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:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
64,158 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.

2014 Nissan Versa drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2014 Nissan Versa Owner Comments (Page 3 of 4)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #38

Apr 042018

Versa

  • miles

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

The transmission it started making like whistling noises itslugis wasn't picking up speed it staled itself off it barley moves my cat transmission is defective

- San Bernardino, CA, USA

problem #37

Feb 082019

Versa

  • 111,000 miles
When put in park and key out of ignition the car will not shut off. The car continues to run for hours. It will eventually run out of gas and hopefully shut off.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #36

Feb 082019

Versa

  • 75,000 miles
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Versa. While driving 75 mph, the check engine warning indicator illuminated and the vehicle decelerated. When the vehicle was turned off, it failed to restart; however, the electrical system was still operable. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the transmission failed. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 75,000.

- Midland, TX, USA

problem #35

Jan 082019

Versa

  • 87,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Versa. While driving 60 mph, the vehicle began to shake and stalled without warning. The driver coasted the vehicle over to the side of the road and powered off the engine. The vehicle was restarted, but failed to drive. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and was later taken to carmax (located at 6100 auto center dr, buena park, ca 90621, (714) 523-2667). The dealer diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided case number: 34146914. The approximate failure mileage was 87,000.

- Montebello, CA, USA

problem #34

Nov 142018

Versa

  • 70,000 miles
Engine stalls not shifting properly. Stuck in gears.

- Orlando, FL, USA

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problem #33

Nov 072018

Versa

  • 65,000 miles
My husband and I were driving home after buying groceries, we were in a very busy street, when the car stopped accelerating. This was very dangerous since there was people behind us and next to us. It was hard to move to pull over. Finally we learned our transmission (cvt) was broken. This will cost us almost as much as we paid for the car. All this happened as we reached 65,000 miles. And conveniently enough, the warranty only covers up to 60,000.

- West Jordan, UT, USA

problem #32

Nov 102018

Versa

  • miles

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

Cvt not shifting into lower gear at high rpms.

- Mesa, AZ, USA

problem #31

Nov 012018

Versa

  • 67,000 miles
Transmission went out with only 67,000 miles on the car. Could have caused a very serious problem if I was driving on the expressway. If Nissan is knowingly selling cars with defective or substandard components should not be allowed.

- Fort Myers, FL, USA

problem #30

Sep 012018

Versa

  • 72,200 miles
Bought the 2014 Nissan Versa in 2013. Took good care of it. Had 72,000 miles on it and the transmission went in early Sept. 2018. Many of the miles were small trip highway miles, not even city miles. Nissan did not do anything to help. Rather than put the $3,880 into it I traded it in. I expected it to last another 5 years and feel Nissan screwed me, and from what I am now hearing, a lot of other people too.

- Syracuse, NY, USA

problem #29

Sep 202018

Versa

  • 98,850 miles
My transmission is slipping and causing the car to stall in traffic and not going into gear. This is a known issue with Nissan's cvtransmissions

- Kingwood, TX, USA

problem #28

Aug 152018

Versa

  • 130,000 miles

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

Transmission problem: I bought the car brand new for my daughter July 2013. Last year it started having problems shifting gears. This year the problem got worse. We received a recall card in the mail stating to bring it in to the nearest dealership because of the transmission. The recall was only for reprogramming the computer. After bringing it in, the car shut down on her as she was driving home. I'm thankful we live in a small town. I called Nissan's corporate office to complain. A representative named patrick (615) 725-7359 was assigned my complaint.. he said there was nothing he could do because the warranty had expired. I still have a year left to pay for the car. Nissan dealership charged $2990 to fix the car. I have read so many complaints about the transmission in these cars and safety hazards. Nothing is being done!!

- Independence, LA, USA

problem #27

Aug 022018

Versa

  • 70,000 miles
2014 Nissan Versa cvt transmission...we bought this car brand new from the dealer has been nothing but a pain transmission blew out at 70 thousand miles. I had it serviced at 60 thousand for all fluids and filters dealer told me it was in great condition I was mid way home from dropping my niece off home and the Versa started slipping gears and shuddering I almost caused a 5 car accident if I hadn't pulled out the way of the car behind me. Imagine if I had my niece in the car what could have happened if we did crash because of the problem and Nissan will not take any responsibility for the problem. They want $3800 to fix it. I am one of thousands of victims of Nissan not recalling there cars knowing they put out a horrible and dangerous product out on the roads.

- Moreno Valley, CA, USA

problem #26

Mar 152018

Versa

  • miles
I recieved the car with a damaged heat shield. I was told that it was fixed yet continued to have problems with it. Lately I have had axel seal leak issues as well as transmission slippage when accelerating.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #25

Jul 092018

Versa

  • 122,100 miles
My 2014 Nissan Versa has a cvt transmission that failed at 54,000 miles. It was replaced with a re-manufactured cvt transmission under warranty. At 122,500, the transmission has failed again. In addition to "shuddering", the car at times will fail to accelerate, causing a potential hazardous situation to myself, passengers and other drivers on the road. On several occasions, the car has failed to accelerate, and I have almost been "T-boned" at busy intersections. I brought my car into the Nissan dealer and they confirmed that my transmission was failing, causing the lack of acceleration. I have phoned, emailed, and written to Nissan North America (certified mail) warning them about this problem and their response was that my car is out of warranty now and there's nothing they will do about it. I spoke directly with markita scott, arbitration specialist (615-725-7884). I mentioned to her the problems I was having and that the car's failing transmission posed a safety hazard. Her reply was the "the car was out of warranty and they could not do anything about it." She repeated that numerous times and seemed not to care about the safety aspect of driving this car. Thank you.

- Greenland, NH, USA

problem #24

Jul 162018

Versa

  • 122,500 miles
My 2014 Nissan Versa cvt transmission is hesitating, failing to accelerate, and acting erratically. This is causing unsafe driving conditions. On 2 separate occasions, I and my son were almost "T-boned" while pulling out into a busy intersection. The cvt, at times, fails to accelerate properly, putting driver at risk. This car has 122,500 miles on the odometer. The original cvt transmission failed at 65,000 and the replacement cvt transmission is now failing. I brought my car into my dealer, Nissan autofare stratham, and they informed me that I need a new cvt transmission. I have since sent certified letter to Nissan North America notifying them of this. I spoke to markita scott, arbitration specialist/dispute resolution for Nissan North America. She didn't seem to really care about the safety aspect, and stated Nissan would not do anything for me even though this new transmission failed at just 55,000 miles. I believe this is a manufacturing/design flaw with this particular cvt transmission as I had 2 failed transmissions in just 122,000 miles. I also believe that these failures represent a significant safety hazard and the research I done indicates this particular problem is widespread. There's a class action lawsuit pending against Nissan for this cvt problem with this particular model. Thank you.

- Greenland, NH, USA

problem #23

Mar 012018

Versa

  • 96,000 miles
I purchased a 2014 Nissan Versa in 2016 and two years later, the transmission is shot. The dealer confirmed it was the transmission.

- Washington Dc, DC, USA

problem #22

Feb 192018

Versa

  • 123,000 miles
Symptoms ' car driven today about 100 miles. Engine shutoff for gas up. On restart the engine came on, but no power when in gear. Press of accelerator but car barely moved. Shutdown and turn back on and got a little power. Looked at the brake lights and those do not come on when brake pedal depressed. Lights checked and are good bulbs. The engine idled smoothly, the transmission was properly functioning and engaged. There was no response to any movement from on the foot pedal to the engine in any gear, including neutral and park. Again, the engine idled smoothly, the transmission engaged properly when shifted from park to drive, etc. Had this same issue about 5 months ago. When taken to dealer, Nissan mechanic noted the no brake lights and got those to come back on. Once the brake lights worked, the issue suddenly was gone. Versa was brought in for no power and the cruise control kept disengaging. There seems to be some connection between the cruise contorl module, the brake module and the power train. Acts as if the computer control is getting signals that basically disconnects the acceleration signals, or is causing the cvt transmission to disconnect, even though we can shift through th gears with no problem. Just won't get any acceleration at all.

- Alta Loma, CA, USA

problem #21

Dec 092017

Versa

  • 78,000 miles
I went to pick up my daughter from daycare on day in December 2017. I stopped at a stoplight and when it turned green I went to accelerate and my car would barely creep, I barely made it through a turn light and close to getting hit. I could barely get up to 15mph. I ended up taking it to a shop and was told a pulley broke on the transmission! it supposedly caused shrapnel to shoot into the transmission and told could of gotten into the motor! so I was told $4000 for a rebuilt transmission. The shop put me through the ringer! they told me it was fixed and it wasn't!! it was not shifting right! then I was told they would put in a new transmission at no extra charge. Then I ended up getting ahold of them the next day and they told me no doubt it is fixed and that they ended up not putting in a new transmission after they read up on it. I ended up having the car towed because it wasnt fixed! then they put in a new one finally at no charge and it was fine. Took 4 times!! two weeks later and it starts burning a gas/rotten egg sulfur smell. Then I finally notice oil leaking out from under my car. From what I was told I have a blown head gasket!!! I am angry to say the least!!1 I spent all my savings and now have to find a way to get a new car and I doubt I can pay to fix this problem!!!

- Fairfield, OH, USA

problem #20

Jan 032018

Versa

  • 106,000 miles
Bought this Versa brand new in 2014. Had cvt recall work done in 2016. Shortly after work was completed, vehicle started to experience extreme shuddering after a complete stop and during take off. Vehicle shifts from gear to gear hard and with a jerk. It will barely accelerate after a stop. Took to mechanic to have transmission flushed, hoping this would help and was notified that there were transmission issues that a flush would not help. Taking to a Nissan mechanic for a diagnostic. Vehicle has 106,000 miles, but is used only for long stretches of highway commutes.the vehicle has been taken care of very well, with all scheduled maintenance at appropriate intervals. It should not be experiencing transmission issues this early. It feels like this car is a throwaway vehicle.

- Chico, CA, USA

problem #19

Nov 012017

Versa

  • 66,000 miles
The cvt transmission left my daughter stranded in orlando fl. She lives in jacksonville fl. 2.5 hours away. The car would not accelerate when she tried to get on the highway to head home after class. Went down to orlando with my truck, rented a tow dolly from U-haul and towed the car back to jacksonville fl. I am a ase certified technician. I connected my ($600) launch CR129 pro scanner. It does obdii, ABS, SRS, transmission. No codes no matter how it drove. After 3 days of troubleshooting I decided to take it to the dealer. They diagnosed it as the cvt transmission and it needs a new one at the cost of $3800. The car has 66,000 miles and is a 2014. Filed a complaint with Nissan and was turned down for any help. This is a major problem with jatco transmissions, the manufacturer knows it, Nissan knows it, Mitsubishi & Subaru both use the same jatco transmission and have similar problems. The issues are wide spread over multiple car manufacturers and all of them are not taking responsibility for the problems. A 2014 with 66000 miles should not need a transmission. It is a safety hazard plain and simple.

- Saint Johns, FL, USA

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