10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
69,487 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.

2011 Nissan Sentra electrical problems

electrical problem

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2011 Nissan Sentra Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #30

Jul 012020

Sentra

  • miles

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

The car charger refuses to adhere to a car charger that came as an accessory with a cell phone package.but my phone car charger works for any other random C- charger that my cell phones uses

- Nashville, TN, USA

problem #29

Feb 282020

Sentra

  • 93,000 miles
Like many other complaints I am reading I have had multiple times I have been driving down the road and my vdc off light will appear and my car will start jerking and have trouble accelerating, I then have to get over to the side of the road and shut my car off for a few, this luckily has only happened to me in the city as after it happened I was too worried to take it on the highway. With this many issues/complaints Nissan really needs to look into this before it costs someone their life

- Terre Haute, IN, USA

problem #28

Mar 042020

Sentra

  • 138,000 miles
Purchased the vehicle in June 2016, service engine light came on in October (approximately 60,000-70,000 miles) when temp dropped below 55 degrees. Took it to a mechanic, code read P0101. Find Nissan has posted a bulletin on this.followed all guidelines. He cleaned the maf sensor. Light went off. Next, day light comes back on. Go back, have sensor replaced. Light comes back on. Checks for vacuum leaks, change air filter blow out air box and surrounding components. Light still on. Take car for a diagnosis every few months to ensure its still the same thing and nothing else. No problem with cars drivability. Fast forward to 2019, vdc/ ABS lights come on. Call Nissan, tell me they cant help because my car was out of warranty. Nisan has posted bulletin for this issue follow all guidelines for repairs via their bulletin, all the way down to the $700 wheel speed sensor. Lights go off. But that started a new issue. My vdc/ABS lights will spontaneously come on causing my car to jerk violently at speeds between 20-30mph (or 2,500 RPM) causing me to stop dead in traffic, park the car, take the key out (it must be out!), wait a few seconds, turn it back on. Fast forward to this week (3/2/20) my car stalls out going 70 mph down the highway between to semis. Everything just shuts down. I literally almost died. Call Nissan and they tell me, my car isn't part of the recall, outside of the warranty, nothing we can do. Go to Nissan dealer. They want to charge $150 to diagnose. So I went elsewhere, got it diagnosed for free had maf cleaned, new air filter, codes reset. Light goes off. Driving home, car stalls again at 70 mph. No lights on dash. Have codes read immediately, no codes. Nothing. Wake up, drive to school, service engine light comes on, immediately stalls on highway. Immediately have does read: Three P0101 codes in row. I literally fear for my life and have no other choice.

- Lemont, IL, USA

problem #27

Feb 172020

Sentra

  • 128,000 miles

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

Electrical system: Battery: Cables - Nissan Sentra 2011 - my car was running well for all these years, no problems at all, but one day, didn't want to start, it didn't make no noise, nothing. My husband checked the battery right away, it was a little bit loose and he adjusted it. The car wanted to start but never did completely. The tow guy said it looked like the key was deprogrammed so we were hoping it was just that. So we towed the car to Nissan dealership and found out it was the engine control module. It costed more than $2,000 dollars to get if fixed. Searching online I found out that Nissan Sentra's 2010-2011 have a recall on this issue. The article says: (due to a machining irregularity, the bolt/washer surface on the positive battery terminal cable end may allow for a gap to occur in the contact area of the terminal. This can result in a voltage drop that may cause difficulty starting the vehicle and could cause damage to the engine control module) exactly what happened to my car! we talked to the Nissan manager about it, but he didn't honor the recall, since my car doesn't have this recall when I apply the VIN#. he gave us a phone # to call: 1800 nissan1, so I hope they can reimburse the money we paid for it. Please, if you have a problem like this, report it, so they can see there is more vehicles affected that don't qualify for this recall and I don't think it's fair because it is a manufacture issue. Thank you!

- Fairfield, CA, USA

problem #26

Jan 172019

Sentra

  • 79,000 miles
I was driving down a highway interstate car started bucking and not accelerating when I put foot on gas. I was alone and it was dark in the middle of the night. I was so scared. It could have caused a serious accident. I saw a vdc light was on and that had never happened before. I checked the dashboard and saw the vdc button and tried pressing it and nothing helped. When I was finally able to pull over on the shoulder, very upset, I looked online on my phone and someone recommended to turn car off for a few minutes and then restart it. That seemed to help so I went on my way. I see many others saying they have had the same thing happen. Maybe this should be seriously looked into and possibly a recall on it.2018

- Marcus Hook, PA, USA

problem #25

Jun 052018

Sentra

  • 72,000 miles
"takata recall", car has days where it won't start due to problems with the ECM module. I bought the car like that and when it happened I thought it was the battery and we switched out the battery, however a month later it did the same thing. I noticed that there is a recall on the battery terminal that may effect the ECM on some modern vehicles, however when I took it to Nissan they said based on my VIN number my vehicle isn't affected. My car is doing exactly what the recall states, so I believe that my VIN number needs to be included in the recall list.

- Apopka, FL, USA

problem #24

Aug 112019

Sentra

  • 116,000 miles

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

All ignition coils and spark plugs are failing after 2 months of being replaced. $700 was paid back on May 20, 2019 to replace all coils and spark plugs. Engine misfired again the other day and same issue diagnosed with coil/plug failure! there is an underlying issue that Nissan needs to have addressed within engine as something is causing the coils to continually misfire! my car was driving straight the other day on Sunday when the vehicle started to buck wildly and check engine light flashing on.

- Amity Harbor, NY, USA

problem #23

Sep 072018

Sentra

  • 120,000 miles
We put our VIN into the recall database and it did not come back as being one of the cars affected. However, we have experienced what is described in the recall: Engine stalling and having to be turned off and restarted; no power to engine when stepping on gas while in drive. It has been okay on the highway, but will often cut out when driving in city, especially when starting back from a start or rolling start. Happens occasionally with no predictability other than has never happened on the highway.

- Cookeville, TN, USA

problem #22

Jun 282019

Sentra

  • 114,491 miles
Fan is running inside car blowing out hot air despite the dial being turned to off. Now while the car was being driven, there's a strong burning smell emitting from the inside of car. When the fan turned on for absolutely no reason, I was driving it on the highway. The car was in motion again today when the burning smell started as well. Now when I go to turn car on, it is having issues starting.

- West Babylon, NY, USA

problem #21

Apr 162019

Sentra

  • 82,300 miles
The dashboard light flickered for awhile and now does not light up at all. I am unable to see the gas gauge, mileage or temperature. The doors no longer unlock when I turn off the ignition nor does the beeper sound that my headlights are still on when the ignition is turned off. I have been to the Nissan dealer twice with this and they were not be able to locate the problem. They did find a paper that described this situation as a problem on the 2011 Nissan Sentra.

- Beltsville, MD, USA

problem #20

Mar 202019

Sentra

  • miles

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

Driving down off ramp and car just suddenly shut off and would not start.

- Turners Falls, MA, USA

problem #19

Mar 302019

Sentra

  • miles
This car is stalling very bad it happens every now an then but it feels like is going to die it happens when driving an also when park. When driving it dies an that's dangerous it can cause accidents

- San Pablo, CA, USA

problem #18

Jul 272018

Sentra

  • 140,000 miles
Takata recall I was driving my car and came to a stop sign and the whole car shut off, while I was in drive. My battery was corroded and so we thought that was the issue and changed the battery and the problem worsended up until yesterday while I was riding to work, I arrived at a stop light and before the light even turned red the whole car shut off and locked up. The battery is new, oil had been changed hat same day as the air filter and the mass airflow sensor were changed. The mass airflow sensor was changed because that's what I was told was why my engine light was on. The very day the same issues occurred and the whole car stopped and did not start again. Prior to this, my car sat for a few days, like any car does on the weekend and I needed a jump the following Sunday night and after changing the battery, the problems worsened and as I was driving, if I turned slightly or made a left or right turn, my skip control would come on and stay on and I drive routinely so I knew it was a new problem. When I put the car into park, the slip control would come on or in reverse, the slip control would come on or the whole car would shut off in that gear.

- Missouri, TX, USA

problem #17

Mar 012018

Sentra 4-cyl

  • 128,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Nissan Sentra. While attempting to start the vehicle, it failed to start. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the electronic control module was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then towed to Nissan of van nuys (5425 van nuys blvd, sherman oaks, ca) where it was confirmed that the electronic control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was 128,000.

- North Hollywood, CA, USA

problem #16

Feb 182017

Sentra

  • 93,890 miles
Recall on battery cable impacted ECM and caused fire on wieingof car and impacted catalytic converter and valve solenoid and O2 sensors and damaged car

- Aurora, CO, USA

problem #15

Feb 102017

Sentra

  • 72,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Nissan Sentra. While driving 40 mph, the vehicle stalled and could not be cranked or restarted. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the holder fuse link needed to be replaced. Additionally, it was diagnosed that a rod went through the engine and the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 11V579000 (electrical system). The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.

- Industry, PA, USA

problem #14

Apr 012016

Sentra

  • 59,000 miles
Vehicle cuts off while in motion in the parking lot. Won't restart. Positive battery post corroded.

- Lawrenceville, GA, USA

problem #13

Mar 292016

Sentra

  • 95,000 miles
I was driving 03/29/16 and the car stopped in the middle of the street and stopped working shut down completely. I had to have it towed. Won't turn on at all no light windows won't move doors won't open only drivers door with key

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #12

Mar 032016

Sentra

  • 76,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine control unit (ECU) module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 11V579000 (electrical system). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 76,000.

- Anaheim, CA, USA

problem #11

Sep 152015

Sentra

  • 54,000 miles
Driving alongon a major highway 301 in the state of gerogia and the car cut off and would not restart. Towed to local dealership. Was told that battery terminal caused computer to malfunction.

- Statesboro, GA, USA

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