2008 Nissan Versa problems
NHTSA has received 461 complaints about the 2008 Nissan Versa, and 37% of them involve air bags. After that come suspension (16%) and fuel system (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 461 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 37% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 36 and 16
- Injuries and deaths
- 29 and 5
- Typical mileage
- 53,000 miles 280 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 50 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 39 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 63 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 49 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 29 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 20 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 19 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 5 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 3 |
What the data shows
Among the 280 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 52,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 74,000 miles (37 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 36 complaints mention a crash; 16 complaints mention a fire; 29 injuries reported; 5 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 6th most-complained-about out of 18 model years of the Nissan Versa with enough data (169 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 7 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 nissan versa. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 69 MPH, the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree. The contact stated that the air bag possibly deployed inadvertently and startled the driver, leading to the crash. The crash resulted in one fatality and two passengers sustained injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed of the incident. The failure mileage was not available.
My daughter was killed in a car wreck 10/3/11. She swerved to miss a deer, over corrected and the car slid into the opposite lane of traffic where she was hit on the passenger side of her car. She had her seat belt on but the back of her seat broke and she was thrown into the back seat and she was killed instantly. The other driver just had a sprained ankle and a few minor cuts & bruises. The officer who came to my door told me this should not have been a fatality accident!
Back in april of 2013 I got into a car accident where I rear ended a stopped vehicle going 40-50MPH. My airbags did not deploy, which resulted in the injury of myself (the driver), and both of my passengers. I hit the windshield and got a concussion. My passenger in the front of the car received a fracture on her collar bone because the airbags did not deploy.
My car is almost five years old. I have had minor problems with it. My car had been stalling to start. I took it to get checked out. I am told my fuel pump needs to be replaced. My car is not under warranty anymore. I did research and found out this is a common problem for my car, and I am unlucky to have encountered it after my warranty was up. It was suggested to me to file an official complaint.
Manual transmission vehicle. Clutch pedal linkage broke from clutch throw rod under the dash. There is a plastic component that connects the pedal to the linkage and is only held by a ball/socket compression fit. After failure, clutch cannot be engaged and car will be completely inoperable.