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2018 Nissan Kicks

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2018 Nissan Kicks do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 37.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

31 reports with mileage · 53 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Electrical System. Review the 23 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 21 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Forward Collision Avoidance. Review the 19 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

1 crash reports0 fire reports0 injury reports

Power Train complaints

8 reports
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100,000 miles · Jul 9, 2025
EnginePower Train

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Kicks. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle occasionally experienced reduction in automotive power with the "System Malfunction" message displayed. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the battery had been replaced twice however, the failur…

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The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Kicks. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle occasionally experienced reduction in automotive power with the "System Malfunction" message displayed. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the battery had been replaced twice however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

NHTSA ODI #11672377

Mileage unknown · Jun 29, 2025
EngineForward Collision AvoidancePower Train

I was driving on the road like normal and suddenly I got a front collision warning on the dash, the car wouldn’t accelerate and lost all power. Check engine light also came on with code reading P0101. I’ve had this issue before and the dealer doesn’t know what to do or they want to charge me a lot of money to fix it. I’ve read o…

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I was driving on the road like normal and suddenly I got a front collision warning on the dash, the car wouldn’t accelerate and lost all power. Check engine light also came on with code reading P0101. I’ve had this issue before and the dealer doesn’t know what to do or they want to charge me a lot of money to fix it. I’ve read online many many people having the same issue. Luckily this hasn’t happened on the highway but if it does happen it could be catastrophic

NHTSA ODI #11670107

4,000 miles · Dec 16, 2022
Power Train

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Kicks. The contact stated while trying to place the vehicle into reverse(R) the gear shifter failed to move. The contact turned off the vehicle and on several occasions the contact had to wait for over 20 minutes before the shift lever would move into reverse(R). The contact stated that the failure…

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The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Kicks. The contact stated while trying to place the vehicle into reverse(R) the gear shifter failed to move. The contact turned off the vehicle and on several occasions the contact had to wait for over 20 minutes before the shift lever would move into reverse(R). The contact stated that the failure started as an intermittent failure but was now constant. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer however, the vehicle was not diagnosed due to a fee being charged. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 4,000.

NHTSA ODI #11497771

Mileage unknown · Sep 27, 2022
EnginePower TrainUnknown Or Other

Here I am for a 3rd time reporting an issue with this car. After work I went to get in my car. I could not turn it on, I was not able to push the brake and a lot of lights came on. I decided it needed jumped so I got jumped. The next day I remote start the car and see it did not turn on. So I went out to start it and it once aga…

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Here I am for a 3rd time reporting an issue with this car. After work I went to get in my car. I could not turn it on, I was not able to push the brake and a lot of lights came on. I decided it needed jumped so I got jumped. The next day I remote start the car and see it did not turn on. So I went out to start it and it once again didnt start. I jumped it again. I then decided it needed a new battery as it was the original to the car. I went to batteries plus and the guy was not even sure how I managed to jump it as it was completely drained. He mentioned something about the alternator. The one I just had replaced a year ago for my car stopping on me at speeds of 50+. He recommended me not to drive it and get it towed to a dealership. He tested my alternator and said it is not testing where is should. I had a tow truck driver follow me to South Colorado Springs Nissan. I took it in they said the battery test (brand new battery that was only hours old) and my alternator both failed testing. They then let me car sit over the weekend and of course its acting normal now. Clearly something is triggering the alternator to fail quickly as I had just got this one replaced a year ago. That needs to be looked into more. They didn't find anything and sent me on my way. The photos attached are from the 2 years worth of problems I have had.

NHTSA ODI #11486653

Mileage unknown · Dec 6, 2021
Electrical SystemForward Collision AvoidancePower Train

Randomly when driving I will have a malfunction see owner manual warning pop up it. Once I clear that to see the error I am getting the traction control and the indicator that looks like two cars colliding. While this is one the car does not have the power that it did before. If I stop and let the car sit for 10 to 15 minutes it…

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Randomly when driving I will have a malfunction see owner manual warning pop up it. Once I clear that to see the error I am getting the traction control and the indicator that looks like two cars colliding. While this is one the car does not have the power that it did before. If I stop and let the car sit for 10 to 15 minutes it mostly goes away but keeps the check engine light on for a couple days. The. The check engine light will go away and this will happen all over again. I bought the car used in May and it is having the same issue. I have had Nissan look at it as it is still under warranty but it seems to go away once I get it to the shop. They tell me nothing is wrong with the car. I have even took pictures of the indicators and they still say my kicks is 100 functional.

NHTSA ODI #11442767

Mileage unknown · Nov 9, 2021
Electrical SystemPower TrainUnknown Or Other

A few weeks ago while I was driving 50mph on a completely dry hwy the slip indicator came on. I thought I accidentally hit traction control so i hit that button and then realized they we two different icons. Shortly after the slip indicator came on the screen popped up saying Malfunction See owners manual. I pulled over where l…

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A few weeks ago while I was driving 50mph on a completely dry hwy the slip indicator came on. I thought I accidentally hit traction control so i hit that button and then realized they we two different icons. Shortly after the slip indicator came on the screen popped up saying Malfunction See owners manual. I pulled over where lights just started popping on and then my car died. After waiting 6 hours for a tow truck it was finally brought to the dealership. they did their inspection and said I needed a new alternator and they replaced that. Today 3 weeks later my car was parked. I was going to leave as my car was on and Malfunction see owners manual and the slip indicator started popping on. I went to put it in reverse and could not press the peddles and gravity rolled me back. I then had to throw it into park to stop it. I turned off my car and same thing again. I turned it off again and restarted and it was fine. I took it back to the dealership and they are still trying to figure out what is going on. this is extremely dangerous especially it stopping when driving. Looks like I am not the only one having this problem.

NHTSA ODI #11439872

23,753 miles · Oct 26, 2020
Electronic Stability Control (esc)Power TrainStructure

SE ME APAGA CORRIENDO , RUIDO EN LA PARTE FRONTAL. Y EN D NO QUIERE PONERSE EN MARCHA.

NHTSA ODI #11366540

4,000 miles · Jul 22, 2019
Power TrainSteeringSuspension

CAR OVERSTEERS,ALMOST ROLLING OVER; WHEN ON INCLINE OR STEEP DRIVEWAY, (STEEP DRIVEWAY LIKE MY HOME) CAR ROLLS BACK SEVERAL FEET; WHEN SHIFTING FROM PARK TO REVERSE, KICKS MAKES GRINDING NOISE AND SHIFTS VERY ROUGHLY; HAVE MADE NUMEROUS CONCERNS TO NISSAN, SEVERAL NEAR ACCIDENTS

NHTSA ODI #11233889

Official recalls

1

19V654000 · Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera

Sep 12, 2019

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Nissan Altima, Armada, Frontier, Kicks, Leaf, Maxima, Murano, NV, NV200, Pathfinder, Rogue, Rogue Sport, Sentra, Titan, Titan Diesel, Versa Note and Versa Sedan vehicles, as well as Infiniti Q50, Q60, QX30 and QX80 vehicles. Additionally included are 2019 Nissan GT-R and Taxi and Infiniti QX50, QX60, Q70, Q70L vehicles. The back-up camera and display settings can be adjusted such that the rear view image is no longer visible and the system will retain that setting the next time the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: The lack of an image in the back-up camera display increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Nissan will notify owners in phases, having dealers update the back-up camera settings software, free of charge. The recall began November 11, 2019 and all affected VINs should be activated. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669 or INFINITI customer service at 1-800-662-6200.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.