2013 Nissan Altima Exterior Lighting
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
The exterior lighting is extremely dim. It is an issue driving at night. I’ve had to pull over to make sure the lights were actually on. Please, please issue a recall to help prevent possible fatal crashes. I see that there are numerous complaints regarding this issue and it should be addressed as quickly as possible.
The lights are positioned too low to the ground and they are not bright enough. I end up having to keep my high lights on when driving at night because the visibility is very poor otherwise. Dangerous
The headlights on my 2013 Nissan Altima SL are dangerously dim. The car was purchased used in July, 2022 and has been driven daily by my son since then. While driving with him recently on his way home college I was driving and could barely tell that the headlights were on while driving at night through the un-lit Interstate in Virginia. The extremely low light level was alarming to me as I could not see well without using the high beams which was not always possible due to surrounding traffic, and I was constantly nervous that the others on the road may not be able to see my vehicle. Nissan is fully aware that there is an issue. In response to a class action lawsuit in 2022 they agreed to replace the headlight assemblies for those that filed a claim within a certain timeframe. The lawsuit pointed to a delaminating of the reflective materials inside the headlight assembly, so replacing the bulbs does not significantly raise the lighting output. Unfortunately the deadline for a free replacement expired prior to me purchasing the car. I contacted a local Nissan dealer on [XXX], 2024 and they indicated that the free replacement has long since expired and estimated that it would cost approximately $1,500 to replace the headlights. I then contacted Nissan corporate on the same date and received the same response. I honestly do not understand how this did not become a Safety Recall. The lights obviously do not produce adequate light levels to safely drive at night. This is worsened by the prevalence of ultra-brite HID Halogen and LED headlights on the majority of cars on the road today. Though Nissan “did not accept” liability in response to the class action lawsuit in 2022, Nissan did replace thousands of sets of headlights- admitting that they know the OEM headlights are an issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Nissan never informed me of the head light recall in 2022 and as a result I've been driving on dim lights which is quite dangerous. This week I took it into a Nissan dealership in Anderson, SC to get them repaired and it cost $1500! They informed me it should have been covered under the recall but that it's expired. This is unacceptable. Nissan is responsible to inform it's car owners of all recalls and the fact that they didn't should not enable them to get away with making people pay for these recall repairs.
The headlamps are so dim, you can't even see the road at night. This is a well known issue to Nissan that the headlamps for this make and model are defective. The headlamp assemblies need to be replaced and this should be a recall. There was a civil lawsuit and I, like many others, tried getting the headlamps replaced during the acceptable time period, but my Nissan dealership was not able to get the parts in time. Looking online, this happened to the majority of people and people weren't able to get the proper repairs needed at no fault of their own. This is a major problem that Nissan needs to address. NHTSA also has a responsibility to be pushing Nissan on this recall. My automotive repair company said they've never seen so many complaints with the NHTSA without there being a full recall. It is an extreme safety hazard to not have the road visible at night. I, along with others, have received warnings from the police as well for not having proper lighting. Please help fix this issue.
The headlights are very dim and it's very hard to see when it's dark outside
Delamination of headlight units has left low beam use unsafe. Seeing more than 20-25ft ahead of vehicle is impossible at night. There was a class action suit for this issue but I was not notified and now the window for replacement had passed. This seems like it should have been a safety recall. I attempted to get relief from Nissan but was stonewalled. Not even a discount on replacing the units.
I was never informed of a voluntary recall on the headlamps of certain Nissan Altimas, my wife said it was difficult to drive at night, I installed LED lights with little change. I found out after Nissan had a voluntary recall that the head light assemblies had issues, mainly de-lamination of the chrome in the reflector assembly on the low beam light. Dealer said they would replace them unless I paid over $2000. I found non OEM light assemblies, had them installed, and took the old assembly apart and I was shocked to see the degrading of the entire assembly and material deposited on the lens making it cloudy, not clear at all. I documented all this, and really do think it is a serious safety issue since many of these cars are now on the used market, and many of the owners buying on that market may not have the resources to change out the headlamp assemblies, or even original owners such as me and my wife. Nissan knows there was an issue, and therevis. We happened to be lucky, my wife was not involved in an accident due to the low output of the lights, but the difference after installing the new assemblies is dramatic and the damage to the reflector assembly and cloudy film on the lens is significant. Nissan knows of the problem, they accept no responsibility now, but no doubt it is a serious safety issue which should be looked at again, Nissan did not let all the owners know they may have an issue, heck I got more notices on a hood latch recall than anything else. This is a real serious safety issue, visibility at night is severely restricted.
The dim headlights dont work right so u cant see driving. It is very dangerous it could cause a accident. So you have to drive with your brights on so that you can see and then that could also cause accident because you're blinding the people coming towards you
Headlights are dangerously dim, contacted manufacturer and were told that we missed the settlement on this issue. We purchased this vehicle after the settlement so of course we missed it. My son drives this car to and from college two and a half hours away. I cannot understand why nothing is being done. When he drives at night, he has to have high beams on and even then, they are not the brightest. I know we are not the only ones, I have researched it and seen countless complaints about the headlights.
It was a recall on the headlights and Nissan said the recalled expired. The previous owner passed away. You can’t see anything at night without driving with the high beams on I had the bulbs changed an it’s dim lighting. This is a safety issues that’s putting me and other people lives in danger.
Headlights so dimmed you cannot see at night. Without using my high beams. I have all ready received 3 verbal warnings for driving with high beams. My understanding there was a recall I missed out in due to lost mail I assume but Nissan refuses to fix it and trying to charge me $2000 for there safety defect. I cannot afford to get this fixed out of pocket and it’s a safety issue. If it’s a recall that’s a safety issue it should be a Nissan repair.
Both front head lights (low lights) are very dim; right headlight may require re-wiring due to constant burning out of head light (low lights) and turning signal light. Measures have been taken by owner to address the situation by careful step-wise cleaning of headlight covers. After cleaning of headlight covers, there was significant fogginess still noted as having a film like appearance. This film appeared to be on the inside portion of the head lamps. Visibility was not improved after cleaning headlights. Night time driving visibility is significantly affected, leading to issue of safety while driving. Passengers have noted inability to distinguish whether headlights are turned on or off while driving at nght. Issue has been brought up to multiple nissan car dealerships who refuse to further inspect or acknowledge the issue of defect in the 2013 Nissan Altima. The issue has previously been brought up in the case of Rafael Suarez, et al. v. Nissan North America, Inc., Case No.3:21-cv-00393-WLC-AN. Dealership refuses to acknowledge case or issue in general.
My headlights have been dangerously dim for about a year now. According to the dealer is not a simple bulb replacement situation. They are telling me that I need to replace both headlamp assemblies and the cost will be about $1300 total. ($650 per headlamp). It is extremely difficult to drive at night with these dim headlights. A significant safety issue. Yes. Not yet. No warning lights or messages.
The headlights are so dim it is dangerous. I had been riding with the brights on because of the dimness of the lights. I was almost in a serious accident due to the lack of visibility resulting from faulty headlights—even with the brights on. These are dangerous.
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact received notification of Voluntary Service Campaign: PC861 (Front Combination Lamps (Headlamps) – Halogen Only). The contact stated that the front headlamps failed to illuminate. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that the Voluntary Service Campaign had expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the Voluntary Service Campaign had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 88,000. The contact stated that there isn't a failure mileage. While waiting for the parts to become available, the contact had become ill and had missed the deadline for the recall repairs. However, the contact claims that she was never notified that the parts were available or to come in for repairs. The contact is currently waiting for the manufacturer's recall department to approve the repairs past the deadline.
Nissan is not supplying headlight assemblies to dealers in a timely manner (settlement of class action lawsuit for dimming headlights) yet is selling them as OEM online. I have been waiting 10 months or more for them to come into my dealer. The only response is that the supply chain is the problem. These headlights have been gradually been dimming for years due to the deterioration of a coating inside the projection beam lens. A class action lawsuit settlement has Nissan obligated to replace the complete assembly if one registered with the the class last March - September. This is on going issue and a safety issue. The lights are too dim and do not light up the road adequately. I had a close call with wildlife (deer) because you cannot see well.
Nissan is not supplying headlight assemblies to dealers in a timely manner (settlement of class action lawsuit for dimming headlights) yet is selling them as OEM online. I have been waiting 8 months for them to come into my dealer. The only response is that the supply chain is the problem. These headlights have been gradually been dimming for years due to the deterioration of a coating inside the projection beam lens. A class action lawsuit settlement has Nissan obligated to replace the complete assembly if one registered with the the classs last March - September.
Low beam headlights inadequate. Very obvious. Difficult to see at night. Nissan dealer does not want to replace under class action settlement. Headlight lenses are not hazy.
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact state while driving approximately 65 MPH at night, the headlights were dimmed making visibility very difficult. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who confirmed the failure with the headlights. The headlights were not replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The dealer related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V244000 (Exterior Lighting) however, neither the VIN nor the year, make, or model vehicle was included in the recall. The approximate failure mileage was 2,000.
Low beam headlights too dim to be usable at night. Service center confirmed it is a known delamination issue of the reflective coating, for which a class action lawsuit was previously filed and settled. Have been waiting for over 6 months for the "back ordered" parts to come in so it can be fixed.
The Low Beam headlight do not project properly. The problem is delamination of the headlight assembly. See "Suarez vs. Nissan North America Inc. Nissan will not replace the headlights in a timely manner. A claim was filed on 1/31/22. Assemblies must be replaced by 9/23/22. Nissan is delaying the repair because of "supply Chain Issues". Numerous owners haven't had the replacement occur by the due date. This makes the car difficult to operate, requiring the use of the high beams at all times. This is a safety issue, and should be a recall to protect all drivers.
The low beam exterior lights are simply totally ineffective and provide little illumination at night. This is an ongoing issue and has yet to be corrected by Nissan. Car is not able to be driven safely at night.
Nissan got sued for Altima headlights that would dim after a certain amount of time. They reached out to everyone affected and offered to replace their faulty headlights. They even put a campaign (recall?) on the affected cars. I went to the dealership which performed a test and determined that both my headlights were faulty and were dimming and I'm eligible for a replacement. They placed an order for parts in May 2022, it is now October 2022 and Nissan still hasn't shipped the parts to the dealer. Every time I call, the dealership says the parts have not arrived and there is nothing else they can do. Its been 5+ months since my dealership visit and I've been driving with dim headlights around rural country roads in Texas which don't have streetlights or lane markings It puts me and the passengers in my car (kids) at a huge safety risk. Can you please force Nissan to send new headlights (parts are already on order for my VIN) so I can get this resolved without any more delay?
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at night, she noticed that the low-beam headlights were becoming very dim. The contact stated that the failure occurred gradually and that no warning lights were illuminated. Over time, the failure occurred more frequently. The contact stated that it had become increasingly more difficult to see the roadway while driving because the headlights were extremely dim. The local dealer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to replace the headlight assemblies. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.
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Quick Summary
The 2013 Nissan Altima has 386 Exterior Lighting complaints on file. 7 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.