Other steering problem on the 2009 Nissan Versa
1 crash 1 of the 10 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When other steering problem gets reported
Owners of the 2009 Nissan Versa report other steering problem at a median of 50,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 15,000 miles and a quarter after 80,000 miles, from 9 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 14th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 8 miles at the tenth percentile to 135,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 135,038 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
44% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 miles | 15,000 miles | 50,000 miles | 79,000 miles | 135,046 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 1 a crash is mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $350–$2,400 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 11 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2016, at a median of 5,000 miles, and latest on the 2009 at 50,000 miles.
By volume the 2012 carries the most reports, with 17; the 2009 has 10. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
2009 nissan versa. After a couple of months with car and about 15k miles later, I started hearing a "thump" noise on the steering wheel/column. I took it in to the dealer and got it fixed. A couple of months later at about 30k, it began to do the same thing. I took it in again and got it "fixed". At about 40k it started doing it again. I don't have warranty on it any more so I haven't taken it to get fixed. However, I've been reading threads online about people experiencing the same issue, to the extent they've crashed due to the car not turning, while initial signs starting with the "thumping" noise. I think this is a design error/defect of nissan versas and respectfully ask that you please look into this. Http://x.nissanhelp.com/forums/versa/3861-versa-turning-right-problem-steering-column.html. *tr
Tl*the contact owned a 2009 nissan versa. While driving approximately 55 MPH entering the right lane the contact was forced to turn the steering wheel back in the opposite direction in order to center the vehicle. The vehicle did not respond to the change in steering and continued to drift to the right until it crashed. During the failure the brakes would not function. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to an insurance lot where they did not diagnose the failure. The failure and current mileages were 50,000.
I have a history of complains with nissan about the steering. My complaint was about a pinging noise coming from the front end. You could also feel this ping in the steering wheel. Nissan ignored this complaint and explained it was my ABS calibrating. As time went by the noise got worst. Nissan would even charge me $150.00 each time they look at the car for this noise and could not find anything wrong. Last week nissan told me there is a problem with the spring moving when the steering wheel turns. The spring tightens and loosens with each turn of the wheel. They have identified the problem and have a fix for it, but they want me to pay for it. To me this sounds like a defect in design and I should not be liable for the charges, however they wont repair it unless I pay for it. *tr
Also reported on the 2009 Nissan Versa
Strut, shock or spring failure
Airbag inflator rupture
Other suspension problem
Fuel pump failure
Other wheel or tire problem
Exhaust leak or fumes in the cabin
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 10 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other steering problem happen on the 2009 Nissan Versa?
Across 9 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 50,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 15,000 miles and a quarter after 80,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other steering problem on the 2009 Nissan Versa?
10 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.1 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed