Short answer: the Nissan Kicks is one of the best-selling small crossovers in America — and the cheapest Nissan SUV runs on the same kind of transmission that made Nissan famous for the wrong reason. Every Kicks leaves the lot with a 3-year or 36,000-mile basic warranty and a 5-year or 60,000-mile powertrain warranty. Underneath every first-generation Kicks — 2018 through 2024, front-wheel drive only — sits a 1.6-liter four-cylinder and a continuously variable transmission (CVT). That CVT is the most expensive part on a vehicle that was bought precisely because it was affordable, and Nissan’s short factory clocks run out fast on a car people buy to keep. Do the fleet math. Nissan has sold more than 600,000 Kicks in the United States — 77,354 in 2024 and a record 102,726 in 2025 alone. Every 2018 through 2021 Kicks is now past its powertrain term on time alone, the 2022 cars follow through 2027, and every car crosses at 60,000 miles no matter the year — on a crossover whose owners, by design, are the drivers least able to absorb a four-figure transmission bill. An extended warranty for a Nissan Kicks — correctly called a vehicle service contract — picks up covered mechanical and electrical repairs after the factory warranty ends. At Empire Auto Protect, plans start at $69/month, coverage is honored in all 50 states, and you can cancel at any time. This guide covers what Kicks owners actually face: the two factory clocks, the CVT story — including the honest fact that Nissan’s CVT settlements cover other models, not this one — the backup-camera recall that is Nissan’s free fix first, the repairs owners actually pay for, and how to judge the cost honestly. Start with a free quote online or call 1-888-345-0084 — open 24/7.

What “extended warranty” means on a Nissan Kicks

Only Nissan can extend Nissan’s factory warranty, and what Nissan sells afterward is its own Security+Plus service contract, tied to the dealer network. What independent providers sell — Empire included — is a vehicle service contract (VSC): a contract that pays for covered mechanical and electrical failures after the factory terms end, at licensed repair facilities, following the contract’s authorization process. A VSC is not insurance, and it is not a factory warranty. The distinction matters on a Kicks more than on most vehicles, because the Kicks sits in the middle of Nissan’s wider CVT story — settlements, extensions, and headlines that cover other Nissan models — and owners regularly assume some of that protection applies to their car. As the section below lays out, the published settlement classes do not include the Kicks. For the brand-wide picture, see our Nissan extended warranty page and the Nissan extended warranty guide.

Two honest rules govern everything in this guide. First, anything Nissan still owes you comes first: an open recall is repaired free by a Nissan dealer at any mileage, and no service contract should ever be sold as a substitute for a free factory fix. Second, a service contract covers failures that happen after enrollment — a Kicks whose CVT is already shuddering, slipping, or throwing codes has a pre-existing condition that needs diagnosis first, not a contract sold over the top of it. A healthy Kicks with a quiet transmission is exactly the vehicle coverage is built for.

Nissan Kicks factory warranty: two short clocks on a budget crossover

Nissan’s factory coverage on the Kicks is the same structure Nissan puts on every new vehicle it sells:

• Basic limited warranty: 3 years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first. This is the term that covers most components — electronics, infotainment, air conditioning, power accessories, and the driver-assistance hardware even the base Kicks carries.
• Powertrain limited warranty: 5 years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first. This covers the engine, the transmission, and the drivetrain — on the Kicks, that means the four-cylinder engine and the CVT.
• Corrosion perforation: 5 years with unlimited miles, for rust-through of body sheet metal.

Now lay those clocks over the Kicks fleet. The model launched for 2018 and the first generation ran through 2024 — seven model years of one basic design. A 2018 Kicks passed its powertrain term in 2023. A 2020 passed in 2025, and the 2021 cars pass through 2026. High-mileage drivers crossed even sooner, at 60,000 miles, which a commuter reaches in about four years — and commuting is exactly what this car is for. The practical result: most first-generation Kicks you can buy used today arrive with little or no factory powertrain coverage left, and the newest 2023–2024 cars are on their final stretch. Meanwhile the vehicle itself is built for a much longer life — a well-kept Kicks is a 150,000-mile vehicle, and its low purchase price is precisely why owners keep it that long instead of trading up. The gap between a 60,000-mile factory horizon and a 150,000-mile working life is where Kicks owners now live, and it is widest exactly where the expensive hardware sits. Our factory warranty expiration guide shows how Nissan’s clocks compare with every other brand’s.

One small engine, one CVT: the Kicks hardware story — and the 2025 reset

From 2018 through 2024, every Kicks carries the same powertrain: Nissan’s 1.6-liter four-cylinder, rated at 122 horsepower and 114 lb-ft of torque, driving the front wheels — all-wheel drive was not offered — through an Xtronic continuously variable transmission. There were no engine options and no transmission options. That simplicity cuts both ways. The engine itself is a modest, proven design that asks little of its owner. The CVT is the opposite story: it is the component that defines the Kicks’ out-of-warranty risk, and because every single first-generation car has one, there is no “safe” trim or year that avoids it.

A CVT has no fixed gears. A steel belt runs between two variable pulleys, and the transmission continuously adjusts its ratio. When it works, it is smooth and efficient — a big part of how the Kicks posted its fuel-economy numbers. When it wears, the failure pattern is distinctive and well documented on this vehicle: a judder — a shudder or vibration on gentle acceleration from a stop — along with hesitation, slipping, whining, overheating, and in advanced cases a sudden loss of power. Nissan’s diagnostic system even carries a dedicated fault code for it, P17F0, which reads literally “CVT judder.” Owner reports on the Kicks follow the pattern the code describes, including transmissions replaced shortly after the five-year factory term ended — in one documented case at 82,000 miles on a four-year-old car, at a quoted cost of about $6,000. That is the arithmetic this guide exists for: on a vehicle that sold new for around twenty thousand dollars, a single transmission failure can run to a third of what the car cost.

The redesigned second generation, launched for 2025, keeps the formula and fixes the power. The 1.6-liter engine is replaced by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder (141 horsepower, 140 lb-ft of torque), all-wheel drive is available for the first time, and the transmission is — still — an Xtronic CVT. The new car is larger, stronger, and still inside its factory terms, and its long-term record is unwritten. The coverage question in this guide belongs to the 2018–2024 fleet — hundreds of thousands of 1.6-liter CVT cars whose owners are now the warranty. Owners cross-shopping the rest of the Nissan crossover line can compare our Nissan Murano extended warranty guide, Nissan Pathfinder extended warranty guide and Nissan Rogue extended warranty guide — all share pieces of this same CVT history.

Unlike the Rogue and Murano, the Kicks has no CVT settlement extension — check first, count on nothing

Because Nissan’s CVT problems followed a legal track as well as a mechanical one, many Kicks owners have heard that “Nissan extended the transmission warranty.” For some Nissan models, that is true. For the Kicks, owners should not count on it. Here is the honest picture. Nissan’s CVT settlement classes, as published, cover other vehicles: the Rogue, Pathfinder and Infiniti QX60 settlement; the Murano and Maxima settlement, which extended those cars’ transmission warranties to 84 months or 84,000 miles; and earlier settlements covering certain Altima, Sentra and Versa vehicles. The Kicks does not appear in those published settlement classes, and no broad CVT recall covers it either. Lawsuits and lemon-law claims involving individual Kicks vehicles are a legal remedy for cars that already failed repeatedly — they are not coverage, and they do not pay to fix a healthy car that fails next year.

So the correct order of operations for any Kicks owner is: check your VIN against any open Nissan campaigns first, because where a Nissan program genuinely covers a repair, Nissan pays first and a service contract is not the tool. But do not budget as if a settlement extension stands behind your transmission. In 2026, for the overwhelming majority of first-generation Kicks, the CVT is protected by no one after 5 years or 60,000 miles — which is precisely the exposure a vehicle service contract exists to carry.

One more honest boundary. A CVT that is already juddering, slipping, overheating, or storing fault codes — P17F0 included — has a pre-existing condition. Filing it as a fresh claim after enrollment is not how any legitimate contract works, and Empire will not sell you one on that basis. The Kicks that qualifies cleanly is the one whose transmission is quiet today — no shudder on pull-away, no whine, no warning lights, fluid serviced on schedule. That car is not “too healthy to need coverage.” It is the car whose next 60,000 miles contain the risk, and it is the only version of this purchase that works.

The timing chain is not a bill coming due — and the backup-camera recall is Nissan’s free fix first

Two Kicks topics generate needless fear, and both deserve straight answers. First, timing: both Kicks engines — the 1.6-liter in the first generation and the 2.0-liter in the second — use a timing chain, not a timing belt. There is no belt, and there is no scheduled timing replacement interval in the owner’s manual — nothing like the four-figure belt service some rival engines demand around 100,000 miles. The chain is lubricated by engine oil and designed for the life of the engine. That does not make it immortal: on high-mileage cars, worn tensioners and guides can produce a rattle at startup, and a rattle is a diagnosis-now symptom, not background noise. But the maintenance that protects the chain is simply on-time oil changes — maintenance no service contract pays for, and the cheapest insurance on this vehicle you will ever buy.

Second, the camera. Nissan recalled certain 2018–2019 Kicks vehicles — NHTSA campaign 19V654, part of a campaign covering 1,228,830 Nissan and Infiniti vehicles — because the backup-camera display settings could be adjusted until the rear-view image was no longer visible, and the system would keep that setting the next time the vehicle was placed in reverse. Dealers update the camera settings software free of charge, at any mileage. If you own or are buying a 2018–2019 Kicks, confirming this recall is complete is step one — before coverage, before anything. A recall is Nissan’s bill, forever, and no contract from any company should ever be positioned as paying for it. Where a non-recall electrical or camera failure occurs after the factory term on a part your contract lists, that is a different matter — and exactly the kind of mid-size bill that adds up next to the transmission risk.

CVT fluid belongs in the same honest category. Nissan’s CVTs are sensitive to fluid condition, and experienced Nissan specialists commonly recommend fluid service well inside the factory’s outer limits — typically every 30,000 to 60,000 miles, at a typical cost of about $120–$250. That service is maintenance: no service contract covers it, and skipping it is the fastest way to turn a healthy CVT into a pre-existing condition that no contract can help with. On a budget crossover, this is the one service owners are most tempted to skip — and on this vehicle, it is the one that matters most. Budget for the fluid, keep the receipts, and let coverage carry the failures maintenance cannot prevent.

Most common Nissan Kicks repairs owners pay for out of warranty

These are the bills that actually arrive on 2018–2024 Kicks after the factory terms end. Ranges are typical shop ranges from current market cost guides — context for judging coverage, never a quote from Empire:

• CVT replacement — typically $3,500–$5,500, with dealer quotes documented higher. The Kicks’ defining repair. Most shops replace rather than rebuild a failed Xtronic CVT, because the unit requires specialized tooling and factory calibration. On a vehicle bought for its low price, this single repair can approach a third of the car’s original cost — and it is the reason this guide exists.
• CVT valve body — typically $1,500–$2,500. The middle step in judder diagnosis. Sometimes it resolves the shudder; sometimes it is a down payment on the full replacement above. Either way, after 60,000 miles it is the owner’s money.
• Air conditioning and electrical. The Kicks packs modern hardware into a budget shell — air conditioning, infotainment and backup-camera systems, driver-assistance electronics, and power accessories are all basic-warranty items whose coverage ended at 36,000 miles, years before the failures typically start.
• Alternator, starter and sensors. The supporting cast of a high-mileage commuter car. Individually moderate, they arrive without warning and the car does not move until they are fixed.
• Steering and suspension. Struts, wheel bearings and steering components wear on a small crossover that owners keep for 150,000 miles of commuting. Individually moderate, collectively relentless — the slow drip that makes high-mileage ownership expensive even when the transmission behaves.

Read the pattern, not just the prices: one catastrophic item (the CVT) surrounded by a ring of four-figure and high-three-figure items, all arriving in the mileage window — 60,000 to 150,000 miles — where the Kicks spends most of its life and where Nissan covers none of it. For small-car owners the pattern bites harder, not softer: the repair does not shrink just because the car did.

What an Empire plan covers on a Nissan Kicks

Empire Auto Protect sells vehicle service contracts at several coverage levels, and the right level depends on which Kicks you own. Powertrain-focused coverage protects the engine, transmission, and drivetrain — the Kicks’ catastrophic-bill zone — while broader stated-component and exclusionary-style plans extend to the air conditioning, electrical system, steering, and suspension, subject to the contract’s covered-parts list. Every plan is priced from your vehicle’s year, mileage, and trim.

• Plans from $69/month, with the exact price set by your Kicks’ year, mileage, coverage level, deductible, and term.
• Honored in all 50 states at licensed repair facilities — your own shop included — following the contract’s authorization process.
• Open 24/7. Humans answer around the clock, with a human-supervised AI agent also answering after hours — because a vehicle that fails on a Sunday tow cannot wait for Monday office hours.
• Cancel at any time. Empire’s model is monthly and straightforward: customers pay monthly and can cancel for any reason; refunds cover only the unused portion after cancellation, never time the policy was in effect.
• A technology platform, not a mailer. Covered claims move through a digital process designed for same-day approval, with direct, fast handling — service approved in minutes where the claim is covered and documented.

Empire is rated 4.4 stars on Google — check the live rating before you buy, as you should with any provider.

Nissan Kicks extended warranty cost: how to judge it honestly

At Empire, plans start at $69/month. Always convert a monthly price into a total contract cost before you compare anyone’s offer, ours included: $69/month is $828 over 12 months, $1,656 over 24 months, and $2,484 over 36 months. For the full breakdown of how service-contract pricing works, see our vehicle service contract cost guide and the extended car warranty cost guide.

Now set that total against the repair list above. One CVT replacement at a typical $3,500–$5,500 costs more than four full years of coverage at the starting price. One valve-body repair, plus one air-conditioning repair, lands in the same territory as two to three years of coverage. That comparison — total contract cost versus the one or two real repairs a 60,000-to-150,000-mile Kicks is likely to need — is the whole decision, and any seller who will not put both numbers in front of you is asking you to decide blind. Your exact Empire price depends on your vehicle: a low-mileage 2023 and a 140,000-mile 2019 will not price the same, and a higher-mileage vehicle may be offered a different coverage level. The quote is free and takes minutes — get your Kicks’ exact number here.

When should a Nissan Kicks owner buy coverage?

• Buy while the transmission is quiet. A service contract covers failures that happen after enrollment, not conditions the vehicle already has. The Kicks whose CVT pulls away cleanly, whose backup-camera recall is documented complete, whose fluid service is on the receipts, and which shows no warning lights today is exactly the vehicle that qualifies cleanly — and exactly the vehicle whose next 80,000 miles contain the bills in the list above. Waiting until the judder starts turns a coverable vehicle into a diagnosis-first vehicle.
• Buy as the powertrain clock runs out — which, for most first-generation cars, has already happened. If yours is a 2018 through 2021, the 5-year powertrain hand-off is here, and unlike Rogue and Murano owners, Kicks owners have no settlement extension softening it. Even the newest used first-generation cars cross the line at 60,000 miles. Those hand-off points are where coverage earns its keep.
• Used buyers: buy at purchase, after an inspection. A used Kicks’ factory cover is defined by its original in-service date, not your purchase date — most used first-generation cars arrive with little or no factory powertrain cover left at all. Have the inspection confirm completed recalls, a documented CVT fluid history, and clean, shudder-free acceleration from a stop — the specific test Nissan’s own judder diagnosis starts with. An inspection that says the vehicle is healthy is the moment to put coverage in place: the inspection tells you the vehicle is sound, and the contract carries the risk from there. Our Nissan Sentra extended warranty guide covers the same decision for the Kicks’ sedan sibling.

Ready when you are: get a free quote or call 1-888-345-0084 — open 24/7, with coverage honored in all 50 states.

Driving Nissan’s full-size truck instead? See our Nissan Armada extended warranty guide for the V8 and twin-turbo generations, the 3-year/36,000-mile and 5-year/60,000-mile factory clocks, and what coverage costs from $69/month.

Driving Nissan’s smallest sedan instead? Our Nissan Versa extended warranty guide covers the Versa’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic and 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain terms, the expired CVT settlement extensions, and what coverage costs from $69/month.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Nissan Kicks extended warranty cost?

At Empire Auto Protect, plans start at $69/month. Your exact price depends on your Kicks’ year, mileage, coverage level, deductible, and term. Always convert the monthly price to a total contract cost before comparing providers — $69/month is $828 over 12 months and $2,484 over 36 months.

How long is the Nissan Kicks factory warranty?

The Kicks carries a 3-year or 36,000-mile basic limited warranty and a 5-year or 60,000-mile powertrain limited warranty, with corrosion perforation coverage for 5 years and unlimited miles.

Is my Nissan Kicks already out of warranty?

On time, yes for most first-generation vehicles. Every 2018–2020 Kicks has passed its 5-year powertrain term, 2021 vehicles follow through 2026, and every vehicle crosses at 60,000 miles regardless of year. Confirm your in-service date with Nissan in writing.

What engine and transmission does the Nissan Kicks have?

From 2018 through 2024, every Kicks uses a 1.6-liter four-cylinder with 122 horsepower and 114 lb-ft of torque paired with an Xtronic continuously variable transmission (CVT), front-wheel drive only. The redesigned 2025 Kicks uses a 2.0-liter four-cylinder (141 horsepower, 140 lb-ft of torque) with a CVT and available all-wheel drive.

Does the Kicks have a timing belt or a timing chain?

A timing chain. Both Kicks engines use a chain with no scheduled replacement interval. On-time oil changes protect it, because the chain is lubricated by engine oil. A rattle at startup on a high-mileage vehicle should be diagnosed promptly.

Did Nissan extend the Kicks CVT warranty?

Not in the published settlement classes. Nissan’s CVT settlements cover other models — Rogue, Pathfinder and QX60; Murano and Maxima, whose transmission warranties were extended to 84 months or 84,000 miles; and certain Altima, Sentra and Versa vehicles. The Kicks does not appear in those classes, so check your VIN with Nissan first, but do not count on a settlement extension for a Kicks.

Are the Kicks recalls something a service contract covers?

No — and they do not need to be. Nissan recalled certain 2018–2019 Kicks vehicles (campaign 19V654) because the backup-camera image could be adjusted out of view and stay that way; dealers update the camera software free at any mileage. Have recalls done first; a service contract covers non-recall failures after the factory warranty ends.

Is Empire Auto Protect insurance?

No. Empire sells vehicle service contracts, which are not insurance and are not an extension of Nissan’s factory warranty. Empire is open 24/7 at 1-888-345-0084 and is rated 4.4 stars on Google — verify the live rating before you buy, as you should with any provider.

Want the wider field before you decide? Our ranking of the best extended car warranty companies compares the top providers on price, claims handling, and coverage.