183 of the
4,513 complaints filed about the Nissan Versa
are about the throttle and cruise control —
4% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2012.
183
Complaints
4%
Share of all complaints
13
Crashes
2
Fires
Acceleration & Cruise Control complaints by model year
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
NHTSA complaint #11724857 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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 did not recognize their significance at the time and did not document them, but they may have been early warning signs of the current operational failure. Approximately 22 days prior to the vehicle becoming completely inoperable, it underwent a recall update, oil change, and tire rotation at Joe Machens Nissan. Staff reported no concerns at the time. Shortly afterward, the vehicle began exhibiting reduced driving function and erratic power, which eventually led to complete inoperability. On [XXX], while commuting approximately 40 miles at highway speeds (up to 70 mph), the vehicle exhibited unpredictable engine response. The RPMs fluctuated erratically, and the vehicle would not accelerate beyond 70 mph. There were no dashboard warning indicators at the time. The vehicle is currently in the care of Joe Machens Nissan pending evaluation by Nissan Consumer Affairs. I am submitting this complaint to document potential safety concerns and to contribute to investigations regarding this vehicle model, including similar complaints reported by other 2021 Nissan Versa owners. Safety Impact Statement The operational failure poses a risk of reduced vehicle control and potential accident while driving at highway speeds, even in the absence of dashboard warnings. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11708227 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My skid mark symbol comes on, does not go off until 2or 3 days later. My Nissan will not accelerate over 20 miles per hour. I have had mu vehicle checked several times at the Grainger Nissan dealership several times within the past 4 years after they installed a new transmission. They found and corrected other issues, but not what causes the traction lights to come on and decrease speed causing me to have to use flashers and bike lanes where ever available until I get home. Independent mechanics have checked, knocked off traction light. It only comes on again. I have another mechanic at Precision Tune to check it out tomorrow. The last date of this occurrence was 12/ 08/2025
NHTSA complaint #11704982 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I'm an employee at a driving school in Colorado and have experienced numerous occasion when loss of power is experienced. The most recent was in 10/05/2025 at 02:10pm. No warning light came on. The car was not accelerating more then 18mph. This issue is concerning. We have students driving for the first time that are affected by this Nissan Versa 2024 malfunction. Please have this issue reviewed and solved before something serious occurs.
NHTSA complaint #11691661 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I have serval codes from varies companies, O'Reilly's, Luther Nissan Dearlership from April to June 2025, the code is P0012, camshaft. The vehicle intermittently does not have power and I could easily be rear ended. Even thought Luther Nissan has had code P0012, camshaft they have not fixed it. I brought it to Luther Nissan 3 times since 4/22/25 to 6/2/25. Luther said,"Valvoline put transmission fluid in oil, said they drove it for 100 miles and found nothing, said old and current code on the same day and finally said you need a new battery. I bought a new battery. It happened again and I brought to a different certified shop on 7/11/25. Waiting to hear back. I have VERY detailed paperwork and many family/neighbors know. If I have an accident they know to sue Luther and Nissan.
NHTSA complaint #11673606 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The car is a manual transmission. I stalled the vehicle by accident and after turning the engine on again the vehicle experienced loss of power as if it was in some kind of limp mode. The cars now able to accelerate past 25-30 mph in any gear for the remainder of the trip home.
NHTSA complaint #11672379 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I have a manual transmission and can usually go up a steep hill by my house in 3rd gear. But on this occasion in 2nd gear I was unable to maintain speed even with the gas pedal all the way to the floor. It was also having trouble maintaining speed on less steep highway hills. The dealer replaced the alternator which helped, but I feel this puts my safety and others at risk because I was going much slower than expected and felt that I might not even be able to get up the hill. After the alternator was replaced, it has not happened again. There were no warnings then or after, but the dealer said there a code for fuel sensor that they could detect with their computer.
NHTSA complaint #11660793 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My 2024 Nissan Versa S goes into a "limp mode" almost any time I stall and then turn the engine back on. In this limp mode, acceleration is dangerously slow. Often acceleration is so weak that if I drive up a hill in this limp mode, the car will lose speed even while I'm pressing the gas pedal all the way to the floor. This can easily be reproduced and inspected by purposely stalling the car in a quiet parking lot and then trying to accelerate out onto a road. In this mode I cannot reach safe speeds on major roads in a timely manner. I have to turn my hazards on and let people go around me as I accelerate for a full minute. On highways and major roads with higher speed limits this is quite dangerous. When stuck in this mode I do not have the ability to accelerate fast enough to get out of the way of any oncoming danger. If this mode turns on in a safe quiet area, I may be able to turn the car off and on until the issue goes away, but if I stall at a busy traffic light, I'm now in a dangerous situation until I can get off the road and to a safe spot to turn off the car and test that the limp mode has gone away. Also, turning the car off and on doesn't always work. I have on two separate occasions been stuck in limp mode for multiple drives. The Nissan dealership in Wake Forest, NC confirmed that they know about this issue and said they don't currently have a fix for it. A check engine light has turned on two times after entering limp mode, they erased the code and it has never come back since despite still going into limp mode.
NHTSA complaint #11651253 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I had experienced a power loss. I could not go over 50 mph on the highway. I'm a new driver so I believe this was because I've been stalling it quite a bit and restarting the car.
NHTSA complaint #11645733 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
It's happened three times now that the car will simply fail to accelerate no matter how much the pedal is pushed. It is extremely dangerous because this has happened on the freeway and caused us to pull over and wait for the car to become responsive again. This is an automatic transmission. There doesn't seem to be an active recall for this and I can't understand why as I see online a lot of people reporting the same issue. This is dangerous and unacceptable for a new car. It was bought new off the lot and has minimal mileage.
NHTSA complaint #11643936 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving down the highway, the vehicle significantly lost power while going up a hill, so much so that I had to downshift into 2nd gear in order to maintain and not lose speed. This is incredibly dangerous as I was only able to climb the hill at about 20 mph while the flow over traffic was 55 mph.
NHTSA complaint #11632417 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I am adding my own experience to previous reports of the car entering limp mode after popping the clutch. It has happened to me three or four times: when the car has accidentally stalled and turned off, after turning the car back on, the car accelerates very slowly, much slower than normal. Typically, this problem resolves at the end of a trip after the car has been turned off for a while.
NHTSA complaint #11631898 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
CAR IS HACKED THROUGH THE EMERGENCY S.O.S SYSTM. CAN HEAR PEOPLE EVERYDAY TALKING AND MAKING TELEPHONE CALLS. I CAN HEAR A DISPACTH WITH RAIDOS LIKE SECURITY OF SOME SORT. EVEN WHEN CAR BATTERY NOT IN CAR, HACKERS STILL ARE ABLE TO SPEAK THROUGH THE S.O.S WITHOUTH ME PUSHING ANYTHING. HACKERS WERE ABLE TO CHANGE CONTROL CRUISE CONTROL, SLOW MY SPEED DOWN, TURN ENGINE LIGHT ON/OFF, LOCATE MY EVERY MOVE.
NHTSA complaint #11630633 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Speed Control, Engine and Transmission issues: After the recall from the manufacture was issued for the the acceleration problems this car still takes long to accelerate and get the car going. It feels like the transmission/ and or engine is ready to go out also and this car is only roughly at 80,000 miles. This car is well maintained.
NHTSA complaint #11630003 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Versa. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. Additionally, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were yet contacted. The failure mileage was 11,000.
NHTSA complaint #11620663 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I stalled my vehicle (5-speed manual) in a drive through. I quickly restarted the vehicle and proceeded through. When I pulled out onto the main road my car had no power. There was nowhere safe to pull over so I had to continue. My car would not accelerate above 20mph and even that was extremely hard. I had to downshift to 1st gear to proceed up the hill. Finally, I was able to pull off and restart my car. This fixed the issue and I was able to drive home. I’ve not stalled the car before so I had never experienced this issue. I’ve read about it, and having it happen is terrifying. Had the car who was driving behind me been going faster, I likely would have been hit when I pulled out of the drive through. This is extremely dangerous.
NHTSA complaint #11615328 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I just purchased my 2024 Nissan VERSA two weeks ago August 24, 2024. Since I have had it my car doesn’t seem to want to shift speed like it should. My transmission seems to be stalling to change out. My car also constantly makes a growling noise when left I’m on my brakes sitting. I took my car back to the dealerships and they tried tell me that it was the compressor which is false my AC nor my defrost is on. I really need this problem resolved. The noise it’s making is unbelievable coming from a brand new car.
NHTSA complaint #11613937 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.