CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2012-2017 Nissan Versa has an expensive CVT transmission failure defect that shows up plainly in our complaint data.

In late 2019, the CVT defect was subject to a class action settlement. However the settlement only covers transmission repairs up to 7 years after purchase or 84,000 miles (whichever occurs first).

Because many owners commonly drive 20,000 miles/year or more, Versa owners experiencing CVT transmission problems may find they are not covered by this settlement due to the mileage limitation.

3.0

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
46,309 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 Nissan Versa fuel system problems

fuel system problem

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2012 Nissan Versa Owner Comments

problem #14

Jan 082021

Versa

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I-€™ve had problems with this car from day one. All manor like Ac and heater going out that-€™s OK. All issues I can deal with in time. But Now this can-€™t handle I-€™ve had to actually stop driving my vehicle. The check Engine light starts to flash then the car doesn-€™t want to shift feeping like your about to blow up the car if you go over 20mph. transmission start to jerk and sUpper like your not get fuel or something. It-€™s been missing up so bad not to mention it-€™s freakin scary and you terrified you-€™ve got to pull it over. Turn off the car try again. I-€™ve had to leave my vehicle at random places multiple times too scared to drive it home. Now I tried to finally look at the problem to see what it might be happening cus nobody else seems to know what the issue is. And I see there several people with the same issue on the 2012 Nissan Versa.

- Pottsville, AR, USA

problem #13

Aug 062021

Versa

  • miles
Vehicle is moving in forward direction always even if the gear shift is in Park or Reverse mode. It is scary. It put us lot of stress in terms of physical health, mental health and finance. We nearly met with an accident as vehicle was moving always in forward direction as soon as we moved the car from the parking lot. We towed the vehicle considering our and public safety. Contacted Nissan dealership and consumer affairs team. They went only by the books. Told that there is no recall. They did not seem to care about the safety. They asked me to go ahead and shell out for fixing. The same vehicle stopped in the middle of the road with heavy jerk/forward movement. We were lucky that we did not meet with an accident. We had to tow the vehicle in that case. I had to replace fuel pump at my own cost. With multiple safety concerns on this vehicle, I am surprised that there is no recall on this model. At the least, I was expecting this for my VIN. Request you to help on the recall considering the public safety. With vehicle few thousand dollars worth still, I may need to review and make a choice on disposing this vehicle (not sell) by taking the financial hit. Financial hit in this uncertain situation means a lot to me. It puts pressure. Since I care about public safety, I am reviewing this as the last choice. Nissan does not seem to be worried as there is no recall. Correct option is to have this vehicle recalled. Request you to review and help from safety perspective

- Mckinney, TX, USA

problem #12

Mar 022021

Versa

  • 158,000 miles
When filling vehicle up with gas it starts pouring out under the vehicle and when driving it when I turned around a curb gas poured all over the road.

- Tazewell, TN, USA

problem #11

Jul 012018

Versa

  • 63,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Car suddenly stopped running while driving, causing me to almost get rear ended 3 times. Shop adv the fuel pump burnt the fuse out causing the the car to loose power and die. The 15 amp fuse was burnt out 2 times in 12 months or less the first time was city streets the second time was on the highway at 70 mph. Bot times time I was in motion.

- Rockford, IL, USA

problem #10

Dec 012018

Versa

  • 84,678 miles
Takata recall Nissan Versa 2012 come with alot of electrical issues door locks wont open causing the doors not to open if this occurs when you have kids inside car can even cause death if you dont have anyone to provide immediate attention when it do this the car would turn on starts to shake and turns off and it can last doing this for an hour and also doors have a black door sealing band that comes off since I bought my car of it occurs with children it can stangle them ver Y dangerous the electric issue can cause a car accodent of ot turn off highway or street it would do it when driving as well it may come from the fuse box under the front hood that its so hard and dangerouse to check

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

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problem #9

Jun 202018

Versa

  • 103,000 miles
For a 2012 Nissan Versa sedan automatic. The cvt transmission started out 6 months ago sometimes not shifting up to higher gears when I was driving. Very shortly after the transmission just wouldn't engage at all. I took it to the dealership and they told me I need a new transmission without even a diagnostics test and immediately tried to sell me a new car. After that I went to certified transmission and paid for them to test it and they also said I need a new transmission and that there has been several complaints about the cvt. I then went somewhere else and bought a different car and have only driven the Nissan Versa a handful of times since until I could get a new transmission. Now the transmission never shifts up while driving and today I was driving it to get a new transmission and it won't accelerate or engage the transmission at all, it has to be towed. The transmission will be replaced with a brand new one.

- Bellevue, NE, USA

problem #8

May 032018

Versa

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Takata recall we live on the coast was there is a lot of moist

- Waco, TX, USA

problem #7

Jul 152015

Versa

  • miles
The car would continue to stall in extreme temperatures we brought the Nissan in multiple times for service with regards to the problem and they would just advise us to use higher octane fuel this did not remedy the problem they then claimed it needed a new fuel pump the car was stalled in the middle of intersections and became very dangerous so we had to turn the car back in which negatively affecting our credit

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #6

Jul 092016

Versa

  • 95,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Versa. The contact stated that the vehicle accelerated independently as the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that the vehicle stalled when in reverse. The vehicle was not able to restart until after two hours later. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

- Henrico, VA, USA

problem #5

Jan 122016

Versa

  • miles
"fuel pump" second fuel pump in just over 3 years. Second one at my expense. Really?

- Clear Spring, MD, USA

problem #4

Oct 082015

Versa

  • 58,148 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Versa. While driving at approximately 58 mph, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the pedal position sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 58,148.

- Vidor, TX, USA

problem #3

Jan 262015

Versa

  • 67,000 miles
2012 Nissan Versa sv 4 door sedan with cvt transmission. Vehicle is jerking when trying to accelerate over 65 mph. RPM gauge will bounce from 3000-4000 while the vehicle is shuddering. This vehicle has had many complaints about the cvt transmission since 2007 and Nissan still has not done anything to resolve the problem. A recall should be issued since this is a very dangerous situation on the highway when the transmission will finally breakdown. I hope that this can be fixed and Nissan will own up to the bad workmanship on the transmission. I will continue to post as the transmission gets worse. Thank you!

- North Attleboro, MA, USA

problem #2

May 292013

Versa

  • 4,500 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Versa. The contact stated that the smell of fuel entered the vehicle and the vehicle stalled while driving 40 mph. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer for a diagnostic test. The dealer stated the contact's vehicle was a euro model and not designed for warm weather of the United States. The dealer stated that they did not have an available remedy for the fuel defect. The the contact called the manufacturer and filed a complaint. The failure mileage was 4,500.

- Las Vegas , NV, USA

problem #1

Mar 012013

Versa

  • 15,000 miles
When driving down the highway, my Versa went into neutral but the shift still said D for drive, had no acceleration took to dealer and they passed it off as nothing because nothing read on the computer system and they basically said in a round about way I'm a woman are you sure you didn't bump it into neutral? then a month later had it back as it did the same thing but this time I was going 25 mph. Hooked it up to the computer again and there was nothing reading and reset the computer system. Happened again but was in our parking lot and just blew it off as the dealer would just tell me nothing was wrong. Just yesterday (6/29) as I was turning into the park I work at it slipped back into neutral, then all the electrical went out, no power steering, but the engine was still going, electrical came back on and then the car died as I was going about 20 mph and it quit all together on me shut down. Had to push it to a parking stall and call a tow to the dealer, once at the dealer they hooked it up to the computer and 3 errors for fuel system and 1 error for transmission came up. I'm just thankful that it didn't cause an accident when this has happened. I have it documented that it has been at the dealer now 3 times for this same issue.

- Oak Creek, WI, USA

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