Problems › Nissan › 2023 Kicks
2023 Nissan Kicks Problems & Owner Complaints
Age-normalised, this year draws ~7.5 complaints per year on the road — ranking 6 of 7 Nissan Kicks years we track (1 = most complaints per year).
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What owners report
Forward Collision Avoidance is the most-reported problem area on the 2023 Nissan Kicks, cited in 11 of 30 filed complaints (37%).
Electrical System is next (7 complaints, 23%), followed by Engine (5), Back Over Prevention (4), Service Brakes (4).
Across all complaints, 2 report a crash, 1 report injuries.
The most safety-critical cluster is Air Bags: 1 crash, 1 injury report(s).
Complaints by vehicle system
Owner complaints filed with the U.S. NHTSA for the 2023 Nissan Kicks, grouped by the vehicle system each cites. A single complaint can name more than one system, so the group totals can add up to more than 30.
Forward Collision Avoidance 11 1 crash
“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 n…”
NHTSA complaint #11729021, 2026 · crash
“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 $1…”
NHTSA complaint #11737437, 2026
“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 majo…”
NHTSA complaint #11736495, 2025
Electrical System 7
“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.”
NHTSA complaint #11704047, 2025
“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-resor…”
NHTSA complaint #11682783, 2025
“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…”
NHTSA complaint #11675020, 2025
Unknown Or Other 6
“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 a…”
NHTSA complaint #11743116, 2026
“Back glass was shattered with no visible impact. Back glass was replaced by Safelite.”
NHTSA complaint #11713664, 2026
“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…”
NHTSA complaint #11713289, 2026
Engine 5
“Hello, I noticed my battery light came Friday, April 5th, but the indicator light went off after about 45 seconds. Saturday, April 6th, I was driving and the battery light came on again, after 5 minutes the acceleration stopped working as I turned into the subdivision. The vehicle was going 5mph, I was able to make to a relatives house. Once I pull in the driveway, all of the indicator lights came on and a warning message appeared, Malfunction See Owners Manual. My cousin tried jumping the battery, but it still wouldn't start, so he tried again. I was finally able to start the vehicle, but…”
NHTSA complaint #11582132, 2024
“I was sitting at a light during rush hour with my kids. The light turned green, but nothing happened when I pushed the car accelerator. I put my flashers on and tried not to panic. I put the car in park, turned it off, then turned it back on. The car worked properly and I was able to be move out of the intersection to the side of the road. Oil and engine appeared normal and there were no noises signaling an issue. I called Nissan and drove it to the dealership to submit it for repairs. The dealership reviewed it and tested it for two days only to tell me their computer couldn’t detect a proble…”
NHTSA complaint #11572787, 2024
“I purchased the vehicle in April of 2023. It has just over 2000 miles on it. I don't drive it very much. Starting in January of 2024, I’ve been having intermittent issues with my fairly new Nissan Kicks vehicle, as follows: •Engine stalling at stop •Forward Emergency Brake (FEB) Sensor activates when no obstruction present – and while driving full speed on road I have taken the vehicle to the dealership Service Center for evaluation several times. As of today (2/13/2024) They have had it for a week. While I have been told there is a software update to fix the engine stalling issue (n…”
NHTSA complaint #11571602, 2024
Back Over Prevention 4
“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 s…”
NHTSA complaint #11636756, 2025
“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…”
NHTSA complaint #11674299, 2024
“March 2023 Master Warning Light symbol on dashboard and Rear Automatic Braking (RAB) Warning Light symbol on dashboard. Warning Malfunction See Owner's Manual and Warning Parking Sensor Error See Owner's Manual. June 2023 Warning No Key Detected, Check Rear Seat for All Articles and Parking Sensor Off. VDC Settings Menu illuminated light dims while accelerating and returns to normal. Vehicle is available for inspection. Rear sensors are not working to warn of obstructions as designed. Two service dealerships have serviced vehicle. No repairs, only diagnostic testing at one location. DTC C1B56-…”
NHTSA complaint #11533793, 2023
Service Brakes 4 1 crash
“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 n…”
NHTSA complaint #11729021, 2026 · crash
“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 $1…”
NHTSA complaint #11737437, 2026
“We were simply backing out of our driveway and the system began to beep as if something was behind the vehicle. I got out and walked behind the car and there was nothing there. I began backing up again and the vehicle suddenly stopped in a grinding halt. No matter what I did I could not make the car back up. This is a 2023 car with 2000 miles on it. It took about 10 minutes to back out of the driveway with no explanation or reason. We traveled to a store and tried to back out of a parking stall and this happened again with no obstruction behind us. I took it to the dealer and they said the…”
NHTSA complaint #11566482, 2024
Lane Departure 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 a…”
NHTSA complaint #11743116, 2026
“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.”
NHTSA complaint #11743070, 1969
Steering 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…”
NHTSA complaint #11675020, 2025
“Hello, I noticed my battery light came Friday, April 5th, but the indicator light went off after about 45 seconds. Saturday, April 6th, I was driving and the battery light came on again, after 5 minutes the acceleration stopped working as I turned into the subdivision. The vehicle was going 5mph, I was able to make to a relatives house. Once I pull in the driveway, all of the indicator lights came on and a warning message appeared, Malfunction See Owners Manual. My cousin tried jumping the battery, but it still wouldn't start, so he tried again. I was finally able to start the vehicle, but…”
NHTSA complaint #11582132, 2024
Structure 2
“December 30, 2022 To: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) (https://www.nhtsa.gov/) From: Robert Volck 7719 Pine Street, Manassas Va. 20111 Email: bob.volck65@gmail.com I am writing to you to report a safety issue with my 2023 NISSAN KICKS. What occurs is the driver side door will not function properly when ambient air temperature is 25 degrees or below. When this first occurred, I reported the issue to the Priority Nissan dealership of Chantilly, Virginia. I had to climb over the center console in order to drive the car to the dealership and into their service bay (tha…”
NHTSA complaint #11499578, 2022
“We just leased the vehicle on 12/1/22. It’s only been driven 3 times. I was driving the car on 12/9/22. I had just gotten on the highway and when I got up to 50 mph the hood flew open. The hood and both front quarter panels are damaged. I’ve looked online and this has been a known and ongoing issue with multiple models including the Altima, Pathfinder, Rouge as well. The dealership has had the vehicle since day of incident and has not reached out to us yet.”
NHTSA complaint #11497371, 2022
Vehicle Speed Control 2
“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…”
NHTSA complaint #11649490, 2025
“Hello, I noticed my battery light came Friday, April 5th, but the indicator light went off after about 45 seconds. Saturday, April 6th, I was driving and the battery light came on again, after 5 minutes the acceleration stopped working as I turned into the subdivision. The vehicle was going 5mph, I was able to make to a relatives house. Once I pull in the driveway, all of the indicator lights came on and a warning message appeared, Malfunction See Owners Manual. My cousin tried jumping the battery, but it still wouldn't start, so he tried again. I was finally able to start the vehicle, but…”
NHTSA complaint #11582132, 2024
Air Bags 1 1 crash 1 injury
“Another vehicle failed to stop at a stop sign and ran into the front driver side of my vehicle. Air bags were supposed to be deployed on my vehicle due to the impact of the collision, however, they were not. Air bags could have prevented injury if they had functioned properly. Vehicle is now a total loss.”
NHTSA complaint #11593692, 2024 · crash · 1 injury(ies)
Engine And Engine Cooling 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 at…”
NHTSA complaint #11680327, 2024
Exterior Lighting 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 at…”
NHTSA complaint #11680327, 2024
Power Train 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”
NHTSA complaint #11743307, 2026
Visibility/Wiper 1
“Back window shattered spontaneously without notice”
NHTSA complaint #11725483, 2026
How we read this (methodology)
How to read this: raw complaint totals are not a clean reliability score — a model year with more cars sold, or simply more years on the road, accumulates more complaints regardless of how good it is. So this page leans on two signals that are not distorted by sales volume: the share of complaints falling on each vehicle system (the breakdown above) and NHTSA's own crash / fire / injury / death flags. When we compare model years of the same model, we normalise by years on the road (complaints ÷ vehicle age) rather than comparing raw totals. Age-normalised, the 2023 Nissan Kicks draws about 7.5 complaints per year on the road, ranking 6 of 7 among the Nissan Kicks model years we have ingested (1 = most complaints per year on road).
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Data source: U.S. NHTSA (nhtsa.gov). SaveVIN surfaces public recall data and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NHTSA.