What breaks most · 2012 to 2021 model years
Nissan NV problems by year
Owners have filed 70 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Nissan NV across model years 2012 to 2021. Three years stand out: 2016 for brakes complaints, 2018 for electrical system complaints and 2014 for body and structure complaints. The quietest years are 2015, 2019 and 2012.
- Years to check closely: 2016, 2018, 2014
- Fewest complaints: 2015, 2019, 2012
- Complaints on file
- 702012 to 2021, all trims
- Worst year
- 201617 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 52 fires · 4 injuries · 0 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 46kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 13Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | 4 | Powertrain and transmission (3) | |
| 9 | 1 | 3 | Unknown or other (4) | |
| 10 | 1 | 2 | Unknown or other (4) | |
| 6 | 0 | 1 | Brakes (2) | |
| 17 | 0 | 1 | Unknown or other (7) | |
| 11 | 0 | 1 | Unknown or other (6) | |
| 6 | 1 | 1 | Unknown or other (2) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Backup camera and sensors (1) | |
| 3 | 1 | 0 | Unknown or other (2) |
What fails on the 2016 Nissan NV
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown or other | 41% |
7 | 0 | — |
| BrakesBrake pads, rotors and calipers | 24% |
4 | 0 | Shop all brakes parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 12% |
2 | 0 | Shop all electrical system parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| EngineEngine gaskets and seals | 12% |
2 | 0 | Shop all engine parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Wheels | 12% |
2 | 0 | — |
| Wipers and visibilityWiper motors and blades | 12% |
2 | 0 | Shop all wipers and visibility parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Speed control and throttleThrottle and pedal sensors | 6% |
1 | 0 | Shop all speed control and throttle parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Air bags | 6% |
1 | 0 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
My van was sitting parked at our house when the big window on the left (behind driver) just exploded inward. Glass was everywhere and all in the car seats.
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Odometer Fraud. The contact was considering purchasing a 2018 Nissan NV. The contact the vehicle's odometer reading indicated 65,666. After obtaining the Carfax, the mileage listed was 208,000. .
-
Today is 25 to 30 digress outside and raining. The door handles from inside and outside are non operable and have to bang door hard while unlocking inorder to enter/exit vehicle. Issue seems to be with linkage freezing up, however i'm not a mechanic and can not confirm that.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Nissan NV years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2016, 2018, 2014 carry the most filings on the Nissan NV. The 2016 alone has 17 complaints, led by unknown or other.
What is the most common Nissan NV problem?
On the 2016 model year, the most-reported component is unknown or other with 7 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Nissan NV problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Nissan NV complaints that include mileage is about 46,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.