The 2013 Nissan Altima is a small car that came with a choice of 2.5L 4-cyl and 3.5L 6-cyl engines. At 13 years old, many are reaching the point where repairs cost more than the car is worth. Running or not, we'll make you an offer and tow it away for free.
| Body style | Midsize Cars, Subcompact Cars |
|---|---|
| Engines | 2.5L 4-cyl, 3.5L 6-cyl |
| Transmissions | Automatic (AV-S6) |
| Drive | Front-Wheel Drive |
| Fuel | Regular Gasoline |
| Fuel economy | 22–27 city / 30–38 highway / 25–31 combined MPG |
| EPA annual fuel cost | $2,150–$2,700 a year (EPA estimate at current fuel prices, 15,000 miles) |
| Tailpipe CO₂ | 290–354 grams per mile |
| EPA fuel economy score | 6–8 out of 10 |
| EPA greenhouse gas score | 6–8 out of 10 |
| Curb weight (NHTSA test vehicle) | 3,137 lb |
| Gross vehicle weight rating | 4,211–4,586 lb |
| Versions tested by EPA | 3 configurations: Altima, Altima Coupe |
| Age | 13 years |
Specs, fuel cost and emissions from the EPA's fueleconomy.gov data; weights from NHTSA crash-test records. Your car's exact equipment may differ.
NHTSA lists 12 safety recalls covering the 2013 Nissan Altima. Open recalls don't stop you from selling or junking the car, but check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which apply to yours.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2018 Nissan Altima vehicles. If the primary hood latch is inadvertently released, there is an increased likelihood that the secondary hood latch may corrode over time.
Risk: Corrosion to the secondary latch may cause it to bind and remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed. If the primary latch is inadvertently released again and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could unexpectedly ope
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima vehicles manufactured January 3, 2013, to July 29, 2013, 2015-2016 Rogue vehicles manufactured October 14, 2014, to August 12, 2016, and 2016 Maxima vehicles manufactured June 4, 2015, to August 19, 2015. An incorrect Occupant Classification System…
Risk: If the front passenger seat occupant is misclassified, the air bag may deploy incorrectly in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City…
Risk: If the passenger frontal air bag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Nissan Altima vehicles manufactured March 6, 2012, to December 31, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the secondary hood latch may bind and remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed.
Risk: If the primary latch is inadvertently released and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could unexpectedly open while driving, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima and Pathfinder vehicles, 2013-2014 Nissan Sentra vehicles, 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles, 2014-2015 Infiniti QX60 vehicles and 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid vehicles. The affected vehicles received an incorrect occupant classification system (OCS) control…
Risk: If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger air bag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to th
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) notified the agency on July 31, 2015, that they are recalling certain model year 2016 Nissan Maxima vehicles manufactured February 10, 2015, to August 18, 2015. On October 14, 2015, Nissan expanded the recall to cover an additional 41,388 vehicles, including certain model year 2013-2015 Altima 3.5…
Risk: If fuel leaks from between the fuel sending unit and the tank, it may increase the risk of a fire in the event of a crash.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Nissan Altima vehicles manufactured March 1, 2013, to December 31, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the secondary hood latch may bind and remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed.
Risk: If the primary latch is inadvertently released and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could unexpectedly open while driving, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013 Nissan Altima vehicles manufactured March 6, 2012, to February 28, 2013. In the affected vehicles, interference between the hood inner panel and the secondary latch lever, in combination with debris and corrosion, may cause the secondary hood latch to bind and…
Risk: If the primary latch is inadvertently released and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could unexpectedly open while driving, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, and Sentra, model year 2013 NV200 (aka Taxi) and Infiniti JX35 and model year 2014 Infiniti Q50 and QX60 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the occupant classification system (OCS) software may incorrectly classify the passenger…
Risk: If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger airbag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the
Nissan North America is recalling certain model year 2013 Altima vehicles manufactured March 21, 2012, through March 26, 2013. The spare tires may have been significantly over- or under-inflated.
Risk: Tires that are significantly over- or under-inflated may fail without warning, increasing the risk of a crash.
Nissan is recalling certain model year 2013 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, Sentra, and Infiniti JX35 vehicles. Sensors within the passenger Occupant Detection System (ODS) may have been manufactured out of specification. This may cause the system to malfunction and permanently suppress the passenger airbag.
Risk: If the vehicle is involved in a crash necessitating airbag deployment and the passenger airbag is suppressed, there may be an increased risk of personal injury.
Nissan is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Altima vehicles manufactured from May 10, 2012, through July 26, 2012. These vehicles may have been equipped with transverse link bolts and power steering rack bolts that were not torqued to proper specification.
Risk: The affected bolts could become loose and fall out which may lead to a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Owners have filed 2,313 complaints about the 2013 Nissan Altima with NHTSA. 63 reports involved a crash and 9 reports involved a fire. Owners reported 48 injuries.
Complaints are reports from owners and aren't verified by NHTSA. One complaint can list several components. Mileage is the median odometer reading owners reported for that component.
NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2013 Nissan Altima, by version tested.
| Version | Overall | Frontal crash | Side crash | Rollover | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Dr, FWD | Not rated | — | — | ★★★★★ | 9.3% |
| 4 Dr, FWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | 10.3% |
Source: NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (NCAP). Ratings from different model years or rating systems aren't directly comparable.
Manufacturers have filed 370 technical service bulletins and communications with NHTSA covering the 2013 Nissan Altima. These are repair instructions for known issues, not recalls.
CERTIFICATION LABEL AND VIN PLATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION Because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement "Certification Label" or "VIN Plate/L
CERTIFICATION LABEL AND VIN PLATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION Because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement "Certification Label" or "VIN Plate/L
DTC B00A0-00 STORED This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. IF YOU CONFIRM DTC B00A0-00
CVT/TCM CALIBRATION DATA "WRITE" PROCEDURE This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications (technical service bulletins).
NHTSA opened 5 defect investigations covering the 2013 Nissan Altima.
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to
Rear Suspension Control Arm Failure
On July 29, 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened EA19002 to investigate instances of alleged rear lower control arm failures in 2013-2018 Nissan Altima and 2016-2018 Nissan Maxima vehicles. At the time the investigation was opened ODI had 91 consumer complaints alleging rear lower control arm failures
Rear Suspension Control Arm Failure
PE18-013 was opened on December 1, 2018, with 4 complaints to ODI alleging incidents of the lower control arm fracturing at a connection point to the vehicle chassis due to corrosion. ODI has received an additional 87 complaints since the PE was opened. During PE18-013, Nissan indicated model years 2013-2018 shared a c
Occupant Classification System Failure
In May 2016, Nissan North America issued a safety recall (16V-244) to address the problem of improper classification of adult front seat passengers in approximately 3.3 million vehicles, including those in the scope of this investigation when it was opened (almost one million vehicles) and additional vehicles, as shown
Occupant Classification System Failure
In April 2014, Nissan North America launched Safety Recall 14V-138 to address problems with the Occupant Classification System (OCS) algorithm in the following vehicles: model year (MY) 2013-2014 Nissan Altima, Pathfinder, Sentra and LEAF; MY 2013 Infiniti JX35; MY 2014 Infiniti QX60 and Q50; and MY 2013 Nissan NV 200/
It depends on its condition, whether major parts like the engine, transmission and catalytic converter are still there, and current scrap and parts prices where you live. Its parts make up much of its value. Enter your ZIP code above for a free offer on your specific car.
Yes. We buy 2013 Altimas that don't start, were in an accident, failed inspection or have a blown engine or transmission. Towing is always free.
Yes. Open recalls don't prevent a junk sale. NHTSA lists 12 recalls for the 2013 Nissan Altima; you can check whether any are still open on yours with the VIN lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Usually the title and a photo ID. Rules differ by state, including what to do with your plates and whether to file a notice of sale. Check our state-by-state car title guides for the official forms.
Data retrieved October 2026.
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