1996 Nissan Altima Power Train
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
WHEN CHANGING THE VEHICLES GEARS THE CONSUMER NOTICED THE VEHICLE WOULD ONLY GO FORWARD AND NOT REVERSE DUE TO A BURNED OUT CLUTCH. *NLM
HAD CAR TWO MONTHS, EXPERIENCED TRANSMISSION SLIPPAGE, TOOK CAR TO DEALER 3 TIMES COULDN'T FIND PROBLEM, FINALLY TRANSMISSION SHIFTING SOLENOID REPLACED. CON TINUED TO EXPERIENCE TRANSMISSION SLIPPAGE. RETURNED CAR TO DEALER NO TROUBLE CODES FOUND, WOULDN'T ACT UP. FINALLY TRANSMISSION DRIVE GEAR FAILED, RETURNED TO DEALER. NEEDS NEW TRANSMISSION, USED TRANSMISSION INSTALLED. TWO BLOCKS FROM DEALER AT GAS PUMP CAR FAILS TO START, SHIFTER LINKAGE NOT PROPERLY ADJUSTED. RETURNED TO DEALER. NEXT MORNING NOTICED PUDDLE UNDER CAR, TRANSMISSION FLUID. RETURNED TO DEALER. THOUGHT FINALLY IT WAS FIXED. NOPE. EXPERIENCING TRANSMISSION SLIPPAGE AGAIN. CALLED DEALER. WILL RETURN MONDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2000. IN FOUR MONTHS THE CAR HAS RETURNED TO THE DEALER 7 TIMES. I FINALLY SUGESTED THAT MAYBE THERE WAS A MISALIGHNMENT BETWEEN ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION, THEY AGREED TO TAKE A LOOK. WE ARE NOW MAKING PAYMENTS ON A $10,000.00 CAR THAT IS NOT CAPABLE OF BEING DRIVEN MORE THAN 40 MILES WITHOUT TRANSMISSION OVERHEATING SLIPPING AND IS UNSAFE BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN ITS GOING TO HAPPEN AND I WAS STRANDED IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY STREET WITH CARS COMING BOTH DIRECTIONS. I AM FED UP!!!! WHAT CAN I DO?*AK
GEAR STICK WOULD NOT MOVE INTO PARK. YH
TRANSMISSION LEVER EASILY MOVED FROM DRIVE TO NEUTRAL.
MAN-TRAN: WHEN SHIFTING INTO 3RD GEAR, WILL AUTOMATICALLY GO INTO 5TH GEAR, A TRANSMISSION PART WAS PUT IN BACKWARDS AT MANUFACTURER, NEARLY CAUSED ACCIDENT*AK
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 1996 Nissan Altima has 5 Power Train complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.