Altima 2.5l eng. Problem: engine vibrations/CVT shuttering since approx. 3600 miles, but has continually gotten worse with more miles (7000 mi 12/31/13). Vibrations felt at 1500-2000 rpms (enough to shake and vibrate the dash components), then vibration goes away. Slight acceleration under load at 1500-2000 rpms and at any speed (20-30, 40-55, 72 MPH) will result in droning/vibrations (everytime). Had nissan service mgr. Ride with me, then he drove the vehicle and confirmed the vibrations. He said to return the vehicle in jan 2014 to further document this problem that nissan does not admit exists. However, this problem has been reported to nissan many times over this past year (2013). I now believe this vibration is coming from the engine and not from the CVT since I can feel vibrations 1500-2000 RPM even when the vehicle is stopped (in park or in neutral). Update: 1/08/14 nissan dealer replaced engine alternator, problem still exists, no change in vibrations. 1/10/14 nissan replaced tensioner and engine serpentine belt, problem still exists, no change in vibrations. 1/13/14 filed complaint with nissan consumer affairs.
2013 Nissan Altima transmission complaints
Page 17 of 18: complaints 461 to 490 of 506, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Car is vibrating when going 40 MPH. Vibration also occurring after long drives and then coming to a stop. Car will shake. It is not happening all the time, but is nerve racking when it does. Intermittent issue with the key id not being recognized when entering the car when the doors are locked and you press the unlock button on the door handle. Or when getting into an unlocked car the key is not recognized. Lock the doors and auto start the car button on the key fob not starting the car. Happening on both key fobs. Headlights during long trip were dimming, then would brighten. This during a 6 hour drive. Gas mileage has dropped from 38.4 mpg to 33.1 mpg highway driving. Same issue with around town about 5 mpg drop. Mileage seems to differ when filling up car. Goes from over 600+ miles to around 580+ miles. Not sure why when you fill it all the way up the mileage is not the same. Tire pressure seems to differ. Not sure that is reliable reading.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 nissan altima. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle abnormally swayed back and forth. The vehicle was easier to control once the speed decelerated to 50 MPH and below. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the failure. The technician stated that it was a manufacturing defect. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 10,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 nissan altima. The contact stated that the torque converter would remain locked until the vehicle came to a stop. In order to maintain the torque converter in the locked position, the rpms would have to be high above 1,000, which the contact stated that the normal idle was 750. The contact stated that the brakes were also prematurely wearing due to the engine not assisting in decelerating. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was advised that the vehicle was performing as designed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 4,000.
Sporadically when starting car (from a cold start or after 2 hours) the rpms will do the normal going up then slowly down and then lower once in gear; however, once started to drive and stop the car will shake and appear to be trying to choke....took to service dept could not duplicate the problem and nothing is in the log.....took to dealership while problem occurring the mechanic felt the shaking and the big bump and said the idle rpms needed to be changed to higher level within 36 hours the car would do the same sporadic problem just at a higher RPM......took it to dealership again left overnight they did not find a problem stated everything is normal and the salesperson demo supposedly does the same thing (which it started normal).
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 nissan altima. The contact was driving approximately 45 MPH when the vehicle down shifted automatically. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle would jolt forward and exhibit an abnormal banging noise when the air conditioner was activated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 10,500. The VIN was not available.
The contact stated that while using the air conditioner and coasting from 45 MPH to 35 MPH, the vehicle downshifted hard enough to jolt the car. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. The mechanic and service manager test drove the vehicle and stated when inspecting the vehicle the failure could not be duplicated. It was recommended to bring the car back when the problem recurred. The failure recurred numerous times. Around 20000 miles the hard shifting also began to occur while the car was accelerating. The owner requested to bring the car to the dealership while the incident was occurring, but the dealership declined as they were busy and to call back after the holiday. When the owner called back after the holiday, the service person asked if the car felt like it was shifting hard. The owner stated yes, and was told that this feeling is normal in a CVT transmission and there was no need to bring the vehicle into the dealership. The car shifts so hard, sometimes the tires squeal. This happens often in traffic and will cause an accident, especially in icy or wet conditions. To date, the vehicle had not been repaired.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 nissan altima. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 MPH, the vehicle shook violently without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the power transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the part needed to complete the repair was on back order. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 15,000 and the current mileage was 16,300.
We first began noticing what felt like a hard downshift when coasting at speeds under 50 MPH. The problem was first diagnosed as a antilock brake programming error, but repairs did not solve the problem and the severity increased. When traveling at a speed of 30 - 45 MPH and we'd take our foot off the accelerator, it almost felt like we were being rear-ended. It became clear that this was a problem with the new continuous acceleration transmission (I.e., no shift). Once the maintenance technician felt the problem when it happened, a new transmission was ordered and installed (approx. At 10,000 miles). After the new transmission was installed, we had no problems until around 15,000 miles, when the problem resurfaced. We took it back in for repairs, as the vehicle is not safe to drive with such a hard jerking problem. They tried replacing the transmission controller, but that also did not work. When they told us that they were going to need to install another new transmission we told them we didn't want the car any longer. The dealership worked on our behalf to try to get help from nissan for a new vehicle, but with very little success. Fortunately, our dealership still did the right thing and we have a new vehicle.
The best I can do to explain the problem I am having with my 2013 altima is to compare it to the jerking you will experience in a stick shift vehicle if you do not clutch and shift properly almost causing the vehicle to stop. Once I was entering onto the highway, the car acted as if the parking brake was applied while driving. I took my car to the dealer from which I purchased it (st.clair auto mall), the mechanic drove it and almost immediately he experienced the problem. We drove back to the dealership (service dept.). He looked up some information in the computer, said diagnostics tests were ran but the test(s) turned up nothing. And also there were no lights on the dash indicating a problem. So, for that reason nothing could be done.
Noticed problem back in jan. Car would make a banging noise & jolt forward when coasting to a stop. Same problem also occurs when stopping and going to accelerate after stop. Have take car to dealer I purchased it at 5 times & was told there was nothing wrong , they could not duplicate the issue I was having. On july 11, 2013 the technician took the car home & they finally and was able to document the issue was real and now a new transmission is required! In dec 2012 there was a recall done on the TCM that's when the problem started after recall.
Resuming after a stop the car was sluggish. It felt like the transmission was slipping. There were several strong jerking motions for a few seconds. Then when it fully engaged the car lurched forward at a higher than expected speed. I did not have enough reaction time to brake and I hit the car in front of me. I didn't realize what had happened at the time but since then the car has done the same thing starting out from a stop. It happens several times a week. I have to leave plenty of distance between me and the car in front to avoid another accident.
Turning right from a stop and as I was accelerating, had violent thunk and vibration in car with loss if acceleration for 1-2 seconds. Before and after that, consistently experience vibration/shudder and decreased acceleration at about 20mph when I let off the gas or don't continue with same level of acceleration.
The CVT transmission causes the vehicle to shutter and vibrate at light acceleration between 1200-2000 rpms. I have contacted nissan consumer affairs division 800‑343‑6913 ext457206 several times and have case #'s [xxx] and [xxx] on two separate vehicles with the same issue. I have been told repeatedly that nissan engineers are aware of the problem and are working on a solution. There are many, many complaints of this same issue on several web sites. I have heard nothing since 3/26/2013 from nissan in regards to my complaint. I have had my car in for service at orland park nisan, orland park, il and have also contacted them numerous times to see if there was any repair that has been issued to rectify this problem. They acknowledge and are aware of this problem. There answer is they have done the recommended service bulletins sent to them from nissan to repair this problem. There is absolutely no difference in the performance of the vehicle after performing these repairs. Nissan knows they have a problem and should be forced to stand behind the performance of their product. Please help!!!!!!!! Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Transmission is locking up at any speed while coasting or decelerating,feels like motor and transmission is going to come right out of it. On way back to dealership, it happened at 55mph going around a bend,and front tires locked up and chirped,this was the worse one, if this happened on snow covered roads,there's no doubt that I would have went right into the ditch..we've only had the car 3weeks and put less than 1500 miles on it.the car started doing this 3 days ago,today took it to dealership,took serviceman on test drive and within a 1/4 mile, he had seen enough,what is wrong with these CVT transmissions,this is a very dangerous situation when a transmission locks up at highway speeds!!!
Well I have noticed that I have a bad vibration and grinding noise between 1,200 and 1,800 RPM's worst at 1,500. This happens no matter what speed. I have brought it in to the dealership 2 different times for this and they tell me this is normal. I am sorry but when a transmission is vibrating or making bad noises like this it has something wrong with it. I believe this is contributing to my very poor gas mileage. Also while from a stop and accelerating I have had my car surge and have no power while trying to accelerate. This has happened three times and 2 of the times I had a car come up on me fast because I was not able to accelerate. This can be a big safety issue.
Well the main selling point on this vehicle is that the dealer told me they were top in mpg's with 27 city and 38 highway. After a week or so I noticed that my mpg average is no more than 23.1. And that was with more than 50% travel on highways with no traffic(never went under the speed limit). I figured it had something to do with it being new and it would average out better later. So after 5,000 miles on the car I took it in and they told me that this is just because every driver averages different and I kept saying but I am not even getting close to the 27 city and I drive more highway. But they told me that everything is normal and they reset the average calculator. After a week it was worse than it was before and I was bringing it back for my many other problems I have with this car. They had my car for 4 days and finally told me that while they had it a check engine light came on saying that my air fuel ratio sensor was faulty. They replaced it and told me that was the fix. I have put about a tanks worth of mileage on it since and I am getting under 23 mpg still. Either something is very wrong with my car or nissan is lying about the mpg's and yes I get that they are presented by the epa but nissan does the test first then sends it to the epa and then the epa tests later on. Either way the mpg's are wrong and I drive to try to get the best mpg's I don't even go over 2,000 RPM's unless going up hill. Which brings me to the vibration from the trans. But that's in another complaint. Nissan needs to fix this problem because I chose this over the honda accord just for the mpg's.
Rpm drops suddenly from 1200rpm to 800rpm in 20-30mph speed level and vehicle bounces with bang sounds at transmission area. When I feel car loosening the power at low speed driving by dropping RPM gauge, I have to press brake or accelerator to keep vehicle's RPM safe level to run the car. This is very nervous thing. This problem have happened since middle of march and went to car dealer to check this point. But they said no problem in my car. I will visit again next week for this issue. I found many of cases this in nissan altima forum and other sites, all owner complained about this but nissan did not reply any yet for this. This is a major problem related with safety issue. Http://www.carproblemzoo.com/nissan/altima/vehicle-shudder-problems.php.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 nissan altima. The contact stated that the vehicle jerked violently while the contact was attempting to decelerate. The failure recurred intermittently and without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 500 and the current mileage was 6,000.
Vehicle stutters and vibrates at lower speeds. Also their is a knocking sound coming from underneath the vehicle. Brought back to dealership 3 times since march. All 3 times I was told it is perfectly normal for the car. I read online that other people have experienced similar issues.
When coasting from a low speed (45-55) to near stop the transmission "locks up" while nowshifting. The vehicle violently locks up, so bad that it feels like you've hit something. The steering wheel is also affected to the brute force. Nissan issued a mandatory recall transmission reprogram which I promptly had done to the vehicle. However, just this friday, 5/3/13, the transmission again did this. Both times I was lucky that I was on back roads with little to no traffic and that I was able to maintain control. This is a serious problem that in the wrong conditions (ice/snow/rain) or when oncoming traffic is coming could get someone killed. I can't explain just how violent the downshift is, other than to say the first time my 6 year old began crying in the rear seat because he thought we wrecked, and that the 2nd time my cell phone was jarred from a very rugged cradle.
There is a shuttering vibration in drive train when engine is at 1500 RPM and going up an incline. Eventually it is going to cause loosing of bolts and cause crash.
The CVT transmission is vibrating violently from 1200~1800 RPM which could potentially cause premature transmission failure during driving. Such vibration also compromises the mileages that nissan has declared therefore more green house gas emission for same miles. Many 2013 altima owners complained about the same thing in forums such as edmunds, cars.com and etc. It is a mechanical design flaw the could severely jeopardize the car and hurt the people in it though nissan never admit it or fix it in the past one year. I sincerely request the federal safety agency to look at this issue. Thanks.
After the first car with 2000miles air bags did not go off in the accident so went bought another new one the airbag light was on in 70 miles so put a new seat from another car nissan did not have a new seat no the air bag light does not work properly and the car has a viberation that nissan cant fix need to stop selling lemons.
I have a 2013 nissan altima sv with 10800 miles on it. About 5000 miles ago began to hear and feel vibration with acceleration. Noise continued to get worse. Took it to a local nissan dealer and they said the issue was coming from the CVT transmission. They had to replace the serpentine belt and the tensioner. Vibration is currently better but concerned this is just a short term solution. I think nissan needs to put a recall out and find a long term solution.
I purchased this car on 3/8/2013 as brand new with 24 miles on it. 7 days later when starting up the motor the engine struggled to catch or start running. This has happened 3 times now. Will be contacting nissan. This is unacceptable for having a week old "new" car. Still waiting for response from dealership.
Abnormal transmission grinding / lugging noise of the transmission at low RPM (1200-1600). Nissan claims noise is as designed. How is grinding noise in the transmission with a car that has 3000 miles normal? Again nissan claims that this is normal. 1800-343-6913 ext. [xxx] case # [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 nissan altima. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle jerked violently while the contact was attempting to decelerate. The contact also stated that the failure recurred intermittently and when driving at different speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted. The failure mileage was 600.
When starting the car the starter would keep cranking after the release of the start button, the passenger air bag light stays on sometimes even when a passenger is in the seat also the rear seat belts are very hard to lock in do to the receiver end pushes down into the seat when driving there is a few problems the low end rattles and shakes and 45 and above there is a wining noise from the engine compartment that sounds like a bad alt bearing or trans problem it gets louder the faster you go very annoying with today technology these problems and this is just a few is a big step back for nissan not a happy customer just broke 6000 miles.
Cvt transmission shutter, while driving from stop to go, car felt it was going to stall, like when turning left in traffic.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2013 Nissan Altima?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history