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2016 Nissan Altima

Gas
Midsize Cars
3 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-09-11
C
Safety Signal
72 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record
RecallsNHTSA campaigns4
Complaintsowner reports to NHTSA553
Crash ratingNHTSA overall5★
Fuel economybest combined, EPA31 mpg
20262025202420232022202120202019201820172016

The 2016 Nissan Altima is sold in the U.S. as a gas midsize car with 3 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Altima, is EPA-rated at 31 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of C. Owners have filed 553 complaints, most often about the power train. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov
ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
AltimaGasFWD2.5L 4-cyl273931$2,000
Altima SRGasFWD2.5L 4-cyl263730$2,100
AltimaGasFWD3.5L 6-cyl223126$2,400

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 37142, 37141, 37143.

Factory warranty running out?

The 2016 Nissan Altima is in the years where transmission, electronics and drivetrain repairs land on the owner. Compare extended-coverage quotes in about two minutes.

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Recalls (4)

Source: NHTSA recall database
▲high

Latches/Locks/Linkages

R20A7
1,831,818 vehicles
ProblemNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2018 Nissan Altima vehicles. If the primary hood latch is inadvertently released, there is an increased likelihood that the secondary hood latch may corrode over time.RiskCorrosion to the secondary latch may cause it to bind and remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed. If the primary latch is inadvertently released again and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could unexpectedly open while driving, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.FixNissan will notify owners, and dealers will install a stronger release spring in the hood release lever, a warning label near the secondary hood latch, and an OwnerÂ’s Manual addendum card with instructions on how to lubricate and maintain the secondary hood latch mechanism, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 30, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Note: Recall 16V-029 remains open for any unremedied 2013-2015 Altimas and this recall ap
NHTSA campaign 20V315000reported May 28, 2020Nissan North America, Inc.
●moderate

Latches/Locks/Linkages

341,003 vehicles
ProblemNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Altima vehicles, previously remedied under recall number 17V-040. The door latch-lock cable may not have been routed properly in the rear door when the remedy was applied. As a result, the cable may interfere with the window regulator causing the rear passenger door to unlatch and inadvertently open without warning when the window is lowered.RiskIf the rear passenger door opens while the vehicle is moving, the rear passengers have an increased risk of injury.FixNissan will notify owners, and dealers will secure the latch-lock cables in the correct position using the new remedy procedure, free of charge. The recall began February 5, 2019. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7669.
NHTSA campaign 18V915000reported Dec 19, 2018Nissan North America, Inc.
●moderate

Latches/Locks/Linkages

341,005 vehicles
ProblemNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Altima vehicles. The rear door latch/lock cable on the vehicles may have been improperly routed. As a result, lowering a rear window may inadvertently cause that door to unlatch and open.RiskIf the rear passenger doors inadvertently open while the vehicle is in motion, it may increase the risk of injury to the rear passengers.FixNissan will notify owners, and dealers will correct the rear door latch/lock cable routing, free of charge. The recall began on February 16, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
NHTSA campaign 17V040000reported Jan 18, 2017Nissan North America, Inc.
▲high

Air Bags

3,296,947 vehicles
ProblemNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crashRiskIf the passenger frontal air bag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury.FixNissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy par
NHTSA campaign 16V244000reported Apr 26, 2016Nissan North America, Inc.

NHTSA defect investigations

Air Bags:Frontal:Passenger Side:Inflator Module — Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture open

From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa

Opened Sep 17, 2021 · action EA21002

Suspension:Rear — Rear Suspension Control Arm Failure closed

On July 29, 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened EA19002 to investigate instances of alleged rear lower control arm failures in 2013-2018 Nissan Altima and 2016-2018 Nissan Maxima vehicles. At the time the investigation was opened ODI had 91 consumer complaints alleging rear lower control arm failures in the subject vehicles.ODI was concerned about these complaints because many of them alleged an increased steering effort or loss of vehicle control.At the time these complaints were received, ODI was also aware of a proactive service campaign addressing 2013 Nissan Altima in salt-belt states for a similar concern. Since opening the investigation, ODI has confirmed, based on

Opened Jul 29, 2019 · closed Jun 16, 2025 · action EA19002

Suspension:Rear — Rear Suspension Control Arm Failure closed

PE18-013 was opened on December 1, 2018, with 4 complaints to ODI alleging incidents of the lower control arm fracturing at a connection point to the vehicle chassis due to corrosion. ODI has received an additional 87 complaints since the PE was opened. During PE18-013, Nissan indicated model years 2013-2018 shared a common rear lower control arm design. Nissan provided complaint and warranty data regarding 48 incidents of the subject failure. The majority of the complaints are from vehicles registered in salt belt states. There have been no crashes, injuries, or fatalities confirmed as of this date. Nissan advised that it has conducted testing to assess safety risk. Nissan states that due t

Opened Dec 1, 2018 · closed Aug 21, 2019 · action PE18013

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database
553complaints filed

28 involved a crash · 3 a fire · 32 injuries · 1 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2016: 14 · 2017: 25 · 2018: 55 · 2019: 115 · 2020: 80 · 2021: 57 · 2022: 67 · 2023: 53 · 2024: 34 · 2025: 36 · 2026: 17

Most-cited components

Power Train235
Engine86
Unspecified81
Air Bags70
Vehicle Speed Control65
Electrical System42

What owners describe

“Transmission seems to get stuck and not want to move at times. Airbag light on dash and some times shows pass air bag light off when there is a passenger in the seat.”Oct 5, 2021 · Air Bags · NHTSA owner report
“The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving 73 MPH, the RPM began to raise and lower quickly. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to park on the right side of the road and turned off the ignition. The contact stated he waited around 10 minutes before res…”Sep 28, 2021 · Engine · NHTSA owner report
“Upon arriving to my grandson's daycare, I applied by brake and put my car in park and suddenly my car accelerated at a fast speed. My car moved forward across an area that the children are usually playing in, but because it was raining they were inside. Thank God! I can't even imagine what would have happened. My car f…”Sep 4, 2021 · Power Train · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP
ConfigurationOverallFrontalSideRolloverRollover risk
4 DR FWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★☆10%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.

Compare the 2016 Altima with

2016 Toyota Camry →2016 Toyota Corolla →

Other Altima model years

A

2026 Nissan Altima

0 recalls · 0 complaints

B

2025 Nissan Altima

2 recalls · 6 complaints

A

2024 Nissan Altima

1 recalls · 41 complaints

A

2023 Nissan Altima

0 recalls · 29 complaints

A

2022 Nissan Altima

0 recalls · 30 complaints

B

2021 Nissan Altima

2 recalls · 69 complaints

F

2020 Nissan Altima

6 recalls · 158 complaints

F

2019 Nissan Altima

7 recalls · 229 complaints

B

2018 Nissan Altima

2 recalls · 225 complaints

B

2017 Nissan Altima

3 recalls · 390 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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