AutoUtility currently tracks 80 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2016 Nissan Versa. Air Bags & Restraints issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 22 complaints (27.5% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 13 filings cite a crash, 1 cites a fire, 12 report one or more injuries, 1 reports one or more fatalities.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 80 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Air Bags & Restraints (22 reports • 27.5% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Powertrain & Transmission (20), Engine & Cooling (9)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 13 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 12 injury filings • 1 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2016 Nissan Versa
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Air Bags & Restraints
Powertrain & Transmission
Engine & Cooling
Brakes & Traction Control
Electrical System
Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Nissan Versa
Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis
AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.
Loss of Motive Power While Driving
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Nissan Versa
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"In July 2024 my airbag light came for no apparent reason. I took it to Nissan Service-they got it off with no guarantee it would stay off and said the airbag would have to be replaced if it came on again. In came on again in June 2026. I got my oil changed at a local shop and they got the light off..."
"0 The vehicle has a CVT transmission failure causing severe shuddering, jerking, and progressive loss of acceleration. Initially the vehicle would not exceed 20 mph, then worsened to 15 mph, then 10 mph, and now will not exceed 5 mph. The issue consistently occurs after the vehicle has been driven..."
"While merging onto [XXX] toward [XXX] , my 2016 Nissan Versa suffered a total loss of power while crossing active railroad tracks. The car stuttered and jerked before completely stalling and stopped responding. I was stranded in a high-traffic zone around [XXX] PM. I was worried that the vehicles..."
"The vehicle has a CVT transmission failure causing severe shuddering, jerking, and progressive loss of acceleration. Initially the vehicle would not exceed 20 mph, then worsened to 15 mph, then 10 mph, and now will not exceed 5 mph. The issue consistently occurs after the vehicle has been driven..."
"There is a shutter leaving 1st gear"
Complaint History for Nissan Versa
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2025)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Nissan Versa | 168 | 18 | 1 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Nissan Versa Current Page | 80 | 13 | 0 | Current |
| 2017 Nissan Versa | 62 | 9 | 3 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Nissan Versa | 55 | 11 | 2 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Nissan Versa | 24 | 2 | 1 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Nissan Versa | 64 | 5 | 2 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Nissan Versa | 31 | 5 | 3 | View 2021 Problems → |
| 2022 Nissan Versa | 20 | 0 | 0 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Nissan Versa | 37 | 0 | 1 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Nissan Versa | 95 | 1 | 1 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Nissan Versa | 11 | 2 | 0 | View 2025 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2016 Nissan Versa
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 39 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 13 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires NHTSA category: TIRES | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,AIR BAGS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)
Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious...
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.