2020 Nissan Kicks Reliability Report

Automatic emergency braking kicks in with nothing ahead. Owners report this at 65 to 70 mph on the interstate and when entering tunnels at about 40 to 45 mph. Collision warning lights come on at random, and some episodes come with lost acceleration or limp mode. Dealer findings vary: a collision camera knocked out of alignment by bent brackets, a replaced ECM that did not fix the problem, and a failing alternator. Some dealers could not reproduce the fault. No crashes are reported, but owners describe near rear-end collisions.

Stalling at red lights or while driving, sometimes on major highways, is the main pattern, and restarting may take several tries. A MALFUNCTION message or the check engine light may appear first. Rough idle after long highway drives shows up as early as 5,700 miles. Dealers often cannot duplicate the stall. Reported repairs include a vent control valve stuck open, a corroded wiring harness connector and a failed mass air flow sensor. The collision, ABS and traction control warning lights often stay on along with these faults.

Dead sensors and false alerts are the main complaints, including the system reading tar lines in the road as lane markings. One owner was quoted a costly sensor repair. In other reports, the lane and collision warning lights come on together with the check engine light and a sudden loss of power. That makes it hard to accelerate when merging onto the interstate. Replacing the mass air flow sensor several times has not fixed the problem for some owners.

Three crash reports describe airbags that did not deploy, including side impacts and a hit to the front driver side, and one driver was injured. None of the reports establishes why the airbags stayed undeployed. In a separate report near 30,000 miles, the driver airbag warning light came on and the automatic braking activated on its own. The replacement part was unavailable, and the owner was told to pay for the repair.

Shaking and stalling at idle happen when stopped in traffic, at lights or while backing into a parking space, and the engine then restarts. In one report, a new car began stalling at 250 miles and stalled repeatedly in its first few thousand miles. The dealer said no fix was available yet. A separate report describes a fuel door that would not open. There is no manual release, so the driver was stuck at a gas station waiting for help.

The power steering goes loose during turns or while backing up, in a car that also hesitates and stalls. Another report describes the car stalling with the engine still running and refusing to move until it was restarted. Both reports link the steering complaints to wider stalling and drivability problems. These include several mass air flow sensor replacements, a transmission replacement and an alternator replacement.

Unwanted braking is reported, along with a loss of acceleration while the engine is running and the gas pedal is pressed. Automatic collision braking triggers often with no objects or people nearby, and lane departure activates at random. These reports match the false braking and power loss described under collision avoidance, electrical and power train.