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December 21, 2020
This topic has been updated. Read our update from May 4th, 2021 here.
APA Director George Iny and Sentra owner Lilianne Rocha will be deposed by Nissan`s lawyers in January 2021 in the APA`s class action over defective CVT transmissions in 2010 to 2017 Nissans.
The APA is seeking authorization for a class action to proceed on behalf of owners and lessees in Quebec. In its motion filed in March 2020, the APA has asked for a 10-year or 200,000 km warranty extension to cover transmission failures on Nissan vehicles.
The APA has received over 400 reports of failed CVT automatic transmissions on Nissan vehicles. The average mileage reported at the time of failure of the transmission in small Nissans is just over 105,000 km; the transmission in larger Nissans is a bit more durable, with an average failure at slightly more than 135,000 km. The average cost of the repair is a hefty $3,700 at independent repair shops; it`s about $500 higher at a Nissan dealership. Some Nissan dealers charged much more -- $5000 and up, to replace defective transmissions.
After the transmission failed, some consumers sold their vehicles for very low values, frequently traded in to a Nissan dealer for $500 to $1500. The APA is asking for compensation for those owners to level up what they received for their vehicles to the fair market value with an operable transmission. APA`s lawyers are also asking the Court to order Nissan to pay $300 in punitive damages to every consumer covered by the action.
Nissan settled class actions filed in the US covering the 2013-2014 Sentra and Versa, and the 2014-2015 Pathfinder, but the mileage limits were set so low that many owners were excluded from compensation. The APA wants Nissan to provide a more complete program, as it did for an earlier warranty extension. In late 2009, Nissan extended the warranty against failures on 2007-early 2010 CVT transmissions to 10 years or 200,000 km. Unlike Nissan`s recent class action settlements limited to just one or two models, coverage was applicable to all Nissan models from the period with a CVT automatic.
If you experienced a CVT transmission failure on a Nissan product, please complete the survey form to help us with our action. If Nissan paid for all or part of the repair, the APA wants to hear from you; until now, Nissan has been very stingy with coverage after the end of its standard 5-year/100,000 km powertrain warranty.
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