2013 Nissan Altima Recalled for Steering Control Issue
Nissan is recalling 13,919 2013 Altimas that were manufactured from May 10 through July 26, 2012 because of incorrectly torqued bolts.
“Based on engineering judgment, it was determined that if a loose bolt falls out completely, the driver may experience difficulty in controlling the direction of the vehicle,” Nissan said in a letter to NHTSA.
The bolts in question are transverse link bolts and power steering rack bolts. If these manage to shake loose, the car will have compromised steering, greatly increasing the risk of a crash. No injuries or collisions have been reported yet as a result of this issue.
Nissan dealers already received detailed instructions on how to fix the issue, which will be carried out free of charge to the consumer.
The recall is expected to begin immediately. For more info, contact Nissan Customer Service at (800) 647-7261.
GALLERY: 2013 Nissan Altima
Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>
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This car is beautiful and drives well at city street speed, but.... once you get to highway speed it is DANGEROUS! I first noticed it driving the car home from the dealership. I bought the car sight unseen as my last new car was an Altima as well and I had the car for 5 years and 132K miles.. I felt as though the front tires were moving in different directions at the same time and there is a metallic sound in the front end (can only hear when your next to barriers or bridges on the highway). The car drift is so bad I feel I will be pulled over for DUI!!!! I was planning a trip that week to Texas with my grandchildren and I had already had an issue with the airbag light being on so I took the car back to the dealer to look at it, apparently you need an appointment for any issue other than an oil change! They couldn't get me in!!! I made my trip anyway and it was the scariest most dangerous trip I have ever made!!!! I was all over the highway on any straightaway, the slightest wind or another vehicle passing me would send me into the other lane. Since being back from that harrowing trip I try to avoid highways altogether! But since I live right off of a highway it is really inconvenient... I finally was able to get the car into the dealer and advised them to take the car on the highway and listen for the noise as well at overpasses (when you have noise coming back at you) after about a 3 hour wait the rep came out and said that his tech could not find any thing wrong with the car and that it drives like all other Altima's! THIS IS NOT TRUE!! and they said they never heard the noise, which I find very very hard to believe because I hear it all the time! The driverside front-end sounds like a 10 year old car when it hits a bump in the road or parking lot, like its shocks or something are bad... I am soooo disappointed in Nissan and with the Altima completely, What is the use having a beautiful car when it is a danger on the highway!!!!!!!!!! OTHER COMPLAINTS; The car is noisy at acceleration, going from stop to highway speed sends the tachometer into almost the red and shifts hard at that point.......I did fill out a questionnaire to Nissan after my terrible dealer visit and I did receive a call back from their customer care department but when I called to respond I was sent to voicemail and now 4 days later I still have not received a call back.... I do not know if the problems are just my car but Nissan needs to be responsible for this piece of crap..... I will post on all websites about this car! IT IS DANGEROUS!!!
I have the same steering issues with our 2013 Altima that we bought June 2013. Steering isn't too bad when there is no crosswind but anything over 10 mph is tough driving, car wanders around all over the road, at 15 mph crosswind, it's really a handful. I believe there is a design flaw - should mention we have a 4 cyl, maybe the 6 cyl would behave differently because of its weight. Because of this, I wouldn't recommend the car to anyone. Dealer did a wheel alignment the first time they looked at it, this time they said nothing is wrong, maybe I'm just not used to the electronic power steering. Fat chance, has nothing to do with handling, I have electronic power steering on my bass boat.