Best tires for the Nissan Altima
Top picks across four categories for the Nissan Altima, anchored to the current-generation OEM size 215/60R16. Every recommendation is selected from our 22,000-tire catalog by ranking on UTQG treadwear, mileage warranty, cabin-noise rating, and season class; no commission-weighted reordering.
Daily driver
Best all-season touring
Long warranty, low noise, balanced ride. The one-tire compromise that works for 80% of owners.
Bridgestone
Turanza QuietTrack
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Nissan Altima owners.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
UTQG 820 with a 85,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Nissan Altima owners.
Michelin
CrossClimate 2
UTQG 640 with a 60,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Nissan Altima owners.
Michelin
Defender 2
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Nissan Altima owners.
Lowest cost per mile
Best budget
Best price-per-warranty-mile in this size. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options, not safety.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
820 UTQG with a 85,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Bridgestone
Turanza QuietTrack
800 UTQG with a 80,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Continental
TrueContact tour
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
800 UTQG with a 90,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Lowest cabin noise
Best quiet
Tread patterns engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning. Pick this if you commute long highway distances daily.
Bridgestone
Turanza QuietTrack
68 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Michelin
Defender 2
68 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Cold-weather grip
Best winter
Dedicated winter or all-weather compounds that stay pliable below 7 °C. Necessary for >5 snow days a year.
Bridgestone
Blizzak WS90
Dedicated winter tire compound; stays pliable below 7 °C where summer/all-season rubber hardens. Recommended for Nissan Altima drivers in cold or snowy regions.
Michelin
X-Ice snow
Dedicated winter tire compound; stays pliable below 7 °C where summer/all-season rubber hardens. Recommended for Nissan Altima drivers in cold or snowy regions.
Side-by-side
Pick the trade-off that matches your driving
| All-season Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack | Best budget Goodyear Assurance MaxLife | Best winter Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| UTQG treadwear | 800 | 820 | - |
| Mileage warranty | 80,000 mi | 85,000 mi | - |
| Cabin noise | 68 dB | 70 dB | 71 dB |
| Season class | all-season | all-season | winter |
| Type | touring | touring | passenger |
OEM tire sizes by year
What size does the nissan altima use?
Recommendations on this page are anchored to the latest model-year's OEM size. Confirm yours against the driver-door placard before purchase.
| Year | OEM size | |
|---|---|---|
| 1993–1997 | 205/60R15 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1998–2001 | 195/65R15 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2002–2004 | 215/55R17 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2005–2006 | 225/45R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2007–2011 | 215/60R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2012 | 215/55R17 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2013–2018 | 235/45R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2019–2024 | 235/40R19 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2025–2026 | 215/55R17 | Year-specific fitment → |
How we ranked these tires for the nissan altima
We started with the latest model-year's OEM tire size; 215/60R16; and filtered our catalog of 22,000+ tires to those offered in that exact size. From there, four parallel rankings:
- Best all-season ranks on a weighted score: tire type matches passenger car segment, season is "all-season", premium brand bonus (Michelin / Continental / Bridgestone / Pirelli / Goodyear / Nokian).
- Best budget ranks on cost-per-warranty-mile; the lower the better. Premium brands get no bonus here.
- Best quiet ranks on the EU tire-label dB rating; lower is quieter.
- Best winter filters to tires marked 3PMSF severe-snow rated or all-weather class, with a small premium-brand bonus because winter-compound R&D is capital-intensive.
For sedans and compacts, the all-season touring tire below is the best default; long warranty, low cabin noise, reasonable cost per mile. Switch to the quiet pick if highway droning is a deal-breaker; switch to the winter pick if you see significant snow each year. Use the side-by-side comparison above to weigh the trade-offs against your specific driving; highway-heavy, winter-state, performance-oriented, or budget-constrained.
NHTSA-reported issues for nissan altima
Top issue category: Tires (General)
Most reported: Tires (General) (115) · TPMS (27) · Tread / Belt (22) · Sidewall (17) · Valve (2)
Reported across: 1993 – 2024 (31 years)
What owners described
Blowout or sudden deflation is the most common description, in 18% of these reports. Percentages are shares of the 141 reports covering every model year of the Nissan Altima that include a written account; a single report can describe more than one problem, so they do not total 100%.
| Reported problem | This subject | All tire complaints | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blowout or sudden deflation | 18% | 20% | 0.9× |
| Sidewall failure | 16% | 15% | 1.1× |
| Cracking or dry rot | 9% | 9% | 1.0× |
| Loss of control, rollover or collision | 6% | 8% | 0.8× |
| Pressure-monitoring (TPMS) fault | 5% | 2% | 2.1× |
| Tread or belt separation | 3% | 13% | 0.2× |
Mileage at failure
68 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 22,500 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 3,100 and 80,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Nissan Altima. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 NISSAN ALTIMA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, ONE OF THE TIRES FLATTENED. THE LOW TIRE PRESSURE SENSOR WAS NOT ILLUMINATED. WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO PROPERLY ACCELERATE. THE FAILURE RECURRED MULTIPLE TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION AND TRANSMISSION AXLE ASSEMBLY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. IN ADDITION, THE TRANSMISSION FLUID PAN WAS CRACKED. THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE TIRE PRESSURE SENSOR MALFUNCTION. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURES RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 39,150.
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE PARKED, THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE TIRE DEFLATED AND THE TIRE PRESSURE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE THE VALVE STEM WAS REPLACED. ADDITIONALLY, THE MECHANIC ADVISED THAT THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR SYSTEM NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 09V393000 (TIRES). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.
I ALMOST HAD A HORRIBLE ACCIDENT ON 1-22-15. I WAS GOING ABOUT 50 MPH WHEN THE REAR PASSENGER TIRE COMPLETELY DISENGAGED FROM THE TIRE RIM. ALL THAT WAS LEFT ON THE RIM WAS A TWO INCH REMNANT OF THE TIRE. I WILL E-MAIL YOU A PICTURE OF THE TIRE AND I ASSURE YOU THAT YOU NEVER SAW ANYTHING LIKE THIS. THE TIRE ONLY HAD 12034 MILES ON IT. THE TIRE WAS A MICHELIN ENERGY GREEN X. TIRE SIZE P215/55R17 WHICH WAS MADE IN CANADA. DOT B33F00RX0813. IT IS A MIRACLE I DID NOT GET INTO A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. I WAS SO UNNERVED I WENT TO THE NEAREST TIRE SHOP AND PURCHASED FOUR NEW GOODYEAR TIRES THAT COST ME $642.00. I CALLED MICHELIN'S CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPT. AND THEY SAID SORRY BUT THEY WILL NOT GIVE ME A DIME-AS EXPECTED. CHECK OUT A SITE CONSUMER AFFAIRS THAT HAS NO FEWER THAT 257 COMPLAINTS ABOUT MICHELIN TIRES.
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 NISSAN ALTIMA EQUIPPED WITH SUMITOMO TOURING LST TIRES, TIRE SIZE: 215/60R16, AND UNKNOWN DOT NUMBER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE PASSENGER FRONT TIRE STARTED VIBRATING UNCONTROLLABLY. UPON INSPECTING THE VEHICLE THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE TIRE WAS BULGED AND THEN EXPLODED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE THE TIRE WAS REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 94,000.
Complaints are voluntarily submitted to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation and are not verified by NHTSA; they represent owner-reported problems, not proven defects. Counts can be useful as a relative quality signal across comparable tires or vehicles.
Tire recalls & safety complaints for the Nissan Altima →
FAQ
What's the best all-season tire for the Nissan Altima?
Should I get a cheaper tire for my Nissan Altima?
Does the Nissan Altima need winter tires?
Can I run a different tire size on my Nissan Altima?
Where can I buy these tires?
Last verified 2026-10-07.