2023 Nissan Kicks Reliability Report

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.

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 attempting to accelerate, the vehicle decelerated and lost motive power. The failure became a persistent failure. The contact stated that on one occasion, while driving at an undisclosed speed, while the transmission was shifting from 1st to 2nd gear, a loud boom came from the vehicle, and the vehicle lost power. The contact was able to push the vehicle, with assistance, to a nearby parking lot. There was a mechanic shop nearby, and a certified mechanic inspected the vehicle. The mechanic determined that the transmission fluid was leaking from the driver's side CV axle. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was made aware that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 25V437000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and 25V508000 (Exterior Lighting, Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000. The VIN was not available.

The AEB system activated without cause (phantom braking incident). While driving on a neighborhood street (25-30 mph), the car seized up, came to a near complete stop, and a red (outline) and white (background) triangle containing a bold red exclamation mark appeared on the dash display. There were no other cars around me, nor were there any other external conditions that would have activated the emergency brakes (fog, rain, shadows, etc.). We had two Nissan dealers check the car, but they are unable to recreate the condition; there were no error codes in the car's system related to the AEB activation. Our concern is the risk of a fatal accident if the AEB should be activated without cause while driving at higher speeds (in high traffic highway travel). The car stopping without warning on the highway could lead to a fatal accident. I tried to report the concern to Nissan Corporate, but they dismissed the complaint because the dealers were not able to recreate the incident during their inspection. I suspect there were no error codes in the system because the brakes did what they are intended to do. The fault appears to be inaccurate sensor data that activated the brakes; the sensors should be redesigned/calibrated/whatever to reduce invalid data input that activates the AEB. The dealer will not disable the system, claiming safety concerns. The no-cause AEB activation appears to be a greater risk than disabling the emergency brakes.