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.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
17,361 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.

2013 Nissan Altima seat belts / air bags problems

seat belts / air bags problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2013 Nissan Altima:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2013 Nissan Altima Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #28

Sep 202023

Altima

  • miles

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

Air bag not function

- Fayetteville, AR, USA

problem #27

May 012023

Altima

  • miles
The airbag sensor stop working. The airbag light stayed on whether someone was sitting in or not sitting in the passenger seat. The dealership stated there was an opening in the circuit and had to be re-builded. With the airbag not working this made the vehicle unsafe to drive and they could not tell me if the defect was with the driver side or passenger side airbag.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #26

Apr 162022

Altima

  • miles
The airbag light has come on on the dash and does not go out. It doesn't matter if someone is in the seat with or without the seat belt. It stays on. Now I'm worried the airbag won't work in an accident or it might go off/explode at any time.

- Pittsburg, CA, USA

problem #25

Jan 312022

Altima

  • miles

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

Warning light on dash for passenger seat air bag and passenger seat belt.

- Bonita, CA, USA

problem #24

Feb 202020

Altima

  • miles
When pushing the gas on the highway or the streets it feels like the power of the car is holding back. Feels like the gears are messing up. And there's problem with catalyst converter. It's always showing check engine light even after I have tried other solutions on fixing that and the gas odometer is not reading the gas levels right either. Plus the passenger seat buckle is stuck and doesn't latch to the seat belt for a hold from a car accident. Like you have to really push hard for the seat belt to hold on.

- San Jose, CA, USA

Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...

problem #23

Jun 012020

Altima

  • miles
The passenger airbag issue from campaign id #R1609 in 2014 and again in 2016. The same issue is now happening again. This includes the passenger airbag light showing the airbag is not active when an adult is sitting in the seat. The seat belt light is also on showing the passenger is not buckled up when in fact the seat belt is connected and latched. This happening when the vehicle is both moving and not moving. Nissan issued a Consumer Affairs case number, but is refusing to fix the issue under the recall due to it being fixed twice before.

- Brookston, TX, USA

problem #22

Jul 012019

Altima

  • miles

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

Passenger light airbag is never detected. (been on going for a couple of years) engine light stays on (for about 3 months) seatbelt airbag (3 months) will not go out. There is never a recall and a problem is never found by mechanic. Can get the engine light off for a little while, but comes back on usually within a week.

- Orange, TX, USA

problem #21

Sep 202019

Altima

  • 70,000 miles
I have had the following issues with the Nissan Altima: Air bag sensor issues sometimes sensor malfunctions (looked at 3 X, not fixed), rear view camera sometimes does not work (looked at 3 X, not fixed), transmission cvt issues sometimes jumps into gear (looked at 3 X, not fixed), seat belt sometimes locks up (looked at 1 X, not fixed). Issues happen while in motion or starting.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #20

Feb 032019

Altima

  • miles
Seat belt light stays on when there someone sitting in the seat and have the seat belt on....and the gearshift locks for no reason. For the seatbelt this will be my second time tacking it in for the same reason.

- Bowie, MD, USA

problem #19

Feb 262019

Altima

  • 68,000 miles
Gear shift is unable to move. It will not move when breaks are pressed. Also, engine dies when car is put in reverse or drive. The engine will also die while driving, and when I go to turn it back on, it only dies when I try to switch the gears.

- Many, LA, USA

problem #18

Dec 032018

Altima

  • 95,000 miles

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

Front passenger seat belt has no automatic tension with the application of brakes. I have to manually tighten the seatbelt or it doesn't.

- West Orange, NJ, USA

problem #17

Oct 012018

Altima

  • 50,000 miles
My "vehicle was previously recalled to reprogram front passenger occupant classification system (OCS) electronic control unit (ECU). " I took my car in for the recall to have it taken care of, but now I'm still having issues with the OCS. Currently, the driver side airbag light is on, indicating that it is not functioning properly. In addition, while the car was in motion and I was sitting in the passenger seat, the passenger side airbag light was lit up. This indicated that the airbag was off, despite the fact that I was sitting in it. After taking the car into the dealership, I was informed that I needed a new OCS control unit as well as two OCS sensors. I informed them of the previous recall on the OCS; however, they said this was a separate issue, so I was going to have to pay around $700. Nissan originally said in a letter that, "if at any time within the next 15 years, the OCS system in your vehicle does not perform as described above, we urge you to please schedule an appointment at your nearest Nissan dealer. The dealer can check the OCS system in your vehicle and, if needed, perform a one-time retrofit to the OCS system free of charge. " since the OCS is still having issues after the original recall, I thought it was imperative to report this huge safety issue. I was informed that the airbags might not deploy if I were in a car accident, which could cause unnecessary injuries or even death. Clearly there are still unresolved issues with the OCS that need attention.

- Waukegan, IL, USA

problem #16

May 012018

Altima

  • miles
Both front driver and passenger side seat belts are difficult to pull slack out from the shoulder door frame area when you are trying to put on or take off the seat belt. It feels as though they may get stuck in places. The shoulder straps do not pull or retract smoothly/easily.

- Huber Heights, OH, USA

problem #15

Jan 052017

Altima

  • 500 miles
2013 Nissan Altima S - safety system defect / malfunction problem:2 aspects (1)the OCS airbag and seatbelt system warning light "incorrectly indicates" a passenger is not in the seat when in fact the seat is occupied! this condition "turns off the air bag protection for an adult passenger!" (2)the seatbelt light 'incorrectly indicates' that a passenger is unbelted. Erroneous test results: Nissan 'tests' this safety system on equipment programmed by Nissan ' via a humanly devised algorithm. In other words, since the 'test equipment' is programmed incorrectly, the results will be wrong. Proof: Nissan has recalled to reprogram my vehicle 4 times (I think) ' a new 'test' algorithm. Additionally, Nissan refuses to acknowledge that there could be a faulty components of this safety system. If the 'test' fails to show a system fault. Nissan ignores the problem. Nissan refuses to replace components of this faulty system. 2013 ' 2017ocs system malfunction continues after multiple reprogrammings by Nissan. Nissan has never fixed this faulty system. Nissan needs to replace this safety system immediately!

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #14

Feb 122015

Altima

  • 68,000 miles
I purchased a 2013 Nissan Altima in September of 2015 with less than 43,000 miles. The car was really good gas and I was really happy with the purchase. In February of 2016 while me and my husband was driving in traffic we came to a stop and the car shut off. We started the car up fine but as soon as we placed the car in drive it shut off again. We repeated these steps over and over again until he was able to keep the car running while in drive so we could pull on the side of the road. We were very close to the warranty expiring so we took the car to antioch, ca Nissan dealership. They said that they would have to "duplicate" the problem before moving forward. They kept our car for 3 days to no avail. They said that they could not "duplicate" the problem and to come pick up the car. 2 days later we started experiencing the same problem. We decided to take the car to a different Nissan dealership in concord, ca hoping that we would get a different outcome. Needless to say they couldn't "duplicate" the problem for 2 weeks!! the guy in services admitted that they have many cars coming in with the same exact problem and he knew how to get the car to act up so that they could move forward. How crazy is that"?" he called me 2 weeks later and told me that they had to "reset" the transmission system. He also told me that even though I was very close to my warranty expiring that if the problem occurs again that they would still honor the warranty because the problem pre-existed. Not even a whole 2 months passed when my husband and I were moving from California to Texas did my car started having the exact same problems it had before but this time I noticed that the transmission was slipping. I was going 80 miles per hour on the freeway when my car slowed all the way down to 40 miles per hour while driving in front and on the side of a big rig!!!!

- Lewsiville, TX, USA

problem #13

Jan 012016

Altima

  • miles
Our Altima has been serviced at wallace Nissan in stuart, Florida, during which time we mentioned that the seat belt warning chime does not chime any longer. We were informed that the our car was not equipped with a seat belt warning chime. Nothing was indicated on the repair slip that we were concerned about the seat belt chime. The owner's manual indicates that it does indeed have a seat belt warming chime. If we forget to fasten our seat belt there is no warning that we have not done so.

- Palm City, FL, USA

problem #12

Jan 012016

Altima

  • miles
Takata recall - airbag warning light continues to come on while the car is in motion after the Altima has previously been to the wallace dealership in stuart, Florida for repair.

- Palm City, FL, USA

problem #11

Sep 172015

Altima

  • 51,000 miles
My car was a part of the Altima airbag recall in 2014. The action was taken by the dealer. The Altima has always had the issue of the passenger seat not registering it's occupant on an intermittent basis. The only way to have fixed this was to shut my car off and recalibrate the system. Today, nothing was in the passenger seat yet the airbag and seatbelt light were lit. This means that the Altima believed someone was in the passenger seat even though it was completely empty. I no longer feel safe for a passenger to sit in the Altima.

- Bel Air, MD, USA

problem #10

Feb 252015

Altima

  • 13,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the air bags failed to deploy and the seat belt failed to lock and restrain the driver. A police report was filed and the contact sustained chest injuries. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where an inspection was done on the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 13,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Clevland, OH, USA

problem #9

Dec 022013

Altima

  • 14,000 miles
The air bag deactivated warning light came on while the passenger seat was occupied. The Nissan dealer had the car for about 30 minutes and said that it was fixed. The light continued on and off to come on for the next 8 months. I took it to the dealer and they said there was nothing wrong.... just fine with only one error code in the system and that was from the first time. The car is now home and the light has been on and off for periods of between 5 minutes and a few hours twice since. It clearly is not fixed and they had no suggestion for me except to bring it back when the light stays on for a long period (which it does not). Some service huh ?

- Hamburg, NY, USA

Read the next 8 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?