NHTSA Complaint #11514801 — 2022 NISSAN VERSA

This manual car puts itself into limp mode any time the engine is killed (If you drop the clutch too quickly because it is a manual transmission) while driving it. Once it is in limp mode (restricted speed and power to protect the engine) it must be pulled over and turned off for at least 15 seconds before restarting the vehicle to reset the computer and get it out of limp mode. This is a huge safety hazard in traffic, on a hill, on a freeway on ramp or many other places. This car has put itself in limp mode when it died from dropping the clutch, when it almost died while working the clutch, and when turned off and back on quickly to reset a bluetooth connection that wasn't working. A Nissan corporate regional representative, Nissan specialist and Nissan Engineer evaluated the car and said that it is a manufacturing defect - a programming issue that makes the electronic control module think that the car is not functioning properly when it dies (it happens sometimes when driving a manual transmission!) and so it puts itself into limp mode to protect the engine from a problem that doesn't exist. Nissan said the vehicle code would need reprogrammed to repair the issue. Nissan also said they have no time frame for reprogramming the code to repair the defect and to just wait--with no timeline forthcoming. This is an issue on all 2022 Manual Nissan Versa vehicles, not just this particular car as it is a programming issue. I contacted another dealership to test one of their new 2022 manual versa vehicles. They drove it and found the exact issue. I do not know if the issue was fixed on 2023 models or if it is and ongoing issue. Nissan has acknowledged the issue. Driving this car is unsafe and Nissan has said to just drive it and wait.