CSR

Nissan · NHTSA safety record

2021 Nissan Kicks

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

Owners have filed 76 safety complaints about the 2021 Nissan Kicks with the US government. Of those, 6 describe a crash, 2 people were injured and no death is recorded. 2 recall campaigns are open against it, covering the steering.

The most complained-about system is the body structure, named in 24 complaints, 32% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 68,508 miles, the median across the 6 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers September 2021 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

76 complaints on file

76

Complaints

6

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

2

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

Complaints rose 27% year on year: 14 in the twelve months to 2026-Q2, against 11 in the twelve before.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
STRUCTURE 24 · 32%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 16 · 21%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 15 · 20%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 11 · 14%
POWER TRAIN 9 · 12%
ENGINE 8 · 11%
AIR BAGS 4 · 5%
SERVICE BRAKES 4 · 5%
STEERING 3 · 4%
LANE DEPARTURE 2 · 3%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 · 3%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 · 1%
0 12 23

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 76.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2022 at 29.

32 24 16 8
21 22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2021 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2021 Nissan KICKS, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SUV FWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 15.5%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

2 on file

STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM

23V496000 · July 18, 2023

The 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.
The risk
Loss of power steering assist can increase the steering effort required, especially at low speeds, and increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
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 reinspected for this recall.

Nissan North America, Inc. · up to 11,824 vehicles across all model years covered

STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM

22V693000 · September 15, 2022

The 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.
The risk
Loss of power steering assist can increase the steering effort required, especially at low speeds, and increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
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.

Nissan North America, Inc. · up to 20,040 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

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

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

My vehicle was stopped got rear ended going 55mph. My car was totaled. The airbags did not deploy.

NHTSA complaint 11516133. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

1 injured · crash · towed

The contact owns a 2021 Nissan Kicks. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, there was a loud boom coming from the engine compartment with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the traffic light turned red, and the contact stopped the vehicle, and the vehicle failed to move when the light turned green. The contact stated that the driver behind started honking the horn however, the contact was unable to drive off and waved the other driver to go around. The contact stated that when the vehicle finally responded, the vehicle reversed instead and crashed into another vehicle. The Police was called, and a Police report was filed. The contact

NHTSA complaint 11698119, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

crash · towed

While traveling on a hwy with my 2021 Nissan Kicks, me and my wife were sandwiched. A black SUV suddenly stopped in front of us causing us to rear end them going approximately 50-60 mph then we were rear ended. No air bag deployed and the passenger seat appears to have come off of its tracks. Nissan has been notified of this and should conduct an investigation. Not sure if the automatic emergency braking failed or if the car just did not have time to react.

NHTSA complaint 11442404. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INTEGRATED TRAILER BRAKE CONTROL

crash · towed · 9,000 miles

The contact owns a 2021 Nissan Kicks. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 MPH, she pulled over and put the vehicle in park. Once the vehicle was parked, it continued to roll forward. The vehicle hit a concrete light pole in the parking lot and damaged the driver's side front fender and headlights. No airbags deployed. There were no warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel which contact was aware of. There was a police report filed. The contact drove the vehicle safely home; then towed it to the dealer the following day. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 9,000.

NHTSA complaint 11458723. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
Engine light keeps coming on, just had 1 camshaft changed.

NHTSA complaint 11761804. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The rear door actuator on the passenger side failed causing the door to not be able to unlock electronically. This is particularly concerning as this is the side we would put our infant child on and we would be unable to access in an emergency. The dealership was not helpful in addressing this issue with Nissan corporate. We are extremely concerned that this issue occured and concerned that the dealership does not appear to be willing to help bring this issue to corporate. I already reached out to nissan consumer affairs to report this issue but wanted to bring this issue to the attention of relevant safety organizations as I am not sure if it is a larger issue.

NHTSA complaint 11758421. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
I had a noise and highway vibration in my 2021 Nissan Kicks. Brought it to the dealer and was told the front axle nut was loose. They said it is a common issue. There is a TSB on it but I believe it is a safety issue due to it being a loose axle nut and vibration

NHTSA complaint 11756958. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
The CVT transmission is slipping and losing acceleration while driving, overheating and smelling really bad like burnt rubber, the oil is black and smells burnt, its currently at 52,100 miles and I sent it up to Chuck Colvin Nissan and they did not fix my car, they drove it back to me and when I test drove it myself it broke down on the side of the road and I had to sit for 30 minutes for it to cool off before driving home

NHTSA complaint 11752854. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

crash · towed

I was involved in a pile up on the highway, upon impact, my seatbelt and my daughter’s seat belt popped off. My sons however, remained intact. The air bags did not go off.

NHTSA complaint 11748928. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
At first it just seemed sluggish like it didn’t want to take off then the Transmission started jerking would not allow the car to go engine revving up to 5000 rpm before the transmission would engage.

NHTSA complaint 11747575. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Nissan Kicks

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2026 7 3 —
2025 38 4 —
2024 37 1 —
2023 18 1 —
2020 97 0 —
2019 134 1 —
2018 85 1 —

Other 2021 Nissan models

Every Nissan on this site — 205 vehicles.

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. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

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