2021 Nissan Altima Problems

69 owner complaints filed with the United States safety regulator · top issue: Forward Collision Avoidance · verdict BUY 71/100

Source NHTSA public complaint and recall record · methodology

What breaks, by owner reports

Forward Collision Avoidance22
Electrical System21
Service Brakes20
Unknown Or Other12
Steering7
Engine6

In the owners’ words

“When I make a turn, I hear a clicking noise and also when I come to a complete stop, I can a sound that sounds like a grunting noise. I had new brakes, rotors and brand new tires put on in 2025. I think my ball joints and tie rod is defective. I have a triple AAA membership and I just renewed it in June and it said that my 2021 has two recalls. NHTSA # 23V628000 The back over prevention sensing system camera & NHTSA#”NHTSA complaint, 2021 Nissan Altima owner
“My car is supposed to have an automatic braking system/collision detection. Two cars in front of me slammed on their brakes and the car in front of me slammed on his brake, and I didn't have enough time to react. I totalled my car, but my car is supposed to have a safety feature that automatically brakes. The faulty automatic braking didn't engage as it should have.”NHTSA complaint, 2021 Nissan Altima owner
“While heading west on interstate after a Drs. Appointment my wife was driving our 2021 Nissan Altima when suddenly there was a loss of power to the engine as if the engine was overheating or had loss of fuel or only able to slowly exit the freeway to a safe place and call a tow truck, after 1 1/2 days of diagnosing and testing. I was able to drive the vehicle with no issues for approximately 4000 miles when the exact”NHTSA complaint, 2021 Nissan Altima owner

Recall campaigns

ReportedComponentSummary
04/03/2021Steering:Linkages:Tie Rod Assembly SAFETYNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Nissan Altima vehicles. The tie rod ball joint fastener was not tightened properly, which could result in the tie rod ball joint detaching from the stee
08/09/2023Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: CameraNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Altima and 2020-2021 Sentra vehicles. Damage to the camera harness can cause distortion or loss of the rearview camera display image. As such, these ve

Questions owners ask

Is the 2021 Nissan Altima reliable?

On the federal record it scores 71/100: 69 owner complaints (13.8 per year on the road) and 2 recall campaigns, 1 touching safety-critical systems.

What is the most common problem with the 2021 Nissan Altima?

The most-reported component in NHTSA complaints is Forward Collision Avoidance, with 22 of 88 categorised reports.

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The 2021 Nissan Altima scored 71/100 on the federal record.

Full 2021 data pagecosts, verdict, every numberAll Altima yearswhich year to avoid Most complained-about carsthe national ranking