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:
2 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
53,152 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 engine problems

engine problem

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2012 Nissan Versa Owner Comments (Page 3 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #6

Jan 022014

Versa 4-cyl

  • 33,000 miles

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

January 2nd I was asked to jumpstart a vehicle in my driveway. Approximately 5 minutes later my Nissan Versa, with less than 33000 miles, caught on fire. The cables were hooked up correctly. Prior to this incident and at least three times, I had complained of a burning smell after highway driving. I was told by my insurance company, I should bring it to a Nissan dealer where a licensed Nissan mechanic could determine the cause of the fire. When the dealer neglected to do so, Nissan North America was called in to do an inspection. They completed their inspection and would not cover the expense or release the report to me or the Nissan dealer. They opted to keep the information undercover. I believe it is related to the recall on the shifter recall. This may have caused the torque converter to leak and the engine to catch on fire.

- Epsom, NH, USA

problem #5

Jan 022014

Versa 4-cyl

  • 32,000 miles
January 2nd I was asked to jumpstart a vehicle in my driveway. Approximately 5 minutes later my Nissan Versa, with less than 32000 miles, caught on fire. The cables were hooked up correctly. Prior to this incident and at least three times, I had complained of a burning smell after highway driving. I was told by my insurance company, I should bring it to a Nissan dealer where a licensed Nissan mechanic could determine the cause of the fire. When the dealer neglected to do so, Nissan North America was called in to do an inspection. They completed their inspection and would not cover the expense or release the report to me or the Nissan dealer. They opted to keep the information undercover. I am assuming it is was an electrical issue or some type of leak judging by the 250,000 Nissan vehicles recalled in 2012.

- Epsom, NH, USA

problem #4

Feb 232014

Versa

  • 64,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Versa. The contact stated that she exited the vehicle with the engine operating and when she returned to the vehicle, the engine was powered off. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle but the vehicle would not restart. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer for inspection or repairs. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 64,000.

- Royalton, MN, USA

problem #3

Oct 042013

Versa 4-cyl

  • miles

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

I had my car towed to Nissan of chantilly after the engine died the day before after it stopped running in the middle of broadlands blvd, but I managed to get it started just enough get it to a parking lot. They have contacted me only once during the entire time that they have had the car. I contacted them on the 15th of November to be told that the engine had to be replaced, but they have not installed it though they have been authorized by Nissan, because they are having engineers coming to asses the engine to find out why it stopped working, this appears to be a deliberate attempt to keep from repairing and accepting ownership that the engine was defective and keeping me out of the loop. I have contacted Nissan corporate headquarters' and filed a complaint requesting to have a new car as the devaluation of the car and not knowing what has occurred over the last month and a half between the dealership and Nissan. I'm not even sure if the engine will actually be new or refurbished which may impact the longevity of the car and could be very well be a safety hazard if these engines are defective and may be a part of hidden defect issue between the dealership(s) and Nissan.

- Broadlands, VA, USA

problem #2

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

problem #1

Jan 082013

Versa

  • 8,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Versa. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the vehicle suddenly stalled causing the power steering and brakes to deactivate. The vehicle crashed into a pole. Upon impact, the air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained neck and chest injuries. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer prior to the crash to diagnose the stalling but the failure could not be replicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 8,000.

- Woodstock, GA, USA

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