Nissan Versa Problems — All Years, Common Issues & Reliability
Year-by-year breakdown of safety recalls, NHTSA owner complaints, reported deaths, injuries, crashes, and worst problem areas. Updated daily from federal databases.
Recent Safety Incidents — Last 5 Model Years
Own a Nissan Versa? Check your specific VIN for a full history report.
Nissan Versa — Year-by-Year Problem Comparison
| Year | Verdict | Recalls | Complaints | Crashes | Injuries | Deaths | Top Issue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026Best | Excellent | — | — | — | — | — | — | Full report → |
| 2025 | Excellent | — | 9 | 2 | — | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2024 | Good | — | 71 | — | — | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2023 | Excellent | — | 32 | — | — | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2022 | Excellent | — | 16 | — | — | — | Power Train | Full report → |
| 2021 | Good | 2 | 28 | 7 | 4 | — | Power Train | Full report → |
| 2020 | Good | 1 | 77 | 4 | 6 | — | Power Train | Full report → |
| 2019 | Excellent | — | 26 | — | — | — | Power Train | Full report → |
| 2018 | Good | 1 | 41 | 4 | 4 | — | Unknown Or Other | Full report → |
| 2017 | Good | 2 | 55 | 1 | 1 | — | Unknown Or Other | Full report → |
| 2016 | Good | — | 83 | 13 | 14 | 1 | Unknown Or Other | Full report → |
| 2015 | Caution | 1 | 185 | 27 | 18 | — | Power Train | Full report → |
| 2014 | Avoid | 3 | 222 | 27 | 19 | — | Power Train | Full report → |
| 2013 | Caution | — | 163 | 23 | 15 | 2 | Power Train | Full report → |
| 2012Worst | Avoid | 9 | 297 | 29 | 23 | 1 | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2011 | Caution | 5 | 163 | 15 | 7 | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2010 | Caution | 6 | 179 | 14 | 1 | 1 | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2009 | Avoid | 5 | 333 | 18 | 13 | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2008 | Avoid | 5 | 226 | 17 | 6 | 4 | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2007 | Avoid | 5 | 216 | 17 | 16 | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
20 model years shown. Crashes, injuries, and deaths from NHTSA complaint filings. Click any year for full details.
Most Common Nissan Versa Problems
Based on 2,422 owner complaints filed with NHTSA across all model years.
Recent Safety Recalls — Nissan Versa (2022–2026)
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2024 Titan, Frontier, Infiniti QX60, Pathfinder, 2023-2024 Sentra, Versa, Kicks, Infiniti QX50, and 2023 Rogue vehicles. Due to a manufacturing issue, the driver's air bag inflator may absorb moisture, and cause the air bag to deploy improperly.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the front driver's air bag assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 10, 2024. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's numbers for this recall are PD103, PD104, and PMA34.
Showing 1 recall from 2022–2026 model years. See the full year-specific pages for older recalls.
Recent Owner Complaints
Direct reports filed with NHTSA by Nissan Versa owners — 2022–2026 model years.
Driving the vehicle, and it went into limp mode. Loss power and would not accelerate. Had to drive very low speeds to get home.
I brought this car in August 2022 and now out of no where the rear breaking collision system is randomly malfunctioning. There will be nothing near my vehicle or in the line of sight and when you reverse it just slams on breaks and will continue to doo so very few seconds causing loud grinding. this will stop for a few days or weeks and randomly starts up again which causes problems when parking or backing up because its continuously slamming on breaks for no reason.
When decelerating/braking there is a knocking in the rear of the car. It has gotten progressively worse. Had the dealership check it out but found nothing wrong. They didn't drive the car.
Vehicle engine and all electrical shut-off, at intersection of XXX. in [XXX] on February 4th (on or before 6:57 AM MST) where the hazard lights failed to come on. My further answers to the questions above as [jhh]answer[/jhh]: What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? [jhh]The engine, and all electrical, lost power, including the hazard lights. The rental car company has possession, I do not know if they will allow a safety inspection, or not.[/jhh] How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? [jhh]The vehicle was disabled in the middle of the intersection, blocking traffic, I had to open the door, get out of the vehicle, and manually push it out of the way so that a cement truck, and other traffic could get through. My safety was put at risk, as the hazard lights failed to operate, so that fast moving, un-coming traffic, can be warned, to prevent a lethal collision.[/jhh] Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? [jhh]Not that I know of.[/jhh] Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? [jhh]The vehicle has been inspected by the rental car company when it was returned on February 12th.[/jhh] Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? [jhh]The hazard lights failed to turn on. I suspect, if there is an "advanced safety feature" installed, it may have created an unsafe, "failsafe" condition, where it not only disables the vehicle, but also, disables the hazard lights. There was some road space between me and the traffic light, so I slowly drove forward while looking down at the dash board. This is about the time the vehicle shutoff completely, when the light turned green, and I could not move out of the way, of traffic, and could not turn on the hazards.[/jhh] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2025 Nissan Versa. The contact stated that while driving and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond as intended and made an abnormal sound. The vehicle was driven to the nearest family member's residence due to safety concerns. The contact stated that while attempting to drive from a complete stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle was driving significantly sluggish and was jerking abnormally. The contact was able to pull into a parking lot. The contact turned off the vehicle. Upon restarting the vehicle, the vehicle was driven but failed to drive at the intended speed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that fuel was not reaching the engine and two other unknown failures were found. The dealer added fuel to the vehicle, and unknown clamps were installed on the vehicle; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to Nissan of Downtown LA (635 W Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015); where it was determined that the failure could be related to the fuel quality. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the dealer that an unknown computer part for the engine needed to be installed, and the vehicle needed to be reset. The vehicle was not repaired because the first dealer who sold the vehicle declined to cover the repair. An unknown yellow warning light was intermittently illuminated. The failure mileage was approximately 13.
When making a left hand turn the was a vehicle way behind the line. My car stopped suddenly and I couldn’t move I was stuck next thing I know the other vehicle collided with me. This vehicles auto braking is very dangerous leading to crash! I could not avoid the speeding car coming towards me I was paralyzed from this matter and then the vehicle had a crash. My concern is there. There was time for me to move through the intersection, but my vehicle locked up which made the other vehicle collide into the front of my car or the rental car so my concern is that automatic breaking is very dangerous.
I purchased this car from Carvana on 02/25/26, 2022 Nissan Versa S Manual Transmission. On four occasions over the course of two separate days, while under way, I lost power and the car went into a limp mode. Twice I was able to pull off the road, twice I had to stop on the road. After coming to a complete stop I was able to place the car in first gear and continue on driving. This power loss puts me at risk to be rear ended by the following car. I took it to the Nissan Dealer on 03/17/26 expressing my concern. I was told that they could not find any code in the car that indicated the trouble I experienced, nor was there any illumination of the check engine light. Because of that I was told that my car could not be serviced.
The contact owns a 2024 Nissan Versa. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the trunk lid opened unexpectedly. While attempting to close the trunk lid the trunk lid, the trunk lid failed to remain closed. Several attempts were needed to securely close the trunk lid. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was not yet contacted or notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 5,000.
When you take off from stopping, it jerks some and doesn't want to move. It also will stop in the middle of the road while driving. I bought this car new in 2024. It's very dangerous especially when I have children in the car. It has happened several times.
When making a left hand turn the left front brake will lock up an jerk the steering wheel
The contact owns a 2025 Nissan Versa. The contact stated that during cold starts, the vehicle was jerking and vibrating abnormally. After the engine had warmed up, the jerking and vibration were self-corrected, but the vehicle failed to properly accelerate. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer on several occasions, but the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 13.
The car has 56000 miles and the power train is still under warranty. The CVT belt recently started slipping. When I stop and then take off normally, there is a jitter in the transmission that can be felt and heard. Sometimes it is quite loud and vibrated quite heavily to the point there is concern it will break or fail. It also hesitates at times when accelerating from a stop or slow down and you can hear and feel the slippage before it kicks in. I took it to St Charles Nissan stating they test drove it and the jittering happened twice. The dealership says that Nissan told them this is normal ans all Nissans do this in Ludington new ones. Mine did not do this when it was new. My daughter has a new Nissn Versa and hers does not do this. The dealership says they can investigate further by re wording the anomaly and will charge me if Nissan says they won't cover it under warranty. Very distressing.
155 total complaints retrieved from NHTSA for 2022–2026. For older model years, see individual year pages.
Versa Years to Avoid
Best Versa Years to Buy
Nissan Versa Problems by Year
Frequently Asked Questions — Nissan Versa Reliability
What year Versa has the most problems?
Based on NHTSA data, the 2012 Nissan Versa had the highest combined complaint and recall count — 297 complaints and 9 safety recalls. See the full 2012 report for specific defects.
Is the Nissan Versa reliable?
The Nissan Versa has accumulated 2,422 owner-filed complaints and 45 safety recalls across all model years in NHTSA's database. There have been 9 reported deaths associated with complaints. The 2026 model year shows the fewest reported issues. Always run a VIN check before purchasing any used Versa.
What are the most common Versa problems?
The most frequently cited problem areas are: Air Bags (566 reports), Power Train (311 reports), Suspension (244 reports), Unknown Or Other (189 reports). Based on NHTSA complaints across all model years.
How do I check if my Versa has an open recall?
Use the vehicle's 17-character VIN at VinCheckEngine.com. Our free VIN report pulls the latest NHTSA recall data along with auction history, odometer records, and 30+ intelligence signals.
Check a Specific Nissan Versa VIN
Model-level data shows what can go wrong. A VIN-specific report shows what has gone wrong with a particular vehicle — including auction history, odometer discrepancies, open recalls, accident records, and 30+ intelligence signals.
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