Top problems identified by our research: Forward collision avoidance, powertrain, brake, engine, and electrical system issues
Sedans might be disappearing at record rates, but the 2020 Nissan Versa still has a following. Nissan claims it provides “a new way to look at sedans,” but many customers are disappointed with the way it works or doesn’t work. Issues include forward collision avoidance malfunctions, unexpected braking, lack of acceleration, transmissions that jerk, faulty electrics, and malfunctioning airbags that have resulted in injuries.
Click on other model year to view more problems: 2019 2021
The most common problems raised in complaints lodged with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) relate to forward collision avoidance. These include system malfunctions and unexpected braking, all of which raise serious safety concerns. There are also substantial complaints about the powertrain that shudders and jerks and won’t accelerate, as well as complaints about the engine, electrical system, and brakes. At least one of the complaints in each of the last three categories also reports forward collision avoidance issues.
Other systems and components that are reported to have problems include backover prevention, electronic stability control, the fuel system, latches/locks/linkages, seat belts, steering, steering, structure, suspension, and visibility/wipers. The airbags are also problematic, with two complaints reporting serious injuries as a result of malfunctions.
Lemberg Law has also received varied complaints about the 2020 Versa as you can see at the bottom of this page.
Two recalls affect the 2020 Versa.
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
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Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking
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Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings
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Power Train
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Electrical System
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Engine
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Service Brakes
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Unknown Or Other
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Air Bags
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Back Over Prevention: Warnings
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Fuel/propulsion System
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Multiple complaints talk about the forward collision avoidance system malfunctioning. Some drivers experience a complete lack of warnings and others experience false positives (activating when there’s no danger). Some complaints describe how the system unexpectedly triggers automatic emergency braking (AEB) causing the car to slow down or stop abruptly, even in situations where there wasn’t a collision risk. This could lead to rear-end collisions or loss of control. We will deal with brake issues under a separate heading.
An owner who crashed blames the forward collision avoidance system. The issue was that the Forward Collision Warning and AEB systems didn’t activate.
An owner from Indiana has the opposite problem. “Every time I turn my car on, there’s a chance that some lights will turn on my dash for absolutely no reason. The car could be parked and getting warmed up and the traction control light, parking collision warning, and front collision light all turn on simultaneously.” While the complaint doesn’t cite safety as an issue, it states, “It has been a real inconvenience.”
Another owner from a different part of Indiana states, “Recently, my Nissan has started having many problems with several of the collision/emergency sensors on the vehicle. It will happen randomly, in any sort of weather, and the sensor warnings will stay on for different amounts of time during each incident. Having the sensors randomly go off while driving is incredibly distracting, not to mention completely unsafe and useless.”
Then an owner from Alabama tells how after crossing a bridge while traveling between 55 and 60 mph, “the AEB gave a collision warning and almost immediately applied full braking power. This caused a three-car collision that resulted in moderate injuries.”
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The powertrain is home to the transmission, which is needed to shift the vehicle smoothly. When drivers experience transmission problems, their safety may be at risk.
One of the major issues is the continuously variable transmission (CVT), which owners say shudders, stutters, shutters, jolts, or jerks … depending on their interpretation of what happens! The other issue is a lack of acceleration.
Some owners report getting a P2859 code. An owner from Georgia reports getting the code after the engine light went on. “When I looked it up on Google, Nissan has had recalls in the past about the same thing.” Lemberg Law research shows that the transmission should disengage when coming to a stop. If the transmission fails to properly disengage, code P2859 will be stored. A technical service bulletin (TSB NTB19-040b) issued by Nissan on November 14, 2019, refers to 10 codes including “P2859 – CLUTCH A PRESSURE” that indicate hesitation and/or a lack of power. The 2020 Versa Sedan is one of the “applied” vehicles. The “applied transmission” is CVT.
A complaint from an owner in Texas says, “Already having transmission problems. Car jerks and slows me down and the steering has gotten almost unmanageable in less than 200 miles. The wheels already need alignment and I’ve hit no curbs. The car is another disaster from Nissan. The CVT was a terrible thing that has happened to vehicles.”
An owner from Maryland also reports having had transmission problems for a long time. It is one of multiple reasons he says his safety is at risk at least once a month. “My drives no longer have a smooth transition when I press the gas it stutters and will not accelerate immediately. The problem has been confirmed by an independent service center.“
An owner from Maine says that the hesitations and failure of the CVT transmission “could cause an accident.” The complaint states that it has happened often with the car coming to “a stop with the emergency assistance system and errors.”
An owner from Connecticut tells how the “CVT shudders, jolts, and grinds on stop-and-go traffic to the point where it feels like it’s going to destroy itself. The symptom occurs on very random occasions and the car’s onboard diagnostics have failed to detect a problem with the vehicle. Vehicle had also turned off once suddenly when pressing (the) accelerator from a complete stop.” The Versa has no check engine or pending codes and the only resolution Nissan offers is to “pay out of pocket for diagnosing and repairing.”
An owner from Florida finds that when the vehicle is in gear ”it won’t move or (it) moves very slowly. As I turn on my car and change the gear into drive or reverse and I accelerate the car won’t move at all. I’ve had this happen many times either after I’m moving from a parked spot or after stopping at a red light. My car was inspected and they told me it was fine, nothing was wrong. But the very next (day) it happened again. My safety was put at risk because my car won’t accelerate in the middle of traffic or roads where I could get hit by another vehicle.”
Another owner states, “Sometimes when starting my car 3 lights illuminate the ABS (Anti-Lock or Automatic Braking System), Forward Collision Warning, and the Parking Collision Warning. When this happens my car will not accelerate. It will not move when gas is applied or it moves very slowly. This happens in drive and reverse. It happens at random times and it has almost caused me to get hit when I attempted to pull out of a parking lot and my car all of a sudden would not move.“
Brake problems are varied, ranging from automatic brakes that lock up to those that randomly activate for no reason.
Serviceable brakes that stop the vehicle when needed are essential. When they don’t work, the risk of a crash increases. But when the automatic braking system locks up, it’s just as dangerous. An owner from Arizona states in an NHTSA complaint that the ABS locked up. “There was nothing behind me or in my camera visually. Then I went to pull forward, the panel lights lit up, and, crash lights front can’t up and the radar front light.” The car was with Nissan for four to five months but “Nissan refuses to deem (it) as a lemon.” The owner maintains that, “When those brakes locked up my car is no longer stable to drive, yet Nissan is saying it’s a shock on the right side. A shock doesn’t go out this early in a brand-new car.”
An owner from Georgia began to hear a squeaking noise about a month after buying the 2020 Versa. “I took it in, they said it was brake dust. I kept hearing the noise and I took it back in and they said it was the brakes. Afterwards, I went back to have them repaired only to find out that they said some hardware was missing from my brakes. I have been out here driving in this car with faulty brakes that left the manufacturer and that should have never been put out into circulation for purchase.”
An owner from California states that the automatic braking system “randomly activates for no apparent reason.” But sometimes it doesn’t activate at all.
Electrical system problems are also varied, and complaints are often combined with issues relating to other components, particularly the engine. For instance, an owner from Texas states that there is a camshaft position sensor circuit malfunction and the mass air flow sensor needs to be replaced.
An owner from Florida states that the screen for the radio won’t always turn on when the car is on. “I have to drive a couple (of) miles before it works, leaving me without GPS and Radio. It’s happened about a dozen times since ownership.”
Nissan is fully aware of the situation, even noting in Service Bulletin #NTB20-016d that the radio will intermittently reboot while using audio playback connected to iPhones through Bluetooth. It leaves owners asking, “Can you hear me now?”
Despite the low number of complaints about faulty airbags, a complaint from an owner in Alabama cannot be ignored.
He describes how both side airbags exploded while his wife was driving through a residential area at about 25 mph after a doctor’s appointment. The airbags totally encapsulated her “so she could not breathe or move to steer the vehicle and it was all she could do to apply the brakes. A fire truck was right behind, so (they) were able to render assistance and cut her out of the airbags so she could breathe. The airbag impact severely hurt (her) and caused bruises, hearing loss, and shock. There was no impact or door closures or anything else other than a malfunction that caused this.
“This car has less than 15,000 miles. The trouble code showed a rollover caused the airbags to deploy. However, again there was no impact or rollover or any damage to this vehicle which could cause airbags to activate. Please understand the airbags were activated by what appears to be a completely random electrical malfunction.”
Alarmingly, “Nissan determined the wrong combination of metals was used in the side airbag sensor connector harness, causing oxidation on the pins of the airbag control unit harness connection. The oxidation on the connector pins can cause a short loss of communication from the satellite sensor to the airbag control unit. The Nissan Versa curtain and seat-mounted side airbag system will enter a backup mode when signal loss occurs and this backup mode allows the curtain and seat-mounted side airbags to deploy as intended in a crash. However, the backup mode that kicks in from signal loss changes the requirements that must be met for the airbags to deploy, so simply slamming the doors can activate the airbags.”
If you think your 2020 Nissan Versa is a lemon let Lemberg Law peruse your problems and advise you. The law makes Nissan pay the legal fees for lemon cases, so we won’t charge you.
All you have to do is fill out a contact form or call our Helpline.
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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José c did you fix your problem? I have the same problem
I live in Puerto Rico and bought a 2020 Nissan Versa SV in Sept. Of 2020 with only 7 miles. Ever since I bought the car all I have had is problems. The radio screen does some weird things at times, I had a problem with one of the doors not locking with the key hub, then it made a noise under the emergency brake handle. It also has given me problems to where the transmission would not change gears nor move when pressing on gas. I am an Insurance agent and I bought the car because I travel all over the Island of Puerto Rico to go to client appointments and leaving it at the dealer is not a choice even though I did take it in once to try to get things fixed and they had it for 1 week which caused me to loose appointments and possibly money since I do not have another car and the dealership did not offer a replacement while they had my car. I have always been fond of Nissans but in reality I do not recommend this make and model because it has been a lemon and the worst part is that I still owe $12,000 approximately on it.
Hello, can I take legal action in my used and out of warranty vehicle?
Generally speaking, there is limited legal recourse with a used and out of warranty vehicle. We’ve just given you a call to discuss further.
Our 2020 Nissan Versa is choking out, engine lights coming on, sensors going crazy. It’s in the dealership now 3rd time in 3 months. Were stuck in California waiting on our car. Dealership was nice..not so much to us now. They ignored my initial reporting of the issue blamed it on something else 4,500.00, so I recorded it today before they took it into service. They said last week it was a sonar sensor. Now what? The car is still under warranty.
I have 2020 versa got it last year in November now we in November n having problems with it not catching gears n took it to shop said was battery drove it a day or two n got worse n to it bk nsaid nothing was found wrong now again now its has moments where no reverse no drive move on L..so paying money so car can be parked or risk on getting stranded…