2008 Nissan Versa

Name: 2008 Nissan Versa owner-filed safety complaints per 1,000 sold
Creator: YearsTell

For every car sold, owners filed more complaints about the 2008 Versa than about the typical Versa year: 1.6 times as many. Among the 11 Versa years with enough complaints to compare, owners filed the fewest about the 2017 (0.26 per 1,000 sold) and the most about the 2023 (1.94).

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

0.72 per 1,000

1.6 times this nameplate’s own median

Counted from 61 complaints filed in the first three years, of 381 ever. 95% lower bound 0.54.

Every Versa model yearComplaints per 1,000 sold, first three years

This yearOther yearsToo few complaints to rankTypical year, 0.44

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters. The bar is how many complaints each rate rests on.

Model year	Per 1,000	Complaints
2008	0.72	61
2009	0.62	52
2010	0.16	15
2011	0.20	20
2012	0.75	80
2013	0.46	53
2014	0.91	117
2015	0.61	87
2016	0.27	38
2017	0.26	31
2018	0.32	29
2019	0.14	10
2020	0.44	25
2021	0.27	15
2023	1.94	37

Issues owners of the 2008 Versa report

Phrases over-represented in these complaints compared with the same component on every other vehicle. Counts are complaints containing the phrase.

Air Bags 171 complaints

recall	147	86%
parts	98	57%
takata	93	54%
recall notification	42	25%
recall recall	17	10%
bags part	17	10%

Suspension 70 complaints

spring	48	69%
coil	43	61%
coil spring	35	50%
front coil	14	20%
side coil	10	14%
spring broke	10	14%

When it breaks

26% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 52,000 miles, from 214 complaints that recorded one).

Failures arrive late and spread out, which looks like wear. Service history matters more than model year here.

What NHTSA did

2 investigations covering this model year, 1 of which list a recall campaign.

Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

Questions buyers ask about the 2008 Nissan Versa

Is 2008 a good year or a bad year for the Versa?

What problems does the 2008 Versa have?

The parts owners named most often in complaints filed to date: Air Bags (171), Suspension (70), Electrical System (25). The phrases they used are listed above.

Is the 2008 Versa reliable?

Complaint records cannot settle that on their own. They count safety problems owners chose to report to the federal government, not every repair. What they do show is how this year compares with the other Versa years: for every car sold, owners filed more complaints about the 2008 Versa than about the typical Versa year: 1.6 times as many.

Which Versa year has the fewest complaints?

Among years with enough complaints to compare, the 2017, at 0.26 per 1,000 sold. Every Versa year, ranked.

What the used-car guides say

No guide we read covers the Versa.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page, each on NHTSA’s own site:

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is checked by hand against its source table, not against an outside figure.