Problems with 2009 Nissan Versa SUSPENSION

The coil spring broke on the passenger side of the car ripping into the tire, while i was driving. the car's steering was immediately affected and so were the brakes, since the broken spring ripped the brake line. i broke down in an underpass and had to call the police since we were placed in a dangerous spot with cars speeding by. i did not expect this for a car that is 6 years old! from what i have read so far this seems to be a prevalent problem with nissan versus and it seems that the dealers are not taking any action. *tr

Recently, i submitted a safety complaint here about a broken coil spring. at about 39k my right spring went and was replaced by a genuine nissan replacement coil spring. at about 61k, my left spring broke. i ordered a replacement from nissan and was going to replace it. unfortunately, i noticed that the already broken spring had snapped some more and the newly replaced spring had snapped as well when the car was simply sitting on my driveway! the new right side spring only lasted about 22k miles or 15 months. basically, i have experienced 3 broken coil springs from nissan after only about 61k miles of driving. i have read the stories at the carcomplaints website and many are similar to mine. please investigate this problem before someone gets seriously hurt. *tr

Recently i noticed a piece of metal near my mailbox. looking at it i quickly realized it was probably a piece of my nissan versa hatchbacks left coil spring. sure enough, the breakage matched what was on my car. why did i so quickly guess that it was from my car? because my right coil spring went at about 39000 miles and i had read up on nissan versa hatchbacks and sure enough, a bunch of people have had this problem (i actually was waiting for it to happen). my right coil spring broke more drastically when i was going at highway speeds and i went onto a bridge. there was a loud clang and my alignment went whack. later upon inspection at a repair shop, i realized that i could have had a very bad crash seeing that the sharp part of the broken spring coil was only a few inches away from my tire (it was pretty ugly break). the repair cost me 200$ with a student discount, which i very cheap, some people fair worse. the more recent left coil spring broke without me even noticing anything, i only found the broken piece about half a ring size. since it was near my mailbox, it must have broke off at low speeds, probably when i drove over the little trough in front of the drive way for the drain. somehow the rest of the spring just re-aligned itself so i was actually able to drive my car without noticing anything wrong. i obviously wont drive it now unless its to a repair shop. this is unacceptable, i am a 4th year electrical engineering student and i am disappointed at the engineers who designed my car. other versa drivers had their wheels blown by these broken coil springs from what i have read, i have just been lucky. i am surprised there has been no recall yet by nissan or atleast some warning, perhaps no one was seriously hurt yet. when i get out of college and look for a new car, i don't think i will consider nissan. thank god i wasn't hurt by these failures. *tr

When i put the car in drive to pull out of my parking spot i heard a noise and the front end driver side dropped. i had to replace the coil spring and strut. the strut was damaged due to the coil spring breaking. i had to fix both sides and get front end alignment which cost over $700.00. based on what i have read this is a know problem with the nissan versas and there should have been a recall. i drive on a highway in bumper to bumper traffic daily and was lucky it did not happen there. the next person may not be so lucky. nissan needs to do something about this before a serious accident happens. *tr

We were driving on the garden state parkway doing 65 mph when the front passenger side coil spring broke and punctured the passenger side tire causing a blowout. luckily i was able to maneuver the car onto the shoulder without causing an accident, but the outcome could have easily been different. at the time i didn't know it was the coil spring, i just thought i ran over something on the highway. it wasn't until i got to a service shop that i learned that it was the coil spring that caused the blowout. open inspection we saw that the bottom of the spring had just broken clean off. there was no rust any where near where the spring broke. i've done some research on this problem and it's entirely too common for cars that have under 100k miles and are 5 years old or less. my car had 68,432 miles on it when the spring broke and this is something that should not have happened. of the 159 nhtsa complaints for the 2009 versa 58 of them are for the coil springs breaking. that?s almost 1/3 of all the complaints and this isn't just a problem for the 2009 model year. based on the complaints, this has apparently been an ongoing problem with the versa from when it was introduced to the 2011 model year. who knows how many vehicles had this problem and the owners never bothered to file a complaint. i would like to know what is being done about this because there seems to be some sort of engineering defect with the coil springs. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

2009 nissan versa hatchback with 50825 miles. front passenger suspension coil (spring) broke off while driving. very loud clang/bang sound. didn't know what happened. stopped vehicle and did not see anything obvious. when home in garage, upon closer inspection, noticed that the front passenger side coil had broken off. it appeared to have rust on it. i read numerous complaints online regarding same issue online. this is appears to be a defective part and a safety concern that should require a recall. cost to replace both front coils = $550. *tr

I started to back out of my drive way when i heard a loud cluck sound. upon checking the ground i found part of the passenger side spring laying on the ground. there is no rust. the part just broke. this appears to be a problem. i am just glad that i was on my way down the highway where someone could have died. *tr

I purchased this car to have a safe vehicle for my baby to ride in and am infuriated that after 5 months of purchasing it and only 72,000 miles, the front passenger side spring snapped clean off. there is no signs of rust and after reading numerous complaints of the same problem from other versa owners, this clearly is a defect in the part. why has there not been a recall on this??? it's a major safety hazard. is it really going to take for someone to get injured or killed before something is done about it, or is this issue just going to be ignored? *tr

When pulling out of garage heard loud bang from right front end. thought had run over something in garage, but found nothing at the time. drove several hours on highway without further incident until turned sharp into destination driveway and heard a definite suspension "spring-like" sound. drove around the block turning hard, but sound did not recur. subsequently heard the same spring sound intermittently, especially when making a hard turn. had problem evaluated by nissan dealer who said right front coil spring was broken and needed replaced. subsequently took in for actual repair and dealer instead recommended to replace both front coil springs (best as a pair), both struts (since right one seeping slightly), and have aligned. total quoted cost about $750 for all repairs. *tr

Left front coil spring snapped. car was undriveable and was towed to nissan dealer. (then april 28, 2015 right front coil spring snapped and burst the tire, had to be towed again to nissan dealer and repaired.) will make another claim on that spring as well.) this is going to catch up to nissan eventually.

This is second incident in within 3 months period. september of 2014, i went back in for a new oil change & tire rotation. when mechanic was rotating tire, the front left coil spring just snapped right in front of his eyes. car still drive-able, but is costly to replace. i have a limited income. now, this seems to be an extreme problem with nissan versa. this needs to be put in as a recall and they should be footing the bill for their errors, not us , the trusting consumer. *tr

While driving at approximately 35 mph, the front right strut snapped. less than 30,000 miles on the car. there were no potholes, ditches, or anything that could have caused this breakage. this could have caused a very serious accident..updated 11/03/14 *bf updated 11/06/14

Front right coil spring snapped. i was traveling on a smooth highway with no bumps or turns at the time. almost caused my family to get into an accident and could have ruptured the tire causing further damage, which was the case for many other people. upon researching the problem i have discovered a high volume of similar complaints with the same exact vehicle in the northern parts of the united states. i assume this has to do with the salt they use on the roads in the winter causing rapid erosion. my mechanic says this shouldn't happen this early in a car's life. other car companies, such as ford, have had similar issues and did issue a recall. it is clearly a safety issue which could cause a fatal accident if not addressed. *tr

My wife's 2009 nissan versa drivers side front end collapsed onto her tire last year in the last week of june 2014. when i entered the vehicle and placed the gear into drive the front driver end collapsed on the tire and a piece of the metal strut fell out of the car onto the pavement. we contacted the company and nissan finally decided to pay for the repair after we threatened to take legal action. we asked the dealer mechanic who repaired the shock/strut that we were now concerned that the other side would be faulty and if it was safe and/or it needed to be replaced. he said he checked it and it was fine. sure enough just a little more than 1 year from then my pregnant wife wakes up to find the front end of her car collapsed on the passenger side while being parked in our driveway. we are extremely fortunate that neither one of us was driving the car when both of these incidents occurred. i am currently trying to deal with nissan now to rectify this situation but felt it necessary to warn others that this is a growing problem and a severe concern to the safety and welfare of all who drive.

I was taking a right hand turn after a stop sign in a department store parking lot. i heard a loud popping noise stop to check it out. and there was a half moon shaped piece of coil from my driver side suspension laying on the ground. *tr

Backing up to change parking spot at work. heard a really loud noise front right. it ended up being the coil spring apparently. didn't know that it was because the car drove okay after that. but when i took it in for oil change and tire rotation, that's when it was discovered it was broken. quite costly to replace. then in september of 2014, i went back in for a new oil change & tire rotation. when mechanic was rotating tire, the front left coil spring just snapped right in front of his eyes. car still drivable, but is costly to replace. i have a limited income. now, this seems to be an extreme problem with nissan versa. this needs to be put in as a recall and they should be footing the bill for their errors, not us , the trusting consumer. *tr

During the month of may 2014 the versa started to make clicking noises at the front of the car especially when i applied the brakes. the sounds got worse and the car was not performing well. i took it to the service station in my neighbourhood and the person who repaired my car had to replace the 2 front strut mounts, 2 front coil springs and align the 4'wheels! the car only had 5420 miles on it at that time. now today, i took the car back to the service person as the car is making the same clicking noises and the steering column is making noise when i turn it to the right! i sent an email to nissan today to inform them of these problems and also to let them know that the car was taken in again today for more problems that have arisen! thank you. *tr

I went to put my car into gear and i my front end dropped and i heard a metal hitting the road sound. i got out and saw by left front end had dropped 3-4 inches and a piece of my coil spring on the ground. i had to get the car towed and repaired for over $580. thank god i wasn't driving 65 at the time. *tr

We have had two 2009 nissan versa for my son's to drive after completing boot camp in the usmc. after friday's failure, both vehicles have broken coil springs in the front suspension. fortunately, he was not traveling down the road and was only backing out of the driveway. *tr

Front coil springs broke on 2009 nissan versa when pulling out of driveway. found piece of metal under left side of car that was part of the spring. the right side coil was also broken. i have saved both springs for review. we are the original owners of this car that is driven mainly by my daughter to and from school/work. very frightening situation for her. cost to repair both coil springs with labor was $430.72 from a trusted neighborhood mechanic since this did occur on a holiday weekend. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 nissan versa. the contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the tire tread separated and the back side of the rubber became separated from the rim. the vehicle was taken to a tire shop and was repaired. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was advised that the suspension spring and the coil tie were fractured. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure and the current mileage was 43,500.

My suspension spring snapped while pulling out of my driveway. this is a known problem with nissan versas. i have contacted nissan na and my local dealer and there is no current recall. i replaced both springs and they were both rusted and flawed. luckily i wasn't traveling on the highway at the time, or it could have been a lot worse. i encourage those who have similar experiences to contact nissan and file complaints both with the na office and nhtsa. *tr

Pulling out of driveway, heard a "pop" noise and later found on the floor a piece of the coil spring from the front passenger side. had broken off where it comes into contact with the strut plate that holds it in place at the bottom. i called the dealership, they say nissan won't cover it because its covered only up to 3yr/30000miles. i'm calling nissan too but need to car so having it towed to my mechanic to replace the coil. coil spring costs $111.80. i'm sure with parts and service, it would be higher than that. there should be the nissan recall for this. this is potentially fatal crash problem. nissan better do the recall or get readied to be sued by someone soon. i read the same problem in canada versa forums too. p.s. sorry about the all caps. this is the only way to tell how upset i'm. i use this car to commute my two little daughters to school daily. i would not want this spring to snap at highway. *js

Right front coil spring, alignment thrust broken when backing out of driveway into road.

When backing out of the garage this morning i heard a grinding noise, pulled back in. got out, looked for a flat tire or some object being dragged under the car, didn't see anything unusual and tried to back out again, same grinding noise. got a flashlight and noticed the coil spring on the front passenger side was resting on the tire. looking closer, found a large piece of the coil spring broken off and sitting just behind the wheel well on the ground. car drove fine last night, spring broke off at some point before i left for work this morning. *tr

I was returning to kentucky from virginia. at grayson ky i heard a thump, thinking i had hit something on the interstate. i arrived at home (175 miles from grayson ky) when i started up my road the car felt like i was getting a flat. i stopped in my driveway and the left front tire was completely flat. the next morning i removed the flat tire and took it to a repair shop. at the repair shop the tire had a grove cut into the inside of the tire, the mechanic said i had better check the car to see what cut the tire. on my return home i inspected the left front suspension. the coil spring on the left front strut had broken and slipped out of its mount and cut the inside of the tire. it was just by the grace of god that the tire did not fail due to the cutting caused by the broken coil spring until i came up my driveway. i have the tire and coil spring if anyone would like to examine it. if it had failed at interstate speed i might have been killed.

Left front coil spring failure , spring snapped as i backed out of driveway, i shudder when i think what would have happened at highway speed , as i travel the garden state parkway daily . this vehicle has never been abused , and in my almost 40 years of being around cars i have never seen a potentially deadly spring failure as this . also , upon checking auto forums online it seems this failure is not uncommon to the nissan versa . *tr

I had the car in reverse to back out of garage and heard a grinding sound. i stopped to look at the car but didn't see anything obvious. i tried driving again but stopped after a few feet and called my mechanic. his garage is about a half mile away so i tried to drive slowly there but suddenly there was a loud bang and the car felt like it hit the road on the right front side. the tire was flat. the diagnosis is a broken coil spring, which i have since learned is a common defect on the versa. *tr

In may 2014 the left front spring in our car broke. the following august the right front spring also broke. the springs broke in the exact same place. we still have the broken parts and can send pictures if requested. we got no help from out local nissan dealership. there are over 100 of these complaints all over the web. we believe these springs are defective and should be covered under warranty. *tr

While traveling at low speed, under 25 miles per hour, on a smoothly paved road, i heard a loud bang followed by a rattling sound in the left front wheel well. after pulling over i found a part of a coil spring in the road. after looking at the coil spring in the wheel well i noticed that the end was broken and jagged and matched the broken piece of coil that was left on the road. i do not drive off road and have maintained my vehicle well. there was no indication that there was a problem with this coil prior to the break. *js

My passenger side front spring broke and speared my tire, luckily while i was parking. when i got it towed to the mechanic, they showed me that the left spring was cracked and ready to break as well. i had to pay to have both replaced. mechanic informed me that this is a known issue. i'm very concerned that this might happen again while i'm driving with my 8 year old in the car.

I was driving aprox. 30 mph when i heard a snap in the front.the car pulled to the left and went in the opposite lane of traffic. i got out and found a piece of broken or snapped coil spring under my vehicle. *js

On the 21st of april 2014 my wife left work. as she was reversing the car she heard a loud grinding noise and then a boom. the front right tire blew out. she found a large sheered off metal piece underneath the car. we took the car in the next day to a professional service. they found out that the spring was completely destroyed. the cost to fix everything including the tire was $720. the worse part is that they only had oem parts available. this means that they had to put the same defective springs back on our car. after i filed a report with consumer affairs nissan contacted me back saying that they will not honor this defective part. we purchased our car in the summer of 2010. the spring lasted only four years. had this been on the highway my family could have been seriously injured, especially during this recent winter. this is our only car and we have three children under three years old. no one should buy a nissan versa, period, if they care about the safety of their family. *js

Put car in gear and started to pull away from parking spot. drove maybe 100 yards and heard a loud bang. i pulled over and looked around. noticed part of a coil spring laying on the ground. looking at the car it was obvious it was from mine. took it to the local nissan dealer and they looked over car. said that they have not seen this happen before and it should never happen. after looking over information on my car and seeing i had the extended warranty they told me i needed a new strut and spring as well as an alignment. nissan would help with the cost of the strut but not the spring or alignment. how is this possible when the failure is caused by a coil spring breaking. a part that should never break. service advisor said spring broke because of a little rust spot on it. someone needs to explain to me how cars from the 50's have rusty coil springs that don't snap but a 2009 versa has a rust spot and it snaps off. this matter needs to be addressed by nissan. there maybe only a few complaints on here about it but google "09 nissan versa coil spring" and you will find tons of complaints of this exact thing happening to the left front coil spring. seems odd that its always the front left. *tr

Both front coil springs on my 2009 nissan versa snapped in half on the same day. there was no apparent rust or fatigue. the front left tire was gouged out beyond repair from one of the springs (i am lucky it didn't puncture and burst while i was driving it.) i had to replace both coil springs, the mounts, the sway bars, and the tire, costing me nearly $1000 in repairs. i do not believe this is acceptable on a 5 year old vehicle with relatively few miles on it. *tr

Both front coil springs on the 2009 nissan versa snapped. thought this was highly unlikely and just bad luck. however after some searching i found that many nissan versa owners have had the exact same trouble, and have been told by their dealers that they were unaware of a problem. the car is driven back and forth to work on city streets and not on bad or dirt roads. it has not been subject to any heavy transport. both springs broke off at the bottom of the spring, where most other people have described as their break points. *tt

Pulling out of our garage, there was a "pop" noise and later we found on the garage floor a piece of the coil spring from the front passenger side had broken off where it comes into contact with the strut plate that holds it in place at the bottom. *tr

I purchased this car new and it was passed on to my daughter. no accidents prior to the incident that i am reporting. in april, my grandson called his father and said that he had a flat tire. upon inspection, this flat tire was caused by broken right front coil spring. i am glad that the car was parked when it happened. mileage on the car was about 34,000 miles. i am very upset about this because this could have caused a very serious accident. my grandsons are special to me. this vehicle should be recalled for inspection and or replacement of the coil springs on all of the versa automobiles. this is a definite safety issue. is nissan going to sweep it under the table like another manufacturer? the repairs costs $217 which was a very reasonable amount. the possible risk is not reasonable. i just checked the web site so this should be incident number 44 that is reported to you. *tr

Althuough i'm not sure exactly when it occurred, i suspect it happened while dodging winter potholes in streets leading into cleveland, ohio for an event there. returning home on the freeways, my wife and i noticed the ride was extremely harsh. later i noted the drivers side was low in the front. actually there was only an inch between the tire and the wheel cutout. i tried bouncing the front suspension but is was solid. clunking as i drove out my driveway, i went to my dealer service manager who did a quick look at my parked car . he knew instantly it was a broken coil spring and had a set for both sides readily at hand. the new springs are only warrantied for 1 year or 12,000 miles. which makes me think they haven't solved thier problem and i don't like the idea of paying for it while being a test driver. i never owned a car in 55 years before that i did not trust. i did buy this car new in july of 2009 but found out later it was manufactured in november 2008. *tt

Left front coil spring snapped and is hitting left front tire. car worked fine on friday. went out to garage sat. morning to run errands and when i pulled out of the garage i heard a strange noise. parked it and called my brother who came to look at it and noticed the snapped coil spring hitting the tire. car is going to the repair shop this afternoon and expect at least a $350.00 charge. i went online and saw many complaints on this same issue and apparently nissan has not issued a recall. i just thank god it was parked and i wasn't driving it. *tr

My car was parked in my driveway overnight. i got in my car the next morning to go to work and as i put the car into reverse and let off the brakes, i heard a really loud noise that sounded like metal snapping. i got out and looked to see what the noise came from. i couldn't notice anything immediately so i started to drive and i could feel every little imperfection in the road jolting the car. i immediately brought my car to the shop and sure enough my shocks/struts/strut mounts were gone on the left driver's side. the coil just broke in two and was so close to causing major damage to my wheels.

Both front springs shattered, and parts of the springs were loose around the struts and fell off the car.

Tire blew out on the highway. had car towed to a body shop where i was informed that a coil spring had broken and caused the tire to blow. looked online and noticed that this is a known issue with the nissan versa. nissan customer service was unhelpful, getting basic facts of my case wrong and claiming no liability since warranty had expired. this is a known issue with high potential for mortality. i recommend an investigation into a potential recall. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 nissan versa. the contact stated that the struts were prematurely wearing the tires. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that all four tires and struts needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. in addition, the contact discovered that the driver side coil spring fractured. the vehicle was unable to be driven and the part to repair the vehicle was ordered. the manufacturer was notified of the failures. the approximate failure mileage was 37,000. updated 4/20/15*cn updated 9/27/2017*cn

I was driving at 45 mph and a loud "thump" under my car sounded like something hit the undercarriage. i looked back and could not see anything on the road. the next day, heard a "clang" under the as i decelerated from 20 mph. i stopped and found a piece of my right front coil spring in the roadway. the entire bottom coil of the spring had snapped right through the metal and fallen off the car. this is the second coil spring on my car that has done this. the left spring snapped the same way, about a year ago. the manufacturer must have used bad metal for the springs, and they could keep snapping while i am driving. it was dangerous when the first spring snapped, but if both springs snap on the same car, there is a serious defect. *tr

Passenger side spring coil broke nearly 5 months after the driver side spring coil broke. see complaint from 7/31/13. luckily, coil broke while backing out of drive way, so i did not lose control of vehicle. broken part of coil is now pinched between coil seat and rest of coil leaving the remaining spring unseated. car is undriveable in this condition for second time before 5 year loan is even paid off. case opened with nissan, but they thus far have refused to pay diagnostic fee to confirm broken spring coil. broken coil can be clearly seen in tire well. diagnosis is required for any further action by nissan regarding repair reimbursement. bad customer service. *tr

I was pulling out of my parking space when i experienced what felt and sounded like running over an empty soda bottle. i even looked back to see what i had run over but saw nothing on the ground. needless to say i continued on my way but while driving down the highway the front of my car felt like it was bouncing up and down and was hard to steer and control. it was taken to the dealership where it was purchased and i was told that the front left coil spring had broken and this was going to be a major repair. i was shocked that something like this could randomly happen and was informed that this is a typical result of an accident (which was not the case) and was then later told that is can occur from "normal" wear and tear or age of the car. now this is where i became skeptical because the car is ~4.5 years old, less than 54,000 miles, is very well kept, and although i have a long commute it is primary on the highway. i have done some research on this issues and it appears that i am not the only one that has encountered this issue in the same year, make and model of this car. i have also spoken to a few mechanics who also feel that a 4.5 year old coil spring should not just break so easily as it did. i did ask to keep the part and now have it in my possession. i have contacted the nissan's corporate branch but found that to be a dead end after several back and forth exchanges over the past few months. after speaking with a few other nissan owners they were not surprised as not one of them has ever had a pleasant experience dealing with this corporation. *tr

Coil spring on passenger front side snapped and damaged the tire to bring a complete flat tire while driving. *tr

My car was being inspected in november 2013. the front driver side spring coil was cracked and had to be replaced. in march 2014 i was driving slowly and heard a horribly breaking sound. i found part of my front passenger side coil spring on the ground. it had broken and also had to be replaced. on the part that broke off from the car; there was a clear line. the coil was coated with a protective enamel like coating and was perfectly fine. there was a line however where there was no coating on the coil. this was completely rusted through. it is clear to me that there was a defect in manufacturing of the coil springs. the coil springs are not coated properly and are therefore rusting where there is no protective coat and breaking. there should be an investigation and recall. i had purchased an extended warranty which covered these repairs so fortunately i did not lose any money or suffer any injuries due to this negligence. *tr

The driver side front spring completely broke. i went to the vehicle one morning and noticed the front of the car sitting very low to the ground on the driver side. almost not space between wheel and fender. i looked up under the wheel well and saw that the spring was completely broken. luckily i was not driving this vehicle when this happened. i have seen numerous complaints about this same incident and strongly believe there should be a recall on this part. nissan better step up. i am very disappointed with nissan and would never purchase another one ever again. the vehicle still has not been fixed. i ordered the two front springs and would try to replace them this weekend. i will take pictures and post them online. *tr