2018 NISSAN ALTIMA

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH

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.

Risk: Corrosion to the secondary latch may cause it to bind and remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed. If the primary latch is inadvertently released again and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could unexpectedly open while driving, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

The headlights on my 2018 Altima SL are INCREDIBLY dim. I have tried two different LED manufacturer's bulbs with the same result. It is beyond dangerous to drive my car at night. Sadly, my floodlights are FAR brighter than my low beams. There are countless complaints for this issue over the past few years. It sounds like their solution was less than desirable for most customers. This should be an actual recall to ensure that the Hundreds of thousands (probably more) of the 2013- 2018 Altimas on the road are safe for the drivers as well as the cars around them. This issue is ridiculous and MUST be corrected.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the headlights on the driver's and passenger's side of the vehicle had identical stress fractures. The fractures allowed water to enter the headlight housings. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the headlight assemblies needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and opened a case for the failure. The manufacturer informed the contact that the headlight assembly replacements were not covered under warranty. The failure mileage was unknown.

ENGINE

There is a recall for altimas from years 2019-2021 with an issue where the engine will not start after the battery light on the dashboard comes on. After a few minutes the car will start up and ride like normal. This also happens in the 2018 model of the altima. This happened to us multiple times. The battery is good, and there is no reason for the engine not to start right aqay. Why is there no recall for the 2018 models?

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The driver's side door lock actuator stopped working around June 2024. Haven't replaced it yet, but bought another part. Read where others are having same issue. Just in the last couple of weeks, around June 15th, 2025, my rear driver's side door actuator stopped working as well. I have to crfrawl in from the other side and unlock the doors. Safety issue since the doors do not lock or unlock.

STRUCTURE:BODY

The driver's side door lock actuator stopped working around June 2024. Haven't replaced it yet, but bought another part. Read where others are having same issue. Just in the last couple of weeks, around June 15th, 2025, my rear driver's side door actuator stopped working as well. I have to crfrawl in from the other side and unlock the doors. Safety issue since the doors do not lock or unlock.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Anytime I pull my hood release, my hood never opens & I hear no click .

AIR BAGS

The airbag light in the dashboard always stays lit. It has been worked on at the dealership multiple times and they get it to go out only for it to come back on. It’s concerning not knowing if there is a problem with the airbags itself. This has been on going for years. It started around when my car had 34000-35000 miles on it.

SERVICE BRAKES

I’ve had to replace the break sensor a few times and it’s unusual… My check engine light came on and it reads the code for the catalyst converter.., the auto part store saw a recall on this for my make and model but not seeing it here . The code was cleared and hasn’t came back on yet but I’m anticipating it will .. these two issues need to be further looked into please

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

I’ve had to replace the break sensor a few times and it’s unusual… My check engine light came on and it reads the code for the catalyst converter.., the auto part store saw a recall on this for my make and model but not seeing it here . The code was cleared and hasn’t came back on yet but I’m anticipating it will .. these two issues need to be further looked into please

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Took car for inspection check engine light on will not pass mechanic said same issueue as recall PC716. Said was under recall nissan recall does not include the vin so would not repair need to add vin to recall since it is same issue. Can not drive until repaired.

POWER TRAIN

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.

AIR BAGS

I’m getting an Air Bag warning light showing up on my dash. i took it to the Nissan dealer and its error code B0020-13 which comes up as a Left seat side air bag open error. Apparently the wiring going from the connector under the seat up to the side air bag is intermittently opening up depending what position the seat is in. Nissan said the entire top part of the seat needs to be replaced, very expensive, $2,500.00 to $3,000. This is a big safety problem since this is a common problem with this model from all the research I have done. This is obviously an engineering problem with how the cable is ran or quality of the cable and should be Nissans responsibility not the owner of the vehicle.

AIR BAGS

The airbag light appeared on my dashboard in late December. On 1/8/25, I took it to Auto Nation Nissan in Tempe to have it checked. They determined that the driver's side seat back needed to be replaced. That is where the airbag sensor is located. As of today, 3/14/25, they still do not have an ETA for the seat back. I have been driving for almost 3 months now without the airbags working. I also contacted Nissan corporate, and get the same response - they can't get an ETA for the seat back that is needed.

AIR BAGS

Shortly after purchasing my 2018 Nissan Altima (new), there was a recall concerning the passenger side airbag. I took the car to the dealer and had it serviced. Months later, there was a second recall and I took it back promptly; however, the dealer said that nothing was wrong. It was already serviced. I indicated that I had received a second notice. Some time passed, and the same airbag light indicator came on and stayed on. I took my vehicle back to the dealer. This time, they wanted to charge me thousands of dollars. I indicated that this is the same problem from the beginning and I was going to file a lawsuit. The dealer claimed to have fixed the sensor and told me it was a complimentary charge based on "goodwill". The same sensor light is on again. I have had no accidents and I have not had my car serviced for any electrical issues. It was inspected and passed with a warning to get the sensor taken care of. The original dealer has now sold to another Nissan dealer. I need to be sure that I am safe should I have a situation where the passenger side airbag needs to deploy. This is not fair to me. I have never bought a used car and this is the first car I have continuously had unresolved issues with. Please advise.