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.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
34,490 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 body / paint problems

body / paint problem

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2012 Nissan Versa Owner Comments

problem #12

Apr 192019

Versa

  • 77,000 miles

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

The car was in a low speed accident under 30 mph on the 14th street bridge in Washington D.C. and the entire front of the cars was crushed. The other vehicle in the crash had minor damage to the rear consistent with the speed of the vehicles. Also, the air bags deployed late, several seconds after the crash when the occupants were getting out of the vehicle when the vehicle was stationary.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #11

Apr 102019

Versa

  • 81,000 miles
The driver side door handle has come completely out. Have to open from inside in order to get in the car.

- Richmond, VA, USA

problem #10

Sep 052018

Versa

  • 55,275 miles
Both the primary and secondary hood latches failed while driving down the highway at 60 mph. The hood flew open causing damage to the vehicle. The vehicle was inspected by the mentor Nissan dealership who inspected the hood latches and indicated that the latches where bound up and the condition occurred through no fault of the vehicle owner and the condition was a major safety issue. Nissan Consumer Affairs would not authorize any repairs because there was no recall for this problem on the Versa, however there is a recall on the Altima for the same issue. The binding of the hood latch on my Nissan Versa is the same condition that occurred on the Altima. The coating applied to the hood latch by the latch manufacturer causes it to bind over time and not latch properly.

- Mentor, OH, USA

problem #9

Jul 012018

Versa

  • miles

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

The driver side door keeps breaking and it is not possible to open the door from the inside. In case of an emergency you have to roll down the window and find the door handle. This was repaired once and is now broken again on 2 doors.

- Bellevue, OH, USA

problem #8

Mar 062017

Versa

  • miles
Takata inlfators. For ;now nothing happen but just waiting for the letter to repair the issue. I received a letter few months back that theer is a recall and that another letter will come to schedule and appointment at a dealership

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

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problem #7

Jan 012015

Versa

  • 40,000 miles
Ceiling (interior roof) is leaking when it rains in the area where the driver side window meets the windshield, near the top of the pillar? I think it is called. Dont know why. But im afraid it may do damage to any parts inside there. I do not have a sunroof. I notice it when the car is parked outside or when it is raining and im driving. In the enclosed photo you can see where the water has left a stain.

- Ten Mile, TN, USA

problem #6

Nov 012015

Versa

  • 44,000 miles

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

I was driving around a curve on a city street when my driver side front coil spring snapped impacting the tire causing my vehicle to swerve over a median sustaining major damages to the undercarriage and body of the vehicle. Recall # 15V573000

- Sacramento, CA, USA

problem #5

Sep 012011

Versa

  • 10 miles
The exterior side rear view mirrors are not wide enough to be able to see most vehicles including large SUV's etc, in the lanes on either side of the vehicle while driving on the highway. This makes changing lanes very dangerous. I've nearly collided with vehicles alongside me a number of times trying to change lanes. This will be a constant problem until the mirrors are replaced or I replace the car with another brand.this issue has the potential for causing accidents and needs to be addressed. While all cars have blind spots, the blind spots for this car are especially severe and dangerous due to the exterior side rear view mirrors being too small for vehicles to be seen in. Nissan is somewhat aware of this problem because for the 2015 model year, Nissan has enlarged these exterior side rearview mirrors so that vehicles in lanes alongside the Versa can now be more easily be seen while driving on the highway. I feel Nissan should have to recall the 2012-2014 Versas and replace the existing review exterior mirrors with the larger mirrors that are now on the 2015-2016 Versas.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

problem #4

Feb 182016

Versa

  • 47,600 miles
My driver's side door will no longer open from the inside, it can only open from the outside. I was simply parked and trying to exit my vehicle at the time of discovery, and I had to roll down my window to open the door from the outside. There was no specific incident that caused the handle to break, and there was no unusual wear & tear that could have caused the handle to break. We opened the door panel to see if we could find out why the handle wasn't working. We discovered the cord that connects to the handle is broken. Considering I have never done anything unusual with my door handle, I feel that this cord is a defect and should be recalled for other drivers as well.

- Brea, CA, USA

problem #3

Aug 072015

Versa

  • 30,000 miles
I was slowly parallel parking and backing up towards the sidewalk. Then, I wanted to move my foot from the gas to the brake in order to cut the wheel. But, I continued to back up. Before I could even think about why this was happening my car hit the tree at the edge of the sidewalk. At first, I chalked it up to... a strange/uncharacteristic poor physical reaction on my part. However, I have always felt like it was a very strange event and at the time there was a rise of panic as I realized my foot was not going over to the brake. Since it happened so quickly I could never tease out exactly what happened but I have felt as though my foot were stuck there on the accelerator. The impact with the tree loosened it. (I think). Now, I see recalls for other Nissan. The very night of the accident I actually googled the Nissan gas pedal... I went right to my VIN # and checked but my Nissan Versa 2012 was not one of them. However, I saw that last year other models (2013+) did have problems. I still had a weird feeling about it even though my version was not being investigated. And last week when I saw that on the news that 2012S were now also being recalled I went back to look up my VIN # and still no match. I think it is just weird. And, the whole thing happened in 1 sec. And over a span of maybe 3? feet... so it is really hard for me to decide exactly what was going on. My head was turned backwards and I was looking at the tree so I can't honestly say I looked down and saw my foot was stuck... not sure if this is helpful or not but I thought I'd submit this even though I am not sure and let you all see what you think given other's complaints.

- Nantucket, MA, USA

problem #2

Jun 022014

Versa 4-cyl

  • 11,000 miles
4/5/14 car was purchased from a Toyota dealership with approximately 9,400 miles. 6/2/14 pressed on brake when approaching red light. Car did not stop. Slammed into another vehicle. Caused heavy damage, and the driver was hospitalized with injury. Airbags did not deploy. Car sustained more than $4,000 damage and was repaired by dealership. 6/27/14 damage repair completed and released to customer. 6/29/14 backed out of parking spot in a parking lot applying the brake. Car did not stop.

- Wilkes Barre, PA, USA

problem #1

Jul 142013

Versa 4-cyl

  • 28,000 miles
Vehicle has been in 2 collisions over 2 year span. Once T-boned by another car, second time front end collision. First time passenger side door received severe damage, second time major front end damage. Never or neither time did any airbags deploy. Vehicle was doing 35 mph at least each time. Have children and family whom are in vehicle often. Worried about all our safety. Thank you very much, with regards.

- Garden City Park, NY, USA

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