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Nissan · NHTSA safety record

2020 Nissan Versa

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

64

Complaints

5

Crashes

0

Fires

5

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2020 Nissan Versa have filed 64 safety complaints with NHTSA between July 2020 and July 2026. The most complained-about system is forward collision avoidance, named in 16 of them (25%). The typical failure was reported at 15,000 miles, the median across the 17 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Complaints rose by half year on year: 18 in the twelve months to 2026-Q1, against 11 in the twelve before.

NHTSA has issued 2 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (2)

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TURN SIGNAL:BULBS

21V471000 · June 23, 2021

The 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.
The 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.
The remedy
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.

Nissan North America, Inc. · up to 30,799 vehicles across all model years covered

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY

20V112000 · February 26, 2020

The defect
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020 Versa vehicles. Due to a manufacturing issue, the fuel tank wall thickness may be insufficient, potentially causing a small hole in the tank seam area.
The risk
If a small hole is present, a fuel leak may occur if the operator fills the tank over half full, increasing the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tank, free of charge. The recall began April 6, 2020. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669.

Nissan North America, Inc. · up to 46 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 64.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 16 25%
POWER TRAIN 16 25%
ENGINE 14 22%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 14 22%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 12 19%
SERVICE BRAKES 6 9%
AIR BAGS 5 8%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 5 8%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 3 5%
STRUCTURE 3 5%
SUSPENSION 3 5%
WHEELS 3 5%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2025 at 19.

2020 2025 2026
2020 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

2 injured · crash · towed

After I crossed a bridge between 55 and 60 mph the aeb gave a collision warning and almost immediately applied full braking power. This caused a 3 car collision that resulted in moderate injuries. Before the incident there were no recalls or other repairs needed on the car. After the incident the car was inspected for potential issues by a team of lawyers the insurance company and the repair shop and no non crash damage related issues were found. Since the vehicle was repaired the problem has occurred on 3 separate occasions during normal daily use.

NHTSA complaint 11443774. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 3,180 miles

I HAD AN ACCIDENT WHERE I STRUCK A DEER. THE FLOOR AIRBAG DEPLOYED AND INJURED ME. MY LEG HAS A BAD HEMOTOMA FROM IT.

NHTSA complaint 11375757. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Versa. The contact stated that while driving 25-30 MPH, another vehicle ran the stop sign and crashed into the front driver's side of the vehicle, and the entire front end of the vehicle was impacted and was significantly damaged. The contact stated that the front bumper separated and the headlights detached. The contact was occupying the front driver's seat while the contact's husband was occupying the front passenger's side seat. The contact stated that all the air bags deployed except the passenger's side curtain air bags, causing the contact's husband to hit his head against the window. Both the contact and her husband later went to the hospital, where the

NHTSA complaint 11690494, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · 15,000 miles

MY WIFE WAS DRIVING HER 2020 NISSAN VERSA SR BACK FROM A DOCTORS APPOINTMENT AT 3:30 PM ON 14 FEB 2022 TRAVELING ABOUT 25 MPH THRU RESIDENTIAL AREA WHEN BOTH SIDE AIR BAGS EXPLODED AND TOTALLY ENCAPSULATING HER SO SHE COULD NOT BREATH NOR MOVE TO STEER THE VEHICLE AND IT WAS ALL SHE COULD DO TO APPLY THE BRAKES. A FIRE TRUCK WS RIGHT BEHIND SO SO WERE ABLE TO RENDER ASSISTANCE AND CUT HER OUT OF THE AIR BAGS SO SHE COULD BREATH. THE AIR BAG IMPACT SEVERELY HURT AND CAUSED BRUSES AND HEARING LOSS AND SHOCK. THERE WAS NO IMPACT NOR DOOR CLOSURES NOR ANYTHING ELSE OTHER THAN A MALFUNCTION WHICH CAUSED THIS. THIS CAR HAS LESS THAN 15,000 MILES. THE. CARS TROUBLE CODE SHOWED A ROLL-OVER CAUSE

NHTSA complaint 11456328, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SUSPENSION
Driving home heard loud metallic sounding”pop” sound at entering driveway in reverse. Found broken spring piece in driveway.

NHTSA complaint 11751799. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
My 2020 Nissan versa kept hesitating when being put in reverse the engine light kept coming on every few months I kept being told it was other issues until the transmission went out. I got it checked on multiple occasions because of the way it was hesitating and seemed like it was heating up.

NHTSA complaint 11746116. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I am constantly getting a malfunction for P0101 despite changing my air flow system. It creates acceleration problems everytime.

NHTSA complaint 11743399. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Since 2021 my 2020 Nissan versa SR had been giving me problems with the sensors. All of the dash lights would come on. Then in 2023 my vehicle started to stall and hesitate. It’s gotten to the point where I’d be taking a left turn and I’d press the gas and my car would move a few inches. It’s become very dangerous. Even after changing the air flow sensor my car continues to have problems with acceleration, stalling and hesitating.

NHTSA complaint 11731133. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING
several recalls but dealer my did not have any

NHTSA complaint 11728626. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On the interstate from [XXX] to [XXX] the Nissan Versa's License Plate reflected light so bright that it blinded my ride and we had to slow down and wait for them to get farther away from us. This is not random, they have a spray fixative on their license plate designed to block cameras from clocking their license plate or their numbers being recorded. This was easy to see whenever a light is shined onto it, you can see the thin film of camera block spray that is extremely reflective. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint 11728370. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Nissan Versa

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2024 94 1 —
2023 37 1 —
2022 20 0 —
2021 31 3 —
2019 24 1 —
2018 54 2 —
2017 62 3 —
2016 80 0 1
2015 168 1 1
2014 205 2 1
2013 204 1 3
2012 486 10 1
2011 268 6 1
2010 267 7 1

Other 2020 Nissan models

Sentra 204 Leaf 161 Altima 157 Rogue 147 Kicks 93 Pathfinder 47 Murano 42 Rogue Sport 38

Every Nissan on this site — 200 vehicles, 319 recall campaigns and 5 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst