I took it to a Firestone service center. They said it was the transmission and I should take it to a Nissan dealer. So, I took it to the Nissan dealer that I purchased the car from and they told me I needed a software update. Which they did for $153. Two weeks later while driving from Ohio to Tennessee, the transmission went out and I had it towed. The cost for repair will be $4800

- Nashville, TN, USA

problem #38

Dec 122018

Altima

  • 126,600 miles
When it is hot outside and the car has been driven for a long period of time the cvt transmission will make a whining noise. I noticed it when I was on the highway going about 70 mph. Because of this strange noise, I exited. When I was going 30 mph+ and accelerating the whining continued to happen. I am not sure what would cause this, but it sounds like a belt inside the transmission is slipping. It now stutters at times when going about 10 mph. When "shifting" down from 20 mph it will jerk.

- San Marcos, TX, USA

problem #37

Nov 022018

Altima

  • 100,000 miles
The transmission just went out at 100,000 miles. I'm told the transmission is a cvt transmission and this is pretty much normal. I'm looking at a $4000 cost just to put another cvt transmission into

- Carmel, IN, USA

problem #36

Aug 312018

Altima

  • 115,000 miles
Merging into traffic after stopping at a stop sign the gas pedal became unresponsive. Was able to pull to side and avoid collision and gas pedal began working after pumping and a few moments. Had three kids in the car and only dumb luck prevented accident. Brought to dealer the following day and it was a transmission issue

- Coventry, CT, USA

problem #35

Apr 012018

Altima

  • 120,423 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The 2011 Nissan Altima has a cvt transmission and this continues to go out and will every 12,000 miles. No service provider wants to fix this issue because of the unreliable part and not only is this is a costly fix but it only guarantee the most a year or less (close to $3000 to fix). I don't understand how the other models with Nissan with this type of transmission the warranty was extended. I believe any vehicle with a cvt transmission needs to be recalled and replaced.

- Okc, OK, USA

problem #34

Aug 012018

Altima

  • 118,000 miles
Nissan cvt (transmission). The vehicle when in motion seems to be stuck " in gear" when pressing the accelerator it feels restrained and labored with a noisy almost whining sound. There seems to be no "up-shift" although the cvts are specifically designed to not make the bumping transitions, it seems to be restraining the car from picking up speed with laboring whine.

- Staten Island, NY, USA

problem #33

Sep 012016

Altima

  • 95,836 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Nissan Altima. While driving 80-85 mph, the vehicle went into safety mode and decelerated to 70 mph. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to flagstaff Nissan (4960 E marketplace dr, flagstaff, AZ 86004, (928) 522-6386) where it was diagnosed that the cooling component needed to be replaced; however, the part was on backorder. In addition a transmission flush was performed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the local dealer for additional diagnostic testing. The failure mileage was 95,836.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #32

May 172018

Altima

  • 215,000 miles
Vehicles speed goes down to 40mph to almost stopping. It seems to happen when it's hot outside, driving long distances and driving at a speed above 70mph. It also makes a whining noise when this happens.

- Lexington, SC, USA

problem #31

Jul 152018

Altima

  • 147,000 miles
The vehicle began making a whining noise during acceleration and then loss power on the interstate and would not go over 40mph even with the gas pedal depressed all the way making a very unsafe situation for my family. I've done research and found several other owners complaining of the same issue and receiving no assistance from Nissan on this obvious safety issue.

- Wake Forest, NC, USA

problem #30

Jul 022018

Altima

  • 118,000 miles
After an hour of highway driving, in warm weather, transmission goes into safe mode, loses power, transmission shuts down. Peddle to the floor and zippo, nothing, no power, very dangerous when on highway. Nissan was of no help. Their cvt tranny is he problem. Some models were recalled already and some warranties were extended, bur not mine. They want over 5 grand to replace trans.

- Rutherford, NJ, USA

problem #29

Dec 292016

Altima

  • 100,858 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Nissan Altima. While accelerating from a stop, the vehicle hesitated and vibrated moderately without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer (crossroads Nissan wake forest, 1120 capital blvd, wake forest, nc), but the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was taken from the dealer and the failure recurred. The contact stated that the failure occurred approximately three other times. After one of the failures, the vehicle was taken to the same dealer where they recommended a transmission flush. The vehicle was repaired, but then it experienced a complete loss of power. The manufacturer was notified and did not assist since the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 100,858.

- Cary, NC, USA

problem #28

Jun 112018

Altima

  • 90,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Nissan Altima. While driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer (lynchburg Nissan, 18588 forest rd, lynchburg, va) where it was diagnosed that the continuously variable transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and did not assist. The failure mileage was 90,000. The VIN was not available.

- Lynchburg, VA, USA

problem #27

Jun 132016

Altima

  • 60,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Nissan Altima. While driving approximately 65 mph, the engine lost power and the vehicle stalled. The failure occurred without warning. Mcdonough Nissan (1775 avalon pkwy, mcdonough, ga) diagnosed that the continuously variable transmission was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and did not assist. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000. The VIN was not provided.

- Jonesboro, GA, USA

problem #26

Jun 032018

Altima

  • 102,000 miles
Car began to make a whirring sound and lost power on freeway only allowing my children and I to only go 20 mph while cars were merging on in a high traffic area. The car did this a few times during longer trips (45 miles or more) on the side of a regular road. After a couple mechanics the Nissan dealership found the problem happens when the car overheats because the cooling system stopped working. We had to put a new cooler in it.

- West Valley City, UT, USA

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