2021 Nissan Altima problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Service Brakes (13) · Electrical System (9) · Suspension (5)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Nissan Altima model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (2)
Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera 2023-09-08 · campaign 23V628000 · 153,376 vehicles
Defect: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Altima and 2020-2021 Sentra vehicles. Damage to the camera harness can cause distortion or loss of the rearview camera display image. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Risk: A rearview camera that does not properly display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the rearview camera and harness for damage and replace them as necessary. If no damage is found, the dealer will apply protective tape and reroute the rearview camera harness. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 19, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R23C3.
Steering:linkages:tie Rod Assembly 2021-03-04 · campaign 21V138000 · 2,407 vehicles
Defect: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Nissan Altima vehicles. The tie rod ball joint fastener was not tightened properly, which could result in the tie rod ball joint detaching from the steering knuckle.
Risk: A detached tie rod ball joint can cause a loss of steering control, and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will tighten the left and right-side tie rod ball joint fasteners, or install new fasteners as necessary, free of charge. The began March 31, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7769. Nissan's number for this recall is PC795.
Service bulletins (109)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure:body 2026-04-13 · NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certification label and vin plate replacement service information because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “certification label” or “vin plate/label” may be needed. hint: certification label = fmvss (federal motor vehicle safety standards) label. these items may be availabl
Structure:body 2026-04-13 · NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certification label and vin plate replacement service information because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “certification label” or “vin plate/label” may be needed. hint: certification label = fmvss (federal motor vehicle safety standards) label. these items may be availabl
Electrical System 2026-03-30 · NTB15-049CC · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
telematics service information hint: this bulletin applies to vehicles equipped with a 4g network compatible tcu. tcus compatible with 3g network only are no longer supported. service information the applied vehicles that come equipped with a factory installed sos switch, located near the overhead m
Service Brakes 2025-02-20 · NTB19-042F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
automatic emergency braking warning light blinking applied systems: vehicles equipped with a lane camera (see figure 1) service information if the automatic emergency braking (aeb) warning light or is blinking (but not illuminated steadily) or the customer states it is blinking, and there are no rel
Service Brakes 2025-02-20 · NTB19-033G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
intelligent cruise control inoperative and aeb/feb warning light on or radar obstruction message displayed with dtc c1a16 or c2582 if you confirm important: the purpose of action (on the next page) is to give you a quick idea of the work you will be performing. you must closely follow the entire ser
Air Bags 2024-09-19 · NTB19-071D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
dtc b00a0-00 stored this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin. if you confirm dtc b00a0-00 (occupant detection sensor unit) is stored, and ocs zero point reset cannot be performed, (continued on the next page)
Showing the 6 most recent of 109 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-28 · Engine · 44,011 mi“the contact owns a 2021 nissan altima. the contact stated that the rear seat belt failed to latch securely. the instrument panel illuminated, and the seat belt warning light remained displayed with a beeping sound during and after the failure. the battery was replaced twice within one year, and the vehicle needed to be jumpstarted by aaa due to an …”
2026-09-10 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · 97,350 mi · 💥 crash“the contact owns a 2021 nissan altima. the contact stated that while pulling out of a parking lot, the contact shifted into drive(d) and then to reverse(r) to exit the parking lot, and while driving 3 mph, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle failed to stop as intended. the contact attempted to forcefully depress the brake pedal; however,…”
2026-07-23 · Electrical System“got the car from kingdom chevy on 66 and western on february 2024 used at 62.000. i took the car back twice because the screen in the car kept cutting off fading on and fading off. secondly, the bluetooth plug would not work. i did not have the car a month. they kept telling me that nothing was wrong with the vehicle. i took my vehicle to the deale…”
2026-07-10 · Suspension“when i make a turn, i hear a clicking noise and also when i come to a complete stop, i can a sound that sounds like a grunting noise. i had new brakes, rotors and brand new tires put on in 2025. i think my ball joints and tie rod is defective. i have a triple aaa membership and i just renewed it in june and it said that my 2021 has two recalls. nht…”
2026-07-08 · Service Brakes · 💥 crash“my car is supposed to have an automatic braking system/collision detection. two cars in front of me slammed on their brakes and the car in front of me slammed on his brake, and i didn't have enough time to react. i totalled my car, but my car is supposed to have a safety feature that automatically brakes. the faulty automatic braking didn't engage …”
2026-07-07 · Electrical System“door lock actuators have failed completely on 2 doors, and intermittently on 1 door of a 2021 nissan altima. they do not respond to either the key fob or door button. there are no warnings or indicators associated with this component so it is unknown when the failures first occurred, but it was first noticed in summer of 2025. the components have n…”
2026-07-06 · Latches/Locks/Linkages:electronic Lock/Latch Actuator“rear door locks both do not work other than manually locking. reported incidents online show many others have had newer nissan vehicles like our 2021 nissan altima with the same issue, some have been locked in the car and had to climb out the window and others said the door unlocked and opened while driving. this is a big concern for me as a mom wh…”
2026-06-25 · Seat Belts · 💥 crash“i purchased this car in april 2023 and in december 2023. i had to get a new battery when i purchased a car. they told me that there was no worries or mishaps with the vehicle they said just only normal wear and tear for is a used vehicle. my car is a 2021 nissan altima so the car would’ve been about two years old maybe or on his way to be in two ye…”
2026-06-21 · Unknown Or Other“while heading west on interstate after a drs. appointment my wife was driving our 2021 nissan altima when suddenly there was a loss of power to the engine as if the engine was overheating or had loss of fuel or only able to slowly exit the freeway to a safe place and call a tow truck, after 1 1/2 days of diagnosing and testing. i was able to drive …”
2026-06-16 · Unknown Or Other“often while driving the car loses power as if the power went off or i ran out of gas,,, studder for a moment then pick up power to continue to drive is the best way i can describe it. immediately after i get a notification on the dashboard saying maintenance something …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.