2012 Nissan Altima: sudden loss of power

Filed Apr 11, 2022 · Transmission · CA

I have a 2012 Nissan Altima. Four years ago I drove from Sacramento, CA, to Reno, NV, with two friends in my car. As I was driving over the summit on Highway 80 my car started to lose power. This was extremely scary as the highway is only two lanes and since it was a Saturday there was a lot of traffic. I was driving in the slow lane and as my car continued to lose power and slow there was noplace to get off the road. I pulled onto the narrow sholder between the slow lane and the concrete barrier and my car came to a complete stop. Since there were cars whizzing by I was not able to open either the drivers side door or the passenger side door, which was inches away from the concrete divider. At this point I was shaking uncontrollably and in a panic I called Nissan of Sacramento to tell them what happened. The technician suggested that my transmission may have over-heated. He suggested that I wait for the transmission to cool and see if I was able to then make it to the nearest freeway offramp, which I did. After exiting the freeway we waited for an hour or so and were then able to proceed to Reno, NV. Once there, I took my car to a mechanic who checked the other systems and could find nothing wrong. Once back home in Sacramento I took my car to Nissan of Sacramento and was then informed that my transmission had burned and would need to be replaced. They contacted Nissan and were informed that there were no recalls and that I would need to pay for a new transmission out of pocket and the cost would exceed $4,700. After contacting Nissan myself, they informed me that they would not cover the cost of a new transmission. Since I am a retired, single senior citizen living on a fixed income, I have not been able to replace the transmission and subsequently have not driven more than 20 miles from my home. I have read that CVT Transmission problems are very common with Nissan Altimas. Why would they deny my claim when this is such a serious safety issue?

Filed Jun 28, 2021 · Transmission · CA

Transmission lost power (reduced power) after 65000 miles. Initially I was not aware of the Nissan 2012 Altima having transmission issues. Now the repair rather replacement cost is about $5000 as per estimats Iave approached local NISSAN dealerships and national customer service hot line and there has bee ZERO help from them. 2012 is know to have CVT transmission and its related performance and repair issues. Still that year, 2012 , NIssan is not covered under warranty beyond 60K nor there is help for customers who purchased this vehicle

Filed Feb 19, 2021 · Transmission · 83,000 miles · CA

The car started slowing down in the freeway and it lost power while I was in the carpool so I drove carefully to the emergency lanes on the side risking getting hit by a car cause it didn't have any power or shifting. I though the transmission went bad. I turn off the car for five minutes and started it again and I try to move the car again and it went well. After couple days or weeks I don't recall I call the dealer requesting a recall on my vehicle which they ask me how many miles it had I told them 83,000 miles and they told me I don't qualify to get the transmission replace cause it has over 80,000 miles already. It seems that nissan makes faulty CVT transmission manufactured by jatco. I wanted to know if I qualify for the recall for the transmission. When I reset the car on the freeway for five minutes it ran and hasn't happened again but it's super sluggish. The car should have a recall no matter the mileage. Forgot to mention they said I don't qualify also cause the car is salvage and it voids every recall whatsoever.

Filed Jul 13, 2020 · Transmission · 110,000 miles · IN

My 2012 nissan altima was bought at 40k miles. It ran good for was maintained. At 108k miles the transmission started acting up. It would not shift into 6th gear (CVT transmission) and would eventually lose power and not accelerate. I had it diagnosed and found out there was a recall on these transmission but they were only for the prior year models so there was nothing I can do. It is now at 120k miles and it hasn't gotten so bad I can't drive it on the highway. I took it to the dealership and had it completely diagnosed and they told me that it threw what they refer to as a 'death code' and said it needed a new transmission. They told me that it's a matter of time before the transmission completely dies. I'm a student and in the military so I stay very busy and my car not being reliable has put a stop to everything. A transmission going bad at 120k miles should not be a thing. I truly feel cheated by nissan with this car.

Filed May 5, 2020 · Transmission · 112,000 miles · CA

This is a well-documented issue with the nissan CVT transmissions - lost power when accelerating, the engine winds up but the vehicle does not respond. A mechanic diagnosed it for me and says it's got code p1778 and the transmission needs to be replaced.

Filed Sep 10, 2019 · Driver assistance, Electrical · AL

The power outlet in the center console had gone bad so my husband changed the fuse and as soon as I started to drive, my car started jumping and would not go over 15mph. The traction control light and check engine light had both come on. I turned the car off for about 30 seconds then cranked it again, the traction control light was off and the car drove fine. Now at random times, usually if the car is left idling, the traction control light will come back on and the same thing happens but if I turn the car off for about 30 seconds then crank it again, the light is off and the car runs fine again. The mass air flow sensor was replaced in 2017 but that is the code we keep getting when it is hooked to a computer. The transmission was also replaced in 2017, no issues with it so far... No one seems to know what is going on with my car but it's pretty scary when I'm driving with my 3 kids and the car decides to lose power, jump all over the road and only drive 15mph. This happens at least 3 times a day and since this is my primary way of transportation, I would really like to know what is causing this issue so it can be fixed and I can safely transport my children again.

Filed Sep 2, 2019 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 100,000 miles · TN

This was a used pre-certified car, purchased from the dealer in which did not have any issues until its warranty was practically no longer valid. The cars electrical system started to have issues. The issues with the electrical system started with the USB port connection to a cellular device. Sometimes the car will recognize the phone, other times I have to disconnect the USB to phone connection, turn the USB cord around and reconnect a few times for the radio to recognize the phone. After this issues, one speaker went out. Later on, a second speaker went out. I replaced both speakers to find out that it is possible the in-car amplifier blew. After this, the radio unit would at times go completely black, causing me to have to turn the car off and back on. After this, the driver side door no longer locks electronically, I have to lock and unlock driver side door manually but the passenger side does indeed work. After these issues, I noticed the check engine light had come on for a mass air flow sensor. I cleaned the sensor, and the engine light went away. About 300 miles later, it came back on and the car hesitates/bucks consistently with a loss of power once the speed hits about 60 MPH. I-75 hills, I can no longer accelerate to maintain speeds. I replaced the maf sensor, check engine light is still on. I had it cleared from o'reilly's since the same code was appearing on the car. After 10 miles sitting in idle, the traction control sensor appeared. 10 miles afterwards this on I-75, the car will not climb hills, drops power, bucks and jerks the car forward and back. I stopped at a part store, turn the car off and back on. Traction control sensor goes away, engine light comes back on with same code reading. I cleaned the throttle body, check engine light is still on. I've read a lot of articles about this, no one has figured out how to fix this.

Filed Aug 13, 2019 · Acceleration · 95,300 miles · UT

We were driving up hill in a canyon going 80 MPH when we suddenly lost all power. We had only been on the road for 30 minutes before this occurred. We had to pull over and let the car sit for a minute before attempting to drive it home. It happened two more times on the way to taking it back home.

Filed May 11, 2019 · Engine, Fuel system · 126,000 miles · GA

After a few hours of driving, the vehicle lost power and went into "limp mode" on an 8 lane highway. After research, nissans have a known problem with the transmission that has yet to he addressed

Filed Feb 12, 2019 · Engine · 100,000 miles · GA

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 nissan altima. While driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle went into safe mode and lost power. There was no warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the vehicle lacked the fan to cool the transmission, causing the transmission to overheat. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified. The failure was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Filed Dec 18, 2018 · Transmission · 65,000 miles · TX

Cvt transmission was built poorly, the transmission is slowly destroying itself causing a loss of power, high pitched whining noise and eventually fail. The date I selected for when it happened is the date I noticed the issue on my vehicle.

Filed Dec 3, 2018 · 215,000 miles · MD

One 2 separate occasions my vehicle has completely shut down without warning. The first time was while I was sitting a red, the second time I was actually driving through traffic and the car lost all power I without any warning. The first time it happened it took about a hour before the car would start again, luckily the second time it happened I was able to start the car within a few minutes. I have read a few stories and complaints on car gurus that other nissan owners are having the same issues with their vehicle. I truly feel unsafe in this vehicle and this matter needs to be looked into immediately before someone gets seriously injured. It is only a matter of time.