Nissan Class Action Says ‘Next-Generation’ Transmission is Defective

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

A Nissan Versa owner says his vehicle’s continuously variable transmission has a defect that Nissan is failing to properly deal with.

Plaintiff Michael Knotts is raising claims over alleged transmission problems in Nissan Versa vehicles from model years 2012 and 2013 equipped with a continuously variable automatic transmission, or CVT.

A CVT is a newer type of automatic transmission that instead of gears uses a belt and dual pulley mechanism to create effective gear ratios along a continuum, in contrast to the discrete ratios provided by traditional geared transmissions. The result is smooth acceleration and deceleration, as well as better fuel economy.

Knotts says the CVTs in Nissan Versa vehicles have a defect that makes them prone to failure. The defect causes the vehicles to lose most and possibly all of their ability to accelerate, he says. The sudden loss of acceleration puts drivers and passengers in danger, he says.

“Nissan knew or should have known that the CVTs were (and are) defective, not fit for their intended purpose, and unsafe when used as intended,” the complaint reads. “Nevertheless, Nissan has failed to disclose the defective CVT to Plaintiff and the Class members, both before and after purchase.”

Knotts says he bought a new, CVT-equipped Nissan Versa from a Minnesota dealership in October 2012. He says the defect caused his vehicle to barely accelerate at all, causing him to block traffic and leaving him barely able to move the vehicle to the side of the road.

Knotts is apparently not alone in his experience of the alleged CVT defect. He quotes several driver complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, all of which describe a similar experience.

According to one owner’s complaint, the transmission failed with only 12,000 miles on the car. Another owner said the transmission went into neutral while the shift indicator still read drive. A third owner said pressing the accelerator pedal caused their vehicle to decelerate instead of accelerate.

Because of complaints like these and dozens of negative product reviews in online forums, Knotts says Nissan is on notice that their CVTs have a defect. Yet the company failed to disclose the defect to him and to other Nissan Versa purchasers, he claims.

Given a proper disclosure, neither Knotts nor his proposed Class Members would have purchased the Nissan Versa, or they would have at least been willing to pay less for their vehicles.

Similar claims led to a Nissan class action settlement benefitting owners of CVT-equpped Nissan and Infiniti vehicles. The plaintiffs in that settlement said their transmissions vibrated or shuddered during acceleration, and that Nissan failed to properly resolve the issue.

Knotts is proposing to represent a nationwide plaintiff Class covering all persons who owned or leased an affected Nissan Versa in the U.S. A proposed subclass would cover Class Members who purchased or leased their Nissan Versa in Minnesota.

He seeks an award of compensatory and statutory damages and a court order barring Nissan from continuing the practices complained of. He also seeks reimbursement of his court costs and attorney fees.

Knotts is represented by attorneys Melissa S. Weiner, Amy E. Boyle and Colin J. Pasterski of Halunen Law, and by James C. Shah and Natalie Finkelman Bennett of Shepherd Finkelman Miller & Shah LLP.

The Nissan Versa Transmission Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Knotts v. Nissan North America Inc., Case No. 0:17-cv-05049, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.