Diagsheet

2015 Nissan Altima · symptom sheet

Brakes grind, pulse or wear early

  • 25owner reports
  • 36,400median miles
  • $195median quote
  • 6involved a crash

Newest report Apr 12, 2025 · checked Sep 9, 2026

25 of the 946 complaints on this car describe brake wear.

Tick what matches of 25 reports

7
2
1
2
4
1

What got replaced

Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the ABS module (3 reports).

Recalls and investigations

One recall on the brakes covers the 2015 model year. A recall on the same system isn't always the same failure, so read the defect text.

15V-733Nov 5, 2015
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Foundation Components:Disc:Caliper

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2015 Altima and 2016 Maxima vehicles manufactured October 6, 2015, to October 7, 2015. The affected vehicles have front brake calipers whose mounting bolts may not be properly tightened.

Risk and remedy
Risk: If the bolts were not properly tightened, the caliper may detach and reduce braking ability, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will check the brake caliper mounting bolts, tightening them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on December 14, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

NHTSA investigations into the brakes on the Altima

PE11-020opened May 23, 2011
Service Brakes, Hydraulic · model years 2007 to 2008

Brake master cylinder internal leak. Closed mar 14, 2012.

NHTSA summary
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE11-020 to investigate possible brake performance loss due to brake fluid leaking from the master cylinder into the brake booster in the subject vehicles.A total of 237 complaints were identified by ODI and Nissan.The majority of complaints and warranty claims reported that brake malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) illumination as the only symptom of a problem.Only 12 complaints alleged any effect on brake performance and in each of these the drivers were able to stop the vehicles without incident.No crash claims could be attributed to the alleged defect. Returned part analysis data provided by Nissan showed that most of the master cylinders replaced under warranty did not have a leak condition.These replacements may have resulted from brake MIL illumination due to pad wear.For most of the warranty claims, in a few cases where a master cylinder leak was found, Nissan's testing showed that the leaks were extremely slow and would require thousands of miles or months of driving before brake performance could be affected.After an extensive study of replaced master cylinders for a presumed leak, Nissan was unable to identify any concern with the parts or design of the subject components that could affect brake performance. Nevertheless, Nissan does recognize a concern with premature brake MIL illumination and has decided to address this problem by conducting a voluntary service campaign covering approximately 1.17 million model year 2

None of these investigations covers the 2015 model year.

What owners paid

5 of the 25 reports quote a price. Each dot is one quote. The middle half runs $189 to $300.

$189$195$300
$0k$2k$4k$6k$8k

When it happens

The middle half of failures fell between 25,000 and 73,000 miles, from the 16 reports that gave a mileage.

115
616
217
718
419
222
223
125

What owners wrote

No report on this problem is short enough to quote in full.

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 6 of 25 reports involved a crash and 5 people were hurt. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.

File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation.

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