The Nissan Altima has remained a popular option for commuters looking to get a comfortable and fun mid-size sedan, but some years are better than others.
In 1992, Nissan introduced the Altima, a practical sedan that was surprisingly fun to drive. In the compact-size commuter car market, this slightly edgier-looking and less expensive cousin to the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry has been a top-selling vehicle for Nissan over the years. Fans of the car praised the sedan for its reliability, roomy interior, fun handling, and in 2019 added AWD in order to help it compete with crossovers.
That said, alongside these rave reviews in Nissan chat rooms across the web are the complaints of anguished owners about issues with the continuous variable transmission (CVT) issues, assorted recalls, steering columns that lock up, and rear doors and hoods that unhelpfully pop open while driving. Are they talking about the same car? Yes, but not the same model year. If you’re shopping for a Nissan Altima from the past two decades, it’s important to know which year models are best to get, and which ones you’d be better off avoiding.2011-2012 Nissan Altima
In 2010, the Altima went through a slight redesign that tweaked its nose and added standard stability control. What followed are arguably two of Altima’s most solid model years — 2011 and 2012. In these two years, Nissan added three new colors (including Metallic Slate, Saharan Stone and Brilliant Silver), as well as new package options. However, perhaps because the sedan was relatively unchanged from 2010, Nissan had a chance to improve reliability, leading to fewer registered complaints. NHTSA gave the 2011 and 2012 overall safety ratings of four stars out of five. There was only one recall: for potentially under-torqued transverse link bolts, according to the NHTSA.
These models offered a 2.5-liter four-cylinder or 3.5-liter V6 engine, roomy interiors, and more technology and sportier styling than many others in its class.
