NHTSA Safety Recalls
2012 Nissan Altima Recalls
The 2012 Nissan Altima has 4 NHTSA safety recalls on file, the newest reported on October 10, 2012.
A recall covers a range of VINs, not every 2012 Nissan Altima. Whether a recall on your own car is still open shows only on a VIN check; recall repairs are free.
- Recalls
- 4
- Owner complaints
- 426
- Crashes reported
- 24
- NHTSA crash test
- ★★★★☆
NHTSA campaigns
filed with NHTSA
2 fires
overall, 5 stars max
On a 2012 Nissan Altima, the 17-character VIN is on the driver-side dashboard, visible through the windshield, or on the door jamb sticker.
4 recalls on the 2012 Nissan Altima
Steering
- Campaign
- 12V494000
- Reported
- October 10, 2012
- Vehicles affected
- up to 13,919
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2013 Altima
Air bags: side/window
- Campaign
- 12V055000
- Reported
- February 14, 2012
- Vehicles affected
- up to 976
- Risk NHTSA names
- injury
- Same campaign
- also 1 other model
Air bags: frontal: sensor/control module-inactive
- Campaign
- 11V408000
- Reported
- August 9, 2011
- Vehicles affected
- up to 54
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash and injury
- Same campaign
- only the 2012 Nissan Altima
Suspension
- Campaign
- 11V371000
- Reported
- July 19, 2011
- Vehicles affected
- up to 20,000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2011 Altima
2012 Nissan Altima complaints by year
NHTSA has received 426 owner complaints about the 2012 Nissan Altima, the newest on September 22, 2026. Of these, 24 describe a crash (6%) and 2 a fire; owners reported 26 injuries.
In complaints about the 2012 Nissan Altima, the component group named most often is the power train (35%), followed by the engine (16%) and the air bags (13%).
2 of the 2012 Nissan Altima's 4 recalls also concern the air bags.
Where 2012 Nissan Altima owners gave the mileage (307 complaints), the median was 75,000 miles.
Component groups named in complaints
- Power Train149
- Engine68
- Air Bags57
- Unknown Or Other56
- Vehicle Speed Control49
- Electrical System44
Complaints received, by year
| 2011 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 21 | |
| 2013 | 15 | |
| 2014 | 29 | |
| 2015 | 41 | |
| 2016 | 38 | |
| 2017 | 44 | |
| 2018 | 69 | |
| 2019 | 58 | |
| 2020 | 44 | |
| 2021 | 21 | |
| 2022 | 14 | |
| 2023 | 11 | |
| 2024 | 6 | |
| 2025 | 5 | |
| 2026 | 5 |
Complaints about the 2012 Nissan Altima peaked in 2018, when NHTSA received 69. 26% arrived between 2011 and 2015, the model year's first years on the road.
Adjusted for how many complaints NHTSA received about all 2012 vehicles, the 2012 Nissan Altima drew 0.9× the complaints of the median Nissan Altima year in the same window: 13th highest of the 23 ranked years.
NHTSA crash-test stars
- Overall: ★★★★☆
- Frontal: 4/5
- Side: 5/5
- Rollover: 4/5
The 426 complaints about the 2012 Nissan Altima are unverified owner reports, and a model sold in large numbers collects more of them.
Nissan Altima by model year
Other 2012 Nissan models
Newest record on this page: September 22, 2026. Data: NHTSA recall and owner-complaint files. How these figures are counted