CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2013 Nissan Altima has multiple problem trends including the CVT transmission, and now that this model is out of warranty, it earns our "Avoid Like The Plague" badge.

Owners complain about vibration and transmission failure related to the CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission), a whining noise from the power steering pump, and constant windshield problems that appear to be the result of poor design.

Be warned: the 2014 & 2015 Nissan Altima appears to share these same problems.

8.0

pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
No data
Average Mileage:
79,000 miles
Total Complaints:
1 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. not sure (1 reports)
2013 Nissan Altima accessories - interior problems

accessories - interior problem

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2013 Nissan Altima Owner Comments

problem #1

Dec 012022

Altima S 2.5L

  • CVT transmission
  • 79,000 miles

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

OEM radio shows on, display shows station. If you put in a CD, it will play and shows time elapsed, etc ... like everything is working, EXCEPT there is NO sound coming out of the speakers. Dead silence. At time, you hear some pops noise at speakers. I assume radio is dead or is defective. Car is 9, 10 years old, but runs fine. I bought aftermarket Android head unit and installed it using vehicle-specific cable harness from Scosche, Metra ... re-using existing speakers and original wires, and it works great for 2,3 months, then same problem. Head unit works and responds to buttons pressed ... Except no sound. This dos NOT happen all the time, it happens 50% of the time. Sometimes radio is on, no sound comes out, then while I m driving, the sound comes on suddenly. I don't recall a time when radio works fine and the sound shuts off while I'm driving. I use this aftermarket radio for 1 year, then upgraded to bigger screen, same brand of Android head unit, works fine, too, then after 1, 2 months, the same problem repeats. What a pain, very difficult to diagnose. Someone, please offer some solutions.

With no sounds coming out when radio is on, sometimes and only sometimes I hear pops at the speakers. Could it be a short in one of the speaker wires and the radio goes into safety mode and shuts down the internal amp? Again, radio display is still on, just no sound, and radio responds to buttons pressed, you will see songs playing with elapsed time, etc.

That's the only thing I can think of. A short in one of the speaker wires ... like insulation is cut and touching vehicle frame, etc. I plan to play something from a home system and connect speakers output to the speakers connection wire at the back of the radio to see if sound comes out, If I do this for all 4 speakers, perhaps I can locate one that's not working or one where sound level is lower than the rest, or something. This problem has me scratching my head. I'm experience with car radios and have installed many units, but this one ... really makes me frustrated. Anyone has suggestions, please let me know. Thanks

- toddwynn, San Jose, US

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