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1,105 owners have filed defect reports on this one. That's not a small number. 1 active recall campaign on file.
Average for the segment. Some recurring trouble spots worth knowing about.
Repair exposure runs above average — only with money set aside and eyes open.
Our read of the federal NHTSA complaint and recall record for this exact year and model — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection. How we score.
Nissan bet the company on continuously variable transmissions in the late 2000s. The CVT promised better fuel economy, smoother acceleration, and lower manufacturing costs than a traditional automatic. Nissan committed earlier and harder than any other manufacturer, putting Jatco-built CVTs in the Altima, Sentra, Versa, Rogue, Pathfinder, Murano, Maxima, and Quest across roughly 2007 through 2018, and continuing in updated form even today.
The bet didn’t pay off for owners. By 2014 the class-action lawsuits were filed, and by 2017 Nissan had quietly extended powertrain warranties on most affected models from 5/60k to 10/120k, an admission of a problem they wouldn’t otherwise own.
If you have a 2013-2018 Altima, 2013-2018 Sentra, 2008-2018 Rogue, 2007-2014 Maxima, or any other Nissan with a CVT, this is the conversation.
A traditional automatic has fixed gear ratios and shifts between them. A CVT uses two pulleys (a drive and a driven) connected by a steel push belt, and changes ratio continuously by varying the diameter of the pulleys. Fewer parts, smoother power delivery, theoretically more efficient.
The Jatco CVT failure modes:
Belt slip and judder. The fluid loses its friction characteristics as it ages and overheats. The belt starts to slip on the pulleys. You feel it as a vibration or shudder under light acceleration around 30-50 mph. The slip damages the pulley faces, and once the surface is glazed, it’s a transmission replacement.
Overheating. The CVT generates more heat than a traditional automatic, especially under load. Nissan’s cooling capacity was marginal. Hot fluid breaks down faster, lubricates worse, and the death spiral accelerates. Towing or sustained high speed in heat — say, west Texas summer — kills these transmissions twice as fast.
Valve body and pressure regulation. Internal solenoids and the pressure control system fail, leading to harsh engagement, no-go conditions, and warning lights.
The result: Nissan CVTs commonly fail between 60,000 and 130,000 miles. Some make it to 200,000. Many don’t make 100,000.
The single best preventive maintenance on a Nissan CVT is fluid changes. Nissan’s service interval is “lifetime” or 60,000 miles depending on which manual you read. Both are wrong for the real world.
If yours is under 120,000 miles and you’re in the affected model years, Nissan extended the warranty. Take it to a Nissan dealer, document the symptoms, and let them diagnose. If they confirm CVT failure under the extension, you get a new (reman) transmission on Nissan’s dime. Don’t take it to an independent first, don’t try to diagnose it yourself, don’t add fluid and hope. Dealer first.
If you’re outside warranty:
Generally, no. The Altima and Sentra are otherwise fine cars — the engines (QR25, MR20) are reliable, the chassis is decent, the electronics are unremarkable. The CVT is the one component that ruins them.
If you must buy one:
If you already own one: the fluid change is non-negotiable. Every 30,000. Set a calendar reminder. The cooler is the second-best money you’ll spend. And if it starts to shudder, take it to the dealer immediately while the warranty extension is still on the table.
The Nissan CVT story is what happens when finance and marketing decide a powertrain instead of engineering. The technology is fine in principle — Honda and Toyota have made CVTs work since. Nissan went too cheap on cooling, fluid spec, and pulley material, and a generation of owners paid for it.
Tamara recall- my air bag sensors supposedly have been replaced but I still occasionally get the issue when someone is sitting in my passenger seat.
Vehicle is driven several miles so the engine is warm. Three times the car has stalled when stopping at a light or slowing at an intersection to make a left turn or right turn. When moving from the waiting position the car will stall and as an oncoming car is coming poses a left…
There is a recall on the 2.5l 2014 Nissan altimas and I have a 3.5l 2014 Nissan altima, my passenger side airbag light shows no occupancy person sits in the passenger sit, as well as intermittenly when an object is placed in the seat. There is a recall with the same problems of…
When an adult is riding in the front passenger seat the airbag on the passenger turns off and on randomly while riding. If in an accident I am worried that the airbag will not go off properly. I have not contacted a dealer about this issue yet. I have not seen any other warning…
Drag to your current mileage. Numbers are derived from this vehicle's complaint history.
If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger airbag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger.
NHTSA has an open defect investigation covering this vehicle — the step that can precede a recall, not a finding of fault. EA21002 on NHTSA →
How NHTSA investigations work, and what's open now →
It's got known weak points. With a reliability score of 6.4 out of 10 based on 1,105 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2014 Nissan Altima has a higher-than-average rate of reported issues. The areas to watch are listed above. Whether it's worth owning depends on price, condition, and how much repair exposure you can absorb.
The 2014 Nissan Altima is a higher-risk ownership prospect. Repair exposure runs above average — only with money set aside and eyes open. The record behind that call: Steering: 58 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 7,533–100,000 mi; Body: 36 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 45,000–85,000 mi; Reliability score 6.4/10 — around the segment average; 1 recall campaign on file. This is our read of the federal complaint and recall data — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection.
Based on NHTSA records, the most-reported issue is lighting, with 279 complaints filed. Typical failure occurs around 80,485 miles. Average repair cost runs about $250 at an independent shop.
The airbags is one of the costlier repair items. Average repair cost runs about $1,100 at an independent shop. Typical failure occurs around 37,760 miles. Catching early warning signs can sometimes extend life by 20–30,000 miles.
Paste your VIN into the decoder at the top of this page. We pull live from NHTSA, so you'll see exactly which campaigns apply to your vehicle and whether the dealer has logged the fix. Recall repairs are always free regardless of mileage or warranty status.
Math is straightforward: a quality service contract runs $1,800–3,500 over 3 years. With 1,105 complaints on file and the costliest repair averaging $1,100, one major failure more than pays for it. The catch is reading the contract — many providers exclude wear items and require pre-authorization, so cheaper plans are not always better value.