Buying a used Nissan Altima L33 (2013–2018) in the UAE

The Nissan Altima L33 in the UAE

Nissan’s release marks the start of fifth-generation Altima production, the 2013 model, in Smyrna, Tennessee, on 15 May 2012 (the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) recall records list some 2013 cars built from March 2012), with more from Canton, Mississippi; DriveArabia reported its Middle East launch in Dubai that September, with front-wheel drive and a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Nissan revealed a restyled 2016 Altima in September 2015. Nissan’s bulletins call the 2013–2018 cars L33; the 2019 car is the L34.

A used Altima L33 is eight to thirteen model years old and may be a UAE-agent car or a US import.

Buying a used Nissan Altima L34 (2019 on) in the UAE

What to check first on a used Altima L33

• The CVT: a long, hot test drive for shudder, jerking or hesitation, and records of Nissan’s NS-3 fluid.
• The rear suspension: rust where the lower links meet the rear subframe, and any knock from the back.
• Recalls: the bonnet latch (all six years) and the passenger airbag system (2013–2016), checked by VIN in the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall search for a car first sold in the US, or with Nissan’s UAE agent for a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) market car.
• The US past: title brands, auction listings and the US state the car came from, since road salt attacks the rear links.
• The VIN: the dashboard plate, floor marking, registration card and, on a US-market car, the door-pillar label must match.

Common Nissan Altima L33 problems by system

These sections use NHTSA records retrieved on 14 October 2026 and Nissan’s documents. A complaint is a US owner’s report, not a confirmed defect. The 2013 car has the most complaints (2,312, against 226 for 2018), probably partly because it is oldest and more were built: NHTSA’s rear-link investigation report (EA19-002, below) lists 361,800 2013 Altimas built for the US, against 187,848 for 2018.

CVT transmission and Nissan’s warranty extensions

Both engines, the 2.5-litre QR25DE and the 3.5-litre VQ35DE V6, drive through a CVT. NHTSA lists no transmission recall for any L33 year, yet power train is the generation’s largest complaint category: 1,267 complaints, 505 for 2013 cars, 891 of them mentioning the CVT or transmission. Owners report shudder, jerking, hesitation, stalling and transmissions replaced just past warranty.

Nissan settled two US class actions over the CVT without admitting a defect. For 2013–2016 cars, the Gann v. Nissan North America settlement, approved by the court on 10 March 2020, extended the CVT warranty to 84 months or 84,000 miles (about 135,000 km), whichever comes first. For 2017–2018 cars, Nissan’s bulletin gives the same cover from 23 May 2023, after the Martinez v. Nissan North America settlement, and says it transfers with ownership.

Treat a UAE-registered Altima L33 as having no extended CVT cover. Both settlement classes are US or US-territory buyers and lessees; Nissan’s 2019 bulletin says the extension applies only to cars sold or registered there; and both bulletins keep the other terms of Nissan’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty, which Nissan North America’s 2022 booklet says does not apply once a car is relocated outside the US, its territories and Canada. The cover has also run out for most cars: the booklet starts the warranty on delivery to the first buyer or first use, whichever is earlier; 84 months have passed for any car delivered before October 2019, and Nissan lists US-market 2017–2018 cars built up to 17 August 2018, so for nearly every L33 the 84 months have run out, and the 84,000-mile limit often ends cover sooner. No official source we found gives Nissan’s UAE agent’s position, so ask it with the VIN.

Nissan’s 2013 manual says to use only Genuine NISSAN CVT Fluid NS-3, as other fluids will damage the CVT. The 2018 manual says to replace it every 60,000 miles (96,000 km) on rough or muddy roads or with a roof carrier, or have a dealer read its deterioration data; it lists hot-weather stop-and-go traffic and dusty driving among the conditions that need extra maintenance. Ask for the fluid record.

Rear suspension: corroded lower links

NHTSA’s investigation EA19-002, closed on 16 June 2025, covered the rear lower control arm, which Nissan calls the lower spring link, on 2013–2018 Altimas built for the US. Its closing report says the link may separate from the chassis because of corrosion, and a full separation may lead to a loss of directional control. It counted 322 complaints to NHTSA and 1,035 reports to Nissan, mostly from US states that salt their roads, at over 113,000 miles on average, mostly on 2013–2015 cars. Owners notice noise or vibration.

NHTSA closed it without a recall, noting that in its tests the stability control let drivers keep control after a simulated failure, and saying closing was not a finding that no defect exists. The report says Nissan strengthened the weld on 11 January 2018, ran service campaign P93240 on 2013 cars in salt-belt states from October 2019, and extended the US warranty on the links of 2013 cars outside the salt-belt states and all 2014–2018 Altimas to 120 months with unlimited mileage. No official source we found says whether that extension applies outside the US, and 120 months have not yet passed for many 2016–2018 cars, so ask Nissan’s UAE agent with the VIN.

On a lift, check both rear lower links at the subframe for flaking rust, a cracked weld or a worn bushing. Recall 12V-494 covered some early 2013 cars whose transverse link and power steering rack bolts may not have been tightened.

Bonnet latch, rear doors and the passenger airbag

Recalls 14V-565 and 15V-116 addressed a secondary latch that could stick open, letting the bonnet open while driving; 16V-029 replaced the latch on 2013–2015 cars because the earlier fix may not have been done consistently. Recall 20V-315 then covered 2013–2018 Altimas with a stronger release spring, a warning label and lubrication instructions; NHTSA’s record says 16V-029 stays open on any unrepaired 2013–2015 car. Owners mention the bonnet in 241 latch and structure complaints, some saying it flew open. On 2015–2017 cars, recalls 17V-040 and 18V-915 fixed a rear door cable that could unlatch the door when its window was lowered.

Five recalls (13V-069, 14V-138, 15V-681, 16V-244 and 16V-911) cover the front passenger occupant classification system on 2013–2016 cars. In most, it can switch the passenger airbag off with an adult seated; under 16V-911 a misclassification may make the airbag deploy incorrectly, and 15V-681 covers only cars fitted with the wrong unit in a repair. In 1,078 airbag complaints, owners describe the airbag-off light staying on with an adult seated (owner reports). Nissan’s manual says the front passenger air bag status light is lit when that airbag is off; seat an adult and watch it, and have a dealer check the system if it misbehaves.

Headlights, fuel system and other recalls

Exterior lighting draws 1,084 complaints, 1,011 for 2013–2015 cars; owners mostly report dim low-beam headlights, and NHTSA lists no lighting recall, so check them after dark. Recall 15V-486 covers 2013–2015 V6 cars built from 30 March 2012 to 18 August 2015, whose fuel sender seal may leak in a crash.

Nissan Altima L33 problems by model year

How severity is rated: each recall counts against the complaint category NHTSA files its component under. High means an NHTSA recall in that category lists that model year; the row shows that category’s complaint count. Medium means no recall in the category, but a named category (not “unknown or other”) holds 20 or more complaints for that year. Low means neither. Bonnet complaints are split between the latches and structure categories.

Many campaigns cover only cars built on certain dates, so confirm each against the VIN.

GCC-spec vs US-import Altima L33

Nissan’s US manuals describe a Federal/Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (F.M.V.S.S./C.M.V.S.S.) certification label on the driver’s centre pillar, with the month and year of manufacture and the VIN; US rules require it, and a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) market car may carry a different label or none. Most Altimas in NHTSA’s complaint files start with 1N4 (Nissan North America), but NHTSA says a manufacturer code need not show the build country. No official source we found says where GCC-market Altima L33s were built or which versions Nissan’s UAE agent sold after 2012; ask the agent what the VIN means, and compare it with the car’s first-registration or import papers.

For an Altima L33 brought from the US, NHTSA says manufacturers notify registered US owners of a recall by mail, and its VIN search does not show a recall involving an international vehicle, so ask Nissan’s UAE agent whether it will do a US campaign on the car. Title brands such as salvage or flood show in a National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) report, sold by the approved providers listed on vehiclehistory.gov for up to about $4, the US Department of Justice says; a search can miss records.

How to check a US car’s history in the UAE

How to check a Nissan Altima L33’s accident history

For the car’s years in the UAE, the Ministry of Interior (MOI) and Abu Dhabi Police both list a public accident inquiry by chassis number among their e-services. VINCheckr searches the UAE accident records available to it, from MOI and, during periods when MOI cannot be reached, Abu Dhabi Police; a clean result means no accident was found in those records, not that the car was never damaged.

For damage in the US before export, VINCheckr searches bid.cars, plc.auction and carsbidshistory.com and links to any listing it finds, with photos where the listing has them. A listing shows the car was offered at a US auction at least once; its title and damage fields show whether it was sold as salvage. NHTSA lists mud, waterlines and unusual rust as flood signs.

How to check the mileage

No public UAE source we found offers one odometer history for a car, so collect dated readings: service invoices, any US auction listing and the title and odometer data in the NMVTIS report. A car from the US may read in miles, so convert before comparing.

VINCheckr adds European mileage readings where available, from registers and sales listings; few US or UAE cars have any, so “no readings found” means no data, not a confirmed odometer.

VINCheckr lists NHTSA’s US recalls for the Altima’s model year; it does not show Gulf campaigns, or whether a campaign was carried out on this VIN, so put that list to Nissan’s UAE agent with the VIN.

Where to find the VIN on a Nissan Altima L33

Nissan’s 2013, 2016 and 2018 manuals show the Nissan Altima L33 VIN in three places. The plate is on top of the dashboard at the base of the windscreen, beside the windscreen pillar on the driver’s side in Nissan’s drawing, read from outside, where US rules require it. The chassis number is on the floor just ahead of the front passenger seat in Nissan’s drawing. A US-market car repeats the VIN on the driver’s centre-pillar label. A GCC-market car may differ; every VIN must match the registration card.

Nissan Altima L33 inspection checklist

1. Match the VIN on the dashboard plate, floor marking, registration card and, on a US-market car, the door-pillar label.
2. Check recalls by VIN (NHTSA’s search for a car first sold in the US, Nissan’s UAE agent for a GCC-market car) and ask for bonnet-latch, airbag and other repair records.
3. Check US title brands, auction listings and the US state the car was titled in.
4. On a lift, inspect both rear lower links and bushings for rust and cracks, and the underbody for flood signs.
5. Start from cold, check the warning lights go out, then seat an adult in the passenger seat and watch the airbag light.
6. Drive for at least 30 minutes in traffic and on a motorway, noting any CVT shudder, jerk or hesitation and any knock from the rear.
7. Check the low beams after dark, and the bonnet latch.
8. Ask for CVT fluid and oil records, then have an independent mechanic inspect the car.