2020 Nissan Versa problems & reliability
64 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2020 Nissan Versa, alongside 2 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
4 complaints report injuries (5 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2020 Nissan Versa vehicles were involved in 66 fatal crashes with 44 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 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% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Driving home heard loud metallic sounding”pop” sound at entering driveway in reverse. Found broken spring piece in driveway.”
Suspension · filed Jul 21, 2026
“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.”
Power Train · filed Jun 24, 2026
“I am constantly getting a malfunction for P0101 despite changing my air flow system. It creates acceleration problems everytime.”
Engine · filed Jun 11, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
130 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2020 Nissan Versa. The 10 most recent:
CERTIFICATION LABEL AND VIN PLATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION Because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “Certification Label” or “VIN Plate/Label” may be needed. HINT: Certification Label =…
NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 13, 2026
CERTIFICATION LABEL AND VIN PLATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION Because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “Certification Label” or “VIN Plate/Label” may be needed. HINT: Certification Label =…
NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 13, 2026
DTC P17F4 STORED IN THE TCM IF YOU CONFIRM The customer reports transmission vibration when accelerating, HINT: Vibration occurs during quick reacceleration after braking, during a 2-1 downshift of the auxiliary…
NTB23-048A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 8, 2026
AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING WARNING LIGHT BLINKING APPLIED SYSTEMS: Vehicles equipped with a lane camera (see Figure 1) SERVICE INFORMATION If the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) warning light or is blinking (but not…
NTB19-042F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 20, 2025
INTELLIGENT CRUISE CONTROL INOPERATIVE AND AEB/FEB WARNING LIGHT ON OR RADAR OBSTRUCTION MESSAGE DISPLAYED WITH DTC C1A16 OR C2582 IF YOU CONFIRM IMPORTANT: The purpose of ACTION (on the next page) is to give you a…
NTB19-033G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 20, 2025
LANE CAMERA AIMING VEHICLE REFERENCE VALUES NOT IN ESM SERVICE INFORMATION If the lane camera requires aiming, the values in Table A on page 4 must be used. For all other models/model years, consult the Electronic…
NTB20-066C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 4, 2024
DTC B00A0-00 STORED This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. IF YOU CONFIRM DTC B00A0-00 (OCCUPANT DETECTION SENSOR UNIT) is stored, AND…
NTB19-071D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 19, 2024
VEHICLE KEY NOT DETECTED / AUTHENTICATED, ENGINE WILL NOT START This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB13-107G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
CAN COMMUNICATION – NETWORK DIAGNOSTIC FLOW CHART This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB13-027D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
CAN COMMUNICATION CODES – DIAGNOSTIC TIPS AND GUIDELINES This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB10-066C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2020 Nissan Versa has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2020 Nissan Versa?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.