18th Mar 2013, 18:26

I'm the original poster. Your engine issue was exactly the problem I described. The CVT pushed the engine to such a low RPM that it shook the car and grumbled loudly. This is not the type of refinement that I expected from a popular midsized car.

20th Mar 2013, 15:22

The only CVT vehicle I like is my lawn mower. For it, the CVT is ideal. However cars are a different story. I have driven several CVT equipped cars, including Nissan, and I really don't care for them. I find the performance terrible. With so many great 6-speed automatics available, I'd pass up the CVT. Only by driving extremely gently can you expect top gas mileage from the CVT, and most people, myself included, just aren't willing to alter their driving style that drastically.

17th Apr 2013, 13:56

Yeah, they're trying to squeeze more MPG to boost CAFE, by keeping the revs to a minimum. I've been in a 2012 Ford Focus with a conventional automatic transmission that shuddered every time it came to a stop. I don't think the vibration of the Altima is solely the fault of the CVT.

18th Apr 2013, 14:27

The new Ford Focus has a DDC (double dry clutch) automatic transmission that has a built-in tendency for slight shudder and roughness. I've driven them and it is not bad enough to deter me from buying one. My issue with CVT is the poor performance. The new 8, 9 and 10 speed automatics from the Big Three should be a much better choice for both economy and performance.

26th Apr 2013, 18:39

There is a spring tension on the CVT belt pulley that is bad. I believe that is at least 'part' of the problem some people are experiencing with the "revised" CVT's. The problems are being experienced by 2013 Pathfinder customers as well. To be quite honest, people should be very wary of purchasing an "alpha" model car. Realistically yes - a redesigned product should be reliable and of the utmost quality from release ... like the Apple Computer Corporation. However, when they switch those production lines over, there's got to be a point at which they start making the redesigns. Always buy a "beta" model or 1 year past the redesign.

11th Jan 2014, 21:05

To the March 16th comment - that's not true. Japanese automakers will in fact issue recalls as necessary. Toyota was exonerated in nearly all US intended acceleration cases; point in case, most people were hitting the acceleration pedal.

Furthermore, US manufacturers issue more recalls due to poor reliability and quality. The term quality did not come into US project management existence in the manufacturing industry until the 1990's - the production lines were never stopped and many defects went unnoticed. Nissan stops their line to perform quality assurance through and through.

Also the NHTSA is part of the same Federal Government that through fascism bailed out the US auto industry during two presidential administrations by way of inflationary monetary policy. Fast forward to today - only Ford has a viable plan for growth, which utilized downsizing to rebuild, Chrysler is NO LONGER an American owned company, and GM's billions in bad assets are still on the Federal Reserve's balance sheet.

American car companies = fail; Japan's best are manufacturing more efficiently in the southeastern US using LEAN Six Sigma methodologies.

Also - never buy an "alpha" model. Yes, Nissan lags their engine thru CVT to get best in class MPG and there was a bad pulley tensioner. I just bought a 2014 2.5SL Altima and will write a dedicated article once past the break in period. So far so good. I also used to work for NNA in Smyrna, TN building them before my engineering degree. I am also a certified PMP.

6th Jun 2014, 16:01

To the Jan 11, 2014 commenter, it has been almost 6 months, when will you write your review? I am pretty sure that you have enough miles on the car to let us know what your experience is with the Altima. Please let us know, thank you.

26th Oct 2014, 22:40

Had my 2013 since July 2013. JUNK from week one.

First off, the parking brake shoes came loose and made a horrible undercarriage noise; should NEVER happen on any car, much less brand new.

Then a recall on the passenger airbag sensor.

The battery died less than 6 months in. The dealer couldn't find anything wrong, so didn't replace anything. It died again 6 months after that. I was originally told that I must have been leaving my phone charger plugged in, which I wasn't, and if I noticed it was plugged in after turning the car off, the light on the charger wasn't on, so there was no energy being sucked in from the battery.

Then when I tried to close the hood after getting a jump, it would not close properly, which was right after the news reported hoods were flying open while driving. Nice Nissan, good job.

So this goes without saying; I will not ever purchase another Nissan. They just don't live up to the hype. Riding the storm out until the lease is up. Will not be buying it out at the end like I did with my beloved Hyundai. The time cannot come soon enough. I just hope I get through the Midwest winters.

2nd Nov 2014, 22:32

Agreed! Won't be buying another one. Rides nice, but I just can't be sure it will start every time.

3rd Nov 2014, 17:09

Nissan really wanted to hit a home run with the newly designed 2013 Altima, and sold a lot of them. Records were broken, but the car was not ready yet and the complaints flowed in. Many people that insist on a newly designed model that hadn't been fully tested got burnt. Being first on the block to own a brand new car is a big plus for many people and their families, and having a newly designed model is the icing on the cake. But like going to Las Vegas, you put your money down and let the wheel spin... and hope it lands on a great reliable car.