2015 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
I didn't have a accident or got stopped by the police. I can't see anything at night from my headlights I wasn't aware of the recall in 2022. I may have gotten a letter but I do not recall. I would not be reaching out to you all if it was not affecting my driving at night & is really bad we have a bew black top road on [XXX] I can't even see the road properly nor the shoulder but when I put on my bright lights I can and I also live off of [XXX] & there are no street lights. Could someone please assist me on this matter involving my headlights. Thank you & have a Blessed day! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Got a post card stating that the headlamp covers were recalled I called Nissan to make an appointment and Nissan has fought me every step of the way. I am unable to see at night with my headlights on and I have to turn on high beams at night just to see. It's very frustrating to not being able to see and very expensive to pay tickets for driving with high beams on.
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds at night, the low beam headlights would independently dim. No warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired due to the cost. Upon further investigation, the contact related the failure to Service Campaign Number: PC861; however, the warranty had expired in March 2022. Another local dealer was contacted for a second opinion, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
(NOT RELATED TO CURRENTLY OPEN HOOD LATCH RECALL) I’m the current owner of a 2013–2018 Nissan Altima, a model range known for a headlight delamination defect. This issue causes the reflective coating inside the headlamp to degrade, severely reducing light output. It’s a major safety risk for drivers, other motorists, and pedestrians—especially at night. A class action lawsuit acknowledged this and led to a limited repair program. However, I—like many others—only discovered the issue after that window had closed. As a second owner, I reached out to Nissan requesting a “goodwill repair,” which they define as a discretionary repair for issues outside normal coverage. Nissan declined. I was told by Erica on the executive team that goodwill repairs are more likely if there’s a history of maintenance at a Nissan dealership. In other words, if the previous owner spent money at a dealership, Nissan would be more willing to repair a known factory defect. This policy is unfair. Routine maintenance should have no bearing on a company’s responsibility to fix a well-documented safety defect. That logic leaves many current owners—who had no control over previous maintenance decisions—without support. Over 1.5 million affected Altimas are still on U.S. roads, many now in the hands of second or third owners. These drivers may be unaware of the issue or unable to afford repairs for something that should never have occurred in the first place. I’m asking Nissan to re-open the repair program or evaluate on a case-by case basis, considering fairness and safety. This could be offered to anyone who purchased the car after the repair window. Until then, I—and many others—are left to drive with dangerously dim headlights, putting ourselves, our passengers, and the general public at unnecessary risk. This is about more than customer service. It’s about corporate responsibility and public safety.
My regular headlights are not bright and cannot see 10 feet in front of my car without my high beams on. I have had my headlights "restored" by professionals and I can still not see in front of my car with my regular running headlights. This has now been an on-going issue and I am unable to drive at night because I cannot see in front of my car and I feel VERY unsafe in doing so. I feel like I am at risk because I cannot see unless my high beams are on and then that puts the oncoming traffic at risk as I am blinding them. I feel like oncoming traffic cannot see my normal headlights and at a risk of getting hit. I fortunately have NOT had any accidents but I cannot drive at night because of this issue. I do not feel safe for myself, my family or other drivers at this point.This has been an on-going issue that seems to be getting worse as the brightness continues to deteriorate as more time goes by.
The head lights don’t illuminate properly and the headlight assembly was never changed. You are more than welcome to inspect them please do. I can’t see at all if normal lights are on only if high beam are. I have been pulled over for riding with my high beams on citing it’s a hazard but when I put my normal lights on I was also pulled over because they couldn’t tell my headlights were on. I could potentially crash or cause a crash trying to drive at night. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by an independent service center. The vehicle has not been inspected by the police or insurance. There were no warning lamps or messages and the problem first appeared in 2023
I can not drive at night because I can see at all and I am afraid I am going to crash..The lights are so dim that it seems that they are not even on..I have to turn my high beams on just to see and I was warned that I can recieve a ticket for driving with high beams on..I went to the Nissan company and they said there was nothing they could because they didn't honor the recall on the headlight assemblies anymore and I would have to pay $1500 to replace them. I'm disabled and can not afford to do that..please help me
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed at night, the contact became aware that the headlamps failed to provide adequate illumination. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with both headlamp assembly, observing that the headlamp assemblies had delaminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Headlight brightness has diminished to levels below safe operation of vehicle in darkness. Changing bulbs, adjusting beam pattern and restoring outer shell of headlight assembly did not increase brightness. Internal reflectors, which cannot be cleaned or replaced, have lost their effectiveness over time. Driver, pedestrian and all other driver’s safety are at risk. Independent observation and multiple video streaming service videos have reported similar issues. The only recourse is assembly replacement at the expense of the consumer.
I take my wife's Nissan Altima (2015) to dealer (Jackie Cooper, Tulsa) regularly and (in 2020) asked them why the headlights were so dim. Told me there was a class action suit ongoing and that we could fix it and wait for the settlement to submit receipts, or we could wait and that they would call when the suit was settled. Was never notified by dealership that we could bring it in to get replaced. Called again to check status (10/24) I found out that the deadline is now passed and we can not get it repaired unless we pay. No dealer notification and because Nissan did not ever inform us, we now need to do it on our own. Unsatisfactory (and expensive). It is a known defect and should have been repaired when we brought it in for regular service. This car is unsafe to drive at night, but not due to anything we have done and it should be fixed since we were not notified. 2015 Nissan Altima with 74478 miles and has always been well cared for. Because this is a know problem, mileage and length of time should not have anything to do with fixing it, ESPECIALLY since they neglected to call us. It is a safety problem. My wife (the driver) is [XXX] and needs headlights that work. I never drive the car but I did last night to get gas. The lights are terrible. Dim and yellowish. I spent 80.00 on a kit to buff out the clear lens but that did little to nothing. THIS IMPACTS SAFETY AND I WANT IT FIXED!!!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Having issues driving vehicle at night time due to headlights being to dim. In order to drive safely i have to turn high beams on. Im concern for my family safety when driving with dim lights at night time.
The low beam lights on the vehicle are almost non-existent. You have to use high beams for visibility which of course comes with the risk of blinding other drivers. I’ve replaced the headlight housing and still the lighting is poor. I don’t understand why these vehicles weren’t part of a recall after the class action lawsuit showed the lighting to be faulty. This is a serious safety hazard.
Head lights dim; can barely see at night.
The low beam headlamps you cannot see at night when you are driving and I just bought this car and ran the VIN for recalls and it says that there is 10 recalls and one of them being problem with the low beam headlights none of these 10 recalls were fixed and I guess the date has passed and now I can't fix them I don't understand how that's fair to me when I just bought the car two three days ago and now I guess there's nothing I can do the headlamps is a severe safety issue I was told by the salesman at the Nissan car lot in Independence Missouri where we bought the car said there was Zero recalls on it
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving at night, the low-beam head light illumination was extremely dim, creating a visibility hazard for the driver. The contact stated that the headlight bulbs were replaced; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The cause of the failure was yet not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not eligible for the Extended Coverage for the failure. The failure mileage was 165,000.
I bought a used 2014 nissan altima. The dim lights do not work properly and is dangerous to myself, my familiy and to other drivers approaching me. Visibility is about a cars length, if that. The dealership i bought the car from did not disclose that there had been a lawsuit against nissan for this issue. Someone needs to issue a recall on all these models with defective headlights before someone is seriously injured and I would be surprised to find that there hasn't already been. Im making payments on a car I cannot drive at night. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!!!!!!
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the front headlights were dim and failed to function as intended. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The contact stated that in the past five years the headlights had been replaced two times. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. Additionally, the contact was informed that a previous warranty for the repair had expired. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
I wasn't aware of the recall on my 2015 Nissan Altima headlights. The headlights on my vehicle are so dim, I am unable to drive at night. I was told the recall has expired for this function, which I never received any notification of the recall. This is very disturbing to know that a recall expires and I do consider this a safety hazard due to not being able to see while driving at night. Can someone please assist me with this recall. I would really appreciate any help due to the fact, it's very expensive to replace a recall item to my vehicle.
I understand there was a voluntary recall and a lawsuit regarding the headlight system on Altimas between 2011-2018. I also understand we were supposed to have received a notification which we never received. We own 3 Altimas that fall into this grouping and never received notification on any of them. The 2015 Altima's lighting is pretty much non-existent. You cannot see at night and it's dangerous. Took it to Carson Nissan and although they were very nice, we were advised that we were too late and there is nothing they can do. It would be very expensive if we fixed at our expense.
Purchased car from third party late September 2022. Immediately noticed that night driving was nearly impossible to see with headlamps on dim. Going from high beams to low beams is almost like switching to parking lamps. Can’t drive with high beams on when there’s other traffic it poses a hazard to oncoming vehicles. Took the car into Nissan dealership the following week and they told me I missed a deadline on headlight replacement coverage. Only owned the car a week at that time. I swapped out bulbs and had outer covers polished. Still can’t see to drive safely at night. Poses a huge safety risk when night driving is unavoidable. Really wish Nissan would reopen any claims for the dim lighting for those who didn’t know about it before purchasing.
The Low beams on my headlights are so dim, I have a really horrible time seeing when driving home from work at night ; so bad, that my husband and son tried driving to see for themselves and now worry about me driving at night in my car. I’ve heard numerous complaints about this issue, and I thought there was a recall on this problem .
Since April 2022 we reached out to Nissan of Vacaville, Ca about the head light recall. Numerous times they've told us that the headlights were not in stock. Now in 2024 they're saying that they are no longer honoring the recall. They report that it has expired. I drive the car mostly at night and the lights do not work properly. It impairs my vision and thereby can cause a wreck that could result in injury or death.
My car's low beam headlights go dim quickly, if work at all. The bright light beams work as should. At times I must drive with the bright beams on just to see safely. I understand there was a settlement by Nissan, however, my issue did not start until after the settlement was over. I am unable to get my headlights fixed due to the deadline. I might note, I purchased my car right before the deadline, so at that time, it was not having the issues. It is very disappointing that Nissan is aware of the issue, but due to timing of this issue, they will not replace the faulty part.
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds at night, the headlights were extremely dim. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who confirmed the defect; however, the contact was informed that the part was no longer covered under warranty. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 83,000.
I have a 2015 Nissan Altima with the headlight delamination recall warranty. The dealership found that my vehicle was affected by faulty headlights. Diagnosed in May of 2022 and was told new headlights would be ordered. It is now March of 2023 and I still cannot drive my vehicle at night due to poor illumination on roadway. This concerns me as a sfety issue that they refuse to expedite, also that they admit was their issue to repair. It should not take 10months to get headlight parts into their dealership. As I mentioned the vehicle is not driveable at night safely. I ask that you look into this issue with the dealership and their lack of support to assist me as an owner. I was always told that the headlights have not come in yet and that I just have to wait. I pray they still honor the warranty work as the warranty period has expired in just waiting for the headlights to arrive. They did diagnose issue and order headlights within the warranty period. Dealership name and phone# Razzari Nissan Service Dept. Merced,CA. 95340 209-354-2400
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The 2015 Nissan Altima has 235 Exterior Lighting complaints on file. 7 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.