2021 Nissan NV Problems

On June 2, 2026, a spontaneous fire ignited in my 2021 Nissan NV 3500 HD Van w/ approx 65,741 miles near the instrument panel while the vehicle was parked in my driveway at about 11:00am. It had last been driven at about 7:45am when we observed the turn signal blinkers were acting erratically, blinking rapidly. The fire burst a hole in the drivers side of the windshield . Nobody was injured and the fire was contained to just the van thanks to swift action by my wife and neighbor to use fire extinguishers followed by prompt response by local police and fire department. This incident could’ve been catastrophic with fatalities had someone been driving or if the fire had spread to other cars or our house. A similar incident was noted in September 2020 yet no apparent resolution or recall was provided by Nissan Corporation for this issue below: Safety Issue Type: Complaints September 11 2020 NHTSA ID Number: 11354394 Components: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, AIR BAGS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER NHTSA ID Number 11354394 Incident Date September 06 2020 Consumer Location NEW IBERIA, LA Vehicle Identification Number 5BZAF0AA7KN****** Summary CRASH No INJURIES 0 DEATHS 0 FIRE Yes IN APRIL OF 2020 WE STARTED HAVING ELECTRICAL ISSUES- THE BLINKERS WERE GOING CRAZY, HEADLIGHTS WOULD NOT TURN OFF, A STRANGE SMELL EMITTING FROM THE AIR VENTS, ETC SO WE DECIDED TO BRING IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP TO BE EVALUATED AS WE HAD JUST AT 600 MILES ON IT. IT WAS FOUND TO BE AN ISSUE WITH THE COMPUTER MODULE AND AFTER BEING REPAIRED WAS GIVEN BACK. FAST FORWARD TO SEPTEMBER 6 AT 3,202 MILES WE NOTICED THE SAME SMELL AND THE BLINKERS WERE GOING VERY FAST AGAIN SO WE HEADED HOME AND ONCE AGAIN CALLED OUR DEALERSHIP. SHORTLY AFTER GETTING OFF OF THE PHONE WITH THEM WE NOTICED WE COULD SMELL THE SAME SMELL FROM OUTSIDE OF THE VEHICLE AND SOON THEREAFTER SOMETHING UNDER THE HOOD NEAR THE STEERING COLUMN CAUGHT FIRE CAUSING THE FRONT WINDSHIELD ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE TO EXPLODE AND COMPLETELY DESTROY OUR VEHICLE

When braking, the transmission downshifts and lurches the car forward just before coming to a stop. This problem artificially increases the stopping distance and time needed when braking. This caused me to have an accident rear ending another car. My vehicle did not stop in time when braking due to the vehicle surging forward when stopping, causing significant damage to both vehicles and injuries to passengers. A related but separate problem happens when driving steady at 25mph, slightly coming off the gas the vehicle seems downshift hard, slowing the vehicle quickly as if braking. It jerks the vehicle forward and back when trying to maintain a steady speed specifically in the 25-30 mph range. This issue was first noticed right around the time of the accident and has continued since then. Both problems usually happen consistently after the vehicle has warmed up, after about 10-15 miles. I took the vehicle to the dealer for inspection but they did not see a problem. This vehicle uses the same transmission as the 2021 Nissan Titan, for which there are the same transmission problems, which were addressed by a service bulletin. NTB22074. However, this service bulletin has not been applied to our model, the NV3500 SL.