CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2016 Nissan Altima shows multiple problem trends, continuing the poor reputation of the 2013-2015 Altima, prompting us to give it our "Beware of the Clunker" badge.

Owners are complaining about transmission problems related to the CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission).

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
40,487 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.

2016 Nissan Altima drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2016 Nissan Altima Owner Comments (Page 1 of 10)

problem #197

Jan 162024

Altima

  • miles

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

Car just randomly -?? gave -?? out. I couldn-??t accelerate in the middle of intestate traffic !! The engine and the transmission blew at the same time. No warning, no check engine light ! Up to date on oil changes and other maintenance. Car only has 150k miles on it, no way this both happens at the same time. Complete limp mode. Danger to myself and most importantly my kids. How the engine and transmission just fails. Now I-??m liable to pay 9,000, no warning no nothing. Complete failure. This isn-??t the first time I-??ve heard of this year make and model having transmission and engine issues. How terrible!

- Beloit, WI, USA

problem #196

Jan 122024

Altima

  • miles
My 2016 Nissan Altima has roughly 80k miles, all the sudden my transmission began to fall a part, Nissan is fully aware of this issue, but they don't want to take responsibility. There are so many Nissan owners with the same issue

- Ontario, CA, USA

problem #195

Dec 162023

Altima

  • miles
If I'm in city traffic with lots of traffic and a red light for a while or in a drive thru, my car takes longer to accelerate after coming to a complete stop. I'll push the gas pedal in to go and it takes a few seconds to get moving up to normal acceleration speed. The first few seconds of pushing the gas pedal my car barely moves, similar to idling forward without gas, even if I floor it, but once it gets going it drives normally. It works well driving long distance and only happens on stop and go trafffic and at a drive thru. I have a 2016 Nissan Altima SV 2.5.

- Elizabeth City, NC, USA

problem #194

Nov 202023

Altima

  • miles

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

Since June of 2022, my car has been in service repair a total of 10 times. Each time my check engine comes on, the diagnostic codes always involve the A/F sensor. This started at 35,000 miles and Nissan cannot figure out the issue. There are SEVERAL bulletins addressing the issue, with the most recent being 2022. The service dealership will no longer work on my car surrounding the issue. As a result of having a sensor issue that cannot be repaired, the car will periodically not respond with acceleration. I have had two VERY close calls of making a left hand turn in front of oncoming traffic with the gas pedal suddenly not responding no matter how hard it-??s pressed. It-??s almost as if it goes into neutral. The rpm-??s increase and the engine revs, but it just won-??t move. After several seconds of remaining motionless, the car then suddenly accelerates to the speed that it should. This issue is not an outlier. I contacted several people that listed their cars for sale, that stated their check engine light is on due to an 02 sensor. They all stated they have tried to get the car repaired with zero success. People then just sell the car and transfer the issue to another person. If it hasn-??t already, this issue is going to kill someone. My car stalled in front of two cars coming towards me at 50 mph. Had they not stopped in time, I would have been T-boned on the drivers side. That wouldn-??t have ended well. Nissan suggested I sell the car- that is their solution regarding a car that became unrepairable at 35,000 miles. Nissan did send an engineer to the dealership to inspect the car- multiple times. They do not know how to fix the issue.

- Wildwood, MO, USA

problem #193

Sep 182023

Altima

  • miles
Vehicle will delay acceleration when I have stopped at a stop sign or stop light especially if I was stopped on a hill. When I press the gas pedal it will delay acceleration for a couple of seconds and then finally take off. It was happening every so often but now it is happening more often. If I turn the car off and start it again, it goes away for a little while but comes back. The check engine light doesn't come on when this happens.

- Inwood, WV, USA

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problem #192

Aug 242023

Altima

  • miles
I was driving on the freeway with my 6yr & 11yr daughters when my car stop accelerating and started to slow down I-??ll hit the gas pedal and the RPMS will go up but the car wouldn-??t advance ! I had to get off the freeway before the car completely stopped in the middle of the freeway as the velocity of the vehicle was getting slower and slower ! Take in mind I try to do this as safe as possible but my car was in the far end of the emergency lane I almost got rear ended my kids were crying scare ! I turn off the car once to the side of the freeway check the hood and nothing out of the ordinary. Turn the car back on and it was driving normal ! On the next day that-??s when the check engine light turn on ! Took it to the dealer and they told me I need a complete new transmission!

- Sylmar, CA, USA

problem #191

Jun 292023

Altima

  • miles

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

At 107,000 miles my 2016 Nissan Altima would experience an issue when coming to a stop after about 30 minutes worth of driving. After stopping at a light or stop sign, when I pushed on the gas pedal, nothing happened. I could press the pedal all the way to the floor, and the only change was that the tachometer would go up. I would have to restart the car in order for the gas pedal to work. After taking the car in to the Nissan dealership, I as told that I would need a new transmission and the cost would be $5100+ after taxes. I shopped around, but most all other transmission shops said that they would have to get the CVT transmission from Nissan. So the only thing different from these other transmission shops and the Nissan dealership was the labor cost. I was told by the Service Department at Nissan, that the older CVT transmissions wear out a lot sooner than the newer ones. With Nissan only giving a 12month/12,000mile warranty, your gambling if this newer transmission will at least run for as long as the original one. There has to be a recall on these Nissan CVT transmissions

- Winchester, VA, USA

problem #190

Aug 082023

Altima

  • miles
From the Last 1 months, I can see sometimes when I accelerate my car it's not accelerating properly but the RPM is increasing, and sometimes after I stop in traffic when I accelerate my car it's not accelerating immediately and when I press the gas paddle hard suddenly it accelerates. It's a safety concern for me.

- West Lafayette, IN, USA

problem #189

Jun 042023

Altima

  • 74,300 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that after stopping at a traffic light, the light turned green, and the contact depressed the accelerator pedal however, the vehicle jerked and stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted and driven to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a faulty transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 74,300.

- Helena, AR, USA

problem #188

Apr 012021

Altima

  • miles
Car intermittently fails to accelerate when gas pedal is engaged. Gas pedal has been fully engaged at times and car does not accelerate. Had issues in 2021 and now it is reoccurring. This issue has occurred while in interstate traffic, as well as, day to day driving around town.

- Danville, KY, USA

problem #187

Jul 112023

Altima

  • miles

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

Transmission slippage or failure to engage when trying to accelerate onto highway. Transmission would slip during acceleration causing other motorists to have to immediately slow or stop to avoid collision. Identified by Nissan service that transmission needs replacement. Check engine light came on approximately 200 miles before diagnosis by Nissan service. At approximately 84K miles. No forewarning by the vehicle or communication from Nissan prior to this incident. Advised that Nissan is aware of the issue and have extended some warranties regarding the issue but not communicating to customers. Apparently issue is not isolated to just the Altima but several other Nissan models. Failures of this transmission type have been reported as early as 25K miles.

- Nakina, NC, USA

problem #186

Jun 152023

Altima

  • miles
CVT issues. with shudder in speed control and lack of transmission staying engaged seems like it is popping in and out of gear at any speed. lack of power and changes in speed creates safety issues with other drivers on the road.

- Andrews, IN, USA

problem #185

Jun 282022

Altima

  • miles
Diagnosed CVT failure; Nissan refuses to replace the transmission at their cost. Took the vehicle to multiple mechanics before the issue was officially diagnosed, as the issue is difficult to diagnose. When operating the vehicle, at times the vehicle will stop accelerating; driver is pressing on the accelerator and the RPMs will increase but the vehicle will not be propelled forward and the power steering is disengaged. The issue is intermittent so the driver does not when this will occur, other drivers on the road also do not know our car is stalled, and this creates a huge safety risk. Also, when stopped at a stop sign or stoplight and attempting to turn onto another street, driver will attempt to accelerate and turn and the vehicle will not move or will barely move and the power steering is disengaged. If the cross-street has traffic, my vehicle is immovable in oncoming traffic -- a huge safety issue.

- Libertyville, IL, USA

problem #184

May 052023

Altima

  • miles
My wife's car started having problems with acceleration lately. At a stop the car would sometimes have problem accelerating and I would have to tap on the gas pedal a few times. If that doesn't work, I would have to keep on pressing the gas pedal without releasing it. The rpm will sometimes not go up then suddenly it revs to 4k even 5k. The car would go on limp mode or not even go forward when I'm revving the car. It happened both on highway and city streets. I was almost hit by a truck on the freeway. This is very dangerous. I did some research and found that many owners have the same problem. There is even a lawsuit I found on the internet pertaining to the same issue. No one wants to spend the time and money to fix a transmission problem especially if it's a problem from Nissan itself and not because of negligent owners not taking proper care of their cars. It costs about $3500 to $4000 to replace a transmission! Please investigate and put a recall for the transmission for the Nissan Altima. All owners who have spent money and time should be reimbursed!

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #183

Apr 252023

Altima

  • miles
I-??m starting to experience issues with the CTV transmission. I-??m experiencing jerking and stalling while driving on a busy highway with cars traveling 55mph or more. It is extremely dangerous driving when these things occur when cars are traveling at those speeds and the vehicle hesitate without warning.

- Opalocka, FL, USA

problem #182

Mar 042023

Altima

  • miles
Transmission problem.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

problem #181

Feb 082023

Altima

  • miles
No injuries or accident but this vehicle has two serious problems. 1. The head lights are almost non existent. you can not drive faster than 25 mph with out over driving you lighted area... I consider this a serious issue..2. when car was new i almost always was getting in the low 30s and as high as 40 mpg now it is always getting in the low 20s consistently... When i check this on you tube they say that is a warning that the CVT is not working properly. With only 48000 miles on the car, I ask if this is a problem that Nissan should correct ?

- Fort Myers, FL, USA

problem #180

Dec 272022

Altima 4-cyl

  • miles
My car has several problems with accelerating either during highway speeds or from a dead stop. First, the car starts fine and engine runs fine, does not idle rough or stall out. The problems arise after driving for a few miles and I come to a complete stop, either at a stop light or sign. When the light turns green and I attempt to move the car, there is a severe lag in response to get the car moving. When it does start moving (after about 5-6 seconds), it barely rolls forward at less than 1 mile an hour. It does not matter how many times I depress the gas pedal, or if I have it to the floor, the car barely moves without any sound or rise in RPMs. The car may cover a distance from 15 feet to 150 feet at this snail pace until suddenly the RPMs shoot up to 4-5000 and the vehicle takes off like a rocket. The first time this happened I was making a lefthand turn and while sitting in the turn pocket I pressed the accelerator and the car started to creep along and put me right in the way of oncoming traffic which luckily slowed down for me to crawl across. The next time it happened was when I left a stoplight and the car started crawling then suddenly shot off and almost hit the car in front of me which had slowed down for a dip about 30 feet from the stop light. BOTH VERY DANGEROUS SITUATIONS. The car also tends to lose acceleration while driving at highway speeds with the RPMs dropping approximately 1000 RPMs as when crossing intersections leaving me to crawl through a long intersection while now with cross traffic on the green light. This happens during freeway speeds as well. Also, at freeway speeds the car will top out at 40 MPH with the RPMs winding away at 4-5,000 RPMs while traffic is flying by me at 65-75 MPH. All these scenarios are prime conditions for an accident or collision. Symptoms first appeared about two months ago, now daily. The Nissan Dealer refuses to do transmission repair saying the computer throws no codes. Will not take my word on the problems.

- Norwalk, CA, USA

problem #179

Jun 282020

Altima

  • 120,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal sound and the RPM-€™s revved up and the vehicle started shuddering. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. The contact stated upon restarting the vehicle, the accelerator pedal was depressed and went all the way to the floorboard; however, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle two more times. The failure persisted but the contact was able to continue driving. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the mass airflow sensor and intake manifold were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The contact referenced Nissan Technical Service Bulletin Number: NTB16-121a. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

- Meraux, LA, USA

problem #178

Dec 072022

Altima

  • miles
Car was stopped at a stop sign. When it was clear I attempted to proceed and turn left. The car began to roll then wouldn't accelerate causing me to block both lanes with oncoming vehicles. The rpms revved and the car wouldn-€™t move. Finally, the car started to go forward and without me pressing the gas it accelerated. I reported the situation to the Nissan Dealer and the Nissan Consumer repair. The mechanic at Nissan said the code is the transmission "death code." The simply said the car has over 84,000 miles so they would not be responsible for the repair. When I told them the situation, they did not discuss safety issues. I asked the man at Nissan Consumer Affairs if the life expectancy of a 2016 Nissan transmission was 108,000 miles. He said Nissan was not responsible for vehicle safety after 84,000 miles. He gave me a case number and and hung up. I then received an email with the case number and a note that said to give the number to my attorney. I do not have an attorney.

- Willows, CA, USA

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