Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2013 Nissan Altima submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 441 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 441, in the owner's own words
The headlight housings metallic coatings for reflectivity are failing and reduce the efficacy of the headlights. There has been a class action lawsuit against Nissan for this but many, like myself, were not notified. The headlights are very dim and create a safety hazzard when driving in an area where high beams can't be used. NTSHA really needs to do what is right here and force a recall.
Headlights are extremely dim almost always have to drive with my high beams on at night since the lights are so dark. Have tried replacing bulbs on my own but lights are still dim. No warning or anything were ever shown
The vehicle is a Nissan Altima experiencing a low-beam headlight failure. The headlights have become extremely dim and no longer provide adequate illumination of the roadway at night. Visibility is severely reduced, making it difficult to see lane markings, pedestrians, and obstacles ahead. The vehicle and headlight assemblies are available for inspection upon request. This condition creates a serious safety risk because nighttime driving visibility is significantly compromised. The headlights are so dim that safe operation of the vehicle after dark is difficult, increasing the risk of a crash involving pedestrians, other vehicles, or road hazards. The vehicle was inspected by a Nissan dealership, which confirmed the headlight problem. However, the dealer has refused to repair the issue under the applicable safety recall due to a missed deadline (March 2022). We first became aware of the recall in March 2023 and have been attempting to resolve the issue since that time. The vehicle has been inspected by the dealership but has not been inspected by police or insurance representatives. There were no warning lights, dashboard messages, or other alerts indicating a headlight system problem prior to the failure. The primary symptom has been the gradual dimming of the low-beam headlights over time until they became too dim to safely illuminate the road.
The exterior lighting is extremely dim. It is an issue driving at night. I’ve had to pull over to make sure the lights were actually on. Please, please issue a recall to help prevent possible fatal crashes. I see that there are numerous complaints regarding this issue and it should be addressed as quickly as possible.
The headlights has a recall but the dealership told me if the previous owner didn't fix it, it didn't do me any justice. I have to drive with bright lights on at night because the headlights are pointed at the ground but not up ahead to see what's in front of me. It's very hard to see. I haven't had the car a year and I really love my car. The $1,600 to fix, is what the Nissian dealership in my town quoted me. I am a single mom with elementary aged kids, driving them to school, it's still little dark.
The headlamps are so dim, you can't even see the road at night. This is a well known issue to Nissan that the headlamps for this make and model are defective. The headlamp assemblies need to be replaced and this should be a recall. There was a civil lawsuit and I, like many others, tried getting the headlamps replaced during the acceptable time period, but my Nissan dealership was not able to get the parts in time. Looking online, this happened to the majority of people and people weren't able to get the proper repairs needed at no fault of their own. This is a major problem that Nissan needs to address. NHTSA also has a responsibility to be pushing Nissan on this recall. My automotive repair company said they've never seen so many complaints with the NHTSA without there being a full recall. It is an extreme safety hazard to not have the road visible at night. I, along with others, have received warnings from the police as well for not having proper lighting. Please help fix this issue.
The headlights are very dim and it's very hard to see when it's dark outside
Delamination of headlight units has left low beam use unsafe. Seeing more than 20-25ft ahead of vehicle is impossible at night. There was a class action suit for this issue but I was not notified and now the window for replacement had passed. This seems like it should have been a safety recall. I attempted to get relief from Nissan but was stonewalled. Not even a discount on replacing the units.
The lights are positioned too low to the ground and they are not bright enough. I end up having to keep my high lights on when driving at night because the visibility is very poor otherwise. Dangerous
The headlights on my 2013 Nissan Altima SL are dangerously dim. The car was purchased used in July, 2022 and has been driven daily by my son since then. While driving with him recently on his way home college I was driving and could barely tell that the headlights were on while driving at night through the un-lit Interstate in Virginia. The extremely low light level was alarming to me as I could not see well without using the high beams which was not always possible due to surrounding traffic, and I was constantly nervous that the others on the road may not be able to see my vehicle. Nissan is fully aware that there is an issue. In response to a class action lawsuit in 2022 they agreed to replace the headlight assemblies for those that filed a claim within a certain timeframe. The lawsuit pointed to a delaminating of the reflective materials inside the headlight assembly, so replacing the bulbs does not significantly raise the lighting output. Unfortunately the deadline for a free replacement expired prior to me purchasing the car. I contacted a local Nissan dealer on [XXX], 2024 and they indicated that the free replacement has long since expired and estimated that it would cost approximately $1,500 to replace the headlights. I then contacted Nissan corporate on the same date and received the same response. I honestly do not understand how this did not become a Safety Recall. The lights obviously do not produce adequate light levels to safely drive at night. This is worsened by the prevalence of ultra-brite HID Halogen and LED headlights on the majority of cars on the road today. Though Nissan “did not accept” liability in response to the class action lawsuit in 2022, Nissan did replace thousands of sets of headlights- admitting that they know the OEM headlights are an issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Nissan never informed me of the head light recall in 2022 and as a result I've been driving on dim lights which is quite dangerous. This week I took it into a Nissan dealership in Anderson, SC to get them repaired and it cost $1500! They informed me it should have been covered under the recall but that it's expired. This is unacceptable. Nissan is responsible to inform it's car owners of all recalls and the fact that they didn't should not enable them to get away with making people pay for these recall repairs.
I bought this car and the light bulb is replaced. It is the actual halo type plastic head lights that are defected. If I take to dealer can they fix it. I saw issues with the same thing on the Internet.
Headlights
I was never informed of a voluntary recall on the headlamps of certain Nissan Altimas, my wife said it was difficult to drive at night, I installed LED lights with little change. I found out after Nissan had a voluntary recall that the head light assemblies had issues, mainly de-lamination of the chrome in the reflector assembly on the low beam light. Dealer said they would replace them unless I paid over $2000. I found non OEM light assemblies, had them installed, and took the old assembly apart and I was shocked to see the degrading of the entire assembly and material deposited on the lens making it cloudy, not clear at all. I documented all this, and really do think it is a serious safety issue since many of these cars are now on the used market, and many of the owners buying on that market may not have the resources to change out the headlamp assemblies, or even original owners such as me and my wife. Nissan knows there was an issue, and therevis. We happened to be lucky, my wife was not involved in an accident due to the low output of the lights, but the difference after installing the new assemblies is dramatic and the damage to the reflector assembly and cloudy film on the lens is significant. Nissan knows of the problem, they accept no responsibility now, but no doubt it is a serious safety issue which should be looked at again, Nissan did not let all the owners know they may have an issue, heck I got more notices on a hood latch recall than anything else. This is a real serious safety issue, visibility at night is severely restricted.
The dim headlights dont work right so u cant see driving. It is very dangerous it could cause a accident. So you have to drive with your brights on so that you can see and then that could also cause accident because you're blinding the people coming towards you
Headlights are dangerously dim, contacted manufacturer and were told that we missed the settlement on this issue. We purchased this vehicle after the settlement so of course we missed it. My son drives this car to and from college two and a half hours away. I cannot understand why nothing is being done. When he drives at night, he has to have high beams on and even then, they are not the brightest. I know we are not the only ones, I have researched it and seen countless complaints about the headlights.
The headlights are so dim it is dangerous. I had been riding with the brights on because of the dimness of the lights. I was almost in a serious accident due to the lack of visibility resulting from faulty headlights—even with the brights on. These are dangerous.
It was a recall on the headlights and Nissan said the recalled expired. The previous owner passed away. You can’t see anything at night without driving with the high beams on I had the bulbs changed an it’s dim lighting. This is a safety issues that’s putting me and other people lives in danger.
Headlights so dimmed you cannot see at night. Without using my high beams. I have all ready received 3 verbal warnings for driving with high beams. My understanding there was a recall I missed out in due to lost mail I assume but Nissan refuses to fix it and trying to charge me $2000 for there safety defect. I cannot afford to get this fixed out of pocket and it’s a safety issue. If it’s a recall that’s a safety issue it should be a Nissan repair.
Both front head lights (low lights) are very dim; right headlight may require re-wiring due to constant burning out of head light (low lights) and turning signal light. Measures have been taken by owner to address the situation by careful step-wise cleaning of headlight covers. After cleaning of headlight covers, there was significant fogginess still noted as having a film like appearance. This film appeared to be on the inside portion of the head lamps. Visibility was not improved after cleaning headlights. Night time driving visibility is significantly affected, leading to issue of safety while driving. Passengers have noted inability to distinguish whether headlights are turned on or off while driving at nght. Issue has been brought up to multiple nissan car dealerships who refuse to further inspect or acknowledge the issue of defect in the 2013 Nissan Altima. The issue has previously been brought up in the case of Rafael Suarez, et al. v. Nissan North America, Inc., Case No.3:21-cv-00393-WLC-AN. Dealership refuses to acknowledge case or issue in general.
My headlights have been dangerously dim for about a year now. According to the dealer is not a simple bulb replacement situation. They are telling me that I need to replace both headlamp assemblies and the cost will be about $1300 total. ($650 per headlamp). It is extremely difficult to drive at night with these dim headlights. A significant safety issue. Yes. Not yet. No warning lights or messages.
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact received notification of Voluntary Service Campaign: PC861 (Front Combination Lamps (Headlamps) – Halogen Only). The contact stated that the front headlamps failed to illuminate. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that the Voluntary Service Campaign had expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the Voluntary Service Campaign had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 88,000. The contact stated that there isn't a failure mileage. While waiting for the parts to become available, the contact had become ill and had missed the deadline for the recall repairs. However, the contact claims that she was never notified that the parts were available or to come in for repairs. The contact is currently waiting for the manufacturer's recall department to approve the repairs past the deadline.
Nissan is not supplying headlight assemblies to dealers in a timely manner (settlement of class action lawsuit for dimming headlights) yet is selling them as OEM online. I have been waiting 10 months or more for them to come into my dealer. The only response is that the supply chain is the problem. These headlights have been gradually been dimming for years due to the deterioration of a coating inside the projection beam lens. A class action lawsuit settlement has Nissan obligated to replace the complete assembly if one registered with the the class last March - September. This is on going issue and a safety issue. The lights are too dim and do not light up the road adequately. I had a close call with wildlife (deer) because you cannot see well.
Nissan is not supplying headlight assemblies to dealers in a timely manner (settlement of class action lawsuit for dimming headlights) yet is selling them as OEM online. I have been waiting 8 months for them to come into my dealer. The only response is that the supply chain is the problem. These headlights have been gradually been dimming for years due to the deterioration of a coating inside the projection beam lens. A class action lawsuit settlement has Nissan obligated to replace the complete assembly if one registered with the the classs last March - September.
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the hood inadvertently opened. The contact lost control of the vehicle but was able to pull over, close the hood, and continued driving. There were no warning lights illuminated. Additionally, while driving, the headlights failed to produce adequate lighting. The contact used the high beam headlights while driving. The contact stated that it was difficult to see people and objects on the roadway. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V315000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages). The manufacturer was contacted but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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