[SilverV]

Reading through complaints on the NHTSA website regarding 2013 sedans. I've found some that I have issues with also. While I love my Versa these problems are nagging if to say the least. Anyone else having these issues with their new sedans?

The one about the A/C compressor causing the car to surge forward when you are stopped or coming to stop or the brake pedal feeling a bit loose and the ones about the car wandering and getting blown about in windy conditions I've also have experienced.

Read more complaints here just search for year, make, model:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchComplaints

Date Complaint Filed: 06/13/2013
Component(s): SERVICE BRAKES , UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Date of Incident: 02/08/2013
NHTSA ID Number: 10519751
All Products Associated with this Complaint
Details
0 Associated Documents
Crash:No Fire:No Number of Injuries:0 Number of Deaths:0
Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Vehicle Identification No. (VIN): Not Available
SUMMARY:
I HAVE NOTICED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS WHEN STOPPED OR COMING TO A STOP, BRAKE WILL FEEL LIKE IT BECOMES DISENGAGED OR FEELING OF CAR SURGING FORWARD A LITTLE, WHEN THE AIR CONDITIONING IS ON. I HAVE TO MAKE SURE MY FOOT IS HEAVILY ON THE BRAKE, SO THAT IT WILL NOT FEEL LIKE IT WILL MOVE FORWARD. A COUPLE OF TIMES, I HAVE THOUGHT THE CAR IN BACK OF ME HAD BUMPED ME. ALSO, THE BRAKE PEDAL FEELS A LITTLE LOOSE. ALSO, WHEN THERE IS DEW PRESENT ON THE WINDOW IN THE MORNING IF I HAVE PARKED OUTSIDE AT NIGHT, THE BUILT-IN WINDOW BRUSHES/EDGERS WILL NOT CLEAR THE WINDOWS. THIS CREATES A SAFETY ISSUE, ESPECIALLY IF THIS HAPPENED WHILE YOU WERE DRIVING AND THE WINDOWS BECAME FOGGY ON THE OUTSIDE. THE DEALERSHIP STATED THAT THOSE LITTLE BRUSHES, WERE JUST MEANT TO KEEP DEBRIS OUT OF THE DOOR PANEL AREA.

Date Complaint Filed: 06/10/2013
Component(s): STEERING , SUSPENSION
Date of Incident: 05/08/2013
NHTSA ID Number: 10515942
All Products Associated with this Complaint
Details
0 Associated Documents
Crash:No Fire:No Number of Injuries:0 Number of Deaths:0
Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Vehicle Identification No. (VIN): Not Available
SUMMARY:
THE CAR WANDERS WILDLY AT SPEEDS OF 55MPH + AND YOU ARE IN ANOTHER LANE IF THE WIND BLOWS. HAVE BROUGHT TO DEALER, HAD TIRES ROTATED, SUSPENSION CHECKED TIRE PSI MATCHING ETC. IT IS DESIGN FLAW WITH SOME COMPONENT, WHETHER IT BE THE CAR IS SIMPLY TOO LIGHT, OR THE SUSPENSION IS TOO SOFT ETC. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN. I HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN PULLED OVER BY STATE TROOPERS FOR "EXCESSIVE WEAVING", WHEN IT WAS WINDY OUT.

 

[JoshG]

My brother has a 2013 S and doesn't have any issues with the a/c or brake. Now the car being tossed around, that's normal. Mine did it when I 1st got it. Still does it but not as much now that I have bigger wheels, wider tires, and lowered it. :thumbsup:

 

[JVersa]

It's a small car, it gets tossed around in the wind. ^

 

[Dead Eye]

man you think the versa gets tossed around then don't ever ride a motorcycle on a 70mph highway with a 35mph cross wind! now that's getting tossed. had to ride while going straight almost in a knee drag position. or drive my work van during a windy storm while having patients in the back.... the V is not bad at all...

 

[gapperguy]

I'm driving a 2010 Versa HB. On days where there is a heavy cross wind, I can feel it and weave a little. I think most small cars feel the cross wind and the driver has to adjust accordingly. I'm surprised the NHTSA even issued a complaint about it.

 

[SilverV]

^It’s not so much NHTSA issuing complaints but other owners complaining to the NHTSA.

I guess I’ll just have to get use to it being a lighter car, my previous car was a heavier 95 Maxima but with my Versa it’s nothing I can’t handle I’m a cautious driver.

However I do agree with the braking looseness.

On a few occasions when I went to apply the brake pedal I noticed something that sounded like it was like a spring or mechanism coming loose you can feel it through the brake pedal. There would be a brief moment where the pedal would stop halfway you can here and feel a distinctive click (not clunk) from the brake pedal area, almost like a spring or mechanism is getting stuck and when you apply more pressure it comes free but has a loose feeling to the pedal. This is not the ABS self test feature I can assure. This sounds something mechanical like a spring, mechanism, or clip sticking then coming loose and making the pedal have a loose feeling afterward. It’s only happened to me about three times or so within the first few months of ownership when it was chilly outside, I’ve not noticed it lately ever since it warmed up.

I think the A/C compressor is drawing to much power, granted it’s a small motor but it really does put a damper on the braking system especially at low speeds like when you coasting in a parking lot I’ve noticed after a while with the A/C on coasting in a parking lot or slowing down to a light the braking force required to stop the vehicle increases significantly, if you don’t have very firm pressure on the brake pedal and the compressor kicks on it causes the car to lurch forward.

It might be normal, I know compressors draw lots of power especially from a small four cylinder motor but it does not seem like it should put a damper on the braking system and cause the vehicle to lurch.

 

[Versa15]

To update this thread, my 2015 Versa SV does the same braking issues. I haven't noticed anything with the a/c compressor kicking in and surge. But I have felt the bump several times. It feels just like the car behind has pushed me. I have to push the brake pedal hard after the car comes to a stop, or else it will start rolling forward again. Several times I've almost bumped the car in front of me if I'm not paying attention after coming to a stop at a light. My problem is I have nerve damage in both legs from an accident in 1997. I have neuropathy in both feet. I can't push down hard on the brake pedal. I have to drive a car with power brakes. This Versa has power brakes only up until it comes to a complete stop, then something changes to greatly reduce the braking pressure and I have to use both feet to keep it from rolling into the car in front of me.

I'm sure this is a non issue for a strong healthy person. But a major issue for a handicap person like me. I can't have a manual transmission due to holding the clutch down. But since 97 I've never had a problem driving an automatic safely until this Versa. I had someone tell me it's the cvt and not having a torque converter is why it "brake creeps."

I can drive a manual, just don't care to own one for daily use. I borrow my fathers GMC Sierra 5 speed occasionally. I can clutch but I have too take it out of gear and let up with my clutch foot and watch for the sequence of the traffic light so I can clutch and back into first as it changes to green.

 

[SlickVersa]

I borrow my fathers GMC Sierra 5 speed occasionally. I can clutch but I have too take it out of gear and let up with my clutch foot and watch for the sequence of the traffic light so I can clutch and back into first as it changes to green.

Shifting gears in neutral and releasing clutch during a traffic stop is a correct way to handle it. Keeping it in gear and pushing the clutch down during red light just unnecessary wears throw-out bearing.

 

[amc49]

I wouldn't be too quick about getting hand controls on a 'disabled' car, one of the worst low speed hits from behind I've ever had was from somebody who drove one of those. Then he claimed because he was handicapped he shouldn't have to pay for running into the back of me because his hand 'slipped' on the controls. My car got what later proved to be $1200 damage but the investigating officer lowered his personal estimate to 'under $250' to not report the crash as he knew the disabled guy. I ended up feeling pretty much used (and with a wrecked car not of my doing at all, I was sitting still at a traffic light) after the whole thing.

None of that applies to the poster of post #7 though, just thought I would throw in the thing about hand controls, they are NOT that precise.

The car bumping forward is likely the CVT trans if one used there, they tend to do that sometimes at the pulley reset that happens at a stop, the pulleys have to refigure the starting gear ratio quickly from what was a a cruising one and only a second to do that. A/C in and of itself can bump the engine but has no power to bump the entire car at all. ALL CVTs in car transmissions that I have run across also do indeed have a torque convertor, they cannot function without it. The slip method a CVT uses with no convertor will not work in a car like it does on industrial equipment, I worked on them for years.

The cars are very light and slab-sided to boot, perfect for getting blown around in strong winds, mine does it too.

 

[Versa15]

It was a mechanic that told me cvt doesn't have a torque converter. I've worked on engines but never an automatic trans. So I believed him not knowing. Lol

I owned a Ford with cvt and it's brakes were completely normal. But it didn't shift at all. The Versa has a shift point around 35-40, so driving in city speed limit of 35, it's constantly hunting for a gear so to speak.

 

[amc49]

The guy who hit me using hand controls had been a paraplegic for many many years.....................

Regardless, the first CVTs pretty much did what they can do, maintain the same rpm while car speed increases. People had a problem with that though, they think the car is moving slower and demand the normality of fake 'shifts', and now the CVT action is calculated to be 'shifting' when it actually is only a pulley adjustment that fakes that, although planetaries and clutch packs have been added in later models to emphasize that 'shifting' even more by making some of the rpm changes true shifts now.

 

[ram1220]

I have had the same braking problem with my 2016 Versa S with 5 speed. So I don't think it's the CVT doing it. I agree with the OP that it's the A/C that's doing it. I have experienced this 3 times since I bought my car new in Oct 2016. All 3 times the A/C was on. My pedal also went nearly to the floor when it happened. Dealer of course can not reproduce the problem.

 

[amc49]

You have a brake problem plain and simple. Not all are easily diagnosed, the MCs can leak to drop pedal then not do it again for a day or a month. That has nothing whatsoever to do with a/c other than it happened to be on at the time and of course it would since it was turned on.

I say it again, the a/c in and of itself does NOT have the power to bump a car forward and it certainly is not connected with the brakes to act up only when the a/c is on. Go ahead and insist on it though and how the cars never get fixed or get messed up worse. When drivers insist on silly things like that the dealers will lie about outcomes or mess with their stuff just because they know the complaint is false and the owner wants them to chase phantoms.

Yours, and do with it as you will, nobody said we had to be smart about it. Post #12 is even worse as poster has a clutch and pushed in the engine is not even connected to trans to be able to move the car, ergo, impossible.

Gotta think about this stuff people, it's not rocket science.

 

[ram1220]

You have a brake problem plain and simple. Not all are easily diagnosed, the MCs can leak to drop pedal then not do it again for a day or a month. That has nothing whatsoever to do with a/c other than it happened to be on at the time and of course it would since it was turned on.

I say it again, the a/c in and of itself does NOT have the power to bump a car forward and it certainly is not connected with the brakes to act up only when the a/c is on. Go ahead and insist on it though and how the cars never get fixed or get messed up worse. When drivers insist on silly things like that the dealers will lie about outcomes or mess with their stuff just because they know the complaint is false and the owner wants them to chase phantoms.

Yours, and do with it as you will, nobody said we had to be smart about it. Post [URL=http://www.nissanversaforums.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=12]#12 [/URL] is even worse as poster has a clutch and pushed in the engine is not even connected to trans to be able to move the car, ergo, impossible.

Gotta think about this stuff people, it's not rocket science.

Ok smart Alec. I am the author of post #12 . Point out again where I ever said my clutch was pressed in? I said my foot was on the brake and it went nearly to the floor. My A/C was on and as soon as the compressor cycled on the pedal went nearly to the floor. 3 times since I bought the car new. My car was in 2nd gear each time as I was downshifting to come to a stop. The engine seemed to lurch as the compressor cycled on and my BRAKE pedal went nearly to the floor. Get it now? Mechanics like you are the reason why we owners would rather do the job ourselves.

 

[amc49]

Uh, I am one of those owners, I do not let anyone ever touch my cars and do all work on them as well as many other brands countless times. I have never paid for any car repair EVER. 45+ years now, and 3-4 cars running at all times during that period. I loathe dealerships and most independent shops are filled with the unlearned. Everything that you can think of on a car needing done I do.

AGAIN I say, the A/C cannot do that, even coming on the A/C forces are in no way connected to brake hydraulics. Braking is purely mechanical only unless there is an ABS unit involved there. Drivers can imagine whatever they want to past that, I see it all day long and wasted millions of dollars over it. The ECM likely inhibits A/C coming on at decel anyway, many of them do it in the software, to lower the likelihood of a sudden coming on affecting decel drop speed and resultant idle speed recovery. Read the service manual. AND, unless you have like LEDs installed like I do that for one thing show you EXACTLY when the A/C clutch comes on you have NO idea of when it actually came on, any bump you feel could easily be 10 other things.

'...with 5 speed.'

I guess you never use the clutch?

'Point out again where I ever said my clutch was pressed in?'
'...as I was downshifting to come to a stop.'

So now you're downshifting without pushing in the clutch (again)? The transmission will love you for that one..............

Your problem is the pedal dropping, or hydraulic or booster failure, you can jump around that all you want, but nothing will get fixed until you address that and why it is happening.

Yours and do as you will with it...........

 

[Versa15]

I've always assumed it was a vacuum booster issue. I don't think it's a leaky booster unless they all leak. There are too many Versa owners with the exact same complaint. It does it to me with the a/c turned off.

The bump is either the sudden drop in brake pressure letting the car move forward or something happening with the trans. I've only felt the bump twice. But every time I stop, the pedal has good firm feel and the car comes to a complete stop. Then instantly the pedal begins to sink to the floor and the car starts rolling forward.

Are the brake boosters on these cars vacuum or electric assist?

 

[amc49]

I would assume vacuum, I personally know of no electric power assist on the brakes, but that of course means nothing. I'll probably see one tomorrow.

'But every time I stop, the pedal has good firm feel and the car comes to a complete stop. Then instantly the pedal begins to sink to the floor and the car starts rolling forward.'

If it occurs and exactly like that I would be looking at booster and associated parts. Or M/C suddenly losing hydraulic pressure.

 

[ram1220]

Uh, I am one of those owners, I do not let anyone ever touch my cars and do all work on them as well as many other brands countless times. I have never paid for any car repair EVER. 45+ years now, and 3-4 cars running at all times during that period. I loathe dealerships and most independent shops are filled with the unlearned. Everything that you can think of on a car needing done I do.

AGAIN I say, the A/C cannot do that, even coming on the A/C forces are in no way connected to brake hydraulics. Braking is purely mechanical only unless there is an ABS unit involved there. Drivers can imagine whatever they want to past that, I see it all day long and wasted millions of dollars over it. The ECM likely inhibits A/C coming on at decel anyway, many of them do it in the software, to lower the likelihood of a sudden coming on affecting decel drop speed and resultant idle speed recovery. Read the service manual. AND, unless you have like LEDs installed like I do that for one thing show you EXACTLY when the A/C clutch comes on you have NO idea of when it actually came on, any bump you feel could easily be 10 other things.

'...with 5 speed.'

I guess you never use the clutch?


'Point out again where I ever said my clutch was pressed in?'
'...as I was downshifting to come to a stop.'

So now you're downshifting without pushing in the clutch (again)? The transmission will love you for that one..............

Your problem is the pedal dropping, or hydraulic or booster failure, you can jump around that all you want, but nothing will get fixed until you address that and why it is happening.

Yours and do as you will with it...........

You really need a reading comprehension class. Just stop replying to my posts if you are always going to twist things around and add things I never wrote. Honestly take a class or just stop responding to my posts. Please.

 

[amc49]

My friend, my reading comprehension tested out at college exit or better when I was in the 7th grade. I simply worked with what you gave me.........