Platform Heritage
The Nissan Altima is a mid-size car manufactured by Nissan since 1992. It is an offshoot of the Nissan Bluebird line, which began in 1955.
The Altima has historically been larger, more powerful, and more luxurious than the Nissan Sentra but less so than the Nissan Maxima. The first through fourth-generation cars were manufactured exclusively in the United States and officially sold in North and South America, along with the Middle East and Australia. For other markets, Nissan sold a related mid-size sedan called the Nissan Teana which was between the Altima and Maxima in terms of size. In 2013, the Teana became a rebadged version of the fifth-generation Altima.
The name "Altima" was originally applied to a top trim line of the Nissan Leopard for the Japanese market in 1986, and then to the Nissan Laurel Altima mid-size car sold in Central America and the Caribbean before 1992. In 1992, Nissan discontinued the Stanza which was a Nissan Bluebird clone, replacing it with the US-built Altima, while remaining a compact car. The first Altima was produced in June 1992, as a 1993 model. All Altima models for the North American market were built in Smyrna, Tennessee, until June 2004, when Nissan's Canton, Mississippi plant also began producing the model to meet high demand.
Source: Wikipedia intro extract · as of Jun 23, 2026
Key facts for this model year
222NHTSA owner complaints
2Safety recalls on file
37Top issue reports · Unknown Or Other
$0Typical OEM recall remedy cost to you
Verify the data — open primary sources · as of Jun 23, 2026
System Defect Summaries & Field Data
Active safety recalls on file: 2 (source: NHTSA Recalls API · as of Jun 23, 2026)
Top NHTSA complaint categories
Recent recall summaries
Campaign 20V315000 · LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH · API record
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.
Campaign 19V654000 · BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA · API record
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Nissan Altima, Armada, Frontier, Kicks, Leaf, Maxima, Murano, NV, NV200, Pathfinder, Rogue, Rogue Sport, Sentra, Titan, Titan Diesel, Versa Note and Versa Sedan vehicles, as well as Infiniti Q50, Q60, QX30 and QX80 vehicles. Additionally included are 2019 Nissan GT-R and Taxi and Infiniti QX50, QX60, Q70, Q70L vehicles. The back-up camera and display settings can be adjusted such that the rear view image is no longer visible and the system will retain that setting the next time the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."
YouTube voice themes below are research hints only — verify against NHTSA data before citing.
On-Site Nissan Altima Pre-Purchase Checklist
- Verify OBD-II readiness monitors are complete (not recently cleared) using a full protocol scan.
- Compare dashboard mileage to ECU-stored odometer modules where accessible.
- Pull permanent and pending DTCs — not only stored codes visible on the dash.
- Inspect systems related to UNKNOWN OR OTHER (NHTSA complaint cluster — verify during test drive and PPI).
- Inspect systems related to AIR BAGS (NHTSA complaint cluster — verify during test drive and PPI).
- Inspect systems related to POWER TRAIN (NHTSA complaint cluster — verify during test drive and PPI).
- Inspect systems related to SERVICE BRAKES (NHTSA complaint cluster — verify during test drive and PPI).
- Inspect systems related to ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (NHTSA complaint cluster — verify during test drive and PPI).
- Confirm recall remedy completed for LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH (campaign 20V315000).
- Confirm recall remedy completed for BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA (campaign 19V654000).
- Run a MotoMetrics on-site scan for Nissan Altima before signing the bill of sale.