2009 Nissan Versa: tire blowout or tread separation

Filed Sep 8, 2015 · Suspension · 77,460 miles · IL

As I was driving, suddenly my tire blew. There was a load noise. I had to pull over right away. When we took the tire off there was a gash surrounding the entire tire. When I went to get new tires, I was told that the spring was broken and that it was the cause of my tire blowing. They said it was very unusual for a spring and strut to have to be replaced with my car being not that old with not that many miles on it.

Filed Jul 31, 2015 · Suspension · 30,000 miles · MA

My wife had just backed out of the driveway and started driving down our road. Just as she started she heard a loud noise and the car steering became difficult. There is a service station 1/8th mile from our house. She drove the car extremely slowly (5mph) to the station and had the mechanic check the car. The mechanic turned the steering wheel and one of the front suspension shock absorber springs fell out of the car - broken into two pieces. It had fatigued and catastrophically failed. The mechanic informed her that she was very lucky this did not happen when she was driving normal speed as it could have sliced the tire and caused a blow out at high speed. I called nissan consumer affairs to report the incident and they informed me there was no recall for this issue and that since the car was no longer under warranty the repair cost was my responsibility. It cost approx $650 to replace both front suspension units.

Filed Dec 9, 2014 · Suspension · 68,432 miles · MD

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 the federal safety agency 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).

Filed May 22, 2014 · Suspension · 43,500 miles · IL

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.

Filed Apr 30, 2014 · Steering, Suspension · 66,868 miles · MN

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.

Filed Feb 21, 2014 · Suspension · 64,000 miles · WI

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.

Filed Dec 18, 2013 · Airbags, Body · 70,000 miles · MD · crash · 1 injury

A lady (1) fall asleep then crash on lady (2), then lady (2) crash on our car, but instead of braking the lady (2) she pushes her accelerator crashes and pushes our car to lady (3) in front of us. Our tire explodes, the airbag passenger did not blow out and my wife has a neck injury. My daughter 4 y/old is fine. We have a police report. The car declared total loss. Hospital bill for my wife and a lots of nightmare for my daughter and headaches for the husband.

Filed Dec 14, 2013 · Tires, Wheels · VA

My nissan versa's front left passenger tire was losing air every few days. When I took it to an auto shop nearby, they found that the aluminum valve stem has cracked and that's what is causing the leak. This faulty valve stem could have lead to tire failure and potentially serious accident. Please advise how to go about addressing this issue.

Filed Aug 27, 2013 · Suspension · 58,230 miles · NY

At 65 miles an hour the front coil spring on the driver's side malfunctioned and broke creating a sharp edge that cut the front driver's side tire. This caused a blow out on the highway. The car on examination after the malfunction had a total of three broken coil strings (two front and one rear), and other damage to the suspension (two struts, and sway bars). Vehicle was traveling on interstate highway at the time. Operator was able to control vehicle and move to shoulder thus avoiding a major accident. Vehicle had to be towed from shoulder. It appears these springs are defective.

Filed Jun 26, 2011 · Tires · 21,123 miles · PA

2009 nissan versa. The TPMS "tire pressure monitoring system" the valve stems on all four tires was either cracked and / or defective, two were leaking air so badly I had to fill them back up with air every day> I thought I had driven over some nails that made them leak air. When I went to get them checked, I was shocked to find out it was the valve stems that was causing the problem. I had to replace them with rubber valve stems. Dealership was closed and going to call them about it. But don't think they are covered. Just glad I didn't have a blow out or sudden lose of air that could have caused me to wreck. This doesn't seem to be an isolated problem and the dealer should have a recall on faulty equipment.