A new lawsuit claims Nissan is liable for an alleged defect in the transmission of some Nissan vehicles. Specifically, the purported defect exists within certain Nissan models equipped with an Xtronic Continuously Variable Transmission: 2017-2018 Nissan Altima and 2018-2019 Nissan Sentra, Versa, and Versa Note.
According to the complaint, the vehicles at issue are designed and/or manufactured with an inadequate cooling system, ultimately making the transmission prone to overheating. This, in turn, activates a fluid temperature protection mode and reduces transmission performance. Drivers may then experience shuddering, jerking, failure to accelerate, or catastrophic transmission failure. The plaintiffs believe Nissan has been aware of the alleged defect since at least 2013, yet continued to install it.
One named Plaintiff, Nevada citizen Minerva Martinez, claims she experienced the defect in her 2017 Nissan Altima, experiencing loss of power, failure to accelerate, the feeling of her vehicle not stopping even when she was not applying pressure to the gas pedal, and the vehicle not accelerating when she was applying pressure to the accelerator pedal. Another named Plaintiff, Missouri citizen Carl Graham, claims he went to three Nissan dealers to address issues including strong jerking and a failure to shift gears properly in his 2018 Nissan Altima, but the jerking has continued.
The lawsuit raises claims including breach of warranty and violation of state consumer laws and seeks remedies including an order requiring Nissan to issue a voluntary recall for the class vehicles and removal, repair, and/or replacement of the allegedly defective components.
The case is Minerva Martinez, et al. v. Nissan North America, Inc., case number 3:22-cv-00354, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.
