2016 Nissan Altima: True Cost, Problems & Verdict
552 NHTSA owner complaints · 4 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Reviewed by the MotorJury data desk · 2 sources · Last updated 2026-08-20
552 NHTSA owner complaints · 4 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Complaints per year on the road: 55.2
Verbatim reports filed with the United States safety regulator (NHTSA) by owners of this exact model year. Public record.
To recap: •Nissan manufactured defective transmissions. •Nissan granted me a warranty extension with a fleeting expiration date (2023) to shift the cost away from them. •In 2020, Nissan performed work on my car. The work they performed masked the problem, didn’t fix it. And it deferred the problem, “kicking the can down the road.” •In 2026, Nissan denied my claim for goodwill approval. •I paid for a piecemeal fix on…
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the driver's side headlight had become inoperable. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed with an internal headlight failure, and it was determined that the headlight assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 165,000.
There is an active recall for the generic 2016 Nissan Altima OCS sensor, but it does not apply to my specific VIN apparently. This sensor is a problem with other vehicles of the same year, make, and model, but I am apparently on the hook for almost $1000 repair cost because the recall did not extend to my VIN. Again, same year, make, model, and issue as other 2016 Nissan Altimas, but the recall did not extend for som…
What the community is saying right now.
| Campaign | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 17V040000 | Latches/Locks/Linkages:Doors:Latch | Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Altima vehicles. The rear door latch/lock cable on the vehicles may have … |
| 18V915000 | Structure:Emergency:Escape/Egress/Exit | Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Altima vehicles, previously remedied under recall number 17V-040. The do… |
| 16V244000 | Air Bags:Sensor:Occupant Classification | Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, a… |
| 20V315000 | 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 inadvert… |
EPA combined 26 MPG · estimated annual fuel cost $2,350
Re-priced automatically from your country's retail fuel, electricity and parts indices — change country in the bar at the top. Estimates; see methodology.
The most-reported issue in NHTSA complaint data is Power Train (235 complaints in our indexed sample).
Our data verdict is AVOID with a reliability score of 30/100, computed from 552 NHTSA complaints and 4 recall campaigns. See the verdict card for the top reasons.
Yes — NHTSA lists 4 recall campaign(s) for the 2016 Nissan Altima, 1 of them touching fire, crash or stall risk, the most recent recorded 18/01/2017. Check this car's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy.
Fuel, maintenance band and depreciation — computed from public data in 10 seconds.
Open the true-cost calculatorComplaints & recalls: NHTSA ·
Fuel economy: EPA fueleconomy.gov ·
Scoring: our published methodology.
Maintenance bands are industry-average estimates (AAA Your Driving Costs, CarMD index) — labeled estimates, not measurements.
Last updated: 2026-08-20.