— A Nissan CVT settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit that alleges the continuously variable transmissions are defective in these Nissan models.
- 2013-2017 Nissan Sentra
- 2014-2017 Nissan Versa Note
- 2012-2017 Nissan Versa
The CVT class action lawsuit was consolidated from these class actions: Michelle Falk, et al. v. Nissan North America, Inc., Michael Knotts, et al. v. Nissan North America, Inc., and Cheyne Norman, et al. v. Nissan North America, Inc.
All of the lawsuits allege the CVTs shake, jerk, hesitate, lag, decelerate and finally fail, requiring expensive transmission replacements.
Nissan denies and continues to deny all of the lawsuit's claims, but says it agreed to settle to prevent the prolonged battle and expense of continued litigation.
According to the CVT settlement, Nissan will extend the new vehicle limited warranty for the transmission assembly, including the valve body and torque converter, and automatic transmission control unit by 24 months or 24,000 miles, whichever occurs first. The warranty extension will be subject to the terms and conditions of the original warranty.
Nissan has also agreed to reimburse customers for parts and labor paid for qualifying repairs involving the replacement or repair of the transmission assembly or transmission control unit if the work was done after the expiration of the powertrain coverage under the original warranty but within the limits of the warranty extension.
A customer will be reimbursed for the full amount if the repairs were performed by a Nissan dealership, and repairs made at non-dealerships will be covered up to $4,750.
The replacement or repair must have occurred on or before the vehicle has been in service for 84 months or driven for 84,000 miles, whichever occurs first.
According to the Nissan CVT settlement, a former owner who had two or more replacements or repairs to the transmission assembly or control unit is eligible for a $1,000 voucher for either a purchase or lease of a new Nissan or Infiniti vehicle.
The voucher must be used within nine months of the effective date of the settlement. In addition, an owner cannot use both the voucher and be reimbursed for repairs.
Attorneys for vehicle owners will receive about $6.6 million in fees and expenses.
Although both parties agreed to settle the CVT class action, nothing is complete until the judge holds a final approval hearing on March 6, 2020.
The plaintiffs are represented by Whitfield Bryson & Mason, Berger & Montague, Capstone Law, Heninger Garrison Davis, Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, and Pearson, Simon & Warshaw.
CarComplaints.com has owner-reported transmission complaints about Nissan Sentras, Nissan Versas and Nissan Versa Notes.
Learn more about the Nissan CVT settlement here.