Used Nissan Versa and Murano: the years to avoid

The Nissan Versa and the Nissan Murano go wrong in different years for different reasons. The Versa years to avoid are 2012, with 486 complaints, eleven recall campaigns and a score of 26, and 2014, with 337 complaints and a score of 45; the 2011 car is a CAUTION at 269 complaints and 51. The Murano year to avoid is 2015, with 202 complaints, five safety-critical recalls and a score of 37, and the 2016 and 2017 cars that follow it are CAUTION at 63 and 65. Buy a Versa from 2015 to 2021, and a Murano from 2011 to 2013 or from 2018 onward.

The Versa: air bags first, then the transmission

The Versa's early record is two problems layered on top of each other. The first is air bags: the top complaint category on the 2011 car at 152 of its 269 complaints, and on the 2012 car at 167 of 486. The recall list explains that. The 2011 and 2012 cars carry a stack of frontal air bag inflator campaigns, 16V349000 (24/05/2016), 17V028000 (10/01/2017), 17V449000 (17/07/2017), 18V044000 (10/01/2018), 18V401000 (15/06/2018), 20V008000 (09/01/2020) and 22E066000 (09/08/2022), most of them regional and covering inflators that may rupture after long-term exposure to heat and humidity. The 2012 car adds two side air bag campaigns: 12V055000 (14/02/2012) for side curtain air bags with an incorrect propellant mixture, and 17V144000 (06/03/2017) for side impact sensor connector pins that degrade and can deploy the curtain and seat-mounted air bags when a door is slammed. Seven of the 2012 car's eleven campaigns are safety-critical; six of the 2011 car's seven are.

The second problem is the Power Train category, which covers the transmission. It is not among the 2011 car's top five categories, and then it is second on the 2012 car at 163 complaints, almost level with Air Bags. On the 2014 car it leads outright at 134 of 337 complaints, with Engine second at 59 and Service Brakes fourth at 50. No recall campaign on record addresses the transmission on any Versa; the sheet shows an owner-complaint pattern that peaks in 2012 and 2014 and then subsides, to 47 in 2015, 20 in 2016, and no more than 16 in any year from 2017 to 2023. The 2013 car has no complaints on record and no verdict; do not read its absence as a clean year.

The 2014 car has two recalls, and campaign 15V418000 (01/07/2015) is the one to know: the ignition switch, safety-critical. Campaign 15V507000 (12/08/2015) covers the 2012 to 2015 sedans for the accelerator pedal.

The Versa from 2015

From 2015 the Versa is one of the cleaner small-car records on this site. The 2015 car has 168 complaints and scores 76; the 2016 car has 80 and scores 92 with no recalls; the 2017 and 2018 cars have 62 and 55 and score 85 and 89; the 2019 car has 24 and scores 95 on low evidence. No component dominates: Air Bags leads 2016 and 2017 at 21 and 15, Electrical System leads 2018 at 17, Power Train leads 2019 at 11. The 2017 car has three safety-critical recalls to confirm: 16V724000 (11/10/2016) for a side curtain seam that may tear on deployment, 17V275000 (26/04/2017) for the ring plate on the passenger frontal air bag, and 18V551000 (22/08/2018) for the mechanical key ignition on 2017 and 2018 cars.

The 2020 car, the first of the current generation, has 64 complaints and scores 83, with campaign 20V112000 (26/02/2020) for a fuel tank wall that may be too thin. The 2021 car has 31 complaints and two campaigns for one fault, 22V693000 (15/09/2022) and 23V496000 (18/07/2023), an intermittent connection in the electric power steering torque sensor that can disable the assist; a 2021 car needs both closed.

Then there is the 2024 car: 95 complaints, 47.5 per year on the road, a score of 44 and an AVOID verdict on medium evidence. Engine leads at 53, Power Train at 34 and Vehicle Speed Control at 20, the same three categories that lead the 2023 car at 23, 15 and 13, but at 47.5 per year against the 2023 car's 12.3. The one recall, 24V154000 (27/02/2024), is a driver's air bag inflator that may absorb moisture, and it covers the 2023 car too. The 2025 car has 11 complaints and no pattern yet. A buyer who wants a late Versa should take a 2021 or 2023 and let the 2024 settle.

The Murano: 2015 to 2017

The Murano's problem is a redesign year and its brakes. The 2015 car has 202 complaints and five recall campaigns, every one safety-critical, and four of the five are for the anti-lock braking system: 15V364000 (10/06/2015) for ABS actuators with contamination in the solenoid valve, 16V636000 (02/09/2016) for cars with Intelligent Cruise Control, 18V601000 (07/09/2018) for ABS actuator pumps that may leak brake fluid onto a circuit board, and 19V807000 (08/11/2019), which re-covers 2015 to 2018 cars that were previously recalled and left unrepaired or wrongly cleared. The fifth, 16V244000 (26/04/2016), is the occupant classification sensor. The 2016 car adds 16V193000 (07/04/2016), another ABS campaign, and carries the same five safety-critical count; the 2017 car carries three.

The complaint categories match. Power Train leads the 2015 car at 52, Air Bags is second at 36, and Service Brakes fourth at 28; Service Brakes is 15 on the 2016 car, level with Power Train, and 13 on the 2017 car. The 2016 and 2017 cars have 107 complaints each and score 63 and 65, better than 2015, but the recall exposure is the same, and a car that has not had the ABS campaigns closed carries a documented braking-system risk.

The good Muranos

The 2011 to 2014 cars, the last of the second generation, are steady: 148, 135, 72 and 145 complaints, and scores of 80, 80, 89 and 70. There are two recalls across the four years: the 2012 tyre pressure monitoring campaign 12V068000 (22/02/2012), which is not safety-critical, and 17V184000 (16/03/2017), which covers the 2013 and 2014 cars for a power steering hose clamp that may let the hose detach and leak, and which is. Service Brakes leads the 2011 car at 39 and Power Train the 2012 car at 30; neither reaches the level of a pattern. The 2014 car's dip to 70 comes with Steering at 23, which fits the hose campaign.

From 2018 the Murano's record goes quiet. The 2018 car has 15 complaints and scores 92; the 2019 and 2020 cars have 43 and 45 and score 89 and 83; the 2021 to 2024 cars have 16, 6, 8 and 4 complaints and score between 91 and 93. All of those are on low evidence, so the scores are provisional, but seven years without a component pattern is a long time. The 2020 car has two chassis campaigns to confirm: 21V170000 (11/03/2021) for a transverse link that may separate from its ball joint, and 21V402000 (27/05/2021) for a steering knuckle or rear axle housing with insufficient strength. The 2025 car, the first of the new generation, has 21 complaints, a caliper campaign 25V173000 (19/03/2025) and a CAUTION at 64; it is too early to say more.

What to check before you buy

• On any 2011 or 2012 Versa, run the VIN through the NHTSA recall lookup and count the air bag campaigns; some are regional, and every one must show as completed.
• On a 2012 or 2014 Versa, drive it from cold and in stop-and-go traffic and pay attention to how the transmission takes up drive; Power Train is 163 and 134 complaints on those years and there is no recall to fall back on.
• On a 2021 Versa, confirm both power steering campaigns, 22V693000 and 23V496000, are closed.
• On a 2015 to 2018 Murano, ask for the dealer printout showing 15V364000, 16V636000, 18V601000 and 19V807000 completed; 19V807000 exists because earlier repairs were missed.
• On a 2020 Murano, confirm 21V170000 and 21V402000, and check the front suspension and steering for play.

Summary

Avoid the 2012 and 2014 Nissan Versa and, until its record settles, the 2024; treat the 2011 with caution. Buy a Versa from 2015 to 2021. Avoid the 2015 Nissan Murano and treat the 2016 and 2017 cars as CAUTION unless every ABS campaign is documented. Buy a Murano from 2011 to 2013 or 2018 to 2024.