2023 Nissan Versa: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2023 Nissan Versa
On the 2023 Nissan Versa, the failure owners report most often is other engine problem, with 19 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 10,000 miles. Overall it scores 86 out of 100, severe risk for a 2023.
Severe risk for a 2023 — 1st riskiest of the 226 2023 vehicles we can rate. 72 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
The failures owners actually file about
Owners have reported 11 named failure modes on the 2023 Nissan Versa, and the three most-reported carry 63% of everything filed, so the trouble here is concentrated rather than scattered.
Other engine problem leads with 19 reports and about 826 per 1,000 vehicles.
Other powertrain problem follows with 13 reports.
Other speed control problem follows with 13 reports, median 10,000 miles.
By system, the reports fall mostly into engine (21), transmission (17) and adas (14).
At what mileage it happens
Too few of the reports on this year carry an odometer reading to describe the timing: 2 of them do. The mileages quoted elsewhere on this page come from the modes that have enough of them.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
What happens when these parts fail
Nothing in the reports on the 2023 Nissan Versa mentions a crash, a fire or an injury. That is the ordinary case and it is worth stating: most defect complaints are about a car that stopped working, not one that hurt somebody.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 3.96, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: other engine problem at $300–$4,000, other powertrain problem at $400–$4,500, other speed control problem at $250–$2,000 and manual clutch or hydraulics failure at $900–$2,800. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
53% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures, so more than half of what owners complained about here is expensive.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other engine problem | engine | 19 | 1 | — | 11k | — | 826.1 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Other powertrain problem | transmission | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | 565.2 | $400–$4,500 | High |
| Other speed control problem | adas | 13 | 1 | — | 11k | — | 565.2 | $250–$2,000 | Critical |
| Manual clutch or hydraulics failure | transmission | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 173.9 | $900–$2,800 | Moderate |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 173.9 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Engine sensor failure | electrical | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 130.4 | $180–$900 | Moderate |
| Other fuel system problem | fuel | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 130.4 | $300–$2,200 | High |
| Misfire or rough idle | engine | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 87.0 | $250–$1,600 | Moderate |
| Alternator or charging system failure | electrical | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 43.5 | $450–$1,600 | High |
| Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure | electrical | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 43.5 | $250–$1,500 | High |
| Other driver assistance problem | adas | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 43.5 | $250–$1,800 | High |
| Unclassified problem | other | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 347.8 | — | Moderate |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2023 Nissan Versa draws about 3,130 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 100th percentile of complaint rates among 2023 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.
The working figure is 23 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2023 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Other engine problem
The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Versa. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. Additionally, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were yet contacted. The failure mileage was 11,000.
Other speed control problem
The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Versa. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. Additionally, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were yet contacted. The failure mileage was 11,000.
Recalls on the 2023 model year
NHTSA has issued 1 recall campaign covering the 2023 Nissan Versa, affecting an estimated 23 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
One caution about reading these together: a recall usually raises the complaint count for the same part, because owners who read about it go and file. The mileages stay informative; the counts get noisy.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
351 vehicles 2024-02-27- Defect
- Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2024 Titan, Frontier, Infiniti QX60, Pathfinder, 2023-2024 Sentra, Versa, Kicks, Infiniti QX50, and 2023 Rogue vehicles. Due to a manufacturing issue, the driver's air bag inflator may absorb moisture, and cause the air bag to deploy improperly.
- Consequence
- An air bag that deploys improperly may not protect the driver as intended during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the front driver's air bag assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 10, 2024. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's numbers for this recall are PD103, PD104, and PMA34.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
How it ranks in the 2023 field
The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.
Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.
- Left fewer and less serious reports
- Right more, or worse
- Marker this vehicle
Where 2023 sits in the model line
Severe risk for a 2023 — 1st riskiest of the 226 2023 vehicles we can rate. The comparison is always within the same model year, so an older car is never penalised for having had longer to break.
Across the 19 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 2007 comes out best at 70 and 2024 worst at 87, with 2023 itself at 86.
If the model year is negotiable, 2007, 2016, 2011, 2010, 2008, 2019, 2015, 2009, 2018, 2013, 2022, 2014, 2025, 2017, 2012, 2021 and 2020 score lower than 2023 by a margin worth acting on. Same body, same engines, different luck — usually a supplier change or a mid-cycle fix, which the complaint data can show but never explain.
Within the 2023–2025 generation specifically, 2025 is the strongest year at 76 and 2024 the weakest at 87.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Within the 2023-2025 generation, 2025 Nissan Versa scores best at 76 and 2024 Nissan Versa worst at 87.
Where these figures stop being useful
72 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 72 reports, 2 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 3% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
The failure modes are assigned by software reading the owner's own words, which is accurate in bulk and wrong in individual cases. A mode with a handful of reports may contain a misfiled one.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2023 Nissan Versa?
The most-reported failures are other engine problem (19 reports, median 10,000 miles), other powertrain problem (13 reports) and other speed control problem (13 reports, median 10,000 miles). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
Is the 2023 Nissan Versa reliable?
It scores 86 out of 100 on our risk index, which is severe — 1st riskiest of the 226 2023 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2023 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.
Which year of the Nissan Versa is best?
Within the 2023–2025 generation, 2025 scores best at 76 out of 100 and 2024 worst at 87. Same body, same engines, different luck.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
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