This 2021 model shows average reliability, primarily driven by 3 recalls affecting the steering system.
Key Factor:steering recalls
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Safety Alert
Safety Alert: This model has a higher recall frequency (3) than the average NISSAN vehicle (1.3). Owners should prioritize checking these components.
3 recalls for this vehicle1.3 avg. recalls per vehicle (brand)
📋Why This Matters
Brake and steering systems are the foundation of vehicle control. Issues in these areas directly influence insurance risk assessments.
Insurance companies review vehicle reliability data when setting premiums. Models with elevated recall rates often see adjusted pricing.
Focus Area:critical safety systems
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Expert Analysis
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Recall Trend:No Change in recalls
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Primary Risk Area:Warning
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Vs Brand: Worse than avg (1.3)
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Summary:
Safety & Reliability Score
70/100
Score Breakdown
Recall Impact-24
Complaint Impact-1.2
Investigation Impact-5
Technical Specifications
Key specifications for the 2021 NISSAN Versa
Model Year2021
MakeNISSAN
ModelVersa
Fuel TypeGasoline
Body ClassPassenger Vehicle
Safety History Timeline
Scroll for more →
Jan21
NEWProduction
Jan21
RECALLRecall Issued
Jan21
RECALLRecall Issued
Jan21
RECALLRecall Issued
Feb21
ISSUEFirst Report
Apr23
INVInvestigation Opened
Consumer Complaint Analysis
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Most Reported Issue
4 complaints (17% of total)
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Complaint Trend
Stable
No trend data
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Safety Incidents
No critical incidents
Complaint Severity Distribution
Breakdown of 24 consumer complaints by severity level.
🟠High
1(4%)
🟡Medium
9(38%)
🟢Low
14(58%)
Mileage Failure Analysis
⚙️Engineering Insight
Based on consumer reports, issues for this vehicle tend to peak around the 0-20k mileage range. The average reported failure mileage is 35,004 miles.
📊 Mileage data extracted from 5 of 24 complaints (21% coverage)
0-20k
2 reports (40%)
20k-40k
1 reports (20%)
40k-60k
0 reports (0%)
60k-80k
2 reports (40%)
80k-100k
0 reports (0%)
100k+
0 reports (0%)
* Analysis based on mileage data extracted from consumer complaint descriptions. Actual failure rates may vary.
🛠️ DIY Diagnosis Center
Experiencing an issue? Select a symptom to find official manufacturer solutions (TSBs).
Primary Risk Areas
EXTERIOR LIGHTINGSTEERING
Official Safety Recalls (3)
Campaign: 21V471000
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TURN SIGNAL:BULBS
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Summary
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Titan, Titan XD, and Versa vehicles. The front right and/or left turn signal bulb can crack and fail to illuminate.
Consequence
Inoperable front turn signals cannot alert on-coming drivers and/or pedestrians that the vehicle will be turning, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect and replace the bulbs as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 20, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's numbers for this recall are PM986 and PC811.
Additional Notes
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.
Campaign: 22V693000
STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
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Summary
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.
Consequence
Loss of power steering assist can increase the steering effort required, especially at low speeds, and increase the risk of a crash.
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.
Additional Notes
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.
Campaign: 23V496000
STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
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Summary
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.
Consequence
Loss of power steering assist can increase the steering effort required, especially at low speeds, and increase the risk of a crash.
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.
Additional Notes
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.
NHTSA Investigations
1 investigation
Official NHTSA safety investigations for 2021 Versa.
INV-2021-1000🟢 Closed
NHTSA opened investigation after receiving consumer complaints regarding Versa performance issues.
Opened: Affected Units: 9,215
Consumer Complaints
24 total complaints
Consumer-reported issues submitted to NHTSA for 2021 Versa.
Common Reported SymptomsAI Analysis
Warning17%
Stall17%
Acceleration Issues13%
Jerk8%
Accident8%
Crash/Accident8%
Engine/Powertrain🔵 Low
POWER TRAIN
Need to put in complaint the CVT transmissions has been doing a lot of whining and jerky. Spoke to the dealership they stated had no idea what it was. Started to investigate and found out there were recalls in the 2012 to 2015 CVT transmissions on Nissans and there is pending investigation in the years 2020 to 2023 for the same thing. Was told by a car repair to put in complaint. Due to the fact my Nissan stopped and would not move in the middle of an intersection which almost caused a wreck. There were no warning lights it just wouldn't go into gear. This is a big safety issue. It was due to the CVT transmission issues same as the ones in the 2012 to 2015 investigations. It was inspected by a independent service center.
Safety Systems🔵 Low
SEAT BELTS
On three separate occasions while driving, my driver seatbelt has come unbuckled on it's own. Most recently today. It also sometimes sticks and is difficult to unbuckle.
Engine/Powertrain🔵 Low
POWER TRAIN,EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The contact owns a 2021 Nissan Versa. The contact stated while attempting to reverse at 2 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal grinding sound. Additionally, the contact stated that the high-beam headlights were failing and were independently deactivating. The contact stated that the high-beam headlights switch had to be held manually for the high-beam headlights to remain activated. No warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local Pep Boys to be diagnosed. The local Pep Boys was unable to duplicate the failure. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired, because the dealer was unable to duplicate failure. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.
Electrical🔵 Low
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The brakes fight and lock from time to time. The steering will get a tug like a car is in front of me. The engine has a weird tug before pulling of and switching gears.when I pull off while turning the car feels like it completely losses power!?
Engine/Powertrain🔶 Medium
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Driving down the road, the car enters a phase where you can not accelerate at all. It seems like the fuel injectors are cut off by 90% and you can only accelerate to about 35 mph. It stalls often and feels as if it's struggling to switch gears. It only has 68k miles on it with regular maintenance being done. It is too new to have these problems.
Visibility🔶 Medium
VISIBILITY/WIPER
I purchased 2021 4 months ago. Two weeks ago on a very hot day my driver side visor broke. I called Nessan holiness and told them the visor drops. It obstructs vision of driving. I called today and first was put on hold, then call was disconnected. I recalled back and informed Nessan about driver side visor. As we were talking she asked me if I bought car with extended warranty. I said no. Car was sold as is. She hung up the phone on me. She did not call me back, nor did she explain why for hanging up the phone. I googled Nessan Versa driver side visor faulty and found several complaints by other owners about visor dropping down while driving do to cheap visor parts. I don't believe this is my responsibility or other Nessan owners to futuristic keep replacing the driver side visor. Nessan should have a recall on this problem and be forced to make a better quality visor to prevent possible accidents.
Steering/Suspension🔵 Low
STEERING
The contact owns a 2021 Nissan Versa. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V496000 (Steering) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Engine/Powertrain🔵 Low
ENGINE
Driving down the road, the car enters a phase where you can not accelerate at all. It seems like the fuel injectors are cut off by 90% and you can only accelerate to about 35 mph. Although this has happened the whole life of the car 26,000 miles, today I was fed up with it and decided to make it known there is an issue. I've tried different fuel and that did not fix it. As a mechanic myself, I feel there is some kind of programming fault from the factory. I have taken my car into the Nissan dealer and they told me they couldn't find anything wrong and maybe i was using the wrong fuel. I told them the correct fuel was being used. Their technician told me i bought the wrong car for the harsh Minnesota environment. That did not please me. Thank you for your time and hopefully you can have a serious talk Nissan about this issue.
Other⚠️ High
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Water collects on spark plug coils and the car does not exceed 50 mpg, check engine light comes on. This has happened twice so far, the first time was 1/04/2024. I actually didn't drive the car for two weeks after the first repair, it just sat in the driveway in the rain and snow. The first time I drove it after the first repair, the exact same thing happened. "The water is diverting improperly through the windshield wiper cowl, collecting on cylinder and bypassing seal causing misfire." This is a serious problem that can lead to completely destroying the engine. I joined a few Nissan/Versa forums and this seems to be a common, ongoing problem for 3rd generation Versa owners. I have ordered a 2024 Versa SR and am hoping this issue has already been corrected.
Engine/Powertrain🔵 Low
POWER TRAIN
When I bought the car, I knew it was not going to be a fast car. After driving for a couple months, I would be going to turn left at an intersection, and it would be sluggish getting across. Eventually you could feel it kick into gear and take off. It now seems to be getting worse. A local mechanic said it had a code P17F4. They would not do touch it there. I took it to Greeley Nissan now and am awaiting a diagnosis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there any recalls for the 2021 NISSAN Versa?
Yes, the 2021 NISSAN Versa has 3 recorded recalls from NHTSA. These recalls cover various components including EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TURN SIGNAL:BULBS, STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM.
Is the 2021 NISSAN Versa safe to drive?
The 2021 NISSAN Versa has 3 recalls. If you own this vehicle, check with your dealer to ensure all recall repairs have been completed. Most recalls have free remedies available.
Where can I check if my 2021 NISSAN Versa has open recalls?
You can check for open recalls by visiting NHTSA.gov and entering your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), or by contacting your local NISSAN dealer.
📊Year-over-Year Context
➡️Stable Pattern
Compared to earlier years, the 2021 model shows stable reliability patterns. No meaningful structural change detected in recall frequency between adjacent model years.
🎯Risk Areas & Recommended Actions
Based on recall data, these components require verification:
1
Steering
Issue: increases crash or loss-of-control risk
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If you already own this vehicle: Contact your dealer immediately to confirm steering recalls are complete. Recall repairs are always free.
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If you are evaluating a used example: Request VIN and verify all steering recalls are completed before purchase.
Campaigns:22V69300023V496000
2
Exterior lighting
Issue: increases crash or loss-of-control risk
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If you already own this vehicle: Contact your dealer immediately to confirm exterior lighting recall is complete. Recall repairs are always free.
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If you are evaluating a used example: Request VIN and verify all exterior lighting recalls are completed before purchase.
Campaign:21V471000
💡Visit NHTSA.gov or contact your NISSAN dealer to verify recall completion status.
🧭What This Means for You
Both current owners and prospective buyers benefit from reviewing this safety analysis before making decisions.
If you're unsure, we recommend starting with a VIN check or consulting a certified mechanic.
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If You Own This Vehicle
Verify all 3 recalls have been completed using your VIN at NHTSA.gov or through your NISSAN dealer.
If any recalls are open, schedule service immediately—recall repairs are always free.
Consider setting up VIN-specific alerts to receive notification of future recalls.
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If You're Buying Used
Request documentation proving all recalls were addressed before finalizing purchase.
Factor potential recall-related service time into your ownership cost estimates.