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2023 Nissan Kicks

The Verdict

92 Smooth Ride

The 2023 Nissan Kicks has 34 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are body (12 complaints) and engine (10 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 92/100, it earns a "Smooth Ride" rating. If you're shopping for a Nissan Kicks, consider the 2022 model year which has 32% fewer complaints.

Safe Bet

The 2022 has 32% fewer complaints

View the 2022 Nissan Kicks dashboard →

92

Klunk Score: Smooth Ride

This vehicle year has significantly fewer complaints than average. A reliable choice.

How is this calculated?

The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.

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Under the Hood

Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.

YearBodyBrakesElectricalEngineTransmission
2018291413255
20194118174513
20202510212516
20212751298
2022141143
20231247101
2024292331

By Category

Body
12
Engine
10
Electrical
7
Brakes
4
Transmission
1

By Severity

1
14
2
18
4
2

Worst Problems

Complaints

Engine 1

The first incident was one week after purchasing the vehicle. All of my maintenance lights flashed on after driving my vehicle for several miles. I pulled over and immediately turned my car off and called my mechanic. He immediately came over and my lights flashed on again. He said for me to take it to the dealership. I did and when I turned off my car to go into the dealership and returned, the lights were off after starting my engine up. It took 3 starts for them to not appear. They refused to service my car since no codes were thrown up. The second incident is much more important. I got off the interstate and was pressing my brake. When I put my foot off the brake and about to push the gas, my engine completely stalled. I had to stop completely and put my car into park and restart my car. Immediately took it to the dealership and had a diagnostics done. They told me it was the battery, but my certified mechanic tested it previously before I took it in. They said nothing else was wrong. Nissan's bulletin applies to 2023 Nissan Kicks and Versa vehicles. If the engine shuts off when coming to a stop, and no DTCs are present, confirm the current ECM part number. If the P/N is 23701-9EW1A, 9EW2A, 9EW4A, 9EW5A, 5R80B, 5R80D, 5R80E OR 5R81C, reprogram the ECM. I reported this to the dealership but it was not checked out. I was on the interstate when my engine stalled.

1mo ago
Engine 2

September 9, 2026: The vehicle had the same malfunction as in February 2024. The vehicle was in drive and was stopped in a parking lot. When the driver pressed the accelerator there was no response from the engine/powertrain and the vehicle did not move. The ignition was cycled and the vehicle could be moved.

1mo ago
Engine 1

February 2024: The vehicle was in drive and was stopped at a red light. When the traffic light changed the driver pressed the accelerator. The engine/powertrain did not respond, and the vehicle did not move. The driver turned the car off, then back on. The driver was able to drive the vehicle to a safe location and inspected operator level systems. No problems could be found. Benton Nissan in Birmingham, AL evaluated the vehicle and could not find a malfunction record or reproduce the malfunction. Nissan USA was notified and stated the issue was a known problem in engineering review at the time. We stopped receiving any response from their representative in March 2024.

1mo ago
Engine 2

The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Kicks. The contact stated that there was a green fluid leaking underneath the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that there were two hoses leaking from the transmission and the radiator. After further inspection, it was determined the radiator had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and the failure was being investigated. The failure mileage was approximately 37,100.

2mo ago
Transmission 1

The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Kicks. The contact stated that while stopped at light, the vehicle did not accelerate and lost power. The vehicle was towed to a friend's residence. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the CVT transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 78,632

4mo ago
Body 2

I find driving my Nissan 2023 Nissan kicks 2023 when I look to my right my rearview mirror obstruct my view. It do not allow me to see completely what I’m approaching while my car is moving. I have to lean to my right and look under my mirror to get a clear view of what beside me. Or or what I am approaching. Or what is approaching me. I have had two accident in his car due to my rearview mirror obstructing my view. I went back to the dealership and I told them about this situation and they said it was nothing they can do. I was injured in the last accident did not see the car approaching me at all. The Nissan car dealership did not give a height verification of people who should drive this car. I am five 9 1/2 and I am buying a Nissan kicks 2023 and I tell you you have call me back pain I have to get shots in my back because of all the linking and ducking I have to do to see why this car is moving. This is a dangerous vehicle on the road. It should be taken off the road. It should be taken off the market. Should nobody buy this a Nissan kicks. The word.Period.

4mo ago
Body 1

The driver side (left) camera seems to be partially out (gets a faint signal in sunlight, fully out at night) and it is unclear how well the saftey features work as a result.

4mo ago
Brakes 2

My car will just slam on the brakes for no reason at all. The only thing I did different was use the emergency brake the day before when I was on a slope. There is nothing in front of me causing this to happen. I've been to the shop about this before they charge you $190 to put it on a sensor and tell you there's nothing wrong with it that was a good while ago probably a year. It happened again Saturday morning driving home from work I was able to get to the shop today Tuesday morning. I told them I saw online that other people were having this issue. I could not afford to give them another $190 even though they said they could only diagnosis if it would happen while the mechanic was driving it or they could find it on the machine that would cost $190. I have a warranty on this car and I don't feel that it's fair that although they have to know about this issue they still want to charge me and will not even acknowledge that they're aware of this. I told the woman on the phone when I called in Saturday morning for an appointment which by the way they couldn't get me in until Monday anyways, that I had an hour commute to and from work and that if anyone would have been behind me they would have hit me. She seemed unconcerned. Everyone at Nissan seems unconcerned.

5mo ago
Body 1

I use the adaptive cruise control a lot because I had ankle surgery and it bothers it to drive and use it a lot. The cruise control is fantastic I love it but it started giving me a warning light at the end of drive. I drive from [XXX] to [XXX] 4 days a week. The warning light will pop up randomly sometimes it will do it every day and sometimes it won't do it at all. sometimes it will only do it in the morning and not on my drive home. So I didn't think anything of it but then it got more frequent and now my warranty is running out but the dealership can't duplicate the issue. This is a major issue because it's not predictable and could happen at any moment. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

5mo ago
Brakes 4

Vehicle: 2023 Nissan Kicks SR Incident Detail: On April 1, my son was involved in an auto accident. According to my son, he was traveling at approximately 20–30 mph. Upon approaching slowed traffic, my son applied the service brakes; however, the vehicle failed to decelerate or stop. To mitigate the impact, my son veered to the right. Despite this evasive maneuver, the front-left side of the Nissan Kicks struck the rear-right bumper of the lead vehicle. My son was only able to bring the vehicle to a complete stop by engaging the emergency brake. Notably, despite the impact, the airbags did not deploy. This incident could have resulted in serious bodily injury or death for all involved and cause significant property damage and anxiety. The highway patrol was on scene and working on a full investigation. No warning lights appeared during the incident. The incident occurred 2 days ago and has not been inspected yet. The vehicle is available for inspection.

6mo ago
Body 1

Back window shattered spontaneously without notice

7mo ago
Body 2

Back glass was shattered with no visible impact. Back glass was replaced by Safelite.

9mo ago
Body 2

WHILE COMING FROM THE GROCERY STORE TO MY APARTMENT I HEARD A LOUD POP AND I SAW THRU MY MIRROR THAT MY REAR WINDOW WAS SHATTERED. I. STOP ON THE NEXT BLOCK AND PARK TO SEE IF SOMEONE OR SOMETHING HIT MY WINDOW BUT NOTHING... I NOTICED ON THE SIDE OF THE SORROUNDI WINDOW THE WINDOW WAS SEPARATED FROM THE WINDOW FRAME... I DID SOME RESEARCHED AND FOUND OUT IT HAS HAPPEN TO OTHER NISSAN OWNERS .... I WILL BE CONTACTING MY NISSAN DEALER TO SEE IF THEY WILL REPAIR IT FOR FREE... I CAN'T DRIVE IT BECAUSE THE WINDOW CAN FALL TO THE STREET... I CAN'T PUT NO PLASTIC AROUND IT BECAUSE ITS BEEN RAINING ALL THIS WEEKND.... THIS HAPPEN ON FRIDAY THE 16, 2026 AROUND 430PM

9mo ago
Electrical 2

The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Kicks. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the engine failed to turn over. The contact had to wait for 20 minutes to an hour before being able to start the vehicle. The failure was intermittent. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.

10mo ago
Electrical 2

I started braking and the red "BRAKE" started intermittently shining. Later on, the warning, front collision, and traction control lights suddenly turned on. I cannot use cruise control now either. A quick look online shows this to be a widespread issue across many Nissan Kicks, but the dealership is saying that the issue only applies to some models of Kicks, not mine. But my issue is identical to the one people online have said applied to theirs and was covered, so I think it is a more widespread issue than Nissan is letting on/admitting. This is dangerous as these systems are last-resort braking systems for emergencies, so when they are supposed to engage is precisely when you need them most (to prevent a deadly crash). Additionally, there is now a second instance of one of the side cameras going out. The first one happened at roughly ~20k miles, and now the other side at ~36k miles. This is dangerous since these cameras feed into the lane keeping and blind spot systems, as well as the parking system.

14mo ago
Engine 1

The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Kicks. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the headlights became extremely dim before the failure was self-corrected. The failure was intermittent. Occasionally, the contact had to restart the vehicle for the headlights to illuminate properly. The contact stated that after the initial start-up, the vehicle hesitated, and there was an extensive amount of time before the transmission shifted into 2nd gear. There was also an extended amount of time before the vehicle shifted into 1st gear while the vehicle was idling. While driving uphill and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle decelerated and lost motive power. The failure became a persistent failure. The contact stated that on one occasion, while driving at an undisclosed speed, while the transmission was shifting from 1st to 2nd gear, a loud boom came from the vehicle, and the vehicle lost power. The contact was able to push the vehicle, with assistance, to a nearby parking lot. There was a mechanic shop nearby, and a certified mechanic inspected the vehicle. The mechanic determined that the transmission fluid was leaking from the driver's side CV axle. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was made aware that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 25V437000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and 25V508000 (Exterior Lighting, Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000. The VIN was not available.

14mo ago
Electrical 2

I went to have car checked and mechanic said it was a recall and the problem is an unstable electrical connection within the sensor that measures the force the driver applies to the steering wheel during turns and can result in the power steering feature being disabled. I can have inspection done at any time. I drive my family to work and my infant grandson around. I don’t want to have an accident or put my family at risk. Other vehicles that were of the same yr and make have been recalled but mine was made in a different country so it has not been recalled as of yet but I need answers due to the risk factor of driving this vehicle.

15mo ago
Body 2

The emergency braking systems will randomly brake without anything in front of the car. When backing into a parking spot, if the car senses a parking block it will emergency brake. When driving, there has been a person walking on a sidewalk, not in the road or crossing the road, and the car emergency braked. Other times it has emergency braked randomly when driving for no known reason. I have taken the car in to get serviced and was informed the sensors are fine and it is simply the location of the sensors causing the issue. I was informed that no recalls are present and there is nothing they can do to fix it. This presents a safety hazard to myself and those around me, as I do not know when it will emergency brake, potentially causing an accident. There are varying days and times of incidents and the vehicle had less than 10,000 miles.

15mo ago
Electrical 1

My car has repeatedly stalled while in motion. •No warning lights appear on the dashboard before or after stalling. •The most recent incident occurred in front of a moving car, putting you and your family at risk. •Luckily, no one was injured, but this continues to be a serious safety hazard. •This problem has happened before, meaning it is a recurring mechanical defect. I’ve reported this issue to Nissan, but they are refusing to acknowledge it. •You have not received any recall notices despite this being a major safety concern. •Nissan has not provided a fix or meaningful response regarding the stalling issue. There have been no dashboard warning lights to indicate when something is wrong. •The car has had multiple mechanical issues, but you haven’t received proper support from Nissan. •Nissan has been unresponsive or dismissive about the recurring defects.

19mo ago
Body 1

I have had several incidents where my vehicle malfunctioned. The most recent one that I was concerned about my safety was that I was driving 55 mph where my car applied the automatic emergency feature and suddenly started breaking without reason. I was not able to accelerate due to the malfunction of the car breaking on its own and when the car reached about 30 mph that’s when i was able to accelerate again. The other incidents is when the car’s crashing system warning lights and beeping would come up constantly even when no cars are around. As well as when I am going in reverse. My car will start beeping and warning me that I am going to hit something while everything is clear.

21mo ago

34 total

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