New Member: Versa reliability

[nissanhater]

Hi. Let me just go ahead and get this out there, I'm first and foremost a Honda fan, but I decided to get on here because my parents bought a new Versa and I need to let all the owners know something...

My parents bought a black Versa S sedan in April (automatic and power package), and we have a major problem with this car. I've actually driven this car about as much as they have (to give my 2001 Civic coupe a break from putting more miles on its 86,000-mile odometer) when I come home. The car now has about 5,500 miles on it. The car is not really all that bad, it just suffers from Nissan's typical shoddy build quality (more on this in a minute). The Versa rides and drives surprisingly well for such a cheap car with quick reflexes and good overall composure in just about any driving situation.

The first problem actually surfaced right after my parents purchased the car: the vent closer on the center right vent was broken, leaving the vent half closed all the time. Two trips to the dealer later, that problem was fixed. Obviously, it came all the way from the factory like this. But that's not the major problem. Number 2 was when we started noticing that the carpeting on the passenger side was damp (right up against the center tunnel). On the first trip, the dealer "cleaned the condensate drain hose." That didn't do anything. Trip number two involved the dealership deciding that the heater box (essentially all of the HVAC ductwork, refrigerant lines, etc.) needed to be replaced. After 5 days at the dealership this time, all that work was complete.

That seemed to work for a little while, but then we made a trip to Destin, FL and the carpet was soaked on the passenger side. When I lifted the rubber mat we had in the back passenger floorboard, I noticed that area was soaked as well. We took it back to the dealer for the past 3 days, where they tested the body and door seals (i.e., doused the car with a garden hose) and looked around a bit. They then cried uncle and admitted that they have no idea where this moisture is coming from. The carpet has now mildewed in the back, and the dealership has decided to replace the carpeting as a temporary fix for all of this. So, we are presently at a standstill with no end in sight for all of this. My dad has sent a letter to Nissan asking them to repurchase the car, and we are waiting to hear back.

I would probably still doubt Nissan reliability with all of this with the Versa, but our prior experiences with a 2002 Altima have only served to further my disgust with Nissan. That awful car had more recalls than I could count, was leaking transmission fluid when it had about 1,000 miles on it, and was using oil until we traded it for a Volvo S60 in 2004.

Now, lest you think we mistreat our cars, let me put those thoughts to rest at once. I practice what I call "treating a car like a princess," whereby I have no reservations about washing it four times in a week, it is always garaged, and I never jump onto the accelerator (only ease onto it). We also void every large bump and dip in the road and a foot has never set, well, a foot on any of the carpets on our cars (they are covered in rubber mats). We also don't touch the glass, and I have never eaten in my Civic.

In summation, (and sorry if I seem to ramble on), I will personally never purchase a Nissan product. Swoopy exteriors, a little fake aluminum here and there, and a push button start can't cover up poor build quality. Maybe Nissans of yore were better, but the Carlos Ghosn era has not been kind to its products' quality. Honda's aren't perfect, but I hear of fewer problems with them these days and mine has been nearly faultless (even after being creamed and repaired when it had 2,500 miles on the odometer).

Now, if I haven't made too many people mad, has anyone else heard of this leaking problem?

[KimberKenobi]

We did have someone bring up a leaking problem... but I think theirs was caused by a spoiler installation...

Sorry you've had bad experience with Nissans... Neither of my Vs have been to the shop for anything other than cosmetic work I wanted done... (and their oil changes).

I've been driving a V since December.

You may find it useful to log onto the TrueDelta survey and input your problems so that it can be added to the rating on the build. Do you know this V's build date? (on the door pillar between the front and back doors on the driver's side.)

[matt_a]

nissanhater, I'm sory to hear that your parents have had problems with their Versa. That's never a good thing to go through with any car. What I did want to point out is this: If you go to virtually ANY car forum, you are going to read threads about problems. You pick a brand...any brand...and someone has had bad experiences with them. We have had zero problems with our Versa, as have many people on here. My brother and his wife have driven only Nissan products for the past 20 years or more. He usually does a 3 year leese for each car, so that's roughly 12 to 14 different vehicles. He absolutely swears by them. Believe me, if he had problems with them, he would change in a heartbeat.

On the other hand, my boss is a big Honda fan. In the 12 years I have worked with him he has had at least 4 different new Accords and 3 new Civics. He is on a first name basis with the mechanics at the Honda garage. I'm not saying that he has tons of issues, but there have been enough to make me very leary of Honda products.

Now let me ask you this....if I were to log onto a Honda forum with the name Hondahater and started a thread about how crappy Hondas are, how do you think I would be greeted? You are certainly welcome to hang out here and maybe find information to help your parents, but I hope you're not just trolling to bash Nissans.

[kc5f]

My Versa's been a great car, inside and out, and it has 34,500 miles on it in less than a year. My wife's Honda, on the other hand, has been trouble since we got it several years ago. Just replaced the transmission on our dime, and have had plenty of other problems...

As for your specific problem, we just went through that with my daughter's 1995 Chevy. They tried checking the whole AC system, with no results. Then they did the garden hose check and said it was fine. Finally, they had a non-Chevy guy who specializes in leaks look at it, and with $150 in sealing he fixed it. But I wouldn't expect a new car to need that. Sorry to hear about yours.

[Ever Victorious]

As with any new car model, there are going to be odd problems. There has been one other user that I know of that has had an odd leak problem.

Unfortunately, they don't log on very often, so I don't know what (if anything) was the eventual resolution.

We would be happy to help you with any questions or knowledge we may have to solve the problem.

As for your feelings with regards to Nissan... well, you should know simply by where you are that at best, people are not going to listen to you, and at worst you're going to start a flame thread. People here are especially not going to listen to you because most of us hate Hondas with the same passion you hate Nissans with, and many of us have had just as negative if not worse problems with Honda products.

[will1911a1]

Almost 9k miles on my Versa nad not a single problem.

I hope posting about how much you hate Nissan on a Nissan forum made you feel better.

[coxcj]

I can't think of one vehicle that I've owned that hasn't disappointed me in one way or another. Does that mean I need to hate Pontiac, Ford, Buick, Dodge, Volkswagen, or Nissan? One thing that I have noticed is that the problems are being resolved. Nissan is taking ownership of the problem and trying to figure out what's wrong. There are problems like this all the time with every car on the market. When you have so many units in production, it's expected that something's going to go wrong somewhere.

I hope you stick around and keep us informed as to what's going on with the car and maybe you can help us if/when someone else has a similar problem.

For my part, I can say that I've had my car for just over 2 months, 5600 miles, and have no problems. I hope that the leak in your parents car gets fixed and they get to enjoy many happy years with their purchase.

Best of luck.

[nissanhater]

Thank y'all for the hopes that Nissan will get this sorted out. To answer one of the earlier posts: I have no intentions of hanging around here and harassing Nissan owners telling them their products are crap or anything of that sort. I simply want to let everyone know of this kind of problem in case Versa owners need to, well, check their passenger-side carpets.

I also found the build date for the Versa S in question for the user who asked: it came down the assembly line in December of 2006. There is no question that every manufacturer has some sort of problem vehicles among the thousands, if not millions, they produce. And this situation is not unique to lower-priced models either. Heck, a friend of mine's dad has owned two Porsche Cayennes, both of which have had major engine and transmission issues. I also have no doubt that there are Hondas that exist that have even more problems than what we're talking about here. However, our bad luck with two Nissans in a row has soured our opinion of them and we have no intentions of buying another model to find out if the Altima and Versa were isolated incidences.

It really is a pity that the car is having this problem because my parents really like it, and I will admit that it is certainly of a higher caliber in its class. My point here is not to begin some sort of fight between myself and the other members of this forum or between Nissan and Honda (we'll let the numerous professional and amateur race series settle that one). I will stay on this one thread to let everyone interested know how this situation turns out and if Nissan does decide to do the right thing and buy back the car from us.