Problems with 2013 Nissan Altima POWER TRAIN

Resuming after a stop the car was sluggish. it felt like the transmission was slipping. there were several strong jerking motions for a few seconds. then when it fully engaged the car lurched forward at a higher than expected speed. i did not have enough reaction time to brake and i hit the car in front of me. i didn't realize what had happened at the time but since then the car has done the same thing starting out from a stop. it happens several times a week. i have to leave plenty of distance between me and the car in front to avoid another accident. *tr

The contact stated that while using the air conditioner and coasting from 45 mph to 35 mph, the vehicle downshifted hard enough to jolt the car. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. the mechanic and service manager test drove the vehicle and stated when inspecting the vehicle the failure could not be duplicated. it was recommended to bring the car back when the problem recurred. the failure recurred numerous times. around 20000 miles the hard shifting also began to occur while the car was accelerating. the owner requested to bring the car to the dealership while the incident was occurring, but the dealership declined as they were busy and to call back after the holiday. when the owner called back after the holiday, the service person asked if the car felt like it was shifting hard. the owner stated yes, and was told that this feeling is normal in a cvt transmission and there was no need to bring the vehicle into the dealership. the car shifts so hard, sometimes the tires squeal. this happens often in traffic and will cause an accident, especially in icy or wet conditions. to date, the vehicle had not been repaired. *jb

We first began noticing what felt like a hard downshift when coasting at speeds under 50 mph. the problem was first diagnosed as a antilock brake programming error, but repairs did not solve the problem and the severity increased. when traveling at a speed of 30 - 45 mph and we'd take our foot off the accelerator, it almost felt like we were being rear-ended. it became clear that this was a problem with the new continuous acceleration transmission (i.e., no shift). once the maintenance technician felt the problem when it happened, a new transmission was ordered and installed (approx. at 10,000 miles). after the new transmission was installed, we had no problems until around 15,000 miles, when the problem resurfaced. we took it back in for repairs, as the vehicle is not safe to drive with such a hard jerking problem. they tried replacing the transmission controller, but that also did not work. when they told us that they were going to need to install another new transmission we told them we didn't want the car any longer. the dealership worked on our behalf to try to get help from nissan for a new vehicle, but with very little success. fortunately, our dealership still did the right thing and we have a new vehicle. *tr

I have a bad rattle coming from the right side of my car along with a whine noise coming from the same area. also have a very bad vibration/rattle in the car that seems to be from the transmission at acceleration from a start and acceleration while switching lanes on a city street. you can coast and press the gas again and then the whole car rattles. it has been in to a nissan dealership and they said they can feel it but don't know where or what is causing it. also headlights give very very poor visibility when driving at night and when raining at night.

The cvt transmission is vibrating violently from 1200~1800 rpm which could potentially cause premature transmission failure during driving. such vibration also compromises the mileages that nissan has declared therefore more green house gas emission for same miles. many 2013 altima owners complained about the same thing in forums such as edmunds, cars.com and etc. it is a mechanical design flaw the could severely jeopardize the car and hurt the people in it though nissan never admit it or fix it in the past one year. i sincerely request nhtsa to look at this issue. thanks. *tr

Vehicle stutters and vibrates at lower speeds. also their is a knocking sound coming from underneath the vehicle. brought back to dealership 3 times since march. all 3 times i was told it is perfectly normal for the car. i read online that other people have experienced similar issues. *tr

I have a 2013 nissan altima sv with 10800 miles on it. about 5000 miles ago began to hear and feel vibration with acceleration. noise continued to get worse. took it to a local nissan dealer and they said the issue was coming from the cvt transmission. they had to replace the serpentine belt and the tensioner. vibration is currently better but concerned this is just a short term solution. i think nissan needs to put a recall out and find a long term solution. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 nissan altima. the contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle abnormally swayed back and forth. the vehicle was easier to control once the speed decelerated to 50 mph and below. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the failure. the technician stated that it was a manufacturing defect. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 10,000.

Rpm drops suddenly from 1200rpm to 800rpm in 20-30mph speed level and vehicle bounces with bang sounds at transmission area. when i feel car loosening the power at low speed driving by dropping rpm gauge, i have to press brake or accelerator to keep vehicle's rpm safe level to run the car. this is very nervous thing. this problem have happened since middle of march and went to car dealer to check this point. but they said no problem in my car. i will visit again next week for this issue. i found many of cases this in nissan altima forum and other sites, all owner complained about this but nissan did not reply any yet for this. this is a major problem related with safety issue. http://www.carproblemzoo.com/nissan/altima/vehicle-shudder-problems.php. *tr

I purchased this car on 3/8/2013 as brand new with 24 miles on it. 7 days later when starting up the motor the engine struggled to catch or start running. this has happened 3 times now. will be contacting nissan. this is unacceptable for having a week old "new" car. still waiting for response from dealership. *tr

The cvt transmission causes the vehicle to shutter and vibrate at light acceleration between 1200-2000 rpms. i have contacted nissan consumer affairs division 800-343-6913 ext457206 several times and have case #'s [xxx] and [xxx] on two separate vehicles with the same issue. i have been told repeatedly that nissan engineers are aware of the problem and are working on a solution. there are many, many complaints of this same issue on several web sites. i have heard nothing since 3/26/2013 from nissan in regards to my complaint. i have had my car in for service at orland park nisan, orland park, il and have also contacted them numerous times to see if there was any repair that has been issued to rectify this problem. they acknowledge and are aware of this problem. there answer is they have done the recommended service bulletins sent to them from nissan to repair this problem. there is absolutely no difference in the performance of the vehicle after performing these repairs. nissan knows they have a problem and should be forced to stand behind the performance of their product. please help!!!!!!!! information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Cvt transmission shutter, while driving from stop to go, car felt it was going to stall, like when turning left in traffic. *tr

Started to drive from a park position i was going already around 15-20 mph before transmission kicked into gear. *tr

Transmission slipped i was at a red light turned green started to move when i felt a pull back on the car and then car shot forward. *tr

Well i have noticed that i have a bad vibration and grinding noise between 1,200 and 1,800 rpm's worst at 1,500. this happens no matter what speed. i have brought it in to the dealership 2 different times for this and they tell me this is normal. i am sorry but when a transmission is vibrating or making bad noises like this it has something wrong with it. i believe this is contributing to my very poor gas mileage. also while from a stop and accelerating i have had my car surge and have no power while trying to accelerate. this has happened three times and 2 of the times i had a car come up on me fast because i was not able to accelerate. this can be a big safety issue. *tr

Well the main selling point on this vehicle is that the dealer told me they were top in mpg's with 27 city and 38 highway. after a week or so i noticed that my mpg average is no more than 23.1. and that was with more than 50% travel on highways with no traffic(never went under the speed limit). i figured it had something to do with it being new and it would average out better later. so after 5,000 miles on the car i took it in and they told me that this is just because every driver averages different and i kept saying but i am not even getting close to the 27 city and i drive more highway. but they told me that everything is normal and they reset the average calculator. after a week it was worse than it was before and i was bringing it back for my many other problems i have with this car. they had my car for 4 days and finally told me that while they had it a check engine light came on saying that my air fuel ratio sensor was faulty. they replaced it and told me that was the fix. i have put about a tanks worth of mileage on it since and i am getting under 23 mpg still. either something is very wrong with my car or nissan is lying about the mpg's and yes i get that they are presented by the epa but nissan does the test first then sends it to the epa and then the epa tests later on. either way the mpg's are wrong and i drive to try to get the best mpg's i don't even go over 2,000 rpm's unless going up hill. which brings me to the vibration from the trans. but that's in another complaint. nissan needs to fix this problem because i chose this over the honda accord just for the mpg's. *tr

after the first car with 2000miles air bags did not go off in the accident so went bought another new one the airbag light was on in 70 miles so put a new seat from another car nissan did not have a new seat no the air bag light does not work properly and the car has a viberation that nissan cant fix need to stop selling lemons. *tr

I have owned this car for all of a week. there are at least 2 major safety concerns. the first is the passenger air bag. the light on the dash indicates that the air bag is "off" when my wife sits in the passenger seats. she is an adult, height about 5' 2" and weighs approx. 120 lbs. apparently i am not the only one with this issue. calls to nissan are a waste of time at this point as i'm told nothing about how this will be resolved. the other issue is with the cvt transmission. under light acceleration, at about 1200-1500 rpm there is a vibration and its very noisy. it almost seems like the car is going to die out. the other issues i am having with the car of which there are a few are not necessarily safety related so i wont post them here. needless to say, there are better and safer choices out there. choose wisely. *tr

Purchased brand new with 2 miles. at 4500 miles, heat gauge indicated an increase in engine temperature. drove 2 miles to a service station, and upon opening the hood, anti-freeze was sprayed everywhere. car was towed to dealer. dealer inspected, and said the radiator had leaked, so the dealer replaced the radiator. after replacement, the dealer performed a test drive, when the check engine light came on. dealer performed pressure tests, and said the engine would need replacement. *tr

Noticed problem back in jan. car would make a banging noise & jolt forward when coasting to a stop. same problem also occurs when stopping and going to accelerate after stop. have take car to dealer i purchased it at 5 times & was told there was nothing wrong , they could not duplicate the issue i was having. on july 11, 2013 the technician took the car home & they finally and was able to document the issue was real and now a new transmission is required! in dec 2012 there was a recall done on the tcm that's when the problem started after recall. *tr

Abnormal transmission grinding / lugging noise of the transmission at low rpm (1200-1600). nissan claims noise is as designed. how is grinding noise in the transmission with a car that has 3000 miles normal? again nissan claims that this is normal. 1800-343-6913 ext. [xxx] case # [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

When accelerating gently or decelerating you can heard a rumbling and vibration noise. *tr

Brought car in to dealer for a recall that the transmission needed to be reprogrammed. several weeks later noticed that the engine sounded louder and rattled on acceleration. proceeded to get worse by the day. brought to dealer on wednesday and was told the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle has approximately 2000 miles on it. *tr

When starting the car the starter would keep cranking after the release of the start button, the passenger air bag light stays on sometimes even when a passenger is in the seat also the rear seat belts are very hard to lock in do to the receiver end pushes down into the seat when driving there is a few problems the low end rattles and shakes and 45 and above there is a wining noise from the engine compartment that sounds like a bad alt bearing or trans problem it gets louder the faster you go very annoying with today technology these problems and this is just a few is a big step back for nissan not a happy customer just broke 6000 miles. *tr

Vehicle has been in the service department five times for different things in less than 2 months. main problem reported each time in service is my transmission. between 20-50 mph and 1000-2500 rpm the car will violently shake and lose power. i have to press the gas pedal harder to get the car to stop shuddering and pick up acceleration. i have almost been involved in tow rear end collisions b/c of the lose of power and shuddering. nissan states that i must wait for a reprogramming fix. i have filed a complaint with nissan consumer affairs. in the meantime i have to sacrifice my safety? totally not acceptable. i have owned 3 previous nissan products with no problems. *tr

Purchased a new 2013 altima sedan 3.5sl in november 2012. at approximately 500 miles, upon acceleration from a stop, the car jerked violently for 2-3 seconds before kicking in and accelerating (as if driving a manual transmission and attempted to start in 4th gear). this has happened 2 more times since. additionally, often while accelerating the rpms will drop significantly and the car will shudders before kicking back in and accelerating. lastly, on occasion, while decelerating, the car will jerk harshly (as if driving a manual transmission and shifting into too low a gear for the speed). took the car into dealership and they said they could not duplicate the issue. contacted nissan corporate 2/6/2013 and the representative told me she hadn't heard of anyone else having this problem, but that she would open a ticket. called back to nissan corporate 2/27/2013 to follow up and was told that my previous ticket had been closed. *tr

There is a shuttering vibration in drive train when engine is at 1500 rpm and going up an incline. eventually it is going to cause loosing of bolts and cause crash. *tr

Noticed car shaking violently while coasting at about 17 mph and then accelerating. contacted dealership. was told that it is a defect with the torque converter that causes it to shift between gears at about 28 mph. i told them that mine was happening at about 17 or 18 mph. was told they were looking into it. called again about a week later, was told that it was a design flaw and nissan was not going to do anything about it. *tr

Approximately two weeks after purchasing my brand new 2013 altima 3.5 s the car developed a shudder and vibration when i would accelerate slightly. it also occurred going up small hills, and when i would come to a complete stop then pull off (for instance at a red light). after noticing this, i scheduled an appointment with the dealer, and we did a test drive in hopes of mimicking the issue. the mechanic advised me that this was normal for a cvt engine, and that everything was fine. i wasn't quite convinced, but i wanted to trust his opinion, since this was my first time driving a car with a cvt engine. however, a few weeks passed and the shudder and vibration got worse. the car even jerked forward once when i was pressing on the brakes. this prompted me to schedule another visit with the dealer. this time the same mechanic from the first visit and the manager rode along with me. during this test drive the manager felt the sudden shudder, once we came to a complete stop and slightly accelerated. this prompted them to replace my transmission, not even 30 days after my purchase. i picked my car up from the dealer on 12/7/12 after they changed the transmission and the car drove perfectly fine. the bad news is that now the car has developed the same shudder and vibration even more now. i will be calling for another appointment tomorrow, because something has to be done about this. it's very dangerous, especially when this happens and you have another car riding directly behind you. *tr ## vin failed

Altima 3.5 transmission has a severe shudder when accelerating normally at about 15-25 mph. this is intermittent but serious as it results is severe shock to the drivetrain. this was not present when new and has been increasing in severity over the last 1000 miles. the dealer says that nissan engineers claim that it is "characteristic" of the 3.5. this is not true as it was not present when new and is constantly getting worse. it will probably soon result in transmission damage or complete failure which could be a serious safety issue. *tr

On october 4, 2012 i purchased a 2013 nissan altima 3.5 sl. it was obvious almost immediately that there was a problem with the transmission. upon taking off from a stopped position the first shift of the transmission is very hard, especially under light acceleration. two weeks after purchasing the veh. with approx. 400 miles on the odometer i was pulling away from a stop when the veh. started shuddering and shaking violently before shifting into gear with a hard bump. this incident lasted approx. 2 seconds. for the next 700 miles or so the shuddering and shaking occurred six more times. i took the veh. into the nissan dealer where it was purchased and after driving it they advised that they could not duplicate the problem. over the next 500 miles the incidents became more often and at times more severe, one incident lasting for several seconds before finally shifting into gear. on december 5, 2012 the veh. was returned to the dealership. i spoke with service manager explaining the problem and my concerns of maybe the veh. stopping in the roadway during one of these incidents and being rear ended. this time the service manager rode along with me and drove the veh. duplicating the problem several times. the engineers at nissan was contacted by the service manager and they confirmed that there was a problem with the transmission software on the v6 altimas, however they had no fix for it at this time. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 nissan altima. the contact stated that the vehicle would go into neutral while idling and would slam into gear when attempting to accelerate. the contact mentioned that immediatelly after the failure the vehicle stalled. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who has not been able to diagnose the failure. the failure mileage was 500 and the current mileage was 700.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 nissan altima. the contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle jerked violently while the contact was attempting to decelerate. the contact also stated that the failure recurred intermittently and when driving at different speeds. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted. the failure mileage was 600.

I have had major issues with this vehicle since the third day after purchase. the brakes have malfunctioned. the brake light would intermittently come on and i had it in several times, but the dealership could never "duplicate" anything. then the car started to misfire and emit a thick black smoke from exhaust. i contacted the dealership and at first they said it was normal because the car has a cvt transmission. then they said bring it in for assessment. a service technician test drove with me and experienced this first hand. i was told they could not service it that day, but to bring it back in. when i took it back a week later, they "could not duplicate" the problem. there has been much back and forth. i asked them to buy the car back because the problems were life threatening. the car actually shut off on me, twice, in traffic. when i last contacted the dealership, on july 24th, 2014, about the major issues i've been experiencing; the earliest they said they could see me would be on august 11th, 2014. on yesterday, it finally shut off for good, in the middle of the interstate. as i was on a trip, i had to have the vehicle towed 125 miles to my hometown dealership at the cost of $230.00, out of pocket. the only reason i got it home that cheaply was because i have four roadside assistance coverage packages and luckily one of them covered towing up to 100 miles. the car is now sitting on the dealership's parking lot. *js

When coasting from a low speed (45-55) to near stop the transmission "locks up" while nowshifting. the vehicle violently locks up, so bad that it feels like you've hit something. the steering wheel is also affected to the brute force. nissan issued a mandatory recall transmission reprogram which i promptly had done to the vehicle. however, just this friday, 5/3/13, the transmission again did this. both times i was lucky that i was on back roads with little to no traffic and that i was able to maintain control. this is a serious problem that in the wrong conditions (ice/snow/rain) or when oncoming traffic is coming could get someone killed. i can't explain just how violent the downshift is, other than to say the first time my 6 year old began crying in the rear seat because he thought we wrecked, and that the 2nd time my cell phone was jarred from a very rugged cradle. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 nissan altima. the contact stated that after 20 days of driving, while stopped, a strange vibration was emitted from the undercarriage. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that there were no failures. the contact stated that the failure recurred several times and was taken to the dealer on each occasion. the manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in any recalls. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 600 and the current mileage was 3,333. updated 03/13/13*lj the consumer stated a mechanic test drove the vehicle and confimed the vibration. on the second visit to the dealer the general manager and service manager suggested to buy a new maxima or altima. the consumer declined. the vibration only worsened causing a third visit to the dealer. updated 03/28/2013 *js

The problem began with the transmission locking up or shuddering going down hill, throwing the vehicle and me forward. ever been on a golf cart going down a hill where the governor throws you forward? multiply that by about 5 and that's what you get. it has progressively gotten worse, to the point where it actually causes the wheels to stop and "chirp" on the pavement. now, it even happens on relatively flat areas and, going up some hills, the transmission just about gives out. it's a safety issue for several reasons: (1) locking up going down a hill is unsafe if someone is behind you, (2) the severity of it could cause you to lose control of the car, (3) losing power going up a hill could cause you to be rear-ended. nissan has been slow to respond even though other people have had the same problem. my dealer says that they searched nissan's "tech talk" across dealers and found nothing. do a google search on "nissan deceleration shudder or lockup" and you'll find lots of folks with the same problem. very unfortunate for an otherwise great car. they need to identify the problem and recall some or all of the 2013s. *tr

Since buying the car new, there has been a vibration/shudder coming from under the vehicle when slowly accelerating. the dealer has looked at the problem twice and has been unable to find the source of the problem, even though a tech has heard the vibration while riding with me on a test drive. i'm concerned about this because powertrains that are functioning properly should not make this noise. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 nissan altima. the contact stated that the vehicle jerked violently while the contact was attempting to decelerate. the failure recurred intermittently and without warning. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 500 and the current mileage was 6,000. *tr

The vehicle surges at around 25mph. it cuts out, slows down for a couple seconds, then jerks forward. when it jerks forward, it slam hard like it is doing damage to the transmission. *tr