Owners have filed 180 complaints on the Nissan Cube, covering 2009–2014. The system named most often is Steering (40 reports). Worst years by volume: 2009, 2010, 2011; cleanest: 2013, 2014, 2012. 8 reports describe a crash, 4 a fire, 1 a death. On average the car was 6.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Nissan Cube
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 180 Cube complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Steering 40 Read
The dogbone that holds the engine, broke and the engine well down and I have to get it repaired, it affected the bracket transmittion mounting, the axle and had to replace the mounts. It costs me $1,112.41 to repair. My car was in motion when the check motor mount failed
My 2010 has done this to me twice now!!! I go to get in and start it up. Nothing happens. Replaced with brand new battery and nothing happened. Had to have it towed to the dealer for inspection. Turns out the steering lock assembly malfunctioned. Nissan issued a similar recall for the same exact issue on all 2009…
The contact owns a 2010 nissan cube. The contact stated that the steering wheel seized and the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was found that the electronic steering lock had failed. The vehicle was being repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure…
Power Train 36 Read
On february 10th, after the car warmed up for 20 minutes, the car's RPM's would jump by 500 every few seconds. I brought the car in (dealership where I bought it) to have it looked at and showed them a video I had taken of it happening at 60 mph and 70 mph. Since no warning lights were lit up on the dash, they said it…
Cvt transmission failing at 73,000 miles
Cvt transmission failure ~ safety issue slow to start ~ same as 100's of reports on internet car was at warranty end and nissan said only fix for small leak was to replace the whole cvt~ as per current pending class actions against nissan for 2013-2017 cvts being replaced repeatedly with the same failing transmission…
Electrical System 28 Read
The origin and cause of a vehicle fire incident that occurred on january 17, 2015, approximately two miles east of widener junction on highway 70 near memphis, tennessee. It started by a fire that occurred while driving my 2014 nissan cube with vehicle identification number (VIN) [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant…
Horn is not loud enough to warn other drivers of presence. It is barely audible. Resulted in damage to my vehicle that may have been avoided with a louder horn
My wife drove car to the store when she got back in the car would not start ,the brake pedal would not depress after20 min she tried again and the car started . When I got home I tried to start the car and it would not start ,I went to you tube and found a video with the same problem and the video said to giggle the…
Air Bags 18 Read
The contact owned a 2013 nissan cube. While driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle slid on ice, the steering wheel seized, and the traction and ABS warning lights illuminated. The contact crashed the vehicle into a guardrail. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained injuries that required medical…
I was on my way home from work when a deer jumped in front of me. I tried to avoid it. I crashed my car into the guard rail crushing the whole front end. (I have pictures) the airbags never deployed. I went to the hospital. I broke two ribs and had contusions all over the front of my body,fingers,arms,legs,etc
Involved in a frontal crash where somebody made a left hand turn in front of me. I was going 40 straight on the road. Slammed on my breaks but still hit the turning car. The whole front crumped so the car was totaled but the air bags didn't deploy
Fuel/propulsion System 6 Read
Unknown
2013-2014 oxygen gas sensor Intermittently failed to operate, causing CO2 into the cabin. Issue not found Nissan instructed to take it to another dealer they found issue and replaced. 2025 same issue dealers cannot find major c02 entering cabin. Cannot drive car due to extreme c02 have blood test indicating c02 in…
The gas tank has malfunctioned and is leaking. According to the mechanic, it is the same issue related to the recall of the gas tank regarding the 2009-2010 Nissan Cube. My safety and others are put at risk because gas is leaking and causing a fire or an explosion. My mechanic confirmed the issue. At this point, the 2…
Structure 5 Read
While driving down the road I notice a burning smell and loud muffler/exhaust noise. When I pulled over to look under the rear of the car to inspect the muffler I saw a large whole in the rear bumper and the muffler had loosened. The muffler pointed up so that it was directly aimed at the inside of the rear bumper.…
Similar to NHTSA id number:10717816 and other complaints seen online. Exhaust system coming apart at the flange heat from the broken exhaust had melted the back bumper also, the heat shield separating the exhaust from the fuel tank appears to not cover the area of the common separation. Nissan dealer saw this occur on…
2011 cube, rear door will not open. No door handle in side of vehicle, no way to open. This is a real hazard. I have seen a lot of complaints, from other cube owners with the same problem
Wheels 5 Read
Passenger side screw and lug nuts broke half off the tire. Causing a loud noise of the tire wobbling. Tire was pushed in and holding by one screw and lug nut. Now the driver side tire did the same thing. The first time this happened the vehicle was in motion same with the second incident
The contact owns a 2009 nissan cube. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, she noticed that the TPMS warning light had illuminated. After inspecting the vehicle, she noticed that both front tires were deflating faster than normal. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and they informed…
Tire will not hold air
Seat Belts 4 Read
My mother was in a one vehicle crash vs a tree while negotiating a curve. The seat belt tensioner did not lock and restrain my mother causing her to slide down the shoulder harness causing the seat belt to cut into her chest cavity into her lung. Nissan was contacted and sent an attorney and an engineer to…
Seatbelt on the rear driver side will not auto-retract and has to be hand feed then tugged a bit in order to secure car seat
The latching mechanism for the driver keeping coming unlatched while driving. I have to click it into place a few time before I start driving but sometimes that's not enough. This has been happening for a few months now
Cube years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Electrical System | 1 | 1 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 2 | 1 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 1 | 2 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 53 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.4 |
| Worst single series | 14 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.4 years |
A model average of 3.4 hides a worst series at 14. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Cube?
By complaint volume, 2009, 2010, 2011 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Cube years are the cleanest?
2013, 2014, 2012 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Nissan Cube have?
180 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2009–2014. Of those, 8 describe a crash and 4 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.