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.

2.4

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
62,864 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.

2013 Nissan Versa drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2013 Nissan Versa Owner Comments (Page 2 of 4)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #50

Nov 202018

Versa

  • miles

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

Currently on 4th transmission cant drive car.

- Moosic, PA, USA

problem #49

Jun 022021

Versa 4-cyl

  • miles
The car surges, jerks, increases in RPM's, stalls. This has been happening on & off for quite sometime, but recently has become more frequent.

- Statham, GA, USA

problem #48

Apr 012021

Versa

  • 78,167 miles
The transmission on this vehicle jerks at times making the vehicle lunge forward. It also does not engage from a stop or slow speed placing me in danger of being hit by the vehicles hesitation. When going up a hill the transmission does not engage or slips prior to engaging so I have no power to go up the hill. The transmission slips at a stop sign so when I pull out I never know if I will be stuck in the way of traffic. This transmission is dangerous. When turning the transmission does not engage for a short time jerking the vehicle.

- Lake Stevens, WA, USA

problem #47

Sep 012020

Versa

  • 132,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Versa. The contact stated that while stopped, the engine was slow to respond causing the vehicle to stall. The vehicle was taken to cerritos Nissan (18707 studebaker rd, cerritos, ca 90703, (562) 219-2788) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 132,000.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #46

Jan 072020

Versa

  • miles
I was on the street and the car just stopped going forward in the middle of the road. Had to have it towed home. Now the car starts, juggle back and forth but I can't go over 45 miles per hour. No one at Nissan will help me. Tells me it is not under warranty. This is my only means of transportation. With covid I don't make enough to buy another car and live a normal life. I am still paying for a broken car.

- Laverne, CA, USA

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problem #45

Feb 062019

Versa

  • 124,000 miles
The transmission went out while going up a bridge. This is a known issue to these vehicles with the transmission type. It is unable to be repaired due to the high cost of this transmission type. Since this has been a known issue, it should be covered under recalls.

- Sandia, TX, USA

problem #44

Aug 162020

Versa

  • 97,000 miles

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

While driving the transmission began hard shifting, long shifting, skip shifting, and not shifting. While on cruise control going uphill it will rev up and make out on rpms and I have to turn off cruise control. At one point getting on the highway it had no power like it was in neutral and was almost rear ended. I still am have shifting issue.

- Cleburne, TX, USA

problem #43

Aug 062020

Versa

  • 87,000 miles
Transmission began hard shifting, long shifting, skip shifting, and not shifting. Check engine light came on. Was told by mechanic this is because a revers tail light went out. Replaced tail light and transmission works normal. This doesnt sound right to me!

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #42

Jun 012018

Versa

  • miles
This Nissan Versa 4 door family vehicle was made with a faulty cvt by Nissan which is slipping and prevents the vehicle from accelerating properly causing a very dangerous driving hazard while on the road. A transmission specialist informed us that Nissan's are notorious for producing vehicles with faulty cvts and they do not provide parts so the entire transmission must be replaced costing over 4,000 dollars. We contacted the Nissan dealer and Nissan U.S.a. and they were not willing to help us with the repair costs. They do not care that they produced another lemon! we are forced to make monthly car payments on a car that we cannot drive!

- Amherst, MA, USA

problem #41

Feb 132020

Versa

  • 223,175 miles
Since buying the car in 2016, my car transmission has recently failed. I had no light up that indicated a warning in my transmission. My car stopped in the middle of the road as I was turning left into a 4-way intersection. Before that the fan was also defected upon purchasing. I own the the car now.

- Denton, TX, USA

problem #40

Feb 082020

Versa

  • 145,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Versa. While driving approximately 65 mph, the accelerator pedal was depressed however, the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The vehicle was taken to (cook chevrolet610 N, troy rd, elba, al 36323) where it was diagnosed that a new transmission was needed. The contact was given a quote of $2500-3000 for the cost of repairs. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 145,000.

- Elba, AL, USA

problem #39

Dec 202019

Versa

  • 50,000 miles
Starting at 50,000 miles the car started to make a squeaking noise when accelerating. The car was maintained by a mechanic and all belts were checked. There was no cars found at that time. After hitting approximately 50,000 miles I started having more issues that included louder noises from the engine, unexpected acceleration, and after letting the foot off of the gas pedal the car would slow down immensely. Recently the car was checked again by my mechanic and it was found it was the transmission that was at fault. A few times with the car in park had severe tremors too. Now with 75,000 miles the car is having strong jerks when being put I to reverse. Also, when accelerating I need to let off the gas and allow the transmission time to change gear.

- Quakertown, PA, USA

problem #38

Aug 012018

Versa

  • 129,000 miles
Transmission went out at 129 thousand miles..called Nissan and they said it was 9 thousand miles out of warranty..and that it was our problem..absolutely rude about it..we have 161 thousand on it now still with a bad transmission cause it's to expensive to fix.. people have told me about recalls on the cvt transmission but I can't find any for this car

- Chipley, FL, USA

problem #37

Nov 232019

Versa

  • 100 miles
Every time I want to speed my car slow down, and has a weird sounds in the moter.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #36

Nov 062019

Versa

  • 82,000 miles
When driving as I am picking up speed car jerks (pull) as it switching gears.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #35

Jul 062019

Versa

  • 113,000 miles
While driving onto the freeway my car starting hesitating to catch speed and after it did while I was driving on the freeway it began to shudder and loose power. It was accompanied we with whining sound and no check engine light indicator came on. I went to a transmission had a fluid exchange done and the fluid turned to a dark looking oil almost similar to motor oil. The transmission continues to malfunction on the highway at high speed and on city road at lower speeds. The quality of my drive train declined to to the point of no longer running. My vehicle has now been parked for almost 2 and a half months. It only has 114,000 miles on it. I called Nissan North America will not help me fix it because it is out of warranty

- El Mirage, AZ, USA

problem #34

Sep 092019

Versa

  • 106,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Versa. While driving approximately 65 mph, the vehicle began to stall and would not accelerate when depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the failure occurred intermittently while driving and without warning. The contact took the vehicle to berman Nissan of Chicago (3456 N kedzie ave, Chicago, il 60618, 773-295-4650) where it was diagnosed that a new transmission was needed. The contact was given a quote of $4,000 for the cost of repairs. The contact informed the manufacturer of the failure and they agreed to pay 60% of the cost for a new transmission. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was 106,000.

- Maywood, IL, USA

problem #33

Aug 152019

Versa

  • 99,629 miles
The transmission is not wanting to catch the gears to make it drive.

- Oak Grove, KY, USA

problem #32

Jul 062019

Versa

  • 59,875 miles
I was about to pull out of a parking lot, I changed my gear from parked to drive and as I started to drive out, I noticed my check engine light turned on again and my car jerked back and forth a couple of times as I started to accelerate. This is not the first time this has happened, but usually the car only jerks for a second whenever I change gears.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #31

Jun 012019

Versa

  • 50,000 miles
I have had a juddering and delayed acceleration issue since reaching 50,000 miles had it checked by the dealer and was told no issue could be found. I thought it was the tires. Since then the juddering and low delayed acceleration just got worse. Went to the dealer again and they reprogrammed the tcm transmission control module? since the tcm was reprogrammed I have had 2 occasions when accelerating to go on the highway where the rpms jumped up to 5000 and over with no power (high rpms and no power). I had to pull over come to complete stop and until the rpms would come down. Also every time when going up hills big or small the vehicle's rpms jump up and barley makes it up the hill. (high rpms and no power) this vehicle is an accident waiting to kill me or someone else. The dealer inspected it again with no indicators tells me its the transmission finally. I could have told you that back at 50,0000 miles.

- Troy, NY, USA

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