NHTSA has received 70 owner complaints about the 2021 Nissan Altima, or 12.1 per year on the road — far fewer complaints than typical (complaint index 0.30, where 1.00 is the average of all tracked vehicles). Among the 85 model-year 2021 vehicles we track, it ranks #25 of 85 by complaints per year (#1 = fewest). Against other Nissan models its rate is 57% lower; against other Midsize sedans it is 68% lower.
Counts are normalized by time on the road, not by sales volume: a popular model generates more reports than a rare one, and complaints are not verified individually. How we count
Complaints filed between 2021-11-10 and 2026-09-10. Median delay from incident to filing: 22 days.
70Complaints
12.1Complaints per year on the road
0.3Complaint index vs. all tracked vehicles
2Recalls
11.4%Share involving a crash or fire
20Last 12 months
Analysis
The previous model year (2020) drew 26.4 complaints per year, more than this one. The following model year (2022) drew 4.2 per year, fewer than this one. In its first two years on the road the 2021 model collected 8 complaints, 87% lower than the average vehicle of the same model year.
The most common problem area is Electrical (32.9% of complaints), followed by Brakes (25.7%) and Engine (10.0%). Electrical complaints are 2.1 times as common here as across all tracked vehicles. 8 reports (11.4%) describe a crash or fire; owners mention 4 injuries and 0 deaths.
Half of the reported incidents happened within 43 months of the model year's start; the busiest period was years three to five (46% of incidents). In the last 12 months 20 new complaints were filed, versus 20 in the 12 months before — virtually unchanged.
NHTSA lists 2 safety recalls for this model year. 2 NHTSA investigations cover this model year; the most recent is “Complete loss of motive power due to engine failure” (preliminary evaluation, opened 2023-12-13, closed 2025-07-18).
Complaint index
vs. all tracked vehicles0.3
vs. other Nissan models0.43
vs. other 2021 models0.31
vs. other Midsize sedans0.32
Complaints in first 2 years on the road · vs. same-year average (8)0.13
The contact owns a 2021 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while pulling out of a parking lot, the contact shifted into drive(D) and then to reverse(R) to exit the parking lot, and while driving 3 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle failed…
Brakes · 2026-09-10 · ODI 11763405 · Crash
My car is supposed to have an automatic braking system/collision detection. Two cars in front of me slammed on their brakes and the car in front of me slammed on his brake, and I didn't have enough time to react.
Brakes · 2026-07-08 · ODI 11749014 · Crash
Got the car from kingdom Chevy on 66 and western on February 2024 used at 62.000. I took the car back twice because the screen in the car kept cutting off fading on and fading off. Secondly, the Bluetooth plug would not work. I did not have the car a month.
Electrical · 2026-07-23 · ODI 11752550
Door lock actuators have failed completely on 2 doors, and intermittently on 1 door of a 2021 Nissan Altima. They do not respond to either the key fob or door button.
Electrical · 2026-07-07 · ODI 11748703
Rear door locks both do not work other than manually locking. Reported incidents online show many others have had newer Nissan vehicles like our 2021 Nissan Altima with the same issue, some have been locked in the car and had to climb out the window and…
Body & structure · 2026-07-06 · ODI 11748567
Excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length. The ODI number is NHTSA's record identifier.
BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA Campaign 23V628000 · 2023-09-08
Summary: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Altima and 2020-2021 Sentra vehicles. Damage to the camera harness can cause distortion or loss of the rearview camera display image. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Risk: A rearview camera that does not properly display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the rearview camera and harness for damage and replace them as necessary. If no damage is found, the dealer will apply protective tape and reroute the rearview camera harness. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 19, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R23C3.
STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY Campaign 21V138000 · 2021-03-04
Summary: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Nissan Altima vehicles. The tie rod ball joint fastener was not tightened properly, which could result in the tie rod ball joint detaching from the steering knuckle.
Risk: A detached tie rod ball joint can cause a loss of steering control, and increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will tighten the left and right-side tie rod ball joint fasteners, or install new fasteners as necessary, free of charge. The began March 31, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7769. Nissan's number for this recall is PC795.
On December 13, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE23-023 to investigate allegations of engine failures leading to loss of motive power in model year (MY) 2021-2023 Nissan Rogue; MY 2019-2021 Nissan Altima; and MY 2019-2021 Infiniti QX50 vehicles. At that time, ODI had received 6 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQ) and multiple early warning reports, with consumers reporting e…
Hertz/Vehicles Rented with Open RecallsOpen
AQ22003 · audit query · LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH · Opened 2022-12-16 · Model years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
NHTSA is opening this audit query to investigate whether The Hertz Corporation (Hertz) has complied with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Safety Act). The Safety Act requires, among other things, that a rental company shall not rent a vehicle subject to a safety recall unless the recall remedy has been performed. 49 U.S.C. § 30120(i).NHTSA is in receipt of inf…
