Complete transmission failure on the 2014 Nissan Altima
When complete transmission failure gets reported
Owners of the 2014 Nissan Altima report complete transmission failure at a median of 72,500 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 55,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles, from 53 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 98,000 miles. It is the 8th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 20,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 105,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 84,320 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
17% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20,680 miles | 55,874 miles | 72,000 miles | 90,000 miles | 105,000 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $2,800–$8,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
This mode is classified as critical, which means a failure can leave the car unable to stop, steer, or stay out of the way of traffic. It is weighted accordingly in the risk score.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 15 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2004, at a median of 100 miles, and latest on the 2009 at 140,000 miles.
By volume the 2013 carries the most reports, with 99; the 2014 has 65. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Car will shudder at low speeds (15-35 MPH) took car in to dealer, they updated the software but, the transmission "failed' the diag test. A new transmission was put in the car. The car still will shutter unexpectedly mostly at low speeds (however a couple of times have be documented by me at hi-way speeds) in general, when the motor rpms are around 1000 rpms and you give it a slight amount of acceleration, it will get in to the torque stall situation. So, coming to stop lights and then needing to go before coming to a complete stop, or turning on subdivision where slow speeds are required or turning into a parking lot or parking space. Have documented many many dates where this has happened. It was back to the dealer but, the have not had the issue happen to them. I have not let my teenaged drivers drive the cars as I do not feel it is safe for them to do so. This situation is not safe. *tr
While traveling at 65 MPH on the highway, the rpms began jumping. It was acting like the transmission was slipping. Then after stopping, the transmission took several seconds to go into gear. A short time later, the car would not accelerate over 60mph. Took to the dealer and they said the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The car had under 20,000 miles on it. I have read that this is a very common problem with nissan CVT transmissions and some owners have had their transmissions replaced 5 times. *tr
Purchased new 2014 nissan altima sl 3.5l at approximately 2200 miles when accelrating at a stop light the vehicle jerked (as if it could not change gears), happened intermittently at first. Took vehicle to repair shop at 2 dealers in 2 states who could not capture information at that time. By 12000 miles while returning from vacation (1/4/2015) the vehicle was undriveable. Took to local dealer and needed a completee transmission replacement. At this time, vehicle was jerking, missing gears, changing gears independently, trying to go in to a lower gear while breaked at a stop light and engine would rev to accelrate, vehicle shook, and was literally deteriorating each mile. Transmission was replaced, at approximately 14500 miles, the same vehicle symptoms have begun. Took to dealer while traveling, they were able to capture minimal data because as the vehicle began to jerk and shake, their battery died in the lap top. However, some data was recorded. Advised to drive home and file complaint with nissan motors north america (which I have done,) vehicle will be taken to local dealer for continual study and new transmission…
Also reported on the 2014 Nissan Altima
Headlight failure or clouding
Other lighting problem
Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure
Other powertrain problem
Other body or interior problem
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 65 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does complete transmission failure happen on the 2014 Nissan Altima?
Across 53 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 72,500 miles. A quarter were filed before 55,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is complete transmission failure on the 2014 Nissan Altima?
65 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed