From forward-collision warning light malfunctions to unexplained engine failures, these are some of the most common problems with the 2020 Nissan Kicks.

Written by Sarah Gray

Reviewed by Kathleen Flear

Updated on Oct 28, 2022

Table of Contents

The most common 2020 Nissan Kicks problems
Is the 2020 Nissan Kicks reliable?
How to simplify car insurance shopping (and still optimize coverage!)

The most common issue reported by drivers of the 2020 Nissan Kicks is a malfunctioning forward-collision warning system.

Nissans earn above-average reliability ratings overall, but the Kicks has a bit of a checkered history. This includes the 2020 model year, which has been plagued by issues as annoying as malfunctioning warning lights and chimes and those as serious as high-speed engine failures.

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The most common 2020 Nissan Kicks problems

The good news first: the 2020 Nissan Kicks has only had 28 complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Given that Nissan sold over 55,000 of that model SUV, this is a pretty low number of issues.

Now for the bad news: of the 28 complaints filed, 16 deal with engine and propulsion systems. Specifically, the reports all describe the Kicks randomly shutting down the engine. Often, this is reported to have occurred at innocuous locations—like at a stoplight or stop sign.

However, more than a handful of these complaints described the Kicks turning itself off while traveling at highway speeds. Luckily, no crashes or injuries have been reported because of this, but neither has Nissan discovered what’s causing the issue.

Next on the list of problems is more of an irk than an issue. Few things are more alarming than warning lights and chimes sounding as you drive down the road. Likewise, few things are more annoying than this happening for no reason. Ten drivers filed complaints of their Kicks’ forward-collision system warning light and chimes activating when no other vehicles were nearby.

Consider that there are no other commonly-reported problems with the 2020 Nissan Kicks. But then, the car is only two years old, and was anybody really doing much driving in 2020? We’ll have to just wait and see if more issues start to crop up.

MORE:

Are Nissans good cars?

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Is the 2020 Nissan Kicks reliable?

The 2020 Nissan Kicks isn’t quite old enough for a review from RepairPal, but J.D. Power and Consumer Reports aren’t terribly impressed with the model. The former offers a less-than-stellar 68/100 predicted reliability score, and Consumer Reports predicts only an average reliability rating for the Kicks.

Overall, Nissans earn average reliability ratings, with RepairPal rating the brand 4 out of 5 overall. Average annual costs for repairs should be fairly inexpensive as well. According to cost-of-ownership estimates from Edmunds, 2020 Kicks drivers should expect to pay the following for annual repairs over five years of ownership:

Year 1: $106

Year 2: $256

Year 3: $375

Year 4: $437

Year 5: $511

As average annual repair costs for all Nissans is about $500 per year, and the industry average is $652, this is an excellent estimate.

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How to simplify car insurance shopping (and still optimize coverage!)

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