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.

6.0

fairly significant
Typical Repair Cost:
No data
Average Mileage:
90,250 miles
Total Complaints:
1 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. class action recall hood latch fix (1 reports)
2013 Nissan Altima body / paint problems

body / paint problem

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2013 Nissan Altima Owner Comments

problem #1

Aug 282022

Altima SV 2.5L 4-cyl

  • CVT transmission
  • 90,225 miles

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

click to see larger images

hood latch release failure hood latch release failure hood latch release failure

While driving at 35mph on a city road the car hood flew up open & smashed into the windshield despite their supposed fix of hood latch spring being replaced & assembly lubricated by the Nissan dealership in Aug 2021 due to a Nissan hood latch recall in response to a class action lawsuit. At highway speeds, this would have seriously compromised human lives.

In this case, neither the primary hood latch lever or fuel door release lever had been pulled open by the driver just prior to the incident; yet the hood flew open without warning.

(Hoods have primary latches located inside the vehicles, then secondary latches located under the hoods. Primary hood latches in the cars are located too close to the fuel door latches that might cause drivers to accidentally unlatch the hoods instead of the fuel doors. Then once the primary hood latch is pulled in the Altima, the secondary latch under the hood fails to hold the hood down, allowing the Altima hood to open while driving.)

No warning lights or messages came on. The car was not drivable & was towed to the Nissan dealership where it is currently pending repairs. At this time, Nissan Motors accepts no liability for this incident; clearly shifting the blame again.

Nissan Motors has issued multiple (2014, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2022interim) hood latch recalls in response to this problem in various Nissan models 2013-2018, the most recent in 2022 (still in progress). Design and manufacturing defects allegedly cause the hoods to open while driving at any speed.

According to the Altima class action lawsuit, Nissan blames the problems on multiple sources but still can’t properly repair the cars.

The Altima hood latch systems are allegedly not strong enough to perform in real-world conditions and aren’t up to industry standards used for more than 100 years. The return springs are also allegedly too weak, as are the locking systems which prevent the hoods from securely latching.

- S M., Sewickley, PA, US

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