2015 Nissan Altima: whining or grinding noise

Filed Oct 18, 2023 · Brakes, Steering · CA

This is my 3rd Altima. The first 2 were amazing. This 1 is not. I bought it used from Shift.com with 73k miles on it. About 6-8 months later I started feeling something wrong in the steering. The shop I took it too said the lower control arms were in the rear were corroded and the bushing were going bad. Tried to get it repaired thru the extended warranty I paid extra for but that was a nightmare and we ended fixing it ourselves. Something was still wrong. I put new tires on it, still wrong. Changed out the struts on front and shocks on rear, new control arms,, bushings, sway bar links, and tie rods. New brake pads and rotors. Then I bought custom wheels and another set of new tires for it. Took it and had an alignment done. The shop said everything looked good. Not long after it started drifting all over the road and I started hearing a whining noise. The next shop said the electric hydraulic power steering pump was going bad. Again the warranty company only allows the shop to call in and handle any repair claims and then they make them sit on hold forever. This is my only transportation and I can't wait for it to break in order for the warranty to repair it. In the meantime trying to figure out what to do the car is getting harder to drive straight down the road. I turned left thru an intersection and ran over the center median blowing out a tire. In 2 other occasions I hit my new wheels on the curb because the steering wheel has excessive play in it. We ended up changing the power steering unit without help from the warranty. After some research I had the lower steering shaft replaced also. The entire suspension has been replaced(front struts 2x) and it only has 115k miles on it. It's had 3 alignments in 2 years and yesterday the man at Les Schwab said the rack and pinion has some play in it. As well as the upper steering shaft needing to be replaced also. Oh and the CVT transmission is now leaking.

Filed Mar 14, 2023 · Electrical, Transmission · TX

In 3 different occasions in this same particular order my car would start to slowly loose acceleration of only letting me drive to 10mph before lights on dash would come on such as ps,abs,traction control ect. Then my radio would shut off followed by my whole dashboard before completely the whole vehicle would completely shutdown on me and I could not start up again. I replaced the battery and put in a new alternator, but continued doing the exact same issue. I took it to a mechanic and he determined that for whatever reason the new alternator was not sending out the power and replaced it again and have to reprogram the entire computer because it was sending all kinds of codes that had nothing to do with my vehicles issue. He also noticed the continues whining sort of whistling noise coming from the powersterring as I have read in the past that people have that same problem on this particular model. As of this moment its been about 1 month and has not yet stalled on me for now, but it is very dangerous when this happens in the middle of the street or highway when your running at a certain speed and cannot control your steering since its powersterring.

Filed Feb 8, 2020 · PA

Whining loud sound coming from the transmission compartment when idle and louder when driving.

Filed Oct 23, 2016 · Steering · KS

The power steering on my 2015 altima is very hard to turn. The mechanic replaced the power steering pump twice and replaced the fluid and the steering wheel is still very hard to turn. The power steering indicator light is now on and I still can't turn the steering wheel. This is a very unsafe condition that nissan should recall and repair. This car has 5200 miles on it and this is totally unacceptable. The car also has a very high pitched whine noise that is very annoying. We previously owned toyota camrys and I'd nissan don't take care if this problem I will not refer them to anybody and go back to toyota.

Filed Jul 6, 2016 · Steering, Transmission · 12 miles · PA

I agree with others about nissan needing to repurchase/compensate for all the issues.this vehicle feels very unsafe and they just push it all off. The power steering makes varying loud,annoying,distracting, whining noises the entire time you drive it. The car hesitates and jerks while driving or trying to drive from a stop which feels very unsafe and makes me worry about being hit. There are so many problems that are unsafe with the 2015 altima and nissan refuses to admit them and constantly says "everything is normal" or 'its the way that transmission works". A huge waste of time and energy trying to deal with nissan. They also kept insisting to me that the airbag light coming on while a grown adult was seated was "normal" as well until all of a sudden there was a recall...just to show how they lie and cover everything up .I bought this car brand new in december 2015 and have had these issues since. Have been to dealership many times for the issues as well as having a nissan tech come to assess but of course everyone sticks together and states it "all normal".there are also problems that are not safety issues but value issues such as the xm service that is horrible but you pay for and the cheap build of the vehicle/paint.

Filed Feb 17, 2016 · Transmission · 21,000 miles · NV

2015 nissan altima, with 21,000 miles. Consumer constantly heard loud whining from transmission when first operated and got progressively worse when merging on freeway. Complained to dealership, brought car for oil change and left with a rental car. 4 days later received a call from dealership that they are going to replace the whole transmission.

Filed Dec 2, 2015 · Body, Engine · NJ

Car was purchased new in late april 2015. When I opened the trunk of the vehicle for the first time, I noticed there was rust in the spot welds on the left side of the trunk. Front bumper also started to pop out on both sides after driving it the first day and is rubbing and peeling paint from frame of vehicle. Rear windshield was pushed all the way to the left with a large gap to the right. This is a big safety issue. Front fascia misaligned from factory and rust eating away at main frame of vehicle despite there being no scratches or damage to vehicle. Both side skirts misaligned. All doors significantly misaligned from factory. Power steering whines and transmission groans and shifts erratically. Car does not drive straight at speeds 55+ and wanders between lanes. It takes much effort to keep it straight. Trunk lid not aligned properly. Bbb mandated nissan to repurchase vehicle and brand it as a lemon due to serious safety defects & non-conformities. Nissan failed to fix rear windshield after one attempt and failed to fix other issues after 3 repair attempts. Car has been at dealership for 28+ days. Nissan failed to calculate correct repurchase numbers and nissan still refuses to fix vehicle. After my protesting, nissan repaired rear windshield but structurally, the rest of the car remains a safety issue. An investigation should be launched. I request nhsta to inspect the quality and build of this vehicle as it endangers my safety and those of other drivers around me. I am still in possession of this vehicle.

Filed May 3, 2015 · Steering · 20 miles · NJ

This car was purchased new in exchange for a 2015 nissan altima that had serious issues with the power steering components. This car seems one step worse than the one I just traded. Heated steering wheel does not work. Power steering growls when the transmission is put into gear and whines with a high-pitched noise that can be heard very clearly in the cabin when the wheel is turned. Engine is noisy. There is also a shimmy in the steering column when the car exceeds speeds over 40 MPH. Appointment made with dealer with a nissan representative (requested by me). Poor manufacture and design of vehicle. Nissan has innovation that is disappointing, to say the least. If nissan is unable to repair vehicle properly, I will trade vehicle for a subaru and never purchase another nissan again due to poor design and safety issues.