Problems with 2008 Nissan Versa SUSPENSION

My daughter put key in ignition. started the car. placed it in reverse. she moved backward about one inch. my wife, my daughter and myself heard a loud snap. we saw nothing wrong. she drove away and came back after driving 1/2 mile. she had the broken piece from the coil spring. i knew instantly what it was. i looked behind the front wheel and sure enough. i'm an old farm boy, now 57. i guarantee you this is a faulty part. she could have been hurt badly while driving road speed. you need to deal with this. i will keep the broken part as proof. it was a clean break while sitting still. this faulty part is costing upwards of $900 to repair!!!:(:( not to mention putting people at very high risk. others all across the usa and canada are having this issue. check out the forums. concerned and disgusted father. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 nissan versa. the contact was driving 40 mph and began to smell smoke accompanied by a loud thud. the contact discovered that the front passenger's side tire was flat. the vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection where the contact was advised that the front passenger's side coil spring failed, damaging the rim and puncturing the tire. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the incident. the approximate failure mileage was 26,000. updated 11/19/13*lj updated 11/26/2013 *js

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 nissan versa. the contact stated there was an abnormal noise from the passenger's side of the vehicle in addition to a burning odor. also, the front passenger's side of the vehicle fell to the ground and the vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection. the dealer diagnosed that the front passenger's side coil spring failed and punctured the passenger's side tire. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 26,000.

In september 2013, i began hearing a rattling/squeaky sound in the vicinity of the front passenger side wheel well. the rattling sound is similar to metal bolts rolling around in a metal pan. the squeaky sound is similar to a spring mattress. approximately in december 2013, i received scheduled maintenance on my vehicle at nicks honda in burlingame, ca. the owner nick theroux informed me that my right shock needed to be changed because it "gone". the service inspection also determined a possible coil problem. as i researched the nissan suspension issue online, i learned that similar versa suspension issues exist nation wide. *tr

While pulling out of my driveway the other day, i heard a very loud "metal on metal" sound coming from the front of my car, followed by a noticeable lowering of the front of the vehicle. i got out of the car and found a piece of metal on the driveway in the shape of semi-circle and snapped on one end. afterwards i noticed the car would bottom out on entering/exiting driveways and taking minor road imperfections and potholes very hard. went to my mechanic, showed him the piece of metal i found and explained what had been happening since then, and he said your spring coil broke. upon reading all the suspension complaints for the versa for similar model years, this has to be either a defective part or design on nissan's part. i have never had a car that experienced a broken spring coil. i would not expect a car slightly over 5 years old to have this happen. does nissan intend on addressing this issue? *tr

While sitting in the yard we heard a metal clang sound coming from one of the cars. we looked but could not tell which car it came from. later when i started to drive the car on the highway the front passenger tire shredded. this was due to the front passenger side spring being broken. we later found the broken piece where the car was parked. the vehicle only had 48,684 mostly highway miles on it. *tr

Driving down the road we heard a loud bang, then the car darted hard to the left. couldn't go over 15 mph without loud scrape and hard pull to left. garage said coil spring broke in half and almost punctured tire. no rust on the spring, mechanic said it was a defective part. *tr

I parked my nissan versa in a parking lot while i was at work all day. i hadn't had any problems with it. when i got in to leave in the evening and put the car in drive and went forward a few inches, i heard a horrible crunching noise like i hit something. when i backed up to see what was under my car, i just saw a metal horseshoe shaped broken piece on the ground. my mechanic says it is a coil spring that broke. i've seen many complaints about this from nissan versa owners. the broken part didn't seem rusty at all. i don't know why this happened. the car hasn't been in an accident. it seemed to happen out of the blue. *tr the dealer stated the rear coil spring needs to be replaced. *tr

The car has begun to make a loud metal clunking sound at the top right suspension as well as what almost sounds like a grinding but not similar to that of the braking system. i was going around a curve at the time. the sound gets worse when going down a hill changing speeds, switching lanes, on pot holes or an uneven surface. i took it to a few different places and could not reproduce the problem at the time. while driving with a more experienced mechanic he was able to determine the sound to be isolated to the right strut and the left inner tie rod. he said that the struts are usually only replaced once in a cars lifetime so i am wondering why it needs to be replaced so soon. i am writing the complaint because i think this has been an issue all along. the car needs an abnormal amount of realignments and brake replacements. when i first received the car the rotors and brakes had to be replaced because somehow they had been installed backwards. the steering has always felt insecure as well as the feeling when pressing the gas and the brakes. the feeling i have now under the pedals when the sound of the strut malfunctioning engages i have felt all along but not this intensely. there may be an issue with the parts used as i have spoken to so many nissan owners who reported the same issue of steering and exhaust system issues on nissans. *tr

Front coil spring snapped. *tr

Vehicle has an increasingly loud clunking noise emanating from front suspension when turn is made or small bump/hole is moved over. sounds as if there is metal on metal and lose components in the suspension. this noise is not apparent at higher speeds and only is audible when going over a bump/pot hole. additionally, when vehicle turns, there is a noticeable 'klunk' in the steering assembly that is often exacerbated when going over a bump in the road. steering feels lose when this happens as if joint is malfunctioning. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 nissan versa. the contact stated that the rear coil springs fractured, while driving out of the driveway. the vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not repaired or diagnosed. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 144,766. updated 01/06/17*lj updated 7/12/18*jb *tr

We own a 2008 nissan versa. it currently only has 9,400 miles on it. when driving it there is a "popping" feel underneath the floorboards/ in the front end of the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to the dealership 2-26-09 where they replaced both upper strut bearings and completed a front wheel alignment. again, the vehicle exhibited the same issues and on august 5, 2009 both upper strut bearings were replaced and another alignment was completed. we took the vehicle to the dealership again yesterday with the same complaint. this time they say they can't "hear" it (you can't hear it, but you can feel it), so they didn't do anything. they refused to even put it up on the lift to take a look at the assembly since they couldn't "hear" anything. after doing research, we are seeing this same complaint on many different websites. nissan needs to fix these vehicles. one listed on this site was involved in an accident apparently due to the strut failure. *tr

The front left driver's side of my 2008 nissan versa hatchback started to thud/thump when turning to the right at low speed. now the vehicle cannot not turn right quickly, thus i could not avoid an accident in an emergency situation. i have taken to dealer and they cannot reproduce the symptoms, but i encounter daily. *tr

There is a clunking noise coming from the front end, as one rolls over a speed bump at slow speed or enters a driveway. the noise began after 20,000 miles and has worsened ( now has 65,000). after nissan inspected the car it was noted the sub-frame links and struts with strut mount assembly are faulty. nissan forums are full of complaints regarding the same problem. *tr

1st...after 25k miles the car began to shift on its own irregularly, finally at 45k it was noticed that the cvt was not working properly. it was replaced under warranty, even though it was covered it actually cost me 1,800 for an extended warranty. second problem was a thumping noise as i went over a bump in the front end that was diagnosed as damaged struts and the sub frame links, this was not covered by warranty, and we are stuck with this ongoing faulty problem. it is greater than 4,000 to fix. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 nissan versa. the contact stated that she would hear a clicking noise while turning at low speeds. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and they were unable to diagnose a failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure continued. the vehicle was taken back to an authorized dealer and the contact was informed that the front suspension system needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 27,000.

As i was entering an on ramp to 676 east in philadelphia, pa, i heard a crunch (metal on metal) in my front passenger side . i attempted to straighten out my car after the slight right turn and my right tire was not reacting to my turning of the steering wheel. i hit the brake a bit and tried to slow the car when my car started to fish tail. at this instance i gave the vehicle some gas to try and regain control of the vehicle, but i was already in a spin that caused me to completely lose control and i attempted to gain control, but i was unsuccessful. as the car spun past 360 degrees, i went over an island and came to an abrupt stop once i took out the stop sign on this island. luckily no body was hurt and i managed to not hit any vehicles or pedestrians. after several hours waiting for a two truck and philadelphia police, the vehicle and myself made our way to a body shop in lansdale, pa. after examination from the mechanics at this body shop (j.l. freed) i was told that the strut assembly in my front right passenger side was in 3 pieces. this was evident to me that something mechanically went wrong as i was making that slight right on the evening of july 23, 2008. now, i was given my estimate for the damages and the parts that need to ordered and replaced. i feel that nissan needs to be made aware of this event as i was just at a nissan dealer (montgomeryville nissan) 3 weeks prior (july 05, 2008) to have my car inspected. i have yet to find out if montgomeryville nissan saw any type of potential failure in this specific strut assembly that malfunctioned and split apart causing my accident. nissan needs to be aware of this incident as this could have resulted in a fatality of myself or another if i was say on the highway this strut assembly decided to fall apart. *tr