1.6

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
102,871 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2004 Nissan Sentra engine problems

engine problem

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2004 Nissan Sentra Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #26

Sep 162016

Sentra

  • 97,705 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

In the morning, car took multiple attempts to start. In afternoon, after having sat for an hour, it was again hard to start. Drove approx. 1/2 mile across highway into a parking lot, slowed and car stalled. Restarted after several attempts, drove approx. 1/4 mile and car stalled as I slowed again prior to attempting to turn into parking space. Would not restart until left sit for approx. An hour.

- Elida, OH, USA

problem #25

Sep 112016

Sentra

  • 61,000 miles
Vehicle hesitates when starting & stalls out or shuts down when slowing down or coming to a halt. If let to sit for a while it will restart, but has left me stranded multiple times. Crank sensor replaced as well as all fluids. Have had it checked for codes, but nothing shows up. Car was recently purchased in late May 2016. Vendor repaired several items, but now car is out of vendor warranty.

- Ellicott City, MD, USA

problem #24

Jun 292015

Sentra

  • 136,466 miles
Driving down the highway in 2015 the car engine would just stop running. My husband called the towing company and me after he pulled over after ten minutes or so and the car started again, we cancelled the tow and he returned home but near the home the car stalled out again. We managed to get it started again and drove it to a Firestone repair shop which charged us $280.89 dollars for a crankshaft position sensor. Nissan recalled a crank angle sensor for the 2.5 L but we have the 1.8 L engine.

- Middletown, CT, USA

problem #23

Aug 302016

Sentra

  • 53,300 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Engine fuel pump failure. Driving on busy highway engine started to stall. Had to use clutch to keep engine running, nearly missing other vehicles trying to maintain control of vehicle trying to restart engine. Immediately took to dealer and fuel pump failure diagnosed. Fuel pump being replaced right now at $700.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #22

Aug 012016

Sentra

  • 140,000 miles
Dealer refused to fix the (report receipt date: Jul 07, 2006 NHTSA campaign number: 06V242000 component(s): Engine and engine cooling ) as a result the engine has over heated and now has other problems.

- Westfield, IN, USA

problem #21

Mar 172016

Sentra

  • 186,000 miles
My car usually takes two tries to start. After it warms up and I've been driving, it stalls suddenly, and I'm stranded for several minutes. When it does start up again, it goes a short distance, and as soon as the engine warms up again, it stalls again. Today it stalled on the way home, three times, in less than 4 miles. I was left sitting on the side of the road, hoping I wouldn't get hit. I have also had it stall in the middle of a busy intersection, and am very concerned about it stalling when I pull out in front of other traffic to cross a road. I am at risk of a crash because of this. It has stalled whiie driving on the highway, city streets and on rural roads. One night it stalled over a dozen times as I was passing through a bad area of time ten O'clock at night. Nissan is going to cost somebody their life if they don't get on this and fix every Nissan that is exhibiting these kinds of sudden stalls. This has been going on since summer 2015 and is getting far worse. I can't afford to pay for a manufacturing defect. This form is insufficient because it is forcing a one date list for problems and this is happening repeatedly. There are no documents to upload, I just sit in the car and wait for it to finally start again.

- Woodland Mills, TN, USA

problem #20

Feb 262016

Sentra

  • 127,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving from a stop, the vehicle jerked and the engine RPM's revved rapidly without warning. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine control module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 127,000.

- Halethorpe, MD, USA

problem #19

Aug 082014

Sentra

  • 147,000 miles
August 2014:I was driving home from work on a city street doing about 45 when the car just shut off. I was able to coast into a parking lot with the residual power the car had. Luckily no one was next to me. The steering was gone since there was no power. After many attempts, I finally got the car started but had to put the car into neutral whenever I was at a light (because the RPM was at 500 and it kept shutting off when I applied the brake). Managed to make it home. Ended up being the cam/crank sensors that went out. Fast forward to November 2015 and I had to replace the cam sensor again!! car still idles at 500 RPM and always feels like it's going to shut off. Next issue is the power windows. Drivers side gets half-way down, but you have to pull the switch up quickly in order for it to roll back up. Cannot open/close passenger window from drivers side, only passenger side. Next issue is random leak in the trunk where the spare tire is stored. About 1-2 months after we had gotten some heavy rains, I noticed a slight mildew smell in the cabin. I sniffed around, didn't see or feel anything that was wet. Figured it was a cabin filter that needed to be replaced. Another month goes by and I can still faintly smell it. I open my trunk and it's coming from there. I pull everything out of the trunk; nothing feels wet, nothing looked wet, nothing had water stains on it (books, clothes). I pull back the trunk carpet, the trunk stabilizer and I notice there's mold on it and the mdf covering the spare is wet. I pull it off and there was about two inches of water in the spare wheel well! when I was driving to get stuff to clean it, it sounded like I had a kiddie pool in the trunk! to this day, I have no idea how it got in there - again nothing was wet or water-stained in the trunk. Also experienced misfires, fuel gauge (due to fuel pump). I don't feel safe in this car at times.

- Katy, TX, USA

problem #18

Nov 292015

Sentra

  • 101,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Sentra. While driving at 70 mph, the vehicle engine failed without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that camshaft position sensor code 0335 failed. The vehicle was being repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 101,000.

- Noblesville, IN, USA

problem #17

Aug 132015

Sentra

  • 148,753 miles
I was driving East on I494 near a major interchange, in very heavy traffic. I was in the center lane going approximately 60-65 mph when my engine suddenly quit. I quickly checked the lane on my right and it was clear so I moved over and onto the shoulder. My brakes and steering were going quickly, but I was able to bring the car to a full stop next to the guard rail. I was right next to a two-lane exit to I35, where the traffic was flying past me; several cars almost ran into me, with one extremely distracted driver crossing the line onto the shoulder and heading right at me. If he had not looked up in time I doubt I would be here to report this. I was able to get a tow truck, but traffic was not even slowing or yielding for the tow truck driver. It was an extremely dangerous situation. While waiting for a tow, I was able to restart my car after about 10 minutes, but was too afraid to try driving it in those traffic conditions. The repair shop I went to diagnosed a faulty O2 sensor caused by a leaky flex pipe and wanted over $800 to replace the pipe w/ catalytic converter, gaskets, O2 sensor. And spark plugs. Since my car would start but I did not trust it, I decided to drive home (25 miles) by city streets and back roads. On the way the engine again failed while waiting for a light to change. After 10 minutes it started and I was able to get home. I took it to my mechanic, who fixed the flex pipe. A few days later the engine died again and restarted after another harrowing wait on the side of the road. This time the car gave a code for the crankshaft sensor, which my mechanic replaced. Since then my car has not quit while driving, but does hesitate and I am afraid while driving it. I may have my mechanic replace the camshaft sensor as well, since that is also a known issue. I am supposed to move to California, but don't trust my car to make the trip safely.

- Mound, MN, USA

problem #16

Jun 012015

Sentra

  • 137,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2004 Nissan Sentra shut off while stopped in drive. Second incident, and many thereafter, was while the A/C was running, the vehicle shut off while in drive and physically moving. Service engine soon light appeared and currently displays code P0335: Crankshaft position sensor circuit malfunction. There is currently a recall for my 2003 Nissan Sentra for this exact situation, but not the my 2004 and I highly suggest this is reconsidered because this issue is affecting more that the my 2003.

- Ceres, CA, USA

problem #15

Jun 012013

Sentra

  • 122,767 miles
My 2004 Nissan Sentra has just failed emissions testing for the 3rd time. The paperwork I recieved says the catalytic converter is deteriorating faster than anticipated and turning on the mil. Also, that the owner was notified Dec. 5, 2005 however, I did not purchase the car until 2014.

- North Andover, MA, USA

problem #14

Feb 042015

Sentra

  • 130,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Sentra. While driving at approximately 38 mph, the vehicle stalled and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact was made aware of NHTSA action number: RQ06001 (engine and engine cooling). The failure mileage was 130,000.

- Tuczon, AZ, USA

problem #13

Jun 182014

Sentra

  • 82,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving at 30 mph, the engine revved up and the vehicle accelerated out of control. The brake pedal was applied and traveled to the floorboard. As a result, the emergency brake was activated and powered off the vehicle. The failure occurred multiple times. The contact did not disclose if the vehicle was diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 82,000.

- Arcadia, CA, USA

problem #12

Oct 072014

Sentra

  • 138,000 miles
I was driving down the interstate, at 60 mph and the engine dropped to 700 RPM and refused to accelerate. I had to pull over, shut off car and repeatedly attempt to start car. This has happened 8 other times in the past month.

- Springfield, MA, USA

problem #11

Oct 102014

Sentra

  • 64,935 miles
Was going down the road traveling around 25 mph and engine stalled out of the blue then check engine light came on. After about 15 minutes car finally cranked back up. But when it did the check engine soon light was on had it checked and it came back as a bad cam shaft positioning sensor.

- Nebo, NC, USA

problem #10

Jul 202011

Sentra 4-cyl

  • 79,565 miles
In July of 2011 my 2004 Nissan Sentra SE-R spec V had some issues. I had a check engine light come on and had light blue smoke come out of my exhaust while accelerating and had been starting to notice bad oil and fuel consumption. I took it to the Nissan dealership and they searched for any open recalls on my specific car based on running my VIN number into the database and they told me it was not one of the affected vehicles. After hooking up a code scanner to my car they found the following codes, P0420 (catalyst system efficiency below threshold), P0302(cylinder #2 misfire), P0303( cylinder #3 misfire) during the diagnosis they said that the pre-cat (exhaust manifold) had come apart and the material inside had glogged my exhaust system and gotten sucked back into my cylinders and scored the cylinder walls. They stated that they had also found valve damage and even found some of the cat material in my oil. Nissan was kind enough to replace my engine block and the pre-cat manifold as well as my secondary catalytic converter even though they said it was not a vehicle affected by the recall campaign that Nissan had issued. So here I am a little over 2 years later and guess what" it came back. I am having the exact same symtoms as before. I took my car back into the same Nissan dealership and they will not fix it again without charging me. They refused because it was never a part of the recalled vehicles and it is currently not under any warranty with its 105,000 miles. So, I ask them, why did they fix it the first time? their response was, and I quote, "it was a courtesy" to which I said, "hmmm, so you guys do a courtesy fix for over $3,000 worth of work for a car that supposedly "isn't" part of a recall campaign"" - they didnt have much to say after that other than my best bet is to take it up with the manufacturer and they refuse to help as well. This car is a trap.

- Roseville, CA, USA

problem #9

Nov 272013

Sentra

  • 105,700 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 06V242000 (engine and engine cooling). Approximately two years after the recall repair was performed, the contact noticed blue smoke accompanied by a rattling noise from the exhaust pipe and system. The check engine warning light was also illuminated and the vehicle would sporadically lose power, causing the vehicle to become hesitant upon acceleration attempts. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 105,700.

- Roseville, CA, USA

problem #8

Jun 272013

Sentra 4-cyl

  • 114,000 miles
Nissan 2004 Sentra 1.8S had the identical issue as the 2.5 liter engine that has been recalled. After driving for fifteen minutes on the highway every sensor light on the dash came on and the car turned off including power steering. I was able to pull the car off to the shoulder and safely stop the car. The car did not appear to overheat and the temperature gauge was in the acceptable range so I let the car sit for two minutes and I tried to start it again before calling aaa. The car started right up and only the check engine light remained on. I have taken it to my mechanic and the code came back crank shaft position sensor. I was fortunate that I was driving late at night and not during rush hour traffic. A faulty sensor should not cause a complete shut down of the vehicle.

- Davie, FL, USA

problem #7

May 082013

Sentra 4-cyl

  • 55,481 miles
I purchased a used Nissan Sentra ser spec-V, from a private party on 5/8/13. I was driving 70 mph, about 6 miles down the freeway, from where I purchased the car, when the engine died. The check engine light came on, and I was able to coast over to the shoulder and stop, while smoke flowed out from under the hood. The car was towed 25 miles to a mechanic I trust. The gears in the counter balancer assembly blew apart, clogging an oil screen, not allowing oil to the cylinders, and threw a rod. I mentioned I had heard about issues with the crank position sensors on these cars, and replaced it as well. $2428.90, plus a $200 tow. On 5/13/13, I went to a local Nissan dealer to see if there were any recalls on my car, and was told not for my VIN numbers. I got the car back on 5/23, and have driven it less than 100 miles when on 5/26/13, going 40 mph, it suddenly died again. I cost to the side of the road and stopped. No lights came on or any signs of the problem. I tried 6-8 times to start it. I got out and opened the hood to see if anything looked funny, went back again to start it and it turned right on. The odometer is 55,571. I look on this website and see 100 other complaints of Sentra randomly shutting off. This problem is unacceptable, next time my car dies, there might not be a safe place to pull over to, or without power steering and brakes, I am likely hit someone.

- Vancouver , WA, USA

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