2021 Nissan Versa problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (7) · Visibility/Wiper (3) · Steering (3)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Nissan Versa model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (3)
Steering:electric Power Assist System 2023-07-18 · campaign 23V496000 · 11,824 vehicles
Defect: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021 Versa and Kicks vehicles. An intermittent electrical connection in the electric power steering (EPS) torque sensor can disable the power steering assist.
Risk: Loss of power steering assist can increase the steering effort required, especially at low speeds, and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the steering column torque sensor lot code and replace the steering column assembly, if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 8, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is PMA26. This recall involves vehicles that were previously inspected, but did not receive a steering column replacement, under recall number 22V-693. These vehicles will need to be reinspec
Steering:electric Power Assist System 2022-09-15 · campaign 22V693000 · 20,040 vehicles
Defect: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021 Versa and Kicks vehicles. An intermittent electrical connection in the electric power steering (EPS) torque sensor can disable the power steering assist.
Risk: Loss of power steering assist can increase the steering effort required, especially at low speeds, and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the steering column torque sensor lot code, and replace the column, if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed November 9, 2022. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's numbers for this recall are PMA10 / PMA25.
Exterior Lighting:turn Signal:bulbs 2021-06-23 · campaign 21V471000 · 30,799 vehicles
Defect: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Titan, Titan XD, and Versa vehicles. The front right and/or left turn signal bulb can crack and fail to illuminate.
Risk: Inoperable front turn signals cannot alert on-coming drivers and/or pedestrians that the vehicle will be turning, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the bulbs as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 20, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's numbers for this recall are PM986 and PC811.
Service bulletins (92)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure:body 2026-04-13 · NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certification label and vin plate replacement service information because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “certification label” or “vin plate/label” may be needed. hint: certification label = fmvss (federal motor vehicle safety standards) label. these items may be availabl
Structure:body 2026-04-13 · NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certification label and vin plate replacement service information because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “certification label” or “vin plate/label” may be needed. hint: certification label = fmvss (federal motor vehicle safety standards) label. these items may be availabl
Electrical System 2026-04-08 · NTB23-048A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
dtc p17f4 stored in the tcm if you confirm the customer reports transmission vibration when accelerating, hint: vibration occurs during quick reacceleration after braking, during a 2-1 downshift of the auxiliary gearbox. and dtc p17f4 for “auxiliary gearbox (cl judder)” is stored in the tcm. · if dt
Service Brakes 2025-02-20 · NTB19-042F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
automatic emergency braking warning light blinking applied systems: vehicles equipped with a lane camera (see figure 1) service information if the automatic emergency braking (aeb) warning light or is blinking (but not illuminated steadily) or the customer states it is blinking, and there are no rel
Service Brakes 2025-02-20 · NTB19-033G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
intelligent cruise control inoperative and aeb/feb warning light on or radar obstruction message displayed with dtc c1a16 or c2582 if you confirm important: the purpose of action (on the next page) is to give you a quick idea of the work you will be performing. you must closely follow the entire ser
Air Bags 2024-09-19 · NTB19-071D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
dtc b00a0-00 stored this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin. if you confirm dtc b00a0-00 (occupant detection sensor unit) is stored, and ocs zero point reset cannot be performed, (continued on the next page)
Showing the 6 most recent of 92 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-14 · Electrical System“the car actuator failed for the left rear door. my car has less than 10k miles, and i submitted a case to their consumer affairs for it to be covered coz it's a premature failure, and they refused to pay for the repairs. i didnt know my car doors were no longer locking properly, and was left in a parking lot unsecured. also, a passenger sitting on …”
2026-06-02 · Power Train“automatic cvt failure confirmed by future nissan of roseville ca. no warning prior to failure. replaced by kirkwood autoworx mechanical since nissan corporate denied a good-will replacement. reason: 15k miles over warranty - 75081odometer reading at replacement on 5/27/26. cvt failed while on a busy street [xxx] ). i had only reverse and had to …”
2026-05-26 · Power Train“hi, my name is [xxx] and i live in [xxx] . in october 2023 i purchased a used nissan versa 2021 from a dealership. it only had 30k miles on it when i bought it. on may 9, 2026 i was driving to work when my car experienced acceleration failure. it had 80,600 miles on it. when the acceleration failed, i was in the process of making a left turn and c…”
2026-03-17 · Vehicle Speed Control“i got into the car and started it up. put in reverse car shuts off. re started and put in reverse. was able to drive out of apartment parking lot then no power to speed and car was a little jerky and on dashboard it said warning malfunction see owners manual with a few pictures on dashboard…”
2026-02-20 · Power Train“cvt transmission failed while driving transmission popped and no forward drive leaving us in traffic unable to move in forward. had to get out and push the car to the side of the road. no warning lights no warning signs. just immediate loss of forward drive. engine revs up but no movement. dangerously leaving us in harms way. haven't had the vehi…”
2026-02-16 · Engine“transmission failure 2 times. first time experienced jerking and some smoke coming out and second time same jerking and smoke along with electrical system failure. nissan paid 40% the first time to help and i paid 60% even though i did not agree with that i did it. 2nd time they refuse to pay anything because of warranty even though it only took 4…”
2026-01-30 · Suspension · 💥 crash“my 2021 nissan versa was struck at high speed while parked and required extensive repairs that exceeded the vehicle’s value. after the repairs, the transmission began acting erratically. the car shudders, hesitates, and feels unstable while driving. acceleration is unpredictable and the vehicle does not feel safe or reliable. these issues were not …”
2026-01-01 · Vehicle Speed Control“mileage: approximately 45,000 current status: inoperable; held at joe machens nissan pending evaluation by nissan consumer affairs. description of the problem the vehicle has become completely inoperable, making it unsafe to operate. in the months prior to the failure, traction control warning indicators intermittently appeared on the dashboard. i …”
2025-09-22 · Power Train“need to put in complaint the cvt transmissions has been doing a lot of whining and jerky. spoke to the dealership they stated had no idea what it was. started to investigate and found out there were recalls in the 2012 to 2015 cvt transmissions on nissans and there is pending investigation in the years 2020 to 2023 for the same thing. was told by a…”
2025-05-15 · Seat Belts“on three separate occasions while driving, my driver seatbelt has come unbuckled on it's own. most recently today. it also sometimes sticks and is difficult to unbuckle. …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.