2011 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL Review - The Most DANGEROUS Car On The Road?? 

*CORRECTION* This is an SL, not an S. It was mislabeled in my research. Thanks!

It’s only dangerous where it’s driven: on the shoulder about 30 MPH faster than everyone else

Not only was the Altima cheap, but Nissan did intentionally make financing a very cheap and simple process, and allowed for people with credit history issues to buy the car anyway. Those are the same people who statically have a higher chance of defaulting on payments, and people defaulting on payments tend not to care about “their” car, since it’s effectively a cheap rental.

Big Altima Energy flows through these and the next generation. Nissan would practically give these away to anyone who walked in regardless of their credit or if they could afford it. Combine that with cheap materials and a cheap transmission and these got cheap really fast. This one is unusually well taken care of. Usually you see these with the bumpers flapping in the breeze, sunburned paint, broken lights, worn-out suspension, and an expired temp tag taped in the license plate slot.

Nissan Altima - For when you don't quite have enough for a Dodge Charger but you need transportation.

Cleanest 12 year old Altima in existence. Should go right to the Altima Museum. 😂

Altima owners show the same regard to their cars as they do to their credit, rules of the road, or anybody that’s not themselves, very little.

There’s just something about Nissan vehicles from this era that attracted only the worst of the worst

Zack: down below we have a CVT… Me: looking at the cup holder thinking if the BFB it’s going to fit 👀

The car you buy when your Pontiac or Chevrolet from 2004-2009 has kicked the bucket.

True story. My sister used to owned a 2015 Nissan Altima. I drive it too. It's a really nice car. CVT isn't failed on it. That's until this year that my brother in law drove to ATL airport for his birthday. A drunk driver without his lights on in the middle of rural Georgia backwoods at night crash to him head on. He survived for just bumps and bruises. Now they have a new Honda Accord. I can say they are safe drivers when they drive the Altima. Now they are safe drivers when they got the Honda Accord.

Those leather seats are in such good shape, I'm actually suspicious. In most cars, the left bolsters are blown out by 30,000 miles and I would have expected the leather to be cracked from all the meth vapor it was exposed to.

BIG ALTIMA ENERGY

"Back seat smells like a pediatrician's office" was a common complaint on these things, second only to the CVT. Pretty sure the legendary John Davis of Motorweek made that specific observation.

This is the same reputation the Ford Taurus had in the mid 2000s. This is what we used to call a "Rental Rocket". I think over half of these were rental cars. When the agencies dump these as they are miled out, the auctions are flooded with them. This made them MUCH cheaper than an Accord and Camry. This car and the Taurus have the same transmission reputation. Before the Taurus it was the Mitsubishi Galant. Before that it was the Buick Century. Before that is was the Pontiac Grand Am. I think the reason all of these cars have a similar reputation is because the dealers got them so cheap, they were often driven by people who had no choice but to pick it due to poor credit. And how would YOU drive that car?

I drive this exact model, trim, year and color. It’s in perfect condition. My dad took such good care of it and I’m so grateful. Glad to see a review of a car in good condition.

I had a 2007 Altima 2.5 S that I bought used in 2011 with 36k miles. I originally wanted the V6, but couldn't afford it at the time. The CVT was replaced in mine around 54k miles under warranty (thank god), besides that & some other minor problems it had, it was a really nice car with a nice ride & handling balance & the 4-cylinder was surprisingly punchy & was overall a big improvement from my 2006 Corolla S it replaced. Mine was a very basic model, but had push button ignition which I believe was the only family sedan at the time to come standard with it. I drove it for four years & replaced it with a new 2015 Camry XSE V6 & have since purchased a couple Lexus' all problem free as expected.

These cars get a bad rap because of the deadbeats that drive them into the ground with no maintenance. This generation was actuality a good car if properly maintained. Even the CVTs will go 300k if you'd just change the damn fluid every 30k.

Nissan: The Chrysler of Japan......

1:43 the Murano only got the 3.5 V6, the Sentra used a 1.8 in this generation. I think the only other Nissan that used this engine was/is the Rogue.

Altima, the car with permanent temp tags.

The Altima is the 11th most common car among fatal crashes in the USA. At the #1 and 2 spot are the Mirage and Mirage G4 twins.

The owners will crash the one they own as part of the maintenance interval, standard.

Bad Altima Energy (BAE) 😜

was wondering why this 2.5S was optioned so well, turns out its a 2.5SL, you need to correct your title. Big difference between the highest trim and the second to lowest Edit: he corrected the title

Nothing scares me more than a Nissan Altima. Driven by people who have nothing to lose... until the repo reaper appears.

Man That traffic cone under the wheel spot-on about Nissan Altimas lol

And i gotta add that the stereo in those early 2000 Nissan Altima were pretty darn good. My buddy used to have an Altima 4 cylinder with a six speed manual and they let me drive it once when we went to hang out but Im certain the clutch on it was fried from then they got the thing, still it had a nice stereo

These cars will always go 30mph above the speed limit in the most left lane trying to outrun cops, repo trucks and any sort of responsibility

Hey Zach, I'm going out to Naperville in September, maybe I'll see you doing a video. That would be petty cool

Official car of No credit, no problem.

I test drove a Rogue when I was shopping for a small SUV. I thought the transmission was slipping but after some research, I found it was the CVT or whatever they call that transmission. I did not like that feel.

I never heard of the GTA effect before but that makes sense because a lot of times those cars keep showing up what you just had when you're working. So dig your video dude

Love your videos man! Keep it up!

I'm british, and went over to the US for the first time in June and was really looking forward to some US-market carspotting. The first Altima I saw looked like it had a head on collision at around 45mph, and the dude was just driving it around. Definitely lived up to reputation.

Bought a 2020 Altima new, can confirm the car is cheaply made. I still like the look plus the price was good. So far only issue was the windshield cracked 🤣

That’s not a spare that’s just an extra tire for when one of your Facebook marketplace used tires have a hole from the cord showing though

That confirmation bias point is so true, I’ve seen just as many beat up Accords & Camrys driven by reckless people.

I always liked how these cars looked. Only reason I never bought one was that transmission! Ended up just going the safe route and getting a Lexus ES350 instead 💯

10 of these flew pass me yesterday! Big Altima energy all day!!

The GTA bias thing is really true! I have an interest in all sorts of cars, but like anyone acquiring knowledge I will learn about something unique and then get really excited when I see one in the wild, or vice versa when I see something interesting and then want to research it online! Sometimes you just see them everywhere when your mind is dialled on them, whatever car of the week it may be. We have a lot of Delicas on Van Isle, and I think the coolest cars in town I've seen are a Triumph TR7, a Nissan Pao (90's car with 50's retro styling- including interior), a Land Cruiser Prado EX5 Turbo, and a Lancia Beta convertible Spider/Zagato! Teslas everywhere but only when you're looking. Same beige Camry on every block, occasional RHD MR2s, R32s, 350z's.

Bought one identical from Copart Auto Auction 2 weeks ago for $2,095… not too damaged but being the SL it came fully loaded with sunroof. Really can’t complain, swapped the wheels with stock 19” Maxima wheels and put a For Sale sign on it. Should be a quick sale, bang for your buck definitely goes far with this model. Great video!

The front looks so much better than the earlier years of this generation.

my Uncles friend had an 08' of that car and they let me drive it when they visited to take me out for lunches or dinners. It was a fun car. Very early 2000's styled

Should have reviewed a clapped out one with a dragging rear bumper😂

Here in California we have a rule: you see an Altima on the road , get as FAR away from it as possible Something bad is about to happen .

I used to own an 2007 with the V6 and manual, it wasn't a bad car but had a lot of drivetrain and suspension issues during my 3 years of ownership. I upgraded to an Acura TL (yay Honda reliability) and never looked back.

I had a 2009 Altima 2.5 S (manual), and crashed it, but was unaware of the crash-tendency reputation until now. I blame my crash on the car’s electronic brake-force distribution sending too much of the braking to the rear wheels, locking them up in slippery conditions. Over the life of the car, I only had 3 rear-wheel lockup incidents, but the last one was enough that insurance totaled the car. All were in wet conditions. The first was with 1200 miles on the car and the stock rear swaybar, going around an offramp, and the rear end kicked out. The second was with 48000 miles on the car, aftermarket swaybar, turning left in an intersection, and the rear end kicked out. For both of those, I immediately recognized what was happening, and recovered. The final incident was with 125000 miles on the car, swaybar was back to the stock one, doing a lane change in the wet, and just giving it a little braking. Started fishtailing, couldn’t recover, and ended up smacking both right corners of the car against the guardrail. No other cars were involved, and no injuries.

A lady I know had one of these and she loved it. It got totaled in the parking lot while she was working. She got a Mazda CX-5. And she is not impressed at all and really wish she stuck with Nissan. She does have Altima energy I think when driving. She use to drive Pontiacs and wants to go back to them but obviously not around anymore.

I think if people would have been educated about CVT's we would not see the failure rate that we do. Problem is people drive them like a regular automatic and they cannot take it. If you constantly punch it to the floor they will not last. Another factor is people do not get the trans fluid changed as they should because people are not used to getting it changed in regular transmissions so they do not in a CVT.

I drive a 2011 Altima in 2024 I am very calm and cautious with my driving. I have a family to come home to and so does everyone else driving around me. 🙏🏼 It’s the car I could afford and it gets my girls to school and back home. I promise we are not all crazy Altima Ppl

I had a 2 door Altima as a rental once and it wasn't a bad driving car at all. I would never own one due to the cvt issues but i can see why people who don't know much about cars drive them like they do.

I had a 2012 Altima, it wasn’t that bad of a vehicle. Bought it outright with cash, kept it for a year then resold it for more than I bought it for lol

My dad a unicorn much like this one. Bought it from an old man who never drove it. I remember him telling my dad how he special ordered it so he could get wood grain on the interior. Still have never seen another Altima from this generation with fake wood on the inside

This is not a trim or base model it's SL top of the line model❤

My boy, A, had an Altima from this time. His girl stole it once, escaped from police 1st time then she went back to his house and w/o knowing my two other friends were at A's house using compressor. They saw her and waved moments before she then attempted to run them over twice lol. She took off again and cops chased her until she crashed into a raised median. He actually got the same exact car when other got totalled

Wasn't the Altima like the most common mid-size rental car for many years? It would definitely play into the lack of care/experience from the people driving the car.

My dad owns a 2010 Altima with navigation and it’s been great got it with 187k, now with 195k. It needs a new catalytic converter but other than that it’s been great mechanically, original engine and transmission as we know. EDIT: catalytic converter cleaner works because my p0420 code went away so I don’t need a new converter

somebody did a really nice detail job with this car before shooting

Im about to get one I think I'm going to like it

For some reason I had a stigma against driver of this particular Altima, without knowing there was such a stigma. Also for some reason, I knew the big friggin bottle would fit. Need a big friggin box for the truck too!

Dual zone ac, seat warmers, sunroof, Bluetooth, dual power outside mirrors with LED turn signal indicators, Bose sound system, back up camera and power seats….what’s not to love other then the prestige?

Omg be careful with that Big Altima energy,great and fun review as always 😎

I like the Ultima you were traveling.

Great review! What i dont get: Nissan is using CVTs for such a long time and they knew, that this crap is the absolute opposite of reliable... so they using it on and on and on 🤣

I know the smell you’re talking about a lot of Nissan frontiers had that EXACT smell. I don’t even know what it was that made it. I could never get the smell out when I worked at Enterprise. They are amazing cars though but I remember a lot of bad things with altimas more than any other Nissan 😂.

That one looks pretty damn clean for 127,000 miles, and the Murano never got the 2.5 four cylinder. From its introduction in 2003 Murano has only had a V6

I have a 2007 2.5 S in manual with 177k miles which I paid $3000 for. It needed a little help, but it runs and drives incredibly well now.

If you live in the city, or perhaps the burbs, and you need a basic daily commuter, that car would get the job done.

I remember seeing this car so popular when I was in 6th grade

Zack-- that's an Altima *SL*! It's basically a Rolls-Royce! Jokes aside, SL is Nissan's top trim level for most vehicles. Their more expensive models sometimes get a Platinum trim.

Toyota used orange gauges only on the sports trim (S/SE) of the Camry and Corolla

That car looks brand new!

I have a 16 Altima SR, it is fantastic to me. Great blend of sport and comfort. Use to own a 06 Accord V6, too smooth and actually boring. I find Altimas to be fun so I finally got one after renting a few.

Aye so my mom has a 2021 or 2022 can't remember exactly what year Honda insight and u can fit a 2 liter of soda in the cup holders it's nuts

How did you find it so clean with such a few miles??

For people with the credit score comments, I had a credit score of 789, and was still hard to get approved for a 2010 altima 3.5 (71k miles) with 3k down (over 25%).

The idemitsu ns fluid 2 needs to be changed every 30k and trans cooler filter and trans oil pan filter lol id say thats a good way to prolong the transmission life 👍

Hey, can you do a review of a hawk 250

On a more serious note...I think confirmation bias can only amplify an assumption that probably has some basis in reality in the first place. These cars appealed to a certain "type." That "type" tended to be rather hooliganistic, and I kinda liked 'em back in the day, so I'm not judging. Also, the fact that they handled pretty well at normal speeds probably instilled undue confidence in their handling at crazy speeds, so the hooligans were extra likely to end up in a ditch or worse.

I think the design is kinda neat, much better after the 2010 refresh, the 2007-09 and 2013-2018 altimas are always the ones causing trouble lol they’re very stylish it just sucks they only look that way for their first half hour off the assembly line :/

Correction: The Murano NEVER had the QR25. Its exclusively a VQ35DE equipped through out all generations.

Misuse of this Altima is why the transmissions have problems user error!!!!!

Back in 2008 I bought a brand new 2008 Nissan Altima coupe SE V6,auto, fully loaded….it handled fine and had shit ton of power but it also had a shit ton of torque steer with that 270hp that it made, anyways….long story short, my Altima had a very stinky issue that I was never able to resolve….anytime I put the pedal to the metal, the ac vents would release a really foul odor…like rotten eggs kind of nasty odor, like for real!!! Anyways like two years later I ended up trading it in because I just couldn’t deal with that odor anymore….

Big Altima Energy

I went to Maryland..and...these are almost nearly everywhere..and in jet black..

The cone in the photo...

Unfortuantely since Renault owns Nissan, they have junk Jacko CVT transmissions. This means Nissans are not as reliable or good quality as Toyota and Honda

Yknow from the Perspective of a European this seems like a lovely place to be in. Sure i hate the rear design, but thats the only real gripe (aside from the CVT, which, lets be real, is more of a CBT) i have.

This may be the best kept altima i have ever seen. That's a VERY low bar

The CVT isn’t the best, but one of my buddies has a Nissan Altima he got off a customer with a lien that he uses as a shop runner/rent a wreck. Yup: acquired an Altima via mechanic’s lien! Imaging that! It had about 20k miles at the time. It’s got 160 hard miles on it now and the only thing he does is 5k oil changes and 25k CVT fluid drain and fills. That’s it. And yeah: it’s still ultra… altra… sendable. Pick one up cheap and go rob a 7-11. They’re fun.

Ahhhhhhhh run for your lives!!!!!!

I miss my 2012 Nissan Altima that was my most favorite car ❤

Nissan Altima Activities

I'm currently at 211,000 miles on the stock cvt and engine

So do these issues exist with the Nissan Maximas? Or are they the better upgraded more reliable Nissan version?? If so are the 2015 ALT/MAX and up good now or no? Should I buy a 2012 Buick Regal GS 6speed manual 148k miles $9,999, A 2017 Regal Sport 73k miles $14,500, Or a 2013 Altima 2.5 SV 153k miles $7,600 🤔🤔🤔❔❓❔❓🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

I have never seen a Nissan dealership that didn’t have those “0 Down Payment” or “No Credit, No Problem” banners in front of their lot.

The 1st gen Altima was very reliable; 2nd gen not too bad if you take care of them.

The SL completely changes How I feel about that gen car. The cloth is so cheap feeling. Its go that really cheap cloth on the door and armrest. I had a chance to buy a mint 2012 with 32k for 12,999 last year and turned it down to to the interior. it was the special edition 2012. I always did like that gen Altima.

This car is my nemesis 😊