CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2014-2017 Nissan Versa Note has an expensive CVT transmission failure defect that shows up plainly in our complaint data from earlier model years for the same generation.

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 Note 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:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
33,862 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.

2015 Nissan Versa Note drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2015 Nissan Versa Note:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2015 Nissan Versa Note Owner Comments

problem #18

Jan 012022

Versa Note

  • miles

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

Las revoluciones no se quedan estable cuando estoy manejando, el vehículo empieza a dar jalones y podría ser la transmisión.

- Aguadilla, PR, USA

problem #17

Oct 202021

Versa Note

  • 80,102 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Versa Note. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated and was jerking. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the dealer could not duplicate the failure. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with transmission failure. The mechanic replaced the transmission; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,102. The VIN was unavailable.

- Callahan, FL, USA

problem #16

Feb 042022

Versa Note

  • miles
My VERSA has been shutting off, shuddering and leaping while driving for over a year. It would always start after stopping and I could go on my way. Today the engine stopped and I was able to restart, but when I put it in gear the engine stopped. I did this several time and every time the engine would stop. I had it towed to my mechanic and he told me my transmission is going out. I looked for a recall notice and did not find one. I did find several class action law suites for this same issue and Nissan has settled all of them. There is another company in town that has 21 Versa's and all of his are having this same issue and must be replaced. It costs over $5,000 to fix and is very unsafe. The issue I had today was stop and go traffic on the freeway.

- Fresno, CA, USA

problem #15

Jan 102020

Versa Note

  • miles

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

Transmission failure at 88,000. No prior issue. Rpm went from 2 to 3, a jerk then Just stopped moving. Brought to shop. Needs a new cvt transmission. Can't be looked at because I am buying a new car tomorrow and trading this one. I was on the interstate when this suddenly happened

- New Iberia, LA, USA

problem #14

Dec 272021

Versa Note

  • miles
Transmission out 88000 miles

- Downey, CA, USA

Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...

problem #13

Aug 252021

Versa Note

  • miles
Transmission: When lowering the speed for a speed reduction or full stop the there is a tremor seconds before a full stop. The electrical system is good. No light flickers and when starting starts good. But certain inclines, upwards, with a 3 passengers or little weight the strength power of acceleration the vehicle moves slower. It takes up to 10 seconds for a "grip" of power for torque to accelerate. I was told 2016, from the Nissan Dealer where I purchased the vehicle that it compressed air for such acceleration. I live in the flat area in Puerto Rico. The cities and secondary roads have their incline and their hills but yesterday going on a "On Ramp" to catch the highway the power of take-off had more acceleration than movement and this vehicle has less than 40000 (39565). It has its regular oil change but during the years I never received a warning about this nor from Nissan or from the dealer.

- San Juan, PR, USA

problem #12

Aug 152021

Versa Note

  • miles

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

I was in my car sleeping with the ignition off when I woke up there was flames on the driver side of the hood. You can see where the fire started on the ground wire by the battery circuit box. My safety was at risk because I could have not been able to make it out of my car if didn't wake up in time and could have been severely injured or even dead.

- Willard, UT, USA

problem #11

Dec 142019

Versa Note

  • 63,000 miles
The transmissions are faulty. My original one broke at around 60K miles as I bought the car at 50K miles used. Then the refurbished one that was sent to replace it had shrapnel inside of it. The third one was put in my vehicle as a brand new transmission and broke within a month, the belt that is submerged in fluid was burned up. Then the fourth one was put in and within a year I am now getting this replaced again due to the same issue and this one was straight from Nissan brand new. On to transmission number 5.....

- Denver, CO, USA

problem #10

Jan 062020

Versa Note

  • 71,214 miles
The transmission in this car is highly volatile and it's problems may lead to an on-road failure. The manufacturer is aware of this but they are not actively making a remedy available to prevent a potential accident. Dealerships refuse to address the known manufacturing problem with a free safety check.

- Carlsbad, CA, USA

problem #9

Oct 312019

Versa Note

  • 128,500 miles
Purchased the car in August 2019 at 125,000 miles. By October 2019, the cvt transmission went out and will cost $4,400 to replace by Nissan. My 18yo niece was driving when the car failed to accelerate and it could've been detrimental or fatal for her. I looked it up and found there's an open class action lawsuit against Nissan for knowingly installing defective transmissions in their versas. How could they do this" are they waiting to see how many people are killed or injured while driving defective cars? it's not right. The worst thing is that Nissan's response to the suit is extending the warranty to 84,000 miles, which doesn't help me and many others in the same situation, instead of recalling and fixing the issue, which is what should be done! why punish people for mileage when the transmission was destined to fail from the beginning" this car is only 4 years old. It's ridiculous and wrong.

- Augusta, GA, USA

problem #8

Sep 192019

Versa Note

  • 70,012 miles

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

Transmission went out at 70012 miles.

- Valencia, CA, USA

problem #7

Sep 132019

Versa Note

  • miles
I was going on to the highway and I was trying to go fast to move in to on going traffic and my car wouldn't move faster and started making this weird sound like a chugging noise along with a scrape sound every time I put my foot on the gas

- Fort Stewart, GA, USA

problem #6

Jul 202019

Versa Note

  • 71,680 miles
When driving on I-65 South in columbia, tn, the vehicle lost power and would not go above 60 mph with the RPM revving to 5. this happened suddenly and without warning and almost caused an accident. Thankfully the vehicle behind me was able to move over to the other lane.

- Franklin, TN, USA

problem #5

Jan 302018

Versa Note

  • miles
I started having issues with my transmission around 68,000 and transmission started to slip while driving anywhere high way, side street, and when I was taking it in the transmission kept dropping and became very dangerous to even get it to the dealer ship, had to replace whole transmission about $4000 to fix.

- Aurora, CO, USA

problem #4

Mar 222018

Versa Note

  • 33,000 miles
I have a large lag when I hit the accelerator pedal and I have a fuel issue in the tank that I was to get a repair notice on. Trouble filling the tank.

- Huntington, MA, USA

problem #3

Nov 032017

Versa Note

  • miles
I bought this car with 36,00, thousand miles. After 20,000 miles I had enough. Too many problems, ps light (indicating steering wheel problem) on the panel for no reason and Nissan charged me for that. I changed the right axle, and now I'm going to have to change left axle for the same reason (no explanation from Nissan, only that the part is not working properly and making noises). Problem number three, last week my car started doing a loud noise, and today I discovered that I'm going to have to change all the catalytic system (almost a thousand dollars for that).

- Framingham, MA, USA

problem #2

Aug 242017

Versa Note

  • 49,000 miles
While driving my 2015 Nissan Versa note I noticed it started skipping/slipping when I proceed from a stop. Within a couple of days the transmission started making a loud clunking, chattering and scraping noise. Had vehicle towed to Nissan of elk grove, miguel determined the problem was "transmission failure". miguel contacted Nissan corporate a new transmission was approved! but they failed to extend the powetrain warranty. Per miguel warranty stays the same at 60,000 and but "I can buy warranty coverage!". Nissan is aware of major transmission problems and extending warranties for others to 120,000 and want my warranty extended to 120,000!!!! transmission could of went out on me anytime and caused serious injuries not to myself but to my family and/or strangers on the road!!!! and yet Nissan failed to notified consumers about this issue!!!!!

- Elk Grove, CA, USA

problem #1

Jul 072017

Versa Note

  • 43,000 miles
I pulled into my driveway from a turn, probably going 5 mph, at a slight up grade, and my cvt transmission failed -- it stopped. The engine was on, running normal, but when I pressed the gas, floored it, even, there was zero response. No revving, nothing. I switch gears to low, then park, then reverse, then drive. Still nothing. Then after about a minute had passed since the initial failure, it started to rev a bit at low rpms, then finally kick in and drive me up my driveway. This occurred on the same drive in which the car was lurching, bucking, and shaking violently upon acceleration, particularly accelerating from a low speed to a high one quickly. This has been happening since one month after I bought it pre-owned and certified from enterprise car sales in elmwood NJ. The power train is covered by both Nissan and enterprise. But when I bring it in to the Nissan dealership in rockland (blauvelt, NY), they want to charge me $138 for diagnostics that will probably show nothing. Six weeks ago I brought it in for the exact same two problems, and it refused to misbehave for the mechanic, it threw no codes, and the engine light did not come on. I have a video posted to youtube: Https://www.youtube.com/edit?O=U&video_id=loojeczo89C. I showed the video to the dealership. They said it wasn't proof enough. So here I am with a supposedly good warranty (there are only 43,000 miles on the car) for a newly bought car, but I have no consumer protection because a mechanic supposedly can't find a problem. The warranty doesn't cover diagnostics. There are at least 2 class action suits in motion against Nissan for their cvt transmissions. I have a call in to them, to ask them to take my car in to the deanship and actually fix the problem, replace the cvt if necessary. What if it dies again, and I'm on the train tracks? or on the freeway. It is not safe!

- Blauvelt, NY, USA

Not what you are looking for?