California Lemon Law News + Info

Nissan CVT Class Lawsuit: Altima, Sentra and Versa Complaints

A Nissan transmission lawsuit alleges that the continuously variable transmission (CVT) causes issues such as poor acceleration, hesitation, engine revving, jerking and stalling. The CVT issues allegedly happen without warning, forcing drivers to pull off the road quickly or risk getting rear-ended.

steering wheelThe Nissan CVT lawsuit includes 2017–2018 Nissan Altima, 2018–2019 Nissan Sentra, 2018–2019 Nissan Versa and 2018–2019 Nissan Versa Note vehicles with the CVT transmission. Other CVT lawsuits have included many other Nissan vehicle models.

The plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit make similar claims:

  • Sherrell Moses – She bought a used 2018 Nissan Sentra, only to notice transmission problems six months later. The Sentra hesitates when she tries to accelerate. After that, the engine will rev excessively, but the vehicle won’t move. When the vehicle finally engages, it jerks or judders.
  • Ashle Wilson – She bought a used 2017 Nissan Altima. A year later, the vehicle allegedly started to jerk and hesitate when accelerating from stops or merging onto highways. Wilson had the transmission replaced under warranty, but the CVT transmission allegedly had the same defects.

Nissan allegedly knew of the CVT transmission problems since at least 2013, based on complaints made against vehicles with the CVT transmission. So far, no recall has been issued.

According to the lawsuit, Nissan denies the existence of the CVT problems until after the relevant warranties expire. In some cases, Nissan owners whose vehicles were still under warranty were made to pay for the extremely costly CVT repairs anyway.

The lack of a recall prompted a Nissan Sentra driver to submit this complaint to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Nissan Sentra Recall Needed

After 37,122 miles, the transmission on my 2018 Nissan Sentra went bad on me. I took it to the dealership and they informed me that the entire transmission needed to be replaced. The dealership also said the fuel pump and cluster needed to be replaced. I read that there have been other complaints made about the transmission system for these cars, and there should definitely be a recall.

2018 Nissan Sentra

Unexpected CVT transmission issues left some drivers stranded on highways, as shown in this Nissan Altima complaint submitted to NHTSA.

Nissan Altima Left Stranded

The CVT transmission failed while in transport. It put my family at risk while being stranded on busy highway. There were no warning lights or indication of issues, except the vehicle stopped performing effectively. The dealer acknowledged issues in this and other models and had transmission repaired at my cost. The vehicle was diagnosed by the dealer and, using OBD, they found transmission failure codes.

2018 Nissan Altima

Source: CarComplaints.com


Lemon Law Help by Knight Law Group is an automotive lemon law firm that exclusively practices in California. If you are a California resident who purchased or leased a defective vehicle from a licensed dealership in California, we may be able to help you get rid of your potential lemon and recover significant cash compensation. Model year restrictions apply: 2017–Present vehicle models only.

However, we cannot help those who reside outside of California or purchased their vehicle outside of California unless they are active duty members of the Armed Forces, nor will we be able to refer those to a lemon law firm in their states.

To learn more about the California Lemon Law and your legal rights, visit our guides on the California Lemon Law and Used Car Lemon Law for more information.

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