On March of the current year (2015) I decided to purchase a used 2013 nissan altima 2.5 S

The car drove nice for about 2 weeks, until the transmission seemly and loudly started acting up. Every time I let my foot off the gas pedal and the car downshifts with the driving speed descending from between 30 to 20 mph the vehicle suddenly jerks very badly as if it wants to stall on me. Sometimes occasionally it jerks while I'm accelerating too but normally I take my foot off the gas as soon as I feel the first jerk then step on it again a couple seconds ago.

I was reading through the complaints on here and it seems that a lot of consumers are having the same issue, what's worse is that I called Nissan consumer affairs complaints to obtain further information on the issue and to see what could be done by Nissan. The rep told me that because the car had been title as a rebuilt after getting in an accident, all factory warranties were cancelled and advised me to take the car to a Nissan certified dealership to have a technician run a diagnosis which is estimated to cost between $200-$300 so that the diagnosis report can be sent to Nissan and maybe they'll consider offering "good will" assistance on the issue.

All I can say is Nissan starts a recall campaign soon and have their crappy cvt transmissions fixed or replaced. What do you folks think? is it worth it paying for a diagnosis and cross my fingers Nissan will admit is a factory defect? I read that the problem only gets worse after so many miles where the car just stalls and the transmission goes completely out and is done, my odometer is at 57,000k.

thanks

Well I bought my Altima used in August 2014, loved it until May this year... Everything ran fine, looked good, great gas mileage, and then after sitting in the carpool line picking my son up my car went to pot... (Trying to keep it clean here) My son got in and buckled and as I let off the brake my car lerched forward and jerked very badly as if I was driving a stick and didn't know how. I hadn't even put my foot on the gas! It seemed to go away as quick as it started and I brushed it off as a fluke. Few miles down the rd we stopped at a drive through. As I came to a stop it felt as if the car behind me bumped into me... He was too far back to have hit me. I ordered and proceeded to pull forward and my car started jerking again, then idled very rough. At the window my car stalled. I could crank it but as soon as I put it in any gear it died.... Called Nissan and well, I was above factory warranty by 33 miles, and there wasn't anything they could do... What?!!! Anyway, as I was looking for the warranty into I found that I unknowingly purchased an extended warranty, phew! $85, for a tow, $100 deductible and 3 weeks of aggravation waiting for the car to be fixed I was told they had to replace the transmission. Ridiculous! 60033 miles? So... The warranty company sent Nissan dealership a "not new" transmission and they put it in. Got my car back yesterday, didn't think I would make it home! It's worse than before!!!

Shakes and jerks badly, feels like driving over small rocks. Acts like it wants to stall out. Very loud and whinny. RPMs bounce all over the place. The shifter doesn't seem to be set right. D is in the N spot and Ds in the D spot, and it can bump from one the the other with the slightest nudge. There is a place between N and D that you can sit out of gear completely.

Guess I'll be back at the dealership Monday...

I want a new car! :(

I bought 4 Nissans in 7 years starting in 2006. I loved all my Nissans except for this one. Actually, I loved this one until the transmission went up!

I took it to the dealer in November at 58K miles because it was jerking and stalling when stopped at lights. At that point, nothing could be found wrong. They did my PA inspection, a recall, and an update (because it was available). Three months later, it has the same issue - now at 63K miles and the dealer told us that he would talk to the warranty rep to try and get it covered since we had been there for the same issues before it hit 60K miles.

The warranty rep, Nathan, was a nightmare! He wouldn't return my calls timely, said he would upgrade my issue to a supervisor (who did not call for 5 days and that was only after I called to threaten a lawyer). I commute 100 miles per day to work and was without a car for 2 weeks. In the end, Nissan paid for the part and I paid $900 some dollars for labor.

It boils down to their CVTs are CRAP and so is their customer service (wouldn't give phone numbers, supervisors names, etc.). There were issues with the CVTs in 2010 and prior. They changed the CVT in the 2014 Altimas (which is what the warranty rep told us). After the transmission was replaced, I quickly traded the car in (for fear that this would happen again!).

I will never buy another Nissan - at this point, it was more about the customer service - then the transmission (sadly). They don't back their products or their products. And just to be clear, this wasn't about the dealership, it's about Nissan!

The Nissan Altima 2013 in particular and Nissan cars in general are a disaster. Their CVT transmission is an absolute failure.

My strongest advice to all potential buyers is, DO NOT BUY a Nissan even if it is the last car available on earth!

My car has been back to dealer twice to remedy the transmission failure but it is not resolved. Also, their service quality is Very BAD. Once you are stuck with a Nissan, you rarely have any option to go elsewhere for service and when you go to one, you are mistreated.

I bought my Nissan Altima 2013 from Woodchester Nissan in Mississauga, Ontario and you could be made to wait for up to 1 hour 45 minutes for an oil change, even if you reached your service appointment before time. My sincere advice to all readers is, do not buy Nissan and even if you must, then not from Woodchester Nissan of Mississauga because their after sales service is DISGUSTING !!

For a couple weeks I was having my car shudder and shake a lot while I was driving. When I took it into the dealership to get my oil changed, and tires rotated. They told me that it was probably just bad gas and sent me on my way. A couple weeks later I was driving down the highway and it started again. When I got off the exit my car started to stall. I had to put it into neutral and press the gas to keep it going. I had to restart my car twice before I could move from the red light and get it into a parking lot. Finally I just got it towed to the dealership and they called to inform me that my transmission went on a two year old Altima with approx 36000 miles on it!

How does that happen! I am not thrilled about this and even though it is covered under warranty, I am getting rid of this car and not buying another Nissan. I have had other problems with the car also, the very loud power steering, I had a rattle in my roof that they tried to fix 3 times before finally taking apart my roof and replacing something in the sunroof attachment. When I got it back, something happened when they took the windshield out that my mirror fell off the window and cracked my entire windshield. Also, has anyone ever been able to get an estimated 31 mpg? Mine is around 15-16 mpg.

I have heard of Nissans running 200k and more. I thought buying one would make sense but I was wrong. Apparently the standards for craftsmanship and integrity have gone down down down. My Nissan showed signs of distress in February 2015. Now because I failed to bring it in immediately I am suffering. Nissan says they will not help. (surprise). Only 62k on the odometer. The warranty expired at 60k. I've heard of transmissions failing at 36k. Nissan knows there are flaws in the design. I saw a great list of complaints similar to my own. They have ruined their reputation and stuck me with a burden. ($3900 bill) I am not going to pay. I have not had it fixed I cannot afford to. I am thinking about rolling it into a ravine. Sincerely, Ticked off

When problem first happened the judder would shake the car really bad at very low speeds and even stall out. Problem was worse in stop and go traffic. The judder eventually happened at nearly every speed when you would lightly press the gas.

Took in to Nissan the first time and they couldn't duplicate and I wasted my time. Car continued to have the issues and I almost got into 2 accidents because of it.

Finally took it back to Nissan when the problem was happening more frequently and drove with the Service Manager. He was able to duplicate and they replaced the transmission under warranty. I was given a rental for free while they replaced it.

Have been driving it for a few days now and the problem is gone.

I really hope this isn't a design flaw and that I don't have to come back in another 25,000 miles....

My 2013 Altima 2.5L S series was paid for outright. . . . cash money. Now flash forward 2 years. 2 YEARS!

The car started to "shudder" - I thought I had bad gas as I had just filled the tank. Kept going with high octane at each stop. It seemed to get better for about 3 weeks. It started shuddering again. I barely made it off the interstate the day the transmission finally completely went out at week four.

The warranty on the transmission is for 60,000 miles. Mine has just shy of 68,000 miles. After researching the issue while my vehicle was in the shop over the weekend, I found that there are A LOT of issues with this CVT transmission. Every warranty up to 2010 was extended to 120,000 miles. Nissan says that after this year, the problems with the CVT were corrected. So at this point, I decided: I'm not gonna take it! I filed a complaint with the Consumer Affairs division with Nissan. They offered to pay the labor and I'm on the hook for the "parts" a total of $2,500 after tax. If there is a no issue with the transmission, why would they offer to pay for anything?

Every aspect of this experience has just about driven me insane, including the experience with the service center. I feel like Nissan is trying to use the service center to make their cash, not from selling reliable vehicles.

My dad has worked for Nissan in Smyrna, TN for 20+ years. I have driven a Nissan now for around 15 years. I am at a complete loss how they won't even take care of family or attempt to keep me as a customer!??!!

I am hitting EVERY forum I can. If anyone has advice on where to send complaints, let me know.

With everybody but Nissan owning up to the issue with the CVT transmission.. you have to wonder how much longer before there is a class action lawsuit or a recall to hopefully fix the problem.. It hard to believe that each and every one of us has a issue that the dealer can't duplicate..

Our transmission has already been replaced once and it did little to fix the problem..but also interesting is for the first 23,000 miles it ran great and we liked the transmission not feeling it shifting...but now when just about every time you drive it the car shutters shakes and the steering wheel vibrates.. you have to ask just how long can Nissan continue to say... we can't duplicate it...

I've been in contact with Nissan and so far there answer has been pretty much the same..either they can't duplicate it or that is now the new norm..but my answer continues to be.. how did it drive with no problems for so long and now we only have problems.. also why did Nissan extend the warranty just because they could... or it sounded good... it does.. but if you never fix it you still have a car that you worry about just how safe it is...because it also happens when you are downshifting and hit the gas to go... it wants to think about what it's next move is..nice looking car but damn sure got issues with the CVT transmission...

NISSAN? NEVER AGAIN! I purchased a NEW 2013 Nissan Altima 3.5S at the end of 2012. As my daily commute is less than 5 miles (each way) I hardly put any miles on the car.

(1) At 7,000 miles the car would not downshift on slow upward gradients and would shudder very badly as if it was about to stall - as in a manual shift. Although it never stalled, it required a good pump of the gas peddle to get the car to upshfit and stop shuddering. Took it to Nissan dealership who replaced the entire transmission with a brand new one under warranty, stating that they would have to send it to Nissan R&D center to figure out what the problem was.

(2) A day after the "new" transmission was installed, the car started to make a loud metal grinding sound when accelerating above 3,000 RPM. Back to the dealership. The CVT had "transmission fluid retention" issues and was "fixed".

(3) Since then, the car shudder abruptly at idle / stop light as if it has just realized that it needs to downshift.

I HAVE NOW GIVEN UP TRYING TO GET IT FIXED,

This was my first time, and will be my last, buying a Nissan. I wish I had spent the $27K on a pre-owned 5-year old Audi.

Car runs nicely from a cold start in the morning (November in New England) for approximately 5 minutes. After that, the transmission upshifts too quickly and keeps the engine RPMs too low (1200 - 1500 RPMs) for any acceleration. This is accompanied by much shuddering and vibration.

Took to Nissan dealer for diagnosis and was told that nothing is broken and there is no official "fix".I was given a list of items that could be replaced that "may" help - no guarantees, though.

Bought this car used with 62000 miles on it. It looks great, but is a major disappointment so far. Will not recommend to anyone.

Sometimes when you accelerate and also sometimes when you decelerate the transmission shakes and shutters the car like its stuck in too high of a gear. It feels like an old standard transmission when you let the clutch out and you should have down shifted first. The dealership won't do anything about it and Nissan won't do anything about it because it doesn't throw a code and they can't replicate the problem. The worst day we had it did it five times in one day then nothing for the next two weeks. Of course that was the two weeks it was in the shop!

I purchased a 2013 Nissan Altima in July 2014 with 36,000 miles. About 3 weeks after purchasing this vehicle, the check engine light came on. I took it into the local Nissan dealer to determine the cause. I was told that they couldn't find the source and it would require further diagnostic testing for $80. I disagreed and left. Two days later, my daughter and I were traveling along Interstate 10 when suddenly the car wouldn't accelerate. As I merged over to the left lane, every light on the dash came on and the engine went dead just as I made it to the shoulder. I put the car in park and waited 10 minutes before I attempted to start it up again. The following day, I took the car back to my local Nissan dealer. At that point, they told me there was an electrical malfunction that was covered under warranty but they would need to order a replacement part. I was without a vehicle for 3 days when I received a call that the car was ready. I sent my mother to pick up the car because I was at work. They didn't provide any repair summary to show what repairs were made. Fast forward three weeks...My family was traveling to Mobile, Alabama to depart for our annual Walt Disney World trip, when you guessed it...the car wouldn't accelerate although my foot was literally on the ground. I pulled over once again and didn't try to start the engine again for about 20 minutes. The service engine light has been on every since. I have constantly fought with the seller (Bob Tyler Toyota) about returning this vehicle. I sold a 2006 Honda Accord EX-L with 176,000 miles to purchase this lemon. It is an absolute clunker. Will someone please suggest other options for me???

I lease my Nissan Altima, I never had a problem with my 2009 Nissan. My new 2013 Nissan Altima is a different story .At approximately 10,000 miles my transmission started to clunk when searching for which gear to shift into. It happens more when in traffic stopping and starting at approximately 30 miles per hour.

I took it to Nissan and they couldn't find a problem. They said they reprogramed the computer. it worked for a short time and then off and on it would do it again ( the clunking while shifting ) Yesterday I had gone approximately 20 miles and it was acting up . I was out of the car for 3 hours and then was getting ready to go home, I shifted into gear and the car wouldn't move. I tried reverse and other positions and then gave it more gas and it clunked into gear. Boy o Boy...going home was the worst ever. It wouldn't go over 20 mph. I babied it home and am calling Nissan again. Hopefully get some results.

They asked me for my experience with Nissan, you can guess what I told them.....Nissan told me if they can't find the problem. They would have to get Nissan specialist from the company to come and see what the problem is. I asked if this is a problem with all Nissans? Because if my car is the only one I should hit the lottery. I will let you know what if anything gets done at Nissan this time.

BACK ON 7/24/13 I TOOK MY ALTIMA IN FOR THE BASIC OIL/FILTER CHANGE. AT THAT TIME I REPORTED THAT MY CAR WAS MAKING A ROARING NOISE AND THE CAR WAS SHUDDERING LIKE IT WANTED TO STOP ON ME. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT I WOULD HAVE TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT TO GET IT CHECKED OUT SO I DID. I TOOK IT BACK 07/27/13 TO HAVE IT CHECKED OUT. I DID A TEST DRIVE WITH THE SERVICE TECH AND A MECHANIC. AFTER THE TEST DRIVE THE MECHANIC STATED HE NEEDED TO CHECK TO SEE IF THERE WERE ANY INFORMATION ON THE NOISE AND SHUDDERING WITH NISSAN. HE DID AND TOLD THE SERVICE TECH THERE WAS INDEED A RECALL NTB13-040 WHICH REVEAL IT WAS THE ALT ASSY CAUSING THE NOISE AND THAT THE ALTERNATOR WAS THE REASON FOR THE NOISE SO IT WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. ALSO THAT THE SHUDDERING WAS DUE TO SERVICE BULLETIN NTB13-054 SO PER THE BULLETIN THEY REPROGRAM ENGINE CONTROL MODULE-ECM. NOW 20,000 MILES LATER THE SHUDDERING HAS RETURN AND IS GETTING WORST BY THE DAY! I WAS ALMOST HIT BY ANOTHER CAR YESTERDAY WITH MY GRAND-BOYS BECAUSE OF THE DAMN SHUDDERING. I HAD TO GAS IT TO GET OUT OF THE WAY AND TO GET PASS THE SHUDDERING. MY CAR FELT LIKE IT WAS QUITTING ON ME AND REALLY FELT IT WAS MISSING GEARS. I JUST COMPLETED A FORM ON THE NISSAN WEBSITE TO INQUIRE ABOUT ANY RECALLS ON THE CVT. I'M WAITING TO HEAR BACK FROM THEM BUT IN THE MEANTIME I WILL BE SCHEDULING AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE DEALER ONCE AGAIN TO GET THIS LOOK AT IMMEDIATELY! I'M LOOKING FOR ANY ASSISTANCE FROM ANYONE ON THIS AND HOW TO HANDLE IT. ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE GREAT! BY THE WAY THIS IS MY 2ND NISSAN. I HAD A 2008 NISSAN AND HAD NO ISSUES WITH IT AND NOW I FEEL I SHOULD HAVE KEPT IT OR PURCHASED A DAMN HONDA OR TOYOTA.

I had this car for 18 months, and had just over 39k miles. Didn't have a problem until 6/25/2014. Was driving home from a business trip, and was 1.5 hours away from home. The car started shaking at a stop light, and within five minutes the engine was revving very high and I could not increase my speed. I was only going 40mph at the time, and so I pulled off to the side of the highway.

I called the service department at my dealership which was going to close 10 minutes later. They told me to keep the car turned off for one hour and then try to drive the car home. They thought that possibly the transmission was overheating and that if I let it sit for one hour it would cool off and I could get home. After one hour I turned on the car and the same problem was occurring...I made it a few minutes farther down the road before it quit working at all.

I had to get the car towed which cost $496. Nissan would not pay the tow since it wasn't an approved tow company of theirs. I suppose that I should have known who is and isn't approved by Nissan when my car died after hours. They did say they would reimburse me on the tow, but only a maximum of $250. Apparently that's the max Nissan will do. Since I am still under 60k miles, the warranty covered the new transmission. I was told that the cost of this new transmission would have been $5,000 had it not been under warranty. I was not given a rental/loaner while my car was repaired. They said that Nissan does not provide that under their warranty.

Since the repair I have not driven the car very much. The car does feel a little different than before...especially at low RPM's. Maybe a little shaky...maybe just me being paranoid. They did say that this was an "updated transmission". They told me that transmission problems were common with the early 2013 model, and that Nissan updated the transmission.

I'm curious about others experience after having their transmission replaced on a 2013 Altima, and if they were told it was an "updated transmission"?

Like other reports of a vibration and growling/rattling noise that starts at 1200 rpm through 1500 rpm. AT 1500 rpm it is very noisy and at its worst, The vibration is felt in the steering wheel, also in the seat and on your foot that's on the gas pedal. When you reach 2000 rpm there is a very loud drowning sound that resonates through out the car.

Took it in twice. the 1st time at [6500miles on the car]they said it was a heat guard by the exhaust that was loose and rattling. I went back the next day to tell them the problem was still there, that the same noises were still there at the same rpm. I made a appointment again for the Nissan dealership to look at it. The second visit now the car has [11500 miles on it] I was told they had to adjust the motor mount and that they were ordering a new alternator and belt because they noticed a growling noise from the alternator. They said that from the motor mount being off of adjustment it caused the belt to turn at an angle and caused the alternator to wear. It was putting out the right current but they noticed a noise coming from the alternator. Sounds like a load of crap to me.

They also said it was safe and OK to drive until the parts came in. Really, I would think that if the belt was turning at an angle it would also put a strain on the water pump too. As I drove home the car acted and sounded the same, not one bit different. From the 1st time I took it in I told them I THINK IT IS THE CVT TRANSMISION where the noises are coming from. They will not even go there with this, knowing very well that they will lose money and time to replace a transmission that's still under warranty. Just replace parts that can be changed quicker than changing a transmission. Keep that up until the warranty is off the car RITE!!! I will NEVER NEVER buy a Nissan again!

My wife & I bought our new Nissan Altima in May of 2013. Everything has worked fine up until recently when the CVT transmission started vibrating. I brought it to the dealer today for its scheduled maintenance of oil/filter, tire rotation and let them know about what was happening and how it's never happened before. The technician and I went for a ride and I told him to drive the car. We got on the highway because that's when my wife was experiencing the shuddering throughout the cabin, at highway speeds. Being familiar with cars and their problems, having fixed my own for the last 25 years, I knew this was not a wheel/tire vibration problem as soon as I drove the car myself.

The tech was driving and right away he noticed exactly what I was telling him as soon as it started happening. He said "it feels like a transmission problem". We arrived back at the shop and he said he was going to make some calls to see if there were any other complaints out there. He came back to me with some line like "it's normal operation". Which in turn I had a reply that went something like "I'm sorry, but that won't fly with me pal. If it's normal for the car to be doing this, then I would have experienced this crap from day 1 when I picked up the car new." That's when another tech intervened who had never even drove my car and said "the reason why it's doing that now as opposed to when you had your car new is because the computers in the transmission have picked up on your driving habits and they are reacting to that now." Then I got really angry because I don't like being talked down to by some kid in a grubby tech uniform who thinks I don't know a thing about cars. "You didn't even drive my damn car kid! How the hell do you think you can even offer any advice here you jackass?"

Update from Dec 9, 2013: Now I have to go back and drive a new Altima off of their lot this week because I want to see if a brand spanking new one will do the exact same thing. Even if it does it won't make a difference to me. I'm gonna fight to get this crap straightened out and get our money back so we can get a Honda Accord. Nissan, you suck. Stop dodging the inevitable, that your cars have an engineering defect and you need to own up to it! And that's THAT!!