NHTSA lists 10 safety recalls and 954 owner complaints for the 2015 Nissan Altima. It has 1 open investigation that names this model year.
Recalled components: latches, locks and linkages, air bags, body structure, brakes, and 1 more. Most-described problem: headlight or exterior light problems (187 complaints, 20%). Most-reported area: exterior lighting (270 complaints, 28%; median mileage when it happened: 68,000).
One of the Altima years to avoid
The 2015 drew 202 owner complaints in its first three years, against 70 for a typical Altima year: 2.8 times as many.
Years to avoid: 2013 to 2015; best years: 2021, 2022, and 2023. Based on owner complaints, not adjusted for sales.
Data: NHTSA recall, complaint and investigation filesUpdated Oct 2, 2026
Year to avoidBest year
10 safety recalls for the 2015 Nissan Altima
Grouped by the part recalled, largest group first, newest first within each part. Summaries are NHTSA's own wording. Open a recall for what is wrong, the fix and the full notice.
Risk: Corrosion to the secondary latch may cause it to bind and remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed. If the primary latch is inadvertently released again and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could unexpectedly open while driving, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
What's wrong, the fix and the full notice
If the primary hood latch is inadvertently released, there is an increased likelihood that the secondary hood latch may corrode over time.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will install a stronger release spring in the hood release lever, a warning label near the secondary hood latch, and an Owner's Manual addendum card with instructions on how to lubricate and maintain the secondary hood latch mechanism, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 30, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Note: Recall 16V-029 remains open for any unremedied 2013-2015 Altimas and this recall applies to all vehicles covered by 16V-029 even if those repairs have already been performed.
1,831,818 vehicles.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2018 Nissan Altima vehicles.
Risk: If the rear passenger doors inadvertently open while the vehicle is in motion, it may increase the risk of injury to the rear passengers.
What's wrong, the fix and the full notice
The rear door latch/lock cable on the vehicles may have been improperly routed. As a result, lowering a rear window may inadvertently cause that door to unlatch and open.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will correct the rear door latch/lock cable routing, free of charge. The recall began on February 16, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
341,005 vehicles.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Altima vehicles.
Risk: If the primary latch is inadvertently released and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could unexpectedly open while driving, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
What's wrong, the fix and the full notice
In the affected vehicles, the secondary hood latch may bind and remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed.
Fix: These vehicles were previously included in recalls 14V-565 and 15V-116, however the previous remedy plan may not have been performed consistently to remove the safety risk. To correct this issue, Nissan will re-notify all affected owners and dealers will replace the hood latch with a new one, free of charge. The recall began on February 17, 2016. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261. Note: This recall supersedes recalls 14V-565 and 15V-116.
846,000 vehicles.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Nissan Altima vehicles manufactured March 6, 2012, to December 31, 2014.
Risk: If the primary latch is inadvertently released and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could unexpectedly open while driving, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
What's wrong, the fix and the full notice
In the affected vehicles, the secondary hood latch may bind and remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will be instructed to modify the bend angle of the hood actuation lever to eliminate potential interference with the hood inner panel. In addition, dealers will clean and lubricate the latch joint as needed. If significant corrosion is observed, the latch assembly will be replaced. This repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began March 31, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261. Note: This recall is an expansion of recall 14V-565.
625,400 vehicles.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Nissan Altima vehicles manufactured March 1, 2013, to December 31, 2014.
Risk: If the front passenger seat occupant is misclassified, the air bag may deploy incorrectly in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
What's wrong, the fix and the full notice
An incorrect Occupant Classification System (OCS) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) may have been installed in the front passenger seat. The incorrect ECU and seat combination may misclassify the front passenger seat occupant.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ECU and update the OCS software free of charge. The recall began February 13, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
757 vehicles.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima vehicles manufactured January 3, 2013, to July 29, 2013, 2015-2016 Rogue vehicles manufactured October 14, 2014, to August 12, 2016, and 2016 Maxima vehicles manufactured June 4, 2015, to August 19, 2015.
Risk: If the passenger frontal air bag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury.
What's wrong, the fix and the full notice
In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crash.
Fix: Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669, Infiniti customer service at 1-888-833-3216 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.
3,296,947 vehicles.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles.
Risk: If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger air bag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger.
What's wrong, the fix and the full notice
The affected vehicles received an incorrect occupant classification system (OCS) control unit during a repair. These OCS control units may incorrectly classify the front passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on November 30, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
919 vehicles.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima and Pathfinder vehicles, 2013-2014 Nissan Sentra vehicles, 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles, 2014-2015 Infiniti QX60 vehicles and 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid vehicles.
NHTSA listing: ALTIMA. Components: Air bags: frontal; Air bags: sensor, occupant classification.
Risk: If the rear passenger door opens while the vehicle is moving, the rear passengers have an increased risk of injury.
What's wrong, the fix and the full notice
The door latch-lock cable may not have been routed properly in the rear door when the remedy was applied. As a result, the cable may interfere with the window regulator causing the rear passenger door to unlatch and inadvertently open without warning when the window is lowered.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will secure the latch-lock cables in the correct position using the new remedy procedure, free of charge. The recall began February 5, 2019. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7669.
341,003 vehicles.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Altima vehicles, previously remedied under recall number 17V-040.
NHTSA listing: ALTIMA. Components: Latches, locks and linkages: doors, latch; Body structure: emergency, escape/egress/exit.
Risk: If the bolts were not properly tightened, the caliper may detach and reduce braking ability, increasing the risk of a crash.
What's wrong, the fix and the full notice
The affected vehicles have front brake calipers whose mounting bolts may not be properly tightened.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will check the brake caliper mounting bolts, tightening them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on December 14, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
119 vehicles.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2015 Altima and 2016 Maxima vehicles manufactured October 6, 2015, to October 7, 2015.
Risk: If fuel leaks from between the fuel sending unit and the tank, it may increase the risk of a fire in the event of a crash.
What's wrong, the fix and the full notice
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) notified the agency on July 31, 2015, that they are recalling certain model year 2016 Nissan Maxima vehicles manufactured February 10, 2015, to August 18, 2015. On October 14, 2015, Nissan expanded the recall to cover an additional 41,388 vehicles, including certain model year 2013-2015 Altima 3.5 vehicles equipped with a V6 engine manufactured March 30, 2012, to August 18, 2015 as well as the vehicles covered by the July 31, 2015 notification. In the affected vehicles, due to an improperly installed o-ring that may not have been seated correctly at the time of assembly, fuel may leak during a crash from the area where the fuel sending unit attaches to the fuel tank.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will install a retainer ring between the fuel tank and the fuel sending unit. The recall began on September 28, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
46,846 vehicles.
NHTSA listing: ALTIMA.
Questions about any of these recalls: call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
NHTSA investigations
NHTSA has opened 3 investigations that name the 2015 Nissan Altima; 1 is still open. An investigation means NHTSA is reviewing reports of a problem. It is not a finding that the vehicle has a defect.
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture
Engineering analysis EA21002Open since Sep 17, 2021
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant - propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L.
NHTSA listing: ALTIMA. Component: Air bags (frontal, driver side, inflator module, passenger side). This investigation names 352 models.
Rear suspension control arm failure
Engineering analysis EA19002Closed Jun 16, 2025 (opened Jul 29, 2019)
On July 29, 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened EA19002 to investigate instances of alleged rear lower control arm failures in 2013-2018 Nissan Altima and 2016-2018 Nissan Maxima vehicles.
Preliminary evaluation PE18013Closed Aug 21, 2019 (opened Dec 1, 2018)
PE18-013 was opened on December 1, 2018, with 4 complaints to ODI alleging incidents of the lower control arm fracturing at a connection point to the vehicle chassis due to corrosion.
A preliminary evaluation is NHTSA's first step, to gather information and decide whether to look further. An engineering analysis is a deeper review, usually opened after a preliminary evaluation. NHTSA lists investigations by make, model and model year only, so one can apply to only some versions of a model, such as one engine; its summary says which.
What owners report
Owners have filed 954 complaints with NHTSA about the 2015 Altima. Below, they are sorted by the problems owners describe and by the areas NHTSA files them under. NHTSA does not verify complaints.
Problems owners describe
Headlight or exterior light problems187 · 20%
Median 70,500 miles at failure, from 86 reports with mileage
Airbag warning light or airbag fault98 · 10%
Median 47,000 miles at failure, from 58 reports with mileage
Hesitation or slow acceleration60 · 6%
Median 69,800 miles at failure, from 50 reports with mileage
Suspension parts (struts, ball joints, control arms)54 · 6%
Hood latch problems or the hood flying open51 · 5%
Median 70,000 miles at failure, from 31 reports with mileage
Transmission failure or replacement48 · 5%
Median 67,600 miles at failure, from 31 reports with mileage
Shaking, shuddering or vibration36 · 4%
Median 39,700 miles at failure, from 22 reports with mileage
Most named: headlights (23) · Median 68,000 miles at failure, from 120 reports with mileage
Air bags177 · 19%
Median 30,400 miles at failure, from 110 reports with mileage
Powertrain161 · 17%
Median 61,500 miles at failure, from 114 reports with mileage
Engine66 · 7%
Median 55,000 miles at failure, from 39 reports with mileage
Suspension64 · 7%
Median 68,700 miles at failure, from 21 reports with mileage
Body structure63 · 7%
Most named: body (54); interior panels, sun visor (4) · Median 56,500 miles at failure, from 40 reports with mileage
Electrical system56 · 6%
Median 35,000 miles at failure, from 29 reports with mileage
Unknown or other92 · 10%
Median 45,000 miles at failure, from 41 reports with mileage
A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%. Mileage is shown where at least 15 owners reported it.
Nissan Altima recalls and complaints by model year
The highlighted bars are the 2015 model year. Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower. Counting complaints filed in each model year's first three years, the 2013 Altima drew the most (556) and the 2015 drew 202.
Owner complaints
2015: 954 complaintsTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Owner complaints by model year, Nissan Altima
Model year
Complaints
2010
393
2011
245
2012
426
2013
2,312
2014
1,114
2015
954
2016
553
2017
391
2018
225
2019
232
2020
179
2021
70
2022
30
2023
29
2024
41
2025
7
2026
1
Safety recalls
2015: 10 recallsTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Safety recalls by model year, Nissan Altima
Model year
Recalls
2010
3
2011
1
2012
4
2013
12
2014
8
2015
10
2016
4
2017
3
2018
2
2019
7
2020
6
2021
2
2022
0
2023
0
2024
1
2025
2
2026
0
Crash test ratings
NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for each version it tested. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimate of the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.
In the 954 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2015 Nissan Altima, the problems described most are headlight or exterior light problems (187), the airbag warning light or an airbag fault (98), and hesitation or slow acceleration (60). NHTSA does not verify complaints, and one complaint can describe several problems.
Is the 2015 Nissan Altima safe?
In NHTSA crash tests every tested version of the 2015 Nissan Altima earns 5 stars overall. The table above lists each tested version.
Is NHTSA investigating the 2015 Nissan Altima?
Yes. NHTSA has 1 open investigation that names the 2015 Nissan Altima: desiccated air bag inflator rupture (EA21002, opened Sep 17, 2021). It has closed 2 others. An investigation is not a finding that the vehicle has a defect.
How do I check if my Altima has an open recall?
Enter the 17-character VIN from your dashboard, door jamb or registration at nhtsa.gov/recalls. The lookup lists unrepaired recalls for that exact vehicle. Safety recall repairs are free at Nissan dealers.
Sources and method
NHTSA recalls file (NHTSA datasets), dated Oct 2, 2026; every campaign checked against NHTSA's recalls API.
NHTSA owner complaints file, dated Oct 2, 2026. Counted by complaint number, so a complaint naming three components counts once in the total.
NHTSA investigations file, dated Oct 2, 2026. Defect petitions, which ask NHTSA to open an investigation, are listed apart and only while open. Audit queries, which check whether a company met its recall and reporting duties rather than whether a vehicle has a problem, are not listed.
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (NCAP).
NHTSA model names covered: ALTIMA.
Complaint counts are unverified owner reports. They rise with sales volume and time on the road, so compare model years with care. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.