2015 Nissan Altima Powertrain (other) Problems

Subject: Dangerous Transmission Failure in 2015 Nissan Altima While my 2015 Nissan Altima has always exhibited questionable performance—including abnormal acceleration, hesitation during throttle response, and mismatched RPMs relative to acceleration—the transmission has now begun to severely slip. I have also experienced sudden loss of power, pronounced shuddering, and complete power failure while driving. On multiple occasions, these issues have placed me in dangerous driving situations. It is important to note that I have regularly maintained the vehicle and kept it in mechanically decent shape throughout my ownership. I believe it is critical for other drivers to be aware of these ongoing problems, especially since Nissan appears to be avoiding responsibility for manufacturing such faulty powertrains. New car buyers and those purchasing used vehicles are becoming victims of this defective transmission, which poses a serious risk to passengers, drivers, and others on the road.

NHTSA ID

11744010

Incident

May 1, 2026

The transmission failed in my 2015 Nissan Altima. The check engine light is currently on due to a defective transmission. While I understand that Nissan extended the transmission warranty by two years or 24,000 miles following a class action lawsuit, I find this coverage completely unreasonable, insufficient and irresponsible, and most importantly unsafe. My vehicle has only 83,800 miles and has been well-maintained, yet the transmission still failed. While driving in the freeway in San Diego, the vehicle suddenly lost complete transmission engagement and power. My vehicle was almost rear ended by multiple cars. The check engine light appeared after the transmission failure. A Nissan dealer later confirmed the vehicle needs a new transmission. Nissan and NHTSA should have done a complete recall after the class action lawsuit against Nissan for putting faulty transmission on Altimas 2015.

NHTSA ID

11719400

Incident

Feb 9, 2026

Right rear passenger rear tire assembly broke off from frame of vehicle

NHTSA ID

11701559

Incident

Nov 24, 2025

The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated, and the vehicle failed to accelerate from a complete stop and jerked. Additionally, the vehicle failed to respond as intended while in reverse(R). The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was later taken to the local dealer, where a diagnostic test was performed on the vehicle, and it was confirmed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 68,000.

NHTSA ID

11701414

Incident

Sep 10, 2025

Mileage

68,000 mi

Car began shuddering when trying to accelerate. Car periodically will stop running or not start. No dash lights came on until recently when car would not start the battery nd engine light came on This all started end of September. Has been diagnosed by Nissan Dealership with 2nd diagnosis by an automotive shop close to my home. Informed this is a known issue with this make and model. Researched online and found this the be true. I received no notification. Both came up with transmission and CVT internal problem. Safety hazard for car to die in traffic. I have cancer and heart failure which makes general mobility an issue. I can’t quickly exit the car nd get out of the way of traffic. Informed only the dealership can address the issue. Quoted $6700 to repair/replace

NHTSA ID

11692607

Incident

Sep 28, 2025

Transmission issues

NHTSA ID

11672151

Incident

Mar 3, 2017

The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle jerked and made an abnormally loud sound. The vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal, and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road. The contact stated that the check engine and stabili-trak warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the residence, and then was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed and determined that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The repair was pending. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact that the VIN was included in Nissan Manufacturer Recall Number: PC490. The contact was advised that a manager would reach out. However, the contact was awaiting a call from the manager. The contact was advised that the dealer was refusing to repair the vehicle, because the vehicle was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 190,300.

NHTSA ID

11663822

Incident

May 25, 2025

Mileage

190,300 mi

Car was driving fine went to work on January 2nd 2025 and when I went to leave I put it in reverse it went and when I put it in drive the car would not. Shift into drive . Had it taken in where they quoted me $7,776.00 For the transmission to be replace my Altima has been taken very good care of it was bought at 31k and it has 141k all high way miles. Nissan said it was under warranty and I missed it by 20k miles I was never notified of a recall on the transmission they sent out recalls for the hood latch amd a Reprogramming issue with the cvt. Prior to that. That was fixed at a Nissan dealer ship.

NHTSA ID

11661741

Incident

Jan 2, 2025

The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The ABS warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and restarted the vehicle. The vehicle failed to accelerate immediately. The contact was able to drive to the residence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with CVT judder, and the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 33,737.

NHTSA ID

11642339

Incident

Dec 1, 2024

Mileage

33,737 mi

The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked and made an abnormally loud sound. The check engine warning light intermittently illuminated. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, the key fob failed to function as intended. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but denied assistance in covering the cost of the repair. The vehicle remained at the residence and had not been driven since the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11641102

Incident

Jan 6, 2025

I purchased my 2015 Nissan Altima in July, 2022 with 56,530 miles on it. At this date it has approximately 71,500 miles on it. I have driven it 14,970 miles in 2.5 years. On [XXX] I was driving home from Thanksgiving in East Brunswick, NJ to my home in South Philadelphia on [XXX] in New Jersey when my car suddenly began to have a slow down in ability to accelerate. I ended up pulling over after a moment of slowing down and not knowing what was happening. When I got to the break down lane, the car stalled. I ended up getting road side assistance to tow me to Ward's Automotive in Mt. Laurel, NJ, where my family and I have brought cars for many years (we used to live in Moorestown, NJ. Ward's ended up telling me the following Monday that my engine was "bad." I have no idea how my engine died after only 71,500 miles on this car! I got oil changes on it every 5,000 miles. I did report to the dealership in December, 2022 that I was hearing weird noises coming from the right front side but they told me they heard nothing. What can I do??? I am still paying for this vehicle (approx. $3,100 left on loan). I did not purchase an extended warranty when I bought it used. I have learned my lesson, but I need help understanding what rights I have. I don't know if there is any Manufacturer's Warranty on the car. Please help me! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11630690

Incident

Dec 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle hesitated and failed to properly shift gear. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed and repaired. The manufacturer was notified on the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 170,000.

NHTSA ID

11628841

Incident

Oct 4, 2024

Mileage

170,000 mi

I was using cruise control on the highway. My RPMs started going up and down and my speed slowed. I took it off cruise control and the speed was irregular. The car responded slowly to my pressing the accelerator. My car started squealing and I pulled over on the turnpike. I tried to press the accelerator after I stopped but the car would not move. I was unsafe because my car was on the shoulder of a highway and it was 85 degrees. I was also unsafe because my speed was not consistent and there was traffic around me. Lastly, I had to wait an hour for a tow truck. Two mechanics confirmed that this is a CVT judder problem. There were no warning lamps and no signs of a problem before this occurred.

NHTSA ID

11611791

Incident

Aug 25, 2024

The contact called on behalf of her daughter who owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate and respond as intended. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 88,000.

NHTSA ID

11608333

Incident

Jul 17, 2024

Mileage

88,000 mi

The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that on several occasions, the vehicle failed to immediately start after being driven for more than one hour. Additionally, while driving at various speeds the vehicle would not properly accelerate and shuddered while driving. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the CVT was faulty. No further information was available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 67,000.

NHTSA ID

11603123

Incident

Apr 1, 2024

Mileage

67,000 mi

Vehicle has problem accelerating after a stop, this doesn't flash codes and so dealer claims vehicle is okay to drive... upon asking in forums this is a common issue relating to the Step Motor and has been replicated across various model years with varying mileage. This issue has been happening for approx the last 60k miles and the dealer cannot replicate.

NHTSA ID

11589197

Incident

May 16, 2024

While stopped at a light, pressed gas pedal and car wouldn’t go for some time. After it started going car wouldn’t shift out of first. I revved the car a few times to get it to shift then car wouldn’t shift out of second. Took into mechanic and had diagnosis around a pulley in the CVT transmission. Also was told that the mechanic sees this model many times a year for transmission issues

NHTSA ID

11577675

Incident

Mar 13, 2024

I have a issue with my vehicle going into LIMP MODE due to a safety issue with the TCM loosing programming with the transmission. This is a BIG SAFETY as I'm on the Hi way. Car will go from 75 mph down to 20mph and can cause for severe car accident. I spike to your warranty department and they gave me the run around. I gave them Info in reguards to a Campaing ID# Which is a clear issue that these NISSAN CARS are still having. A recall was terminated in late 2016, yet a bulletin was posted online of it being active as of 1/ 2017 still. I was told that it's MY PROBLEM NOW AND MY ISSUE TO HAVE NISSAN CHARGE ME FOR A REPROGRAMMING of the TCM when Clearly this issue is still present in. Vehicles in 2024. Many of times I came close to averting a major accident due to car loosing communications with TCM. AGAIN this is very unfair as to how a dealership can brush this SAFETY ISSUE UNDER THE RUG BY SIMPLY TELLING A NISSAN VEHICLE OWNER, SORRY RECALL WAS CLOSED, AFTER LESS THEN A YEAR OF FINDING OUT THE ISSUE ON A CAR. NISSAN must want someone to end up DEAD in there cars due to a TCM MALFUNCTION WITH TRANSMISSION SO THEY CAN BRING THIS TO LIGHT AGAIN. THE SERVICE BULLETIN IS STILL OUT THERE ON THERE FORUMS AND STATES NOTHING ABOUT WARRANTY, MILAGE OF VEHICLE OR ANY TIME FRAME, YET DENY THAT THE ISSUE STILL EXIST IN THERE VEHICLES. I HOPE YOU ALL CAN INVESTIGATE THIS FURTHER AND HAVE NISSAN CORRECT THERE WRONGS AND NOT ALLOW SOMEONE TO DIE ON ANY AMERICAM ROAD DUE TO THERE NEGLECT OF A STILL PERSISTANT ISSUE...

NHTSA ID

11576631

Incident

Feb 26, 2024

The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormally loud sound. The check engine warning light intermittently illuminated. The vehicle later failed to start and was towed to an independent mechanic, who replaced the variable valve timing (VVT) solenoids. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 87,287.

NHTSA ID

11553758

Incident

Oct 25, 2023

Mileage

87,287 mi

The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving approximately 25–35 mph. The contact stated that the engine and battery warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was shuddering. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed her that the alternator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced and that there was no warranty coverage. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.

NHTSA ID

11550671

Incident

Oct 4, 2023

Mileage

94,000 mi

Vehicle has a current defected transmission that Nissan is aware off and fixed vehicles within a certain warranty period. Customers should have received letter making them aware of the defected transmission, I explained to Nissan I never received a letter. I am assuming this happened because I purchased the vehicle used, the person I spoke to from Nissan said unfortunately this happens. Nissan should be required to fix the vehicle as they failed to notify me of the defected transmission.

NHTSA ID

11535662

Incident

Aug 1, 2023

Transmission codes showing check engine light , CVT transmission

NHTSA ID

11534237

Incident

May 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle jerked abnormally and failed to properly accelerate. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. After several minutes, the vehicle started to operate as designed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but the contact was unsure what needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 120,000.

NHTSA ID

11512852

Incident

May 1, 2020

Mileage

120,000 mi

In 3 different occasions in this same particular order my car would start to slowly loose acceleration of only letting me drive to 10mph before lights on dash would come on such as ps,abs,traction control ect. Then my radio would shut off followed by my whole dashboard before completely the whole vehicle would completely shutdown on me and I could not start up again. I replaced the battery and put in a new alternator, but continued doing the exact same issue. I took it to a mechanic and he determined that for whatever reason the new alternator was not sending out the power and replaced it again and have to reprogram the entire computer because it was sending all kinds of codes that had nothing to do with my vehicles issue. He also noticed the continues whining sort of whistling noise coming from the powersterring as I have read in the past that people have that same problem on this particular model. As of this moment its been about 1 month and has not yet stalled on me for now, but it is very dangerous when this happens in the middle of the street or highway when your running at a certain speed and cannot control your steering since its powersterring.

NHTSA ID

11511742

Incident

Jan 25, 2023

The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that there was an abnormal winding sound detected coming from the vehicle. The transmission warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the local dealer for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 62,000.

NHTSA ID

11509447

Incident

Jan 1, 2023

Mileage

62,000 mi