Problems · NHTSA complaints

2014 Nissan Altima problems

Owners filed 1,113 complaints about the 2014 Nissan Altima with NHTSA between Sep 2013 and Sep 2026. The most-cited component is exterior lighting (299).

Complaints
1,113
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
51
Reported by owners
Fires
8
Reported by owners
Injuries
58
People reported injured
Deaths
1
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Exterior lighting299
  2. Power train209
  3. Air bags208
  4. Suspension132
  5. Engine77
  6. Electrical system71
  7. Steering58
  8. Structure52
  9. Latches/locks/linkages31
  10. Vehicle speed control27
  11. Service brakes26
  12. Fuel/propulsion system22
  13. Visibility/wiper21
  14. Seats14

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20133
201485
201578
201682
201783
2018123
2019175
2020165
2021115
202277
202346
202435
202529
202617

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Exterior lighting

299 reports4 crashes
“My 2014 Nissan Altima has experienced loss of visibility from the headlights significantly to the point of feeling unsafe driving at night. I believe the cause of these issue is due to degradation of the reflective coating within the headlamps. New bulbs installed have not improved the quality of the headlights performance leading me to believe this is caused by a fault of the headlamp assembly itself.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 7, 2026Exterior lightingODI 11762646

Power train

209 reports2 crashes1 fire
“The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle shuddered uncontrollably and stalled. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the road. The contact turned off the vehicle. The contact stated that upon restarting the vehicle 20 minutes later, the failure recurred while driving, and the vehicle failed to accelerate upon depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact exited the highway; however, the vehicle stalled in the middle of the road. The vehicle was towed to Young's Cheltenham Auto Service, where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the manufacturer for assistance in covering the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle could not be covered because Nissan TSB Number: NTB17-039K had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 21, 2025Power trainODI 11637254

Air bags

208 reports32 crashes2 fires3 related recalls
“As far as I am aware there are no causes to the failure but the sensor of the left panel on the driver side airbag is alerting. Nissan checked it and advised it would be @ $2000 to repair because it required the replacement of the entire driver side chair. However I am now being told that they don't have/make the replacement part(s) needed. Scouring the Internet I'm finding this complaint is pretty common considering it also happened in our 2006 Nissan Armada (no accidents).”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 3, 2026Air bagsODI 11748214

Suspension

132 reports3 crashes
“Right rear lower control arm fully broke while traveling 35 mph and going around a curve. The car immediately pulled hard right into the adjacent lane. Fortunately, there were no vehicles in that lane at the moment. I have contacted the dealership. This issue is addressed in Service Bulletin NTB21-045. However, the local dealership will not cover repairs because the car has been in service for over 10 years.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 7, 2026SuspensionODI 11755429

Engine

77 reports2 crashes4 fires
“Hi, my name is [XXX] . I rented a car through [XXX] , and I need to report serious mechanical issues. All of the spark plugs are not secured, as they are missing screws, and oil is present. The only reason i know is because of the check light engine being on one minute and off the next. I chose to get it looked at and when being examined it was a noticed Additionally, the cooling reservoir tank is missing its top, leaving the system exposed. Please advise on next steps as soon as possible, as this is a safety concern. Thank you.””
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 24, 2026Electrical system, EngineODI 11733632

Electrical system

71 reports1 fire1 related recall
“We took our Nissan for repair of recalled Headlights and was told they had no more headlight assemblies, they have to reorder. I got on waiting list. I called a couple of times to check on headlight shipment. Theni finally went back and they told me they stopped repairing headlight assemblies. I kept getting the run around! NOW MY HEADLIGHTS ARE SO DIM I CAN NOT SEE ROAD AND I WORK NIGHTS. I HAVE TO GET TO MY JOB WHICH IS AN HOUR AWAY, 3 HOURS EARLY WHILE I CAN SEE ROAD. PLEASE HELP ME GET HEADLIGTS REPLACED ASAP. WEBSITE IS SAYING I HAVE "0" UNREPAIRED RECALLS THAT IS NOT CORRECT. I NEVER RECEIVED RECALL ON ELECTRICAL PROBLEM SO THAT IS UNREPAIRED AS WELL. THERE MAY BE OTHERS. PLEASE HELP!!! I HAVE NO HEADLIGHTS WORKING!!!! I HAVE HAD NEAR CRASHES BEFORE THEY TOTALLY WENT OUT. I NEED THIS REPAIRED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU!”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 21, 2026Electrical system, Exterior lightingODI 11712475
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.