Nissan Versa manuals and technical guides
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Nissan Versa: Technical and consumer information for your Nissan Versa - Flat towing your vehicle

Flat towing

Towing your Nissan Versa vehicle with all four wheels firmly on the ground surface is commonly referred to as flat towing, dinghy towing, or 4-down towing. This specific towing method is frequently utilized when a passenger vehicle is being towed behind a larger recreational vehicle, such as a motor home.

CAUTION

  • Failure to carefully follow these important operational guidelines can result in severe and permanent transmission damage.
  • Whenever you are flat towing your Nissan Versa, always tow in a forward direction and never tow the vehicle backward.
  • Never tow your front-wheel-drive vehicle with the front tires spinning freely on the ground while the rear is lifted, unless specified; doing so may cause serious and expensive mechanical damage to the powertrain components.
  • DO NOT tow any continuously variable transmission vehicle with all four wheels on the ground (flat towing).

    Doing so WILL DAMAGE internal transmission parts due to a complete lack of necessary internal transmission lubrication during movement.

Manual Transmission

  • Always tow your manual transmission-equipped Nissan Versa with the gear selector firmly placed in the N (Neutral) position.
  • After completing every 500 miles (805 km) of continuous towing, you must start and idle the engine with the transmission remaining in N (Neutral) for a full two minutes. Failure to idle the engine after every 500 miles (805 km) of towing may cause premature wear and damage to internal transmission parts.

Continuously Variable Transmission

To safely tow a Nissan Versa model equipped with a continuously variable transmission, an appropriate vehicle towing dolly MUST be placed securely under the vehicle's front drive wheels. Always strictly follow the equipment manufacturer's instructions and recommendations when utilizing their dolly product.