2024 Nissan Versa: What to check before buying

Owners have filed 91 complaints with NHTSA about this car, most about the transmission, engine, and electrical. The 9 checks below target those problems, in the order you would do them at the car.

2024

Owner complaints: 91
Recalls: 1
Crashes reported: 1
Reliability: Good; 73/100 on Auto Reliability Index

Your inspection sheet

Tick items off on your phone at the car, or print it. Ticks stay on this device.

0/9 checked

Paperwork and questions

Before you go, or before you touch the car0/2

01Confirm the other recall listed below shows as completed for this VIN. A Nissan dealer can look it up for free.
02Ask for service records showing repeat power-loss visits, a camshaft sensor replacement or a CVT replacement.

Walk-around and cabin

Engine off, key in hand0/1

03With the engine warm, press the clutch halfway and listen for chirping or whirring.

Cold start, engine bay, and underside

Ask the seller not to warm the car up first0/2

04Plug in an OBD-II scanner and look for stored or pending code P2615.
05Close the hood firmly, then pull up on its edge to confirm the latch holds.

Test drive

At least 20 minutes, with some highway0/4

06On a manual car, stall it on purpose in an empty lot, restart, and check whether acceleration is sharply reduced.
07Accelerate up a highway on-ramp and confirm the car reaches traffic speed without revving and failing to pick up.
08On an automatic car, pull away gently from several stops and feel for CVT shudder, slipping or hesitation.
09Drive at night and watch whether the headlights dim while cruising and brighten when you accelerate.

These checks are specific to this model year. For tires, body panels, fluids, and the other basics every used car needs, use the general inspection guide.

Which Versa is it?

EPA figures for each version of the 2024 Nissan Versa. Use them to confirm you are looking at the version that was advertised, and as a yardstick on the test drive.

Version	Drive	EPA rating
1.6L 4-cyl	FWD	35 mpg

Reset the trip computer at the start of the drive. A Versa that averages well under the EPA 35 mpg combined on a mixed route may have an engine or tire problem.

Check the odometer against these mileages

Owners report these failures starting around the mileages below. A car inside one of these ranges deserves a closer look at that part, or records showing it was already fixed.

Limp mode after manual stall
20–8,500 miles
Sudden power loss while driving
1,000–3,000 miles

0 mi25k50k

Why these checks: what owners reported

NHTSA complaints for the 2024 Nissan Versa, grouped by the part owners named. Open a row to read what goes wrong.

Transmission34No crashes
Sudden loss of acceleration dominates these reports. The engine revs but the car will not gain speed, often on highway on-ramps or hills, and usually no warning light comes on. Manual cars commonly drop into limp mode after a stall and stay near 20 to 30 mph until restarted. Automatic owners describe CVT slipping, shudder and hesitation when pulling away from a stop. A few hear clutch chirping or whirring near the bite point. Most cases start within the first few thousand miles, and dealers often cannot reproduce the fault. Losing power while merging raises the risk of a crash.
Engine23No crashes
Limp mode after a stall is the main complaint, and nearly every report involves the manual transmission. After a stalled engine is restarted, power drops sharply and top speed can be held to somewhere between 30 and 60 mph, usually with no warning light. Some owners pull a pending code P2615, a camshaft signal fault. A full shutdown, sometimes with the driver's door opened and closed, usually restores power. Reports begin within the first few hundred miles. One automatic owner describes two CVT failures. The main safety concern is being unable to merge or climb hills at traffic speed.
Electrical11No crashes
Reduced power after a stall appears here too. Acceleration turns weak, a check engine light sometimes comes on, and speed stays limited until the car is restarted. In one case a dealer replaced a camshaft sensor and the problem remained. A second pattern involves headlights and the heater fan dimming or slowing while cruising, then brightening when the driver accelerates. Nissan has called this a normal characteristic. Other reports describe surging fan speeds, dash warning lights coming on all at once, and hard starting. Headlights that dim at night are a visibility hazard.
Acceleration and cruise control9No crashes
These reports share one theme: the car will not accelerate. It stops responding to the gas pedal, sometimes after a stall and sometimes at random, and automatic cars are affected too. Speed often tops out around 25 to 40 mph. The engine may rev without the car speeding up, and no warning light appears. Waiting a few minutes or restarting usually clears it. Problems start very early, some within the first week of ownership, and dealers often find no codes. Owners describe near rear-end collisions while merging from ramps and pulling away from lights.

In owners' own words

Excerpts from complaints Versa owners filed with NHTSA, as written. Listen for the same symptoms on your test drive.

Transmission

2024 Nissan Versa Model S Manual, 4700 miles. 2 times I stalled engine while entering on ramp to freeway. Restarted engine, engine then went into limp mode. Top speed about 20 miles per hour. I then drove to side of Freeway turn engine off and then restarted engine and it corrected problem. Took vehicle to Nissan Dealership wasn't aware the problem and unable to reproduce complaint.

Filed with NHTSA, July 2024

Transmission

Check engine light is on with only 300 miles. AC RPMs go up but it won't accelerate. Code P2615 - 00 Apparently this is happening to all manual Versas year 2023+ and Nissan refuses to do anything. Car can just die in traiffic

Filed with NHTSA, December 2023

Engine

If the manual transmission is stalled, after restarting the engine, it has a lack of power. The vehicle feels like it is in limp mode and won't go past 25 or 30 mph. I was nearly rear ended by a couple of different vehicles, or nearly hit when pulling out into an intersection with reduced power to the engine. This has happened 3 times. Nissan dealer could not duplicate.

Filed with NHTSA, March 2024

Engine

If vehicle stalls (manual transmission), severe power loss is experienced. It appears that vehicle goes into limp mode if it stalls. Has happened on several occasions. This creates a dangerous situation as it is not possible to move quickly enough to merge, proceed through an intersection, or maintain an adequate speed on the highway.

Filed with NHTSA, July 2024

Electrical

I was practicing manual transmission on my new Nissan Versa and when I stalled, that check engine light came on and I lost a LOT of power in all gears. In first gear, there’s also a whine that goes with it, and I don’t think that’s normal

Filed with NHTSA, August 2024

Acceleration and cruise control

Intermittently the car will not accelerate when needed. It becomes excrutiatingly and terrifyingly slow. This is life-threating when coming into highway speed traffic from an exit ramp. On the highway, I've had cars slam on brakes behind me as I tried to accelerate from traffic lights. I saw no warning lamps.

Filed with NHTSA, August 2024

Acceleration and cruise control

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.

Filed with NHTSA, July 2025

How the 2024 compares with other Versa years

Complaints for this year next to the average for the other model years, area by area.

The 2024 has the most owner complaints of the 5 Versa years we cover, about 2.4 times the average of the others. Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, so compare like with like.

2024 Average of other years

Transmission347
Engine233
Electrical117
Acceleration and cruise control91

Where the 2024 fits in the Versa's history

Redesigns and mid-cycle updates change what can go wrong.

The 2024 is the first model year of the Versa's third generation (2024 on). First years of a redesign often carry teething problems that Nissan fixes in later years, so the checks above matter more than usual.

It is also the first year of a mid-cycle update.

What changed for 2024

Exterior styling refinements
Updated technology features

Should you avoid the first year of a redesign? See the 45-car study.

Recalls to confirm (1)

Recall repairs are free at any Nissan dealer, but the seller may never have had them done. Check each campaign number against the VIN.

24V154000AirbagsFeb 2024
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2024 Titan, Frontier, Infiniti QX60, Pathfinder, 2023-2024 Sentra, Versa, Kicks, Infiniti QX50, and 2023 Rogue vehicles. Due to a manufacturing issue, the driver's air bag inflator may absorb moisture, and cause the air bag to deploy improperly.
Risk: An air bag that deploys improperly may not protect the driver as intended during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the front driver's air bag assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 10, 2024. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's numbers for this recall are PD103, PD104, and PMA34.

Also looking at these instead of a Versa?

Cars shoppers compare with the Nissan Versa, with their own 2024 checklists.

2024 owner complaints, side by side