9.2

really awful
Typical Repair Cost:
$3,840
Average Mileage:
87,200 miles
Total Complaints:
26 complaints

Most common solutions:

  1. replace transmission (22 reports)
  2. not sure (4 reports)
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This problem may be covered under warranty. Ask your Nissan dealer.

problem #26

Jul 182022

Versa Note SV 1.3L

  • CVT transmission
  • 172,000 miles

So at 60,000 miles I told the Nissan dealership in Grand Rapids Michigan that it was slipping. They told me to come back if the transmission went out. Just a few thousand miles short of the service date on the transmission, my car was being serviced, I told them I would like the transmission serviced. They refused, saying it still had "thousands" of miles left (we are talking less than 3000 miles from the service interval). They flat out refused. I left and didn't go back. (I took my car elsewhere.)

The tranny still slips and thunks. At 140,000 miles I lost 3rd gear entirely. I take it to a Nissan in greater Detroit. They say it could be a Thousand dollar part, or that and another $3000 part, or I could just replace the entire transmission for $6000. After replacing transmission lines and servicing the transmission to the tune of $1000, I now have third gear I just can not shift to fourth under any load at all. I can do that OR just keep driving it until it needs a new transmission and replace the transmission they said. So I drive it then.

6 months later at 172ish, I am leaving the grocery store when the whole car acts like something big was dropped on it. I press the gas and it rolls forward like it's in neutral. Then the gas catches and it slingshots forward, and now there is traffic so I slow down, and it does this over and over until I can cruise home in 3rd. So long as it didn't downshift below third, I was okay, so I made it home and rented a car.

Now I guess I'll buy a new car. Never a Nissan again though, Probably a Chevy. Nissan service and customer support is the worst. I later found out the CVT warranty was extended to 120,000 miles - if FOX Nissan in GR had done their job properly I would still have a car! FOX Nissan, you are the worst of the worst.

- shaymi, Ferndale, MI, US

problem #25

Feb 252022

Versa Note

  • CVT transmission
  • 108,000 miles

I purchased this car for my granddaughter to get to school and her part time job. During the interview with Morgan Norris, our sales person, she mentioned the transmission in the car had just been repaired or replaced.

The car never lasted a full 2 months, before the transmission failed. Dealing with Driven Cars was short and sweat. No return calls from Morgan our sales rep. and the manager (Ari Peltonen) was rude and just as quickly pushed us off. No warranty. I mentioned that the sales person never mentioned anything else about the car during the purchase other than they just worked on the transmission??? Was this to assure me that the transmission was OK or just a deflection?

In any case no satisfaction from Driven Cars Canada. I filed a complaint with OMVIC and will await their report, before I file a lawsuit, to return my money.

DON'T EVER BUY FROM DRIEN CARS CANADA. Rummer has it they purchase cheap cars, do a quick fix and dump them off to customers in and around Thunder Bay.

- sharonbarnes, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada

problem #24

Jan 262022

Versa Note

  • CVT transmission
  • 77,847 miles

Car has 77,847 miles and the transmission has just quit, press the accelerator and nothing the car goes nowhere and then suddenly shifts very hard and the rpms surge as the car barely moves. Code reader shows transmission codes. My mechanic says the car is in limp mode. The manufacturers had to have known the car would have issues if they installed a limp mode... WTF!!! The Nissan consumer affairs department took my complaint and gave me a case number but the settlement agreement for this issue puts my car out of warranty by 13 days... I don't understand with this being such a common problem on a lot of the Nissan models, why such a short settlement period. We bought this Nissan because we have had Nissan previously that had 300 thousand miles with no major issues - what a disappointment.

- Nona M., Somerville, US

problem #23

Oct 162017

Versa Note S

  • Automatic transmission
  • 26,000 miles

What car should need a new transmission under 150,000?!?!?!?

- Amanda T., Mount Vernon, TX, US

problem #22

Dec 162019

Versa Note

  • CVT transmission
  • 88,235 miles

I also have had a transmission failure with the 2014 Versa Note. It's out of warranty, so of course Nissan will not do anything to cover the cost of replacement. To me, it's still very low mileage - 142,000 km. (88,000) miles. This should not happen to a car of this age, and mileage.

I'm so disappointed with their reaction to my complaint. I have submitted a complaint to the BBB, and if I don't get anywhere with that, I'm going to file a small claims case.

I see that there is a class action lawsuit about this in the US, but I don't think I can make a claim in Canada.

Here is a link to those in the US who want to claim via that lawsuit.

https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/consumer-products/auto-news/931402-nissan-transmission-class-action-settlement/

I'm just so upset about this.

Update from Jan 18, 2020: I am in the process of a BBB report with Nissan. We'll see how that works out. I'm still very ticked off about this.

- Donna F., Toronto, ON, Canada

problem #21

Mar 222021

Versa Note S With Tech Pkg

  • CVT transmission
  • 115,155 miles

This is the second time the transmission has failed. The first one was the one from factory installed, which failed at 68,000, and now this time at around 115,000 with the new transmission the dealer put in. I'm not getting it fixed as it is $4200 plus tax; and got the brushoff from Nissan when I called. Clearly more bad CVT transmissions - I didn't get it right with the second one as it failed at 47,000 miles. I've never seen anything like this with any car I've owned in my lifetime. First and last Nissan purchase.

- Patricia R., Dallas, Pacific Islands (US)

problem #20

Dec 012017

Versa Note S With Tech Pkg

  • CVT transmission
  • 68,000 miles

Nissan knows, has known, and continues to know they have a problem with the transmission, yet stay in denial and cause consumers to waste their hard-earned money on these cars. First and last Nissan I will ever buy.

- Patricia R., Dallas, Pacific Islands (US)

problem #19

Apr 082019

Versa Note 1.6L 4 cyl

  • CVT transmission
  • 67,000 miles

I bought this car with 60k miles and have always driven it like a grandma. After about 4 months of owning it, the transmission started slipping or when I would accelerate, it would take for ever for the car to get up to speeds. i took it in to the dealership where I bought it and they told me the transmission was going out. Luckily I had bought the extended warranty up to 120k miles, and they told me I would not have to pay for anything and that it would take them about 1 week to fix... It ended up taking 3 weeks for them to get my car working again, and when I asked them if they put in a brand new transmission, they told me no, and that it was a rebuilt one.

Since this was the first time this had happened, I did not think much of it and thought I wouldn't have any problems.

About 8 months later, I started having the exact same issues and I took it in. They once again told me the transmission was about to go out and that it needed to be replaced and once again it would be at no cost. This time it took them a month to get everything approved by Nissan HQ. I finally decided to ask the guy what he meant by "Nissan HQ having to approve the new transmission" - and the manager that helped me told me that Nissan was being sued via class action lawsuit because they did not engineer the CVT correctly and many people were having the same issue I was having. I got very angry and told them that they should have brought that up when I was purchasing the car, but instead they stayed quiet.

Once they approved the 2nd transmission it lasted about 5 months before the exact same issues started to pop up. I went in FOR A THIRD TIME!!!! And I was very angry and upset because these types of problems should be given to customers upfront, prior to making a purchase. The same process took place for a third time and I asked to speak to the Dealership's owner. He told me that Nissan basically just replaces the damaged components within your tranny and puts it back in, and in a few months (since the engineering of those parts was done incorrectly) you will basically be back in the dealership with the same problem, and that Nissan in court did plead no contest and they will just change the transmissions up to 120k miles period.

They never gave me all this information up front so when I bought the car I spent extra in that "extended warranty up to 120k miles" that was basically free through Nissan (I paid 1500$ for that extended warranty at time of purchasing vehicle), so if you have a 2014 Nissan, your DEALERSHIP MUST CONTINUE TO CHANGE THEM UNTIL YOU HIT 120K MILES PERIOD. I am now at 96k miles and I'm planning on keeping the car until it hits 120k miles and just continue to cost Nissan corp 3-4k$ to continue to replace my transmission for free.

I paid 11k for the car and have had the transmission changed 3 times - that's already about 12k in swaps that they have done for free which is worth more than the f'* car!!! Now this week the transmission is starting to act up again. I've had the 3rd transmission in for about 6-7 months or so and since I have already experience and know what it's like when your transmission is going out, I can 100% say that THE TRANSMISSION IS GOING OUT.

They also pay for a car rental so its basically no cost to customer, but I will never own another Nissan car after I hit 120k miles on this Nissan Versa and I get rid of it. It is absolutely unacceptable for a multi billion dollar company to do this to customers. STAY AWAY FROM ANY NISSAN THAT HAS THE CVT TRANSMISSION - YOU WILL HAVE PROBLEMS!

- Andrew F., Ontario, CA, US

problem #18

Nov 012019

Versa Note LX 1.6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 51,574 miles

Also a victim of the transmission failure on my 2014 Versa Note. Highway driving I sometimes hit 5000 RPM when accelerating (like it's "stuck shifting gears"). Down-switching to neutral or easing off the pedal sometimes helps restore all cylinders to run and drops the RPM to normal levels. Twice, I was driving < 10 KM/H and when I stepped on the gas, I heard a big "thunk" come from the engine and the car jerked like I was hit from behind, then it ran normally. (Scary!)

This car was used to drive from home to the transit stop -- less than 20KM/day and all maintenance schedules were observed.

Was told yesterday it'll cost $4500 and that it's out-of-warranty (I have 83,000KM and it's 5 years almost to the day I drove it off the lot.) Looks like I got one of the lemon CVT engines. I have brought it in previously at 45,000 KM for similar problems with shifting and high RPM. Hoping Nissan will honour the warranty, given it knows there are problems with their CVT engine.

If Nissan won't honour the warranty, I will NOT have the repairs done by the dealer (rewarding them and Nissan) for a crappy product and warranty. Nissan, you have a problem here: your CVT engine is DANGEROUS and unreliable -- it's a matter of time before someone will get serirously hurt. You extended the warranty on previous models for a reason. Clearly you haven't fixed the problem in 2014 and later engines...

- Craig B., Kanata, ON, Canada

problem #17

Sep 022019

Versa Note SV 1.6L

  • CVT transmission
  • 86,000 miles

Failed around the magic number 80,000 miles. It's only 5 yr old, mostly highway driving. Called Nissan Canada about their 10 yr extended warranty, they said it covers 2013 and older but for the later models - ONLY specific VIN#. I am royally upset and feeling helpless. Have anyone filed a complaint to them?

- slay, Ottawa, ON, Canada

problem #16

Jun 062019

Versa Note SV 1.6L

  • CVT transmission
  • 83,475 miles

Transmission over revs and doesn't up shift.

Dealer reports no error codes from transmission but says Nissan says it needs to be replaced.

- Mark S., Grand Prairie, US

problem #15

May 032019

Versa Note LE 1.6L

  • Manual transmission
  • 90,000 miles

I feel distraught because it is not an old car, neither does it have more than 100,000 miles. It is a family car, my wife uses it for her job, and I have to use a Lyft services for my commute, and my wife rented a car for more than one week. It is very annoying.

- Raul M., Fremont, US

problem #14

Feb 102019

Versa Note

  • Automatic transmission
  • 85,000 miles

I bought a used 2014 Nissan Versa Note about a year ago. After I only drove for 4,000 miles, the transmission died at 85,000 mil mark. By reading many customers' comments, I just learned that this happened to many people. It was out of dealer's warranty, and I decided not to fix it (was quoted as minimum $3,000-4,000). If I had known the fact in advance, I never bought this car. I'll never buy Nissan brand again or recommend to anyone. It is a junk.

- Tomoe N., Torrance, US

problem #13

Dec 172018

Versa Note S Plus 1.6L

  • CVT transmission
  • 130,000 miles

In and out of shop for small things like new struts, rotors, battery, fan belt, water pump, etc. Then at 130,000mi the CVT transmission died on the freeway. Cost to replace was $4,000. We decided to junk it and buy a new car instead. We are still making payments for it, too, but "what are you going to do?" From what I hear Nissan and others know that CVT transmissions are crap and that they break every 60-80,000mi, but they don't want to alarm people or do recalls because of $$$. Figures. I suppose you could consider it lucky we made it as far as we did. By the way, our new car is a Toyota, automatic transmission!

- lcler, Palmdale, US

problem #12

Oct 012018

Versa Note S 1.6L L4 Dohc

  • CVT transmission
  • 105,000 miles

JUST WISH THEY COULD MAKE NEW VEHICLES MORE RELIABLE THESE DAYS!!!!!

- RONZIL S., Oklahoma City, OK, US

problem #11

Sep 292018

Versa Note SV 1.6L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 62,322 miles

2014 versa note. nice little college car great gas mileage! BUT transmission goes out at 62,322! from checking around online Nissan will not cover it!! funny how it has a 60000 power train warranty!! nice job Nissan! thought you had a quality product!! never own one again and I have purchased your vehicles in the past. WHAT A JOKE!!!!!!!

- Scott M., Union, US

problem #10

Sep 022018

Versa Note

  • CVT transmission
  • 82,000 miles

I helped my college-aged daughter buy this 2014 Nissan because it was a Nissan and I thought it would be a reliable car. We have had it one year exactly. She has made all her car payments on time. She drives it to North Carolina from Tennessee to visit her boyfriend's family and gets stuck there. Engine revs really high, won't go into gear. Her boyfriend, who is a newly graduated mechanic at a Jeep dealership, looked at it and said it needed a new transmission. I couldn't believe it. It's not that old!! So...I managed to get it back down to Tennessee and had my mechanic of 30 years look at it. He said the same thing. Might can drive it for a while but needs a new transmission. Probably not safe for my daughter to drive. So now we are stuck with this crappy car with a CVT issue NOT covered under the extended warranty. I can promise you this...I will NOT buy another Nissan. I have no idea what to do with it. She is upside down on the payments AND does not have a car to drive. :-(

- rozz underhill, Knoxville, US

problem #9

Jul 202017

Versa Note S 1.6L

  • CVT transmission
  • 75,000 miles

I've had a total of 5 trans in my car now going on number 6 and Nissan is not wanting to cover it and the last one was in February and out again. I've asked them to check the computer but they say it's not it the compute. I've also asked to buy my car back every time and get told no.

- Dave S., Oswego, US

problem #8

Aug 302017

Versa Note SV

  • CVT transmission
  • 88,237 miles

I purchased my 2014 Nissan Versa Note SV 3 years ago. Regular oil change and maintenance at local Campbell/Nissan Dealership in Everett WA. Transmission fluid starting leaking due to a broken seal in August 2017. Transmission is failing needs replacing at $4000. I am still making monthly payments.

- Evon M., Everett, US

problem #7

Feb 102018

Versa Note SV 1.6L

  • CVT transmission
  • 71,000 miles

So I've only had my vehicle since summer of 2016. It has been great and has been reliable. I noticed it had a weird hum to it and weird shifting but it turned out ok. Then the transmission decided to play with the engine and the revving went extreme. All of a sudden I have no power going to the tires at all! Engine is running but transmission decided to take an early retirement. I've never had a car that had a transmission give out with only 71000 miles on it! I want my money back for the repairs that I'm about to start paying for. It's in the shop right now and I have a rental that I paid out of pocket for. There better be a reimbursement program for this stupid CVT transmission. So many people have these things giving out on them. It's not even worth putting in a CVT and just replacing it with a non-CVT transmission. Actually I'm going to do exactly that! Stupid Nissan.

- Arniepalmerrr 1., San Mateo, CA, US

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