Two problems related to engine cooling system have been reported for the 2011 Nissan Altima. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2011 Nissan Altima based on all problems reported for the 2011 Altima.
Possible cvt transmission over-heating/fail-safe issue? I was on the highway after driving for 2 hours and my engine started making a 'whirring' noise and I had trouble accelerating. The speed limit was 70 but as much as I tried to accelerate, it would barely get passed 50mph. This almost caused an accident with a semi-truck as we approached a hill because I could barely get up it. I had to pull off the highway and let the car rest for a while. I had to drive another 2 hours to get home and after another hour, it did the same thing. Soon after, I took it to the dealer and they said the only thing they could suggest was to give me a new transmission! I got a second opinion from a transmission repair shop and they said that possibly adding a secondary cooling system would help but they couldn't guarantee that would fix the issue. From my research, it seems that a reason for this happening is that the cvt transmission produces too much heat for the cooling system to handle and eventually goes into a fail-safe mode that caps the acceleration power of the car, in order to protect the transmission from being damaged. I could understand the need for the fail-safe to kick in in extreme circumstances but not after driving for 2 hours at regular highway speeds. This is not normal and extremely aggravating. I have read that this is a common safety issue which affects both new and older cars and Nissan chooses to do nothing about it. I have not been able to drive my car more than an hour on the highway because it starts to make that 'whirring' noise and I know it won't be long before the fail-safe kicks in. This has been beyond disappointing and even more so that Nissan won't take responsibility to improve their cvt issues and provide the necessary repairs. I own my car outright but the warranty has expired. No option for that route. Very inconvenient.
Tl the contact owns a 2011 Nissan Altima. While driving 80-85 mph, the vehicle went into safety mode and decelerated to 70 mph. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to flagstaff Nissan (4960 e marketplace dr, flagstaff, az 86004, (928) 522-6386) where it was diagnosed that the cooling component needed to be replaced; however, the part was on backorder. In addition a transmission flush was performed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the local dealer for additional diagnostic testing. The failure mileage was 95,836.