many problems with versa :-(

[megpl]

Hello All,

I have 2008 Versa S, automatic, 4000 miles (red!!! so cool). I had Sentra before and long time ago Datsun. My hubby has Maxima… so far we have been happy with Nissan …

But I keep having problems with Versa …

*Few days ago I began having problems with starting the car. I turned the key and the engine started turning but it did not catch on. This problem continued last night and today. Sometimes it took 2 tries to start the engine. I called the dealer but they said that I had to wait 2 weeks for the service! I had to talk to manager and to explain that it is not acceptable for new 2008 car, that I drive with 2 little kids and I don’t feel secure driving a car that may fail. So they will take a look on Monday … * I addition to the problems with starting the car My Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) light is on. I added air and drove >60 mph and the light is still on

My airbag light seems to be turning on and off.

My gear indicator (red light) by the gears shows me that I am driving in gear 2, but the dashboard shows the correct “Drive” gear.

When I put the heat on the car smells like burning food.

I cannot tell you how disappointed I am. Did I buy a lemon? But I went to a good dealer and it is NISSAN!!! Now I have to take Monday off from work and bring the car to the dealer. Hopefully he will fix all of the above.

Have any of you experienced so many problems with Versa?

THANKS Meg

[lain]

WELCOME TO NICO CLUB!

Congrats on the new car.

Issue #1 - Fuel Pump - If you turn the key to the on position (the one right before the engine cranks) and leave it there for about 3 seconds and then turn the key the car should turn on. For some reason there was a problem with the fuel pumps on the Versa's and I'm suprised they are still a problem. Nissan will have to replace your fuel pump.

Issue #2 - TPMS - This is a problem for Versa, for some it is an issue that will not go away and some have choose to ignore it. I had this problem for a while, put air in and it still didn't go away, and then after a while of driving I looked down and the light was gone, I got lucky. Nissan has to replace the TPMS sensor or something like that. When EV comes in he will explain it better.

Issue #3 - Airbag Light - The airbag light is controled on the passenger side seat, if there is no one in the seat the airbag will not be activated on the pasenger side.

Issue #4 - Gear Indicator - I don't know about that issue I drive a 6-speed so I never read about those problems.

Issue #5 - Heater - I too have been experienced this (I think) I can't figure out if its coming from outside or my heater. Again I have no real answer for this one.

EV will step in soon and clear everything up.

[megpl]

Thank you so much!

... someone told me to look also into faulty Body Control Module ...

fuel pump - on the new car !!!

I just hate the idea of bringing new car to the dealer for fixing ! That was the reason why I trade in my old Sentra ... except it had 150 000 miles ! Meg
Modified by megpl at 12:26 PM 1/10/2008

[biggie]

Thank you so much!

... someone told me to look also into faulty Body Control Module ...

Modified by megpl at 12:26 PM 1/10/2008

That is some people's cause of the TPMS light staying on, others just need a reset (like mine).

And yeah it does suck to take new cars to the dealership too much, I've been lucky for 6 months so far.

[boxcarbill]

On the heater smell: Perhaps a half eaten taco de cabeza down inside by the heater core?

[ghrshow]

This is something that is NOT interactive.Once the light goes On, you must go to Dealer or a mechanic that can reset it!

Filling the tire does Not reset it!

Best, GHR

[Eastval1]

This is something that is NOT interactive.Once the light goes On, you must go to Dealer or a mechanic that can reset it!

Filling the tire does Not reset it!

Best, GHR

Let's be clear on this, if your TPMS is functioning correctly, inflating your tires to the proper level will result in the light shutting off. Mine is a late-run 2007 and I've had no problems with the TPMS, it's come on twice and adjusting the pressure worked both times. Did you check the pressure after adding air? Perhaps you didn't add enough to reach the proper psi?

[Vahagn23]

my V had a busted front passenger door , lol when ever I closed it, it felt like it smashed or something, took it to the dealer they said it had to be adjusted, so far Im a new NiSSAN owner and really dissapointedin the quality of the cars they make and the service they provide. The dealers RIP people off so bad they didnt eve give me the sticker The V looks good and all but has a lot of noise wen going over a little bump, and its not comfortable at all. Now I wonder how the 07 Civic would be lol.

[Ever Victorious]

This is something that is NOT interactive.Once the light goes On, you must go to Dealer or a mechanic that can reset it!

Filling the tire does Not reset it!

This coming from mr "shut your mouth if you can't back yourself up with facts".

This has been discussed many times here, and the light WILL turn off if the fault is caused by low pressure and you fill the tire 34-40 psi and drive for 15 minutes. the light will NOT go off for a system failure. And the easiest way to test to see which is the case is to... *DING DING*... fill the tire with air.

Get off your damn horse and join the rest of us in reality. You'll find your stay here much more pleasant if you do so.

The dealers RIP people off so bad they didnt eve give me the sticker The V looks good and all but has a lot of noise wen going over a little bump, and its not comfortable at all. Now I wonder how the 07 Civic would be lol.

Like any manufacturer, there are good dealers, and there are bad dealers. You went to a bad dealer. You seem to continue to go back to that bad dealer. Were you aware that your warranty is valid at ALL Nissan dealers? And you haven't told us whether or not you called Nissan consumer affairs or a lawyer to deal with the dealership and the legal violation they committed by removing the sticker before you ever saw it and not ever showing it to you.

Issue #2 - TPMS - This is a problem for Versa, for some it is an issue that will not go away and some have choose to ignore it. I had this problem for a while, put air in and it still didn't go away, and then after a while of driving I looked down and the light was gone, I got lucky. Nissan has to replace the TPMS sensor or something like that. When EV comes in he will explain it better.

EV will step in soon and clear everything up.

Thank you Lain.

Issue #1 is definitely the fuel pump. Print out this whole thread and take it with you to the dealership just in case they don't believe you. Some dealers have resisted the idea of the fuel pump, but it has been confirmed as the problem.

Issue #2 - if you've filled the tires up to between 34 and 40 PSI and driven 15 miles, and the light still has not gone off, you have a TPMS system failure. Most commonly this is the BCM (Body Control Module), but it is also sometimes the wheel sensors themselves.

Issue #3 - Airbag Light - if the seat detects between 5 and 120 pounds in the seat, the airbag will be disabled and the light will turn on. If the seat detects less than 5 pounds, the airbag will still be disabled, but the light will not be on. If the light turns on when it is NOT supposed you, your car may have a failure either with the passenger airbag, or with the Occupant Detection System detection harness under the passenger seat.

Issue #4 - Last time I saw this problem was on a different brand of car, but it ended up being that the plastic piece inside the shifter was broken and pointing at the wrong gear. This should be a relatively easy fix.

Issue #5 - Heater - This is kinda normal. My car smells vaguely like coolant every now and then when I turn on the heater. Dealer couldn't find a problem. I figured that as long as it wasn't actually LEAKING coolant, that it wasn't really a problem.

Welcome to the board, and don't let the occasional heated responses between posters deter you. We're overall a really great bunch here.

[sandberg]

Like any manufacturer, there are good dealers, and there are bad dealers. You went to a bad dealer. You seem to continue to go back to that bad dealer. Were you aware that your warranty is valid at ALL Nissan dealers? And you haven't told us whether or not you called Nissan consumer affairs or a lawyer to deal with the dealership and the legal violation they committed by removing the sticker before you ever saw it and not ever showing it to you.

That is great information! I hate my dealership here in Washington State (Auburn Nissan), there service department treats its customers like crap. Ever Victorious, do you know of a good dealership in the Seattle area? I would like someone else to try to diagnose the issues I'm having with a probable cracked engine block (based on NICO respondents) that my dealership fails to diagnose ANYTHING wrong with the car.

[Ever Victorious]

Sandberg -

Campbell-Nelson Nissan in North Seattle (Shoreline/Edmonds border) has been very good to me. Unfortunately, since you didn't buy the car from them, they won't give you a loaner car... but their techs seem to be top-notch.

[gotak]

I cannot tell you how disappointed I am. Did I buy a lemon? But I went to a good dealer and it is NISSAN!!! Now I have to take Monday off from work and bring the car to the dealer. Hopefully he will fix all of the above.

Sigh. Sorry to burst your bubble but NISSAN does not equal quality. You have to remember that it's a company that almost went bust but was saved by Renault. And if you believe the views held by a rather famous auto journalist in the United Kingdom French cars falls apart.

My own experience in my 07 Sentra SE R has been: Steering noise and vibration(big vibration when you turn the wheel hard) that took two tries to fix. Various paint faults and mismatched wing mirrors. At the factory they built my car with one heated mirror and one regular one, to me that's a very clear indication of their production quality. And it pissed me off since clearing snow off the driver side mirror manually leaves your hards rather cold.

The unfortunate thing about cars is you can get a lemon with any brand. It's just that Nissan is one of those that is a bit more likely to have problems.

[frankoV]

the factory they built my car with one heated mirror and one regular one, to me that's a very clear indication of their production quality. And it pissed me off since clearing snow off the driver side mirror manually leaves your hards rather cold.

Ouch. And no replacement offered?

Quote »The unfortunate thing about cars is you can get a lemon with any brand. It's just that Nissan is one of those that is a bit more likely to have problems.[/quote]Ouch again! Now you tell me! Well . . . 600km in a no problems as yet . . . other than disappointment with mileage . . . but I'm giving it a couple of tanks . . . gotta tell you, though . . . it's better than my minivan was!

Oh, and I had a Mercury Villager . . . LemonAid said that it was a Ford/Nissan (Quest), and that it was "too bad Ford got involved". I found that right -- the body (Ford) was terrible . . . wind noise . . . body fit . . sagging . . . i could go on. But the mechanics of the thing were great. I'd still be driving (300K) but it needed a power steering pump and I didn't want to put any more money into it (the body was rusting badly and the squeaks and squawks were getting too much to take).

[biggie]

Not sure where all these problems are coming from Nissan's. I've owned 5 Nissans over 13 years and have never had a major problem that was not my fault.

[Juelze]

WELCOME TO NICO CLUB! Issue #2 - TPMS - This is a problem for Versa, for some it is an issue that will not go away and some have choose to ignore it. I had this problem for a while, put air in and it still didn't go away, and then after a while of driving I looked down and the light was gone, I got lucky. Nissan has to replace the TPMS sensor or something like that. When EV comes in he will explain it better.

Issue #3 - Airbag Light - The airbag light is controled on the passenger side seat, if there is no one in the seat the airbag will not be activated on the pasenger side.

Let me add some additional stuff to this post. I had the TPMS issue several times and it would not be reset by adding air and driving for 15 minutes. This is only in some cases. There is a Technical Service Bulletin out about this issue on Nissan's website. If there are a certain amount of error codes that come up when they check your car's TPMS system they will replace the BCM. This is what was done with my car and I have no problems with that.

As for the airbag issue, I think everyone here explained it well, however I thought there was some recall part on the front passenger seat, but I think that was something with a seatbelt tensioner.

-Juelze

[gotak]

Oh they replaced the mirror with the correct one. Wasn't going to let them off with that.

[nsrZ32]

This is something that is NOT interactive.Once the light goes On, you must go to Dealer or a mechanic that can reset it!

Filling the tire does Not reset it!

Best, GHR

Way to show your lack of knowledge pal.

I work for Nissan and 99% of the time when a TPM lamp illuminates it is a result of a low tire. If the tire is properly inflated (32psi or so) and then the vehicle is driven 1/4 mile, the lamp will turn off once the TPM reports back to the computer that the pressure is fine.

If a flat condition has occurred or the TPM reports one has, the sensor often will have to be reset using Consult III at the dealership as opposed to just airing it up.

If the TPM is faulty it will need to be replaced and the new one will need to be programmed to the vehicle. Often an unresponsive TPM can be reprogrammed and function fine.

But hey what do I know? I only work for Nissan and see them on a regular basis on a wide variety of vehicles.

[megpl]

Thank you all !!!

Q for some people : if you have the same problem happening over and over why didn't you take advantage of the lemon law ?

I hope my car can be fixed on Monday and I will drive next 100 000 miles with no problems :-))

And just today ; the car started with no problems what so ever ! Can faulty fuel pomp sometimes work and sometimes not? I am afraid that I will bring the car to the dealer and he will tell me that there is absolutely nothing wrong with it and the car will break next week again ...

Meg

[Mlody]

Issue #3 - Airbag Light - if the seat detects between 5 and 120 pounds in the seat, the airbag will be disabled and the light will turn on.

Is that the official weight that the airbag is dissabled at? My wife weighs 100 lbs and the air bag is on. Can you please confirm where you got those figures from because I was always wondering if the bag is enabled when she is riding with me. By the way the light goes off when she is in it.

[Ever Victorious]

Q for some people : if you have the same problem happening over and over why didn't you take advantage of the lemon law ?

Depends on who "some people" is. On my first Versa, the most frequently occuring problem didn't occur quite enough... it needed to be 4 documented times. My car was wrecked, rebuilt, and sold after the 3rd incident.

But CodeRed successfully got his Versa replaced under the lemon law because his car made some really disturbing suspension noises that Nissan never was able to figure out.

It also depends on your state as to how many times, what problems are covered, how to go about it, etc. etc.

Quote »I hope my car can be fixed on Monday and I will drive next 100 000 miles with no problems :-))[/quote]Just to be perfectly honest, your car won't be fixed Monday. They're going to take the day to diagnose the car for your reported problems, but manufacturers do not let dealerships in general stock warranty parts in anticipation of failure. They have to actually PROVE failure. Therefore, your car will be diagnosed and your dealer will order the parts. They will actually fix it another day.

Quote »And just today ; the car started with no problems what so ever ! Can faulty fuel pomp sometimes work and sometimes not? I am afraid that I will bring the car to the dealer and he will tell me that there is absolutely nothing wrong with it and the car will break next week again ...[/quote]This is also unfortunately a possibility. You may need to have some patience both with your service department and your car, particularly on the fuel pump issue. If they replicate it, they should immediately order a fuel pump (but print off that other thread and take it in case they decide to give you grief about it). The problem comes in the case that they CAN'T replicate. Since they can't prove failure, they can't order a part. So you kinda have to play the wait and hope game.

It IS possible for the fuel pump to work intermittently. This specific problem occurs when the fuel pump loses pressure. We haven't figured out what causes it to do so, so there's nothing we can do to tell you how to make it happen for sure. We just CAN tell you that if you try again, it will start, and that replacement of the pump fixes the problem.

Is that the official weight that the airbag is dissabled at? My wife weighs 100 lbs and the air bag is on. Can you please confirm where you got those figures from because I was always wondering if the bag is enabled when she is riding with me. By the way the light goes off when she is in it.

perhaps nsrz32 or nissantech05 could help tell you what the official weight thresshold is. 120 pounds is a typical number throughout the industry, although individual models may vary somewhat. I do know that on our Hyundai, it is 120 pounds... because I had a friend who was 115 sit in it to test it, and the air bag disabled.

As for the airbag issue, I think everyone here explained it well, however I thought there was some recall part on the front passenger seat, but I think that was something with a seatbelt tensioner.

The recall was actually for the ODS weight sensor harness under the seat, and it ONLY affected 2007 Hatchbacks. No 2008s, no sedans.

Theoretically the TSB for the TMPS system failures only covers 07 Hatchbacks built before July 2006, but system failures were common up through November 2006. System failures on later cars are rare, but still occur. Most commonly, the problem is the BCM (Body Control Module).

Of course, if Jerry or Joe have something to say on the matter, I will gladly defer to them, as they know far more than I.

[blindsnyper]

I work for Nissan and 99% of the time when a TPM lamp illuminates it is a result of a low tire. If the tire is properly inflated (32psi or so) and then the vehicle is driven 1/4 mile, the lamp will turn off once the TPM reports back to the computer that the pressure is fine.

is it only if one or more of the tire is under 32psi, or is it if one is dramaticly lower or high then the other 3, if it is this then how far off from the others does it need to be to alert the driver?

[wobblypete]

you tell me! Well . . . 600km in a no problems as yet . . . other than disappointment with mileage . . . but I'm giving it a couple of tanks . . . gotta tell you, though . . . it's better than my minivan was!.

Frankohabs, I was initially disappointed with the mileage on my 08 sl cvt, but it seems that it really took about 3 tanks and 2000km to straighten things out. I drove from Halifax to Toronto over the holidays and on the way west, mileage was about 10L/100km. On the way back things changed a lot, as on the first very flat stretch of the 401, I was getting 6.5L/100km. The hills through New Brunswick ruined that, but things were still an acceptable 7.5L.

Anyways, point being; things will hopefully get better

[bikeman]

Frankohabs, I was initially disappointed with the mileage on my 08 sl cvt, but it seems that it really took about 3 tanks and 2000km to straighten things out. I drove from Halifax to Toronto over the holidays and on the way west, mileage was about 10L/100km. On the way back things changed a lot, as on the first very flat stretch of the 401, I was getting 6.5L/100km. The hills through New Brunswick ruined that, but things were still an acceptable 7.5L.

When driving from Halifax to Toronto, you're driving into the prevailing wind (WSW-SW). On the return trip, you're driving with the prevailing winds. This will have a major impact on mileage if the wind is up which it often is on 401.

David

[JimboX]

I drive from Ottawa to London on the 401.. and the mileage is always worse going east to west.. as well as the wind effect, going east to west there is significant elevation change. I have done this trip at least 100 times over 25 years in different vehicles and the mileage is always better going west to east.

JM

[bdu]

Well, I called my dealership today to make an appointment to get some stuff looked at:

1) starting problems2) rear washer fluid dispenser non-operational3) first oil change

they didn't immediately know what would cause the starting issue, but when I mentioned it was a typical problem with the fuel pump they seemed receptive to that ("we'll check for a service bulletin, but that would make sense given the behavior you report.").

Hopefully they'll be as helpful when the car is there. They'll have it Wed-Sun this week while I'm out of town.

[megpl]

well ...

they fixed everything except - smell ; they cannot locate it- and starting !!! the car did not reproduce the problem in their shop ... I asked them to keep the car till today and try to restart few times I mentioned this forum and fuel pump problems - the mechanic said that I don't know what I am talking about ... he never heard of faulty fuel pump in 2008 versa

I just got off the phone with the salesperson and asked him to go to talk to the service mechanic, to mention the fuel pump and to try to start the car himself .. he was very recetive to helping me out

we will see ...

Meg

[megpl]

the mechanic yeaterday told me that one has to be >90 lbs to ride on the front seat (to activate the air bag)

meg

[Ever Victorious]

If your dealership still can't replicate it, DON'T STOP at just one.

First, call 1-800-NISSAN-1 to lodge a complaint, then take the car to another Nissan dealer.

And when you find a dealer who actually finds and fixes the problem, you may go back to your original dealership and complain to the Service Manager about the conduct of his technician and the fact that you were right.

[logicpaysoff]

I have to comment here. In our case with our 2007 Versa which some of you may recall could not track straight...it was the dealership that finally made good...the Nissan USA Tech was the problem. His mission was to convince us that we were wrong in expecting the car to track straight.

In addition, he directed the service staff to make alignment adjustments that made the problem worse. BTW, he also claimed that the reason our TPMS was lit was because the tires had 3 LBS excess air…and was therefore working as it should.

We wound up trading in for a Sentra, 4 months and 7500 miles later, tracks straight , no problems.

The point is that Nissan USA seems to approve of a culture of stonewalling complaints…so, apparently many dealerships follow their direction…and a few that have the resources to buck them do…its hit or miss.

Interestingly enough, I received an email about this problem from a post I had made on another board in September.

Here is the post from Russia, responding to my post:

“…I'm from Russia and I'm owner of Nissan Tiida, which is renamed version of american Nissan Versa. We have forum of Russian Tiida's owners (Êëóá Nissan Tiida (http://www.clubtiida.ru/forum)), but this forum is in Russian language only. We made a survey in our forum about the problem you wrote about and about 40% of participants reports the very same problem as yours. (22 from 57 participants).All this people report moving to the left and noone to the right.

Do you have any updates for your situation?

Regards,Nikolay.***************”

IMO, the Versa has a very real inconsistent build quality...and as time goes on, it seems that more and more are on the problem side……as opposed to those that are problem free.

That said, with the recent announcement that Nissan has made a deal with Chrysler to sell the Versa in South America as the Chrysler Versa, on a limited basis of about 20,000 vehicles, it would not surprise me if this is Nissan's way of moving the excess Versa stock. If I am correct...expect Versa to be discontinued or redesigned (and probably renamed) here in the US by 2010 at the latest.

Last but not least, for those of you who may not have yet had the opportunity to own too many cars…they are NOT supposed to smell when the heat is on....or at all for that matter. They are supposed to track straight…and new cars should not have more problems than old ones. There is no excuse for such shoddy workmanship….. and accepting it…….or making excuses …only enables the negligence on the part of the automaker.

The only car that we ever owned that had one problem after another was a brand new 2002 Mercedes …which I foolishly did not research until after the problems started...having bought into the MB rep for quality.

I lived at the dealership with everything from needing a new head gasket at 10,000 miles, to a gas gauge that never worked properly, to numerous electrical malfunctions…and, the need for a new power steering pump at 28K…..that was backordered. I used to call it the Yugo with the MB tri-star on its hood. We paid to get out of the lease…and all the while I was appalled at how many quality issues MB was having…with owners defending them regardless of how many times their 125K AMG dropped dead on the highway going 70MPH…

Eventually MB admitted that they had become quality challenged….and that their hope was to reach the Toyota level of quality in the near future……however, if you check on some of the Toyota forums, it seems they are slipping as well.

The bottom line is that a new car is supposed to be basically trouble free. None of the issues reported on this forum and others regarding the Versa are normal……or should be tolerated. Do not allow Nissan……or any dealership to convince you otherwise.

Remember, the squeakiest wheel gets the oil……or, at least has the best chance of it…

[bikeman]

That said, with the recent announcement that Nissan has made a deal with Chrysler to sell the Versa in South America as the Chrysler Versa, on a limited basis of about 20,000 vehicles, it would not surprise me if this is Nissan's way of moving the excess Versa stock.

Do you have a link to the story about the excess inventory? I missed it.Thanks.

David