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2016 Nissan Altima Recalls & Complaints

4

open safety recalls on record

Serious

788 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.41 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Serious18V915000

Structure:Emergency:Escape/Egress/Exit

If the rear passenger door opens while the vehicle is moving, the rear passengers have an increased risk of injury.

Remedy & full details

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.

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Altima vehicles, previously remedied under recall number 17V-040. 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.

Serious17V040000

Latches/Locks/Linkages:Doors:Latch

If the rear passenger doors inadvertently open while the vehicle is in motion, it may raises the risk of injury to the rear passengers.

Remedy & full details

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.

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Altima vehicles. 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.

Serious16V244000

Air Bags:Sensor:Occupant Classification

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.

Remedy & full details

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.

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. 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.

Serious20V315000

Latches/Locks/Linkages:Hood:Latch

Corrosion to the secondary latch may cause it to bind and remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed.

Remedy & full details

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.

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2018 Nissan Altima vehicles. If the primary hood latch is inadvertently released, there is an increased likelihood that the secondary hood latch may corrode over time.

Complaint volume

788 this model-year 7 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

44Crashes
4Fires
53Injuries
1Deaths

Across 788 complaints. Severity Index 0.41.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Power Train231 · 29%Engine86 · 11%Unknown Or Other80 · 10%Air Bags69 · 9%Vehicle Speed Control64 · 8%Electrical System37 · 5%Exterior Lighting37 · 5%Fuel/Propulsion System27 · 3%
  1. Power Train — 231 reports
  2. Engine — 86 reports
  3. Unknown Or Other — 80 reports
  4. Air Bags — 69 reports
  5. Vehicle Speed Control — 64 reports
  6. Electrical System — 37 reports
  7. Exterior Lighting — 37 reports
  8. Fuel/Propulsion System — 27 reports
  9. Structure:Body — 24 reports
  10. Steering — 16 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

1995 (5) · 1996 (2) · 1997 (3) · 1998 (4) · 1999 (4) · 2000 (2) · 2001 (2) · 2002 (12) · 2003 (10) · 2004 (5) · 2005 (2) · 2006 (4) · 2007 (3) · 2008 (4) · 2009 (4) · 2010 (3) · 2011 (1) · 2012 (4) · 2013 (12) · 2014 (8) · 2015 (10) · 2016 · 2017 (3) · 2018 (2) · 2019 (7) · 2020 (6) · 2021 (2) · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 (1) · 2025 (1)

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.