Nissan Altima sudden acceleration problems

Filed Jul 12, 2025 · MN

A few months ago, while at a stop light my car would not acceleration, I depressed the pedal all the way to the floor and there was no movement but rpm’s went up to 4000. I was almost rear ended as I was attempting to go. The car suddenly accelerated at a high rate of speed and drove normal. This occurrence happened intermittently a couple times, and is really dangerous while making left hand turns and almost being hit in the intersection. I took it to a shop to get a diagnostic but the mechanic said that since there was no check engine light or codes he’d “just be guessing.” I have been driving the car for sometime now without any issues. Last week I went an hour out of town and my car suddenly loss power on the highway while going 70 mph. It decelerated to 40 mph and would not go faster. I had to pull off the highway crossing 3 lanes of traffic barely going 40 mph. When I got to the shoulder, I turned my car off and waited a few minutes before turning it back on and the car drove fine for maybe 10 miles before it lost power again. I noticed a loud whining noise while accelerating and a smell of transmission fluid. It took me 2 hours to get home being I had to continue to pull over every 5-10 miles which seemed to reset the transmission. I had it towed to a different repair shop the next day and once again no check engine light, no codes and the car had not shown any reported symptoms, so the mechanics hands where tied but he did say that the CVT transmission in Nissan Altimas have been a major issue and of it is indeed the transmission it would cost 3k-6k for repairs. If this is truly an issue with Nissan’s CTV transmissions then there needs to be a recall and the repair should be covered. The sudden failure of engine mechanics is a safety risk for all drivers and needs to be investigated before Nissan is hit with a wrongful death suit.

Filed May 14, 2025 · Transmission · NE

It seems to be the transmission intermittently. I'd stop, push down on the accelerator and would go like a few MPH. Then it would lunge forward and I'd have to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me. The other thing was it didn't seem to shift from first gear - I ended up redlining it at 7000rpm when only going 45mph. I've read that there is a problem with Nissan cars and the CVT. In answer to your questions: You can inspect it. At a stop/light, I'm always afraid the accelerator will start out slow and then lunge forward and eventually I'll hit another vehicle. The dealer couldn't reproduce the issue after having the vehicle 6 days. After 3, they "re-programmed" as the service manager said it was out-of-date and that doing so may fix the problem. They then tested for a further 3 days and couldn't reproduce it. Vehicle has only been inspected by the local Nissan dealer. There were no warning lights or messages before or after these incidents.

Filed May 28, 2024 · Body, Locks · 13,000 miles · SC

The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Altima. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Numbers: 20V315000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages) and 18V915000 (Structure, Latches/Locks/Linkages). The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact smelled an abnormal burning odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked in a parking lot, others also smelled the odor. The contact stated while driving approximately 65MPH, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated to 45 MPH with other vehicles behind. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate, and the vehicle lunged forward causing the contact to quickly depress the brake pedal. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 13,000.

Filed Nov 28, 2023 · Electrical, Fuel system · MO

Since June of 2022, my car has been in service repair a total of 10 times. Each time my check engine comes on, the diagnostic codes always involve the A/F sensor. This started at 35,000 miles and Nissan cannot figure out the issue. There are SEVERAL bulletins addressing the issue, with the most recent being 2022. The service dealership will no longer work on my car surrounding the issue. As a result of having a sensor issue that cannot be repaired, the car will periodically not respond with acceleration. I have had two VERY close calls of making a left hand turn in front of oncoming traffic with the gas pedal suddenly not responding no matter how hard it’s pressed. It’s almost as if it goes into neutral. The rpm’s increase and the engine revs, but it just won’t move. After several seconds of remaining motionless, the car then suddenly accelerates to the speed that it should. This issue is not an outlier. I contacted several people that listed their cars for sale, that stated their check engine light is on due to an 02 sensor. They all stated they have tried to get the car repaired with zero success. People then just sell the car and transfer the issue to another person. If it hasn’t already, this issue is going to kill someone. My car stalled in front of two cars coming towards me at 50 mph. Had they not stopped in time, I would have been T-boned on the drivers side. That wouldn’t have ended well. Nissan suggested I sell the car- that is their solution regarding a car that became unrepairable at 35,000 miles. Nissan did send an engineer to the dealership to inspect the car- multiple times. They do not know how to fix the issue.

Filed Sep 12, 2022 · Transmission · KY

The transmission failed at around 44,000 miles. It started losing power on the Highway causing it to lunge forward at times and die out while pulling out and slowing down. Eventually the reverse gear stopped working . It would stall above1,000 RPMs and only operate at low speeds. Nissan knows good and well about this issue and does nothing to offer monitory assistance of replacing the transmission and not much of A guarantee on A replacement only A year warranty . They should be pulling these hazardous cvt transmissions out and pull these cars off the market before someone gets killed. The cost of replacing this transmission is over 5,000 and that’s only A limited 1 year warranty.

Filed Sep 11, 2022 · Transmission · OH

My 2016 Altima began loosing power in spurts, wouldn't move after stopping until accelerator was pushed to the floor then it would lunge forward. Took the car to a dealership and found out the transmission needed replaced at 91,000 miles! Nissan did agree to pay half the cost but, here I am 4weeks later and I still don't have my vehicle...No loaner car was provided either, they wanted me to pay $44 a day with 100 free miles. By the time I drove from the dealership to my home I would use 65-70 of those miles alone. Very disappointed in both Nissan and Ricart Automotive!

Filed Aug 21, 2022 · Transmission · PA · crash · 2 injuries

Follow-up to issue #11479380 Just 6 days ago, I filed a complaint regarding acceleration issues with my 2017 Nissan Altima. Unfortunately, yesterday (8/20/2022), I was involved in an accident with the car as a direct result of these ongoing acceleration issues. I was the driver in the driveway of a friend’s house and as I tried to pull closer to the house (to perform a K-turn in a tight spot), with my foot (lightly) on the gas pedal, the car suddenly surged forward and hit the house. A passenger and I both experienced minor injuries (no medical attention required), and both the car and the house now require repairs. I’m in touch with both my insurance and Nissan about this accident, but no longer feel safe driving this vehicle (which is now pending repairs due to this accident). I wanted to post a follow-up since there was an accident directly related to this issue.

Filed Jun 17, 2022 · Transmission · IN

I own a 2013 Nissan Altima SV with about 70,000 miles. It had an extended warranty, that expired late May 2021 and started have problems thereafter. The CVT transmission would cause the car to lunge and stall when shifting from park. The car would stall once you backed out onto the road. Several times at a busy traffic signal, the car would lunge forward, even though you had your foot on the brake. I had the car towed to the local dealer after the first incident. They kept the car about 4 days, but mainly worked on the recalls. They said, nothing showed up on diagnostic. However, I drove my car south about 1000 miles and the situation became worse. Made an appointment, at the local dealership and drove my car there. Within 1 hour, the service guy stated I needed a new transmission, a $5,600 repair. It was mentioned that I may want to contact Nissan about the situation. By reading many reviews, this is a serious problem that Nissan should fix. s

Filed Jun 11, 2022 · Transmission · GA

Car all of a sudden started shuttering, hesitation in accelerator and then sudden acceleration. It could have killed us,

Filed Mar 14, 2022 · Acceleration, Fuel system · CA · crash

While I was parking the car suddenly accelerated rapidly, causing me to hit the parked vehicle in front of me. I have not yet had the car inspected.