Exhaust leak or fumes in the cabin on the 2010 Nissan Versa
When exhaust leak or fumes in the cabin gets reported
Owners of the 2010 Nissan Versa report exhaust leak or fumes in the cabin at a median of 65,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 45,000 miles and a quarter after 65,000 miles, from 9 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 100,000 miles. It is the 6th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 30,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 75,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 47,010 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
Reports bunched into a band this tight usually mean the component has a life of its own: it goes at roughly the same mileage regardless of who owns it.
22% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27,990 miles | 46,832 miles | 67,356 miles | 67,356 miles | 75,000 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
Putting it right typically runs $250–$2,000 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 7 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2013, at a median of 100 miles, and latest on the 2009 at 70,000 miles.
By volume the 2007 carries the most reports, with 25; the 2010 has 9. 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.
I purchased this car used from a dealership 11/3/2011, no problems whatsoever, had remainder of regular vehicle warranty left on it, no problems until the other day I thought it sounded louder than normal, so when I drove it yesterday it was still louder and I looked underneath and the muffler is loose and the exhaust sounds terrible. This is terrible for a not even three year old car with less than 30,000 miles on it!!! I called the garage where I bought it and they say it should be covered under warranty but I have to take it over for them to look at first to be sure so it better be or I will be quite upset if I have to fork out money on a car that is less than three years old on something with the exhaust! My previous car was a dodge and I had it for 7 years and never had any problems with muffler or exhaust needing replaced in 7 years!! *tr
While driving home from work my 2010 nissan versa began to make a rumbling sound. It has sense grown to a roar while stopped with the car in drive. I took it to the dealer where I got it and they said the rear muffler assembly had broken loose and was rubbing on the frame causing the noise and vibrations in the driver compartment. Upon a brief internet search I have found that many other nissan owners have experienced the same problem. Nissan claims it is due to road salt, but the only part that is rusting out is the flange leading to the rear muffler assembly. *tr
While driving home from work my 2010 nissan versa began to make a rumbling sound. It has sense grown to a roar while stopped with the car in drive. I took it to the dealer where I got it and they said the rear muffler assembly had broken loose and was rubbing on the frame causing the noise and vibrations in the driver compartment. Upon a brief internet search I have found that many other nissan owners have experienced the same problem. Nissan claims it is due to road salt, but the only part that is rusting out is the flange leading to the rear muffler assembly. *tr
Also reported on the 2010 Nissan Versa
Airbag inflator rupture
Strut, shock or spring failure
Other suspension problem
Other body or interior problem
Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure
Other engine problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 9 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 exhaust leak or fumes in the cabin happen on the 2010 Nissan Versa?
Across 9 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 65,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 45,000 miles and a quarter after 65,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is exhaust leak or fumes in the cabin on the 2010 Nissan Versa?
9 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