Used 2013 Nissan Versa Consumer Reviews
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We have a limited number of reviews for the 2013 Versa, so we've included reviews for other years of the Versa since its last redesign.
Loving the Versa
mredct, 10/31/2011
2012 Nissan Versa 1.6 SV 4dr Sedan (1.6L 4cyl CVT)
25 of 29 people found this review helpful
I have owned my Versa for about a month so far. My mileage has been about 39 mpg, so this car has been quite economical to own. My previous car, a Subaru Outback, got about 22 mpg so I am saving some dough! I took a long distance trip - driving from CT to FL in the Versa and it was so comfortable. In the past I've had to pad seats with a pillow to make the trip tolerable, but the seats on the Versa were just right for me. The cruise control made driving so easy - all I had to do was point the car! When I ran the A/C the car still got good mileage. My average for the trip was 40 mpg. We had our first snow storm yesterday in CT and the traction control handled it like a champ.
The Price reflects the quality
rarereviewer, 08/17/2014
updated 09/05/2017
2012 Nissan Versa 1.8 SL 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl CVT)
16 of 18 people found this review helpful
When I purchased my 2012 Versa hatchback, it was the least expensive new car available in North America. And the car is what it is. On the positive side, the car always started. I consider that a big plus. Also, the interior, which is naturally cheap and flimsy, is designed to feel deceptively roomy. On the negative side, right after my warranty expired, the keyless entry stopped working on the front doors and the hatchback. The front passenger door and the hatchback wouldn't open at all. A part in all the doors had to be replaced, and it was a very expensive repair. The dealership decided to do the work free, due to the car had only been out of warranty for a few weeks. I traded the Versa in for a Honda Accord after owning the Versa about 18 months.
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NOT WORTH IT
palebeachbum, 06/20/2016
updated 12/27/2019
2012 Nissan Versa 1.6 SV 4dr Sedan (1.6L 4cyl CVT)
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
This was my first brand-new car and my first Nissan vehicle. I expected good overall long-term quality. I was severely let down. Within the first 1,000 miles of ownership, squeaks and rattles all around the interior began. Primarily at the passenger side of the dash, the headliner, and driver's door. Constant squeaks and chirps. Very annoying from a brand-new car! Next, the front suspension began squeaking badly. I had Nissan take a look. They found nothing wrong, so I had to live with it. Then, the paint began peeling in a couple of areas. At the A-pillar and also around the rear tail lights. Nissan repaired the paint under warranty. Then the car required replacement of the catalytic converter heat shield twice, under warranty. The dealership said it's a defective part and will likely keep breaking and falling off. The transmission NEVER felt right from day one. It made creaking and whistling noises. It was very jerky in operation. It had a lot of behavioral problems and started slipping around 38k miles. I hated the transmission. Luckily, I got rid of the car before it had a catastrophic failure. The windshield wiper linkage was loosening badly. The wiper arm movement became very disjointed and sloppy. Although the interior was cavernous for such a little car, the ergonomics were terrible. In 2yrs of ownerships, I never found a comfortable driving position. The distance between the steering wheel and pedals was wrong. A telescopic steering wheel would have solved this. Ingress/egress was excellent! Massive door openings. The option packaging on this car was comically bad. I owned the mid-spec SV trim. The car was missing some critical features some comparable cars offer in base trim. No split-folding rear seat? No variable intermittent wipers? Only 4 lousy sounding speakers for the stereo? Aside from the transmission issues above, other aspects of the engineering were quite poor as well. The steering was horrible. It was terribly light and offered no road feel at all. Trying to drive in a straight line on the interstate was pretty much impossible. The car liked to dart left and right. Any grooves in the pavement woukd grab the skinny tires. Ride quality was very smooth...until you hit a bump, then it just hammered over it. The brakes were excellent. One bright spot to this car's driving dynamics. Acceleration was adequate, but the transmission made it a clumsy, miserable experience. Handling was pretty decent, but the skinny tires didn't have much grip. If you enjoy driving at all, this is not the car for you. It has no personality at all and drives like an appliance. This car's pluses are its cavernous interior, braking performance, and excellent fuel economy. I absolutely do not recommend this model of car new or used though. Exceptionally poor quality/reliability overall. I was so disappointed in this car. I planned on keeping it until wheels fell off, but due to my lack of trust in the car, I traded it in after only 2yrs and 56k miles and I'm now leery of buying any new Nissan in the future. I switched to a new 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage and am much happier in the 3yrs and 51k miles I've owned it. It doesn't drive nearly as nice as the Nissan Versa, but overall quality and reliability have been vastly better, not to mention a 10y/100k mile warranty and a very comfortable driving position.
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Bad CVT at 72,000 miles
Bryan, 10/10/2016
2012 Nissan Versa 1.6 SV 4dr Sedan (1.6L 4cyl CVT)
11 of 12 people found this review helpful
Bought this car in October of 2013. The car had 8,500 miles on it, it was a loaner vehicle that the dealership used so I knew it was in great shape. Purchased the car, and at 30,000 miles the heat shield started coming apart. The cost to replace that was 500 dollars. At 40,000 miles new brakes were needed which is normal, but little to my knowledge the rear brakes were drum brakes, fast forward to 50,000 miles the serpentine belt snapped, the cost to replace that? 650.00 dollars. Finally at 72,000 miles my transmission started going bad, at first it started with a whining at low RPMs, then it had a hard time going into reverse and on multiple occasion would disengage from drive and the car had to be turned off and started again. Finally, when I was on the freeway, the car completely lost all power and stalled (thank goodness I got over to the shoulder). I had the car towed to Nissan, were it was determined that the transmission had failed but they couldn't figure out why because the transmission oil was good and it was at normal levels. I was quoted 4,000 dollars to replace the transmission, I almost called the auto-loan company and told them to take there car back. My uncle works for Nissan, and had me make a call to Nissan USA. After explaining my frustration with a bad transmission on a four year old car, I would never buy another Nissan product or recommend Nissan to any friend or family member. The service request was sent to a supervisor, about a week later Nissan called back and covered 3,600 dollars of the expenses. It took about 3 weeks to get the car back, as there was only one tech in the entire shop who knew had to drop a CVT and put in a new one. I've had the car back and it has about 77,000 miles on it now. Guess what? The whining came back and the car is having a hard time going into reverse. I am trading this thing in as soon as I can get the negative equity paid off on it. The car goes back into the shop Tuesday, the transmission has a year warranty on it.
- Performance
Nissan doesn't stand behind warranty.
Ken Putnam, 04/06/2016
2013 Nissan Versa 1.6 S 4dr Sedan (1.6L 4cyl 5M)
10 of 11 people found this review helpful
Clutch catastrophically failed at 47,000 miles of mostly highway driving. Despite a 60,000 mile power train warranty that was 100% silent on clutch exclusion, Nissan just said "no". They said they couldn't prove it was a defect-maybe I abused it, therefore they refused to cover it. I've been driving vehicles with standard transmissions for 40 years without one ever failing on me, so I know with 100% certainty it is a defect in their vehicle. When I asked their mechanic who did the work on it how long a clutch should last, he said a hydraulic clutch on a vehicle like this should easily last 150,000 miles, but his name wasn't on the dealership sign. When I appealed to the Nissan Regional manager he just said "no" with no explanation other than "he had reviewed it".
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- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability