2012 Nissan Altima Engine cooling Problems
- Complaints
- 4about this part
- Share
- 1%of 426 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 35,502miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 4 complaints about the engine cooling of the 2012 Nissan Altima, 1% of the 426 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 35,502 miles.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“This vehicle has lost power at highway speeds 3 times now. Just driving along and it just starts slowing down on its own. Running 70mph and it just loses power and it slows to around 25mph. You mash the gas pedal to the floor and it has no effect, it will not increase speed. You pull over, shout the car off and restart and it runs fine again. You get no warning lights, no codes. This is a dangerous situation and should be looked into. Dealership said they have never heard of such a thing. …”
NHTSA complaint #10650943, filed 2014-10, 71,000 miles“Driving long distances my car overheats, looses power going from 70 MPH down to 40 MPH in high speed traffic. I am forced to get off the highway and let it reset itself. It has always made a whining noise during acceleration, and the brakes have squeaked from day one. I have complained to Nissan several times and am always been given lame excuses. Now that my warranty is up they have a solution to my problems. New transmission or overheat converter to the tune of $1600. How convenient they have a solution not that my car is out of warranty!! …”
NHTSA complaint #10614429, filed 2014-07“The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the push to start button, which powered the vehicle on and off, was malfunctioning. The contact depressed the push-to-start button to shut the engine off but to no avail. The failure was experienced numerous times. The dealer vehicle was taken to the dealer but not repaired. The failure mileage was 5 and the current mileage was 12,500.”
NHTSA complaint #10455357, filed 2012-04, 5 miles“2012 Nissan Altima rental vehicle. Consumer states vehicle unexpectedly came to a near complete stop on the left- of- middle lane while driving on the highway the consumer stated with no warning, the vehicle rapidly slowed down from 60 MPH to approximately 5 MPH and began to shake and jerk. The consumer stated there was an odor of fumes indicating that something was burning or melting. The temperature gauge was as high as it could go, indication the engine had overheated.”
NHTSA complaint #10449791, filed 2012-02Related service bulletins
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- 10208953Feb 7, 2022DTC P0456 CAUSED BY EVAP LEAK AT VENT CONTROL VALVE O-RING This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this…
- 10208948Feb 7, 2022EVAP LEAK DTC P0442, P0455, P0456 INFORMATION This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
- 10173641Mar 27, 2020Non-Methane Organic Gases (NMOG) Engine Control Module (ECM) Reprogram Voluntary Emission Recall Campaign ***** Campaign Summary ***** Nissan is conducting a Voluntary Emissions…
- 10173561Mar 26, 2020VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS RECALL CAMPAIGN 2010-2012 ALTIMA SEDAN AND COUPE (SULEV); ENGINE CONTROL MODULE INTRODUCTION Nissan is conducting this voluntary emissions recall campaign on…
- 10173559Mar 26, 20202010-2012 ALTIMA; MIL ON WITH DTC P2423 NOTE: The warranty period for the front exhaust tube with catalyst (20010-ZX10A) has been extended on the Applied Vehicles if the…
- 10153007Jan 29, 2019NISSAN; DTC P0456 CAUSED BY EVAP LEAK AT VENT CONTROL VALVE O-RING This bulletin does NOT apply to LEAF vehicles and Titan XD vehicles with V8 diesel engine. This bulletin has…
- 10192591Jun 24, 2015SERVICE INFORMATION After ECM reprogramming, the Calibration Verification Number (CVN) needs to be automatically calculated prior to State emissions testing (also known as…
- 10192293Jan 13, 2014SERVICE INFORMATION Replacement Engine Control Modules (ECMs) for many newer Nissan vehicles are now "Blank" ECMs. Blank ECMs come without software and must be programmed (not…
- 10041392Sep 6, 2011Nissan: oil is leaking from the upper end of the engine oil cooler.
Engine cooling: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 | 1% |
| 2020 | 5 | 3% |
| 2019 | 9 | 4% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0% |
| 2014 | 3 | 0% |
| 2013 | 8 | 0% |
| 2012 | 4 | 1% |
| 2011 | 6 | 2% |
| 2010 | 4 | 1% |
| 2009 | 10 | 1% |
| 2008 | 21 | 2% |
| 2007 | 44 | 9% |
| 2006 | 189 | 23% |
| 2005 | 259 | 24% |
| 2004 | 109 | 39% |
| 2003 | 450 | 51% |
| 2002 | 594 | 57% |
| 2001 | 59 | 37% |
| 2000 | 49 | 31% |
| 1999 | 8 | 9% |
| 1998 | 14 | 11% |
| 1997 | 7 | 6% |
| 1996 | 8 | 9% |
| 1995 | 28 | 16% |
| 1994 | 11 | 10% |
| 1993 | 16 | 13% |
Other parts of the 2012 Nissan Altima
149 complaintsEngine
68 complaintsOther or unknown
58 complaintsAir bags
57 complaintsVehicle speed control
49 complaintsElectrical system
44 complaintsBody and structure
33 complaintsBrakes
20 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
18 complaintsSteering
17 complaintsSuspension
17 complaintsFuel system
13 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2012 Nissan Altima
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology