10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
89,837 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #88

Apr 282019

Altima

  • 97,000 miles
I've owned the car for less than 2 years - it's a 6 year old car with a single previous owner, always lived in a garage, well maintained, etc. I was driving home on the highway one morning and suddenly my steering wheel yanked out of my hands, swerved to the right, and locked up. I could barely keep the car in the lane and had to drive like a video game, constantly shaking the steering wheel back and forth. I tried to make it one more exit, but couldn't safely so I pulled over. Only had to test drive it ~20 feet before we realized the drivers rear wheel nearly fell off. We laid on the ground and looked underneath the car and saw the control arm had snapped and broken off due to rust. Sure enough in the shop, my mechanic found that both sides had completely rusted and both had to be replaced to safely drive the car. This problem is due to a faulty design of the control arm that allows water to pool on top and not drain - the water sits on the control arm in a divet and the metal rusts away. Fortunately, my mechanic cleverly fixed the problem on the replacement control arms by welding a plate on top to prevent water collection and future rust.

- Cleveland, OH, USA

problem #87

Jun 082019

Altima

  • 120,000 miles
Passenger rear lower control arm unit failed near frame connection point while travelling through right hand turn at low speed. Other similar complaints for this vehicle model suggest winter road salt may be attributed to part corrosion and premature failure. Car driven in upstate NY with 120,000 miles

- Marilla, NY, USA

problem #86

Jun 022019

Altima

  • 96,000 miles
On June 2nd 2019 I was turning from a local street to rt 303 when heard a pop noise. It caused my wheel to jerk quickly to the right and my dash board light turned on. When I pulled over to the side to look and see what it was I saw that the body of my vehicle was resting practically on the tire. I went into a parking lot about 400M which was in front of an auto body. I left it in the parking lot over night and the next day I took it across the street where there is an auto body. When they lifted up my car they saw that the rear left part holding up my shocks had rusted and eroded and snapped and that my rear right side was rusted and cracked.

- Palisades, NY, USA

problem #85

Jun 012019

Altima

  • 120,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. While driving approximately 15 mph, there was an abnormal sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the rear passenger side control arm fractured and needed to be replaced. Additionally, there was severe corrosion to the control arm and the secondary hood latch on the vehicle was faulty. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 16V029000 (latches/locks/linkages). The vehicle was not repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

- Bedford, PA, USA

problem #84

Jun 022019

Altima 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 101,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the rear lower control arm assembly on the passenger side was completely rusted and rotted off the frame mounting. The vehicle was towed to smithtown Nissan (535 middle country rd, St james, NY 11780, (631) 361-9696). The dealer stated that they had not seen this type of failure in the past. The manufacturer was contacted and denied the contact's request for assistance with the repairs. The manufacturer referred the request to a regional manager who was supposed to call the contact back. The vehicle was currently at the dealer awaiting a decision from the manufacturer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 101,000. Consumer recieved a call from the dealer and was told warranty was only for 3 years at 36,000 miles, vehicle was way beyond warranty. Consumer also stated original part is no longer available online. While turning into a parking space complete failure happened.

- Hauppauge, NY, USA

problem #83

Jan 042019

Altima

  • 60,000 miles
I recently had to replace the rear control arms as they snapped with no warning as we were backing out of a parking space. Ironically only days after my annual inspection. I was told by my mechanic who had to order the replacement parts from Nissan, that his contact at Nissan knew about this problem and admitted it was only a "soft recall" with no public announcement, so there is no course of action due on behalf of Nissan to fix this. This is not acceptable, especially since I had 2 small children in the car when this happened and we were out of town. This unexpected replacement cost me over $900 to fix something that I should not be responsible for since Nissan knew of this issue. Please help to recoup this cost!

- Hudson, MA, USA

problem #82

May 252019

Altima

  • 80,000 miles
Rear lower control arms broke while traveling on the highway due to significant corrosion.

- Warwick, RI, USA

problem #81

May 232019

Altima 4-cyl

  • 114,997 miles
Yesterday my passenger, rear control arm broke and I almost lost my wheel. Luckily I was going less than 30 mph.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #80

May 192019

Altima

  • 72,000 miles
I was exiting the highway at 30mph when I suddenly lost control of the car. I was able to pull over safety thank god. I got out and that's when I noticed that the control arm on the rear driver side had snapped off due to rust.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #79

May 132019

Altima

  • 156,000 miles
Takata recall I was driving down a straight rd about to turn on to the highway when all the sudden the car started swaying back and forth and dropped to the point where the tire was under it and turned to the left I had to have a flatbed tow it to my house I was on a main rd in akron. The car has never been in any type of accidents and is well taken care of thankfully I didnt get hurt when this happend. The control arm completely snapped there is rust but isnt rusted all the way through.

- Wadsworth, OH, USA

problem #78

Apr 302019

Altima

  • 170,000 miles
The control arm on my 2013 Nissan Altima broke at the pivot point on the passengers rear side while driving.

- New Fairfield, CT, USA

problem #77

May 022019

Altima

  • 50,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. While parking the vehicle, a popping noise occurred coming from the rear driver's side of the vehicle. The contact noticed that the rear driver's side wheel was bent. The contact's brother-in-law, who was a mechanic, informed her that the rear driver and passenger side lower control arms were detaching. The contact called herb chambers Nissan of westborough (located at 75 otis St, westborough, MA 01581, (508) 870-0800) and was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle; therefore, it would be repaired at the contact's expense. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer and was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and did not assist. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

- Holden, MA, USA

problem #76

Apr 292019

Altima

  • 88,700 miles
I was driving my vehicle about 25 mph leaving work when I heard a thud/clunk from the passenger side rear of the car. The traction control light came on, I pulled over and looked at the car. I though I had a flat because the car had been handling 'oddly' for about 30 feet. I didn't see a flat, drove the remaining mile home and when I saw the car in the driveway the passenger rear tire was at an angle to the car. It was pointed to the right, while the other tires were aligned straight forward. I called my local Nissan dealership and they told me to not drive the vehicle, as they had one in last week with similar conditions (same year, same model) roughly same mileage. They arranged for a tow truck to pick up the vehicle and drag it onto the bed of the truck. They diagnosed that the right rear control arm had failed, causing the tire to disconnect from the control arm while I was driving. I requested that they check remaining control arm suspension components and they confirmed that the driver's side until was also cracked, but not completely broken through as yet. The Nissan manufacturer rep visited the dealership and stated that the repairs were due to rust, causing both control arms to fail, therefore not covered under warranty in place. The vehicle had fewer than 89,000 miles on it when the components failed, there were no indications of any problems previously, and the car was in the dealership three week's prior due to a transmission replacement. This is my sixth and last Nissan vehicle I have had no prior events like this with my other Nissan vehicles. This part failed without any warning, luckily at low speed in my own neighborhood 1 mile from my home.

- Vestal, NY, USA

problem #75

Jan 012014

Altima

  • miles
Ever since I bought the vehicle my brakes, which also starts my car will occasionally feel like they get stuck sounds as if they might be rusty and when I apply pressure they catch. I will apply and then all of a sudden they click down. I'm afraid the longer it goes on sooner or later they will no longer work. Happens motion and stationary. Suspension' every bump I go over I feel like my car is hitting rock bottom. Slow or normal speed. All these problems I have told since I first bought my vehicle. I was fluffed off telling me it was this or that and it was normal. I drove the same car 'a rental'never never felt any of these problems. That is why I decided to buy a Nissan. Big mistake.

- Strongsville, OH, USA

problem #74

Apr 152019

Altima

  • 125,000 miles
Without warning...I was reversing into my driveway and I heard a loud pop. When I exited the vehicle to take a look, my rear control arm snapped and dislocated the wheel. I am thankful this didn't happen twenty minutes before while on the taconic state parkway driving at highway speed (55 mph). The car needed to be towed to my mechanic.

- Mahopac, NY, USA

problem #73

Mar 122019

Altima

  • miles
We took the car for oil change at the dealer, the dealer refuse to release the car he stated the control arm is so rusted and ready to snap off, we contacted Nissan corporate they refuse to do the repair it does most $1300, if the control arm snap wile we are driving it could be fatal, the car have only 57,800 miles some one need to look at this problem because it does not only dangers for the car driver it it dangers for the other cars on the road, someone need to hold Nissan responsible for the defective products.

- Hawthorn Woods, IL, USA

problem #72

Mar 262019

Altima

  • 191,559 miles
My 2013 Nissan Altima sedan suffered a failure of the drivers side left rear lower control arm on March 26, 2019. This incident lucky occurred as I was turning into the dealership parking lot and not at normal highway speeds (65 mph). The first indication something was going wrong with the car was the dynamic stability warning light came on. (this looks similar to the traction control light but is larger icon on the dash panel). When the lower control arm broke the left rear wheel slanted outward. The Nissan dealership diagnosed the broken control arm issue and I had both left and right lower controls arms replaced. The right hand side lower control arm showed some corrosion but no crack were visible in the area where the left side broke. The break on the left hand side control arm appeared to be corrosion related (internal) because the break point did not show clean material. Pictures are attached. The car has 191,000 highway miles on it. I drive a significant amount of miles per year and service the vehicle on a regular basis. The mileage on the vehicle has nothing to do with this failure. This part should not have failed on a 6 year old vehicle. I live in the western portion of NY state so the roads are subjected to salting in the winter. From other reports that I have read, this failure of the control arm seems to mostly occur with cars in the northern climate where road salting occurs. This is an issue that needs investigating by the NHTSA. It is apparent that the part is not properly designed for all climate conditions.

- Geneseo, NY, USA

problem #71

Mar 282019

Altima

  • 134,258 miles
Driving on rte. 376 West outside on pittsburgh on 3/28/2019 around mile marker 64 in left lane at 65 mph, car (2013 Nissan atlima) swayed over into right lane on it's own (fortunate no car beside me) get car off the road onto the right berm. Look underneath car and right rear control has broken/sheared (see pictures) car has 134258 miles. Call Nissan dealer where car was bought. The car was purchased used in 2015 (w/ 15K miles) car was certified Nissan. Dealership says to call Nissan Consumer Affairs. Nissan provides case number 35165440 to me. Nissan Consumer Affairs calls and leaves message 4/3/2019. I return call to Nissan 4/4/2019 to which Nissan tells me that they accept no responsibility for the issue because the car is over the mileage to which they would consider warranty and says that I need to have car fixed on my own. Local garage is replacing defective part. I asked the garage to give me the part once replaced. Very fortunate that no other vehicle was next to me when this occurred as the result could have been fatal. Upset that Nissan knows there's an issue and accepts no responsibility.

- Northern Cambria, PA, USA

problem #70

Mar 272019

Altima

  • 70,000 miles
At only 70,000 miles my rear lower control arm failed while driving. Cost almost $600 to fix. Very dangerous. Car was not drivesble shortly after.

- Copley, OH, USA

problem #69

Mar 202019

Altima

  • 122,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. While driving 35 mph, the driver heard a loud banging noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. The driver lost control of the vehicle, but was able to coast it to the side of the road. The contact exited the vehicle and noticed that the rear passenger side wheel was bent inwards. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear driver's side lower control arm was fractured and the passenger side lower control arm was detached and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not taken to a Nissan dealer, but was repaired with parts from a Nissan dealer by the independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 122,000.

- Eaton, OH, USA

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