CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2013-2017 Nissan Sentra has an expensive CVT transmission failure defect that shows up plainly in our complaint data.

In late 2019, the CVT defect was subject to a class action settlement. However the settlement only covers transmission repairs up to 7 years after purchase or 84,000 miles (whichever occurs first).

Because many owners commonly drive 20,000 miles/year or more, Sentra owners experiencing CVT transmission problems may find they are not covered by this settlement due to the mileage limitation.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 1
Average Mileage:
28,298 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.

2013 Nissan Sentra electrical problems

electrical problem

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2013 Nissan Sentra Owner Comments (Page 1 of 3)

problem #41

May 252023

Sentra

  • miles

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

IPDM failure on 3 Nissan vehicles customer owned all having same issues, after taking unit apart, compositors on exact same spots all burnt. As we'll as several places (including spots where issue happened) missing Conformal coatings to protect the entire board from moisture. -Whitmer automotive LLC

- Elkhart, IN, USA

problem #40

Feb 072023

Sentra

  • miles
I called my home Nissan yesterday to get the information about my recalls on my car that I was not aware of after the State Troopers helped me get my cat to a safe location. I was told that there are recalls on the car (and was never notified) I called where it was originally bought from a Nissan Dealership and they gave me several recall codes as I was stranded in the freezing cold with my babies in the car. There are several recalls on my car (P1-1, P1-2, and P1-5,2, P1-8.) The car went from 1RPM and shot up to 8, and down to 0 and the car would not drive after that unless it was less than 15MPH. Anything over 15-20 the car would go from 1RPM back to 8, and shoot down to 0 and jerk the car forward and backwards. I was told it was only an 02 reprogramming recall from the location it was towed to, to a different Nissan dealership. However, I was given several codes of recall from the Nissan Dealership that I purchased it from.

- Salisbury , MD, USA

problem #39

Jun 012022

Sentra

  • miles
When I would hit my breaks and sit at a red light. My car would start vibrating really bad and then force it-€™s self up even though my foot would be on the break and almost his someone walking and a few other times in a car. It also would shut its self off and back on. When I put it in park it would die and when I put it back in drive it would die. Sometimes turn its self back on & I have a push to start.

- Trion, GA, USA

problem #38

Sep 042021

Sentra

  • miles

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

The left headlight went our or so I thought until I tried to change it then it worked until I put the cover back on. Also the car beeps a warning but I never know what the warning is for. The mass airflow system sensor has been replaced 5 times as of today since 5-2021. It stalled and died leaving me scared as I tried to enter the road luckily o wasn't injured.inhave no info as far as mileage, fuel usage etc..

- Deridder, LA, USA

problem #37

Jul 092021

Sentra

  • miles
It was 108 degree outside at 4:30 pm in the zip code of 89052. At a sloped intersection on a major street I stopped for the light. When the light turned green I tried to accelerate the car, it failed to accelerate, the break did not function, and the steering was difficult. The car stalled. The car started rolling downhill. I was able to turn the car to the next street ~20 yards down the intersection. The street had no slope and no other cars at the time. The car eventually stopped. But that was a dangerous incident and it could be much worse.

- Henderson, NV, USA

problem #36

Aug 102020

Sentra

  • miles
The dashboard works sometimes ( little screen). The seatsealts get stuck everytime I try to use them.

- Chatsworth, GA, USA

problem #35

Apr 132018

Sentra

  • 74,000 miles

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

Vehicle has been having acceleration problems since first bought from carmax. Transmission was replaced under warranty but vehicle is still not accelerating when going up hills. This vehicle is a major safety problem and liability issue. Carmax has failed to address it further and fix

- Newbury Park, CA, USA

problem #34

Jun 012020

Sentra

  • miles
I am having ignition problems. Some times the car crank, sometimes it doesn't. my check engine light keeps coming on.

- Duluth, GA, USA

problem #33

Mar 072016

Sentra

  • 4,000 miles
Car wouldnt start but panel lights came on. Jumped started car and it worked fine for a while then same issue days later, Nissan replaced the battery and worked fine for a few months then same issue bought another battery and next time car wouldnt start it made the click sound like the alternator was bad but its tested fine.im tired of having to charge the battery just so I wont get stranded. Nissan dealer claims car has to be driven at least 20 miles per day to keep battery charged. Never had that issue with my 1989 Sentra but it had other electrical issues

- Anchorage, AK, USA

problem #32

Sep 202019

Sentra

  • 73,000 miles
My 2013 Nissan Sentra had no known problems, and I had no icons on my dashboard that something needed attention... no check engine light, no check transmission light..none. And when I had taken my car to get an oil change, my car had no serious issues. And just recently as I had my foot on the break because I was parking my car's engine turned off, , but the radio was still on. I attempted several times to turn on until it did, but as soon as I shifted to reverse or drive, the engine would just turn off. And now my car turns on but makes a weird noise like something is dragging, but engine remains on, and every time I shift to drive or reverse my car turns off. Iv'E purchased my car new back in 2013, and it only has 73,000 miles. I don't drive long distances too often or get on the highway too much. I work about 20 minutes away from work with traffic. I have done my oil change at my Nissan dealership and nothing ever came up on their multi inspection. I just don't know what is wrong with my car.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #31

Jul 062019

Sentra

  • miles

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

Transmission shifting on its own. Accelerate and decelerate on its own. Gear not fully grabbing.

- Rowlett, TX, USA

problem #30

Jun 232019

Sentra

  • 98,000 miles
I was driving for 2 hours straight all of a sudden the vehicle started to slow down so I pulled over and shut the car off waited for like a minute and the car started to pick up speed with jerking then I continue for a while when I came to a stop sign and tried to proceed it wouldn't go so I turned the car off again waited and it slowly picked up speed after me flooring the pedal then check engine light came on this has never happened but I did get a recall letter in the mail awhile back but it stated if the car is at 150,000 miles then something electrical would malfunction my vehicle is at 98,000 I was traveling on the road in motion while all this occurred I eventually had to get a tow home

- Mcdonough, GA, USA

problem #29

Apr 162019

Sentra

  • 5 miles
Ive been having issues with my 2013 Sentra sr sputtering randomly and out of nowhere shakes and completly shuts off no matter the speed im doing. Which has me concerned as this is becoming a big safety issue now thru out the years its gotten proggresivly worse without any dealership being able to fix this issue cause the car shows no warning lights or a check engine light. This happens when I'm stopped and moving happens randomly and sometimes the car wont accelerate past 3 RPM's.

- Maspeth, NY, USA

problem #28

Feb 152019

Sentra

  • 66,000 miles
Vehicle in notion on city streets. Vehicle looses acceleration (gas peddle pressed, no rpms, no engine revving) would have to release gas and press peddle again a couple times before car would jerk into acceleration. Also, break lights flicker when car is in park (like if someone was tapping the breaks, but nobody was in the car. Car has roughly 66K miles

- Crest Hill, IL, USA

problem #27

Nov 012018

Sentra

  • 60 miles
The transmission failed at 60,962 the car started started shaking, jerking and loosing speed and then it cutting off at the stop light. The car cut off on me getting off the highway I was at a light & then I was unable to proceed with traffic. I turned on the hazard lights & turned the heat off waited for the car to maybe cool off I really didn't know what was wrong & then I was able to restart the car & drive home I took the car to the Nissan dealer ship twice & they told me it was the airflow filter after they claimed it was fixed it happened again I contacted Nissan again and they finally admitted that this car has a bad transmission. There is no way a car under 100K miles should have problems with the transmission I bought this car @ 26K in 2016. Now is costing me over $3,000 to fix my car. Nissan is well aware of the transmission issue on these cars and instead of recalling them they continue to allow these cars to be sold over & over again again. I want a complete investigation into the on going problems with the 2013 Nissan Sentra's. I have lost power on the highway as well as main roads stopped at lights holding up traffic in dangerous situations I had this car towed in total of 5 times in less than 6 months.

- Stamford, CT, USA

problem #26

Mar 132017

Sentra

  • miles
My vehicle interior latch handles on each door are defective and has stop working. We have to let down the window to open the door from the outside to get out. This happened last year. I purchased my vehicle in 2017. First it. Was the driver side door that became inoperable then the three passenger side doors did the same. They all stop working.

- Meridian, MS, USA

problem #25

Oct 082018

Sentra

  • 85,000 miles
Transmission failed at 85,000. I started having problems gaining speed; then the car would start shaking, jerking and pausing. I was driving on highway 152 on my way to san jose, ca when my car started losing speed and shaking. I thought I was going to get stuck in the middle of the road. It was terrifying. I made it to work and started doing research about what my car was doing and find out it was the transmission. I took it to the dealer and they confirmed it was the transmission. Nissan tech. Told me to call Nissan usa, so I did. They gave a case number and they communicated with the dealer to confirm the transmission had failed. Nissan agreed to pay part of the cost to repair transmission even though I told them that it was too soon for the transmission to fail. Nissan is charging me 2000 to fix it. I honestly think Nissan should start repairing all transmissions without a cost for customers. They know their transmissions have defects. I will try to sell my car as soon as possible as they are only going to give me one year warranty.

- Los Banos, CA, USA

problem #24

Oct 122018

Sentra

  • 101,750 miles
I almost died today on a busy fast street my car turned off while it was on and I was not able to press the brakes and my steering wheel was locked if it wasn't for my emergency brake working and they're being a part of the lane that was vacant at that second I would have been dead there were cars flying through that street. This is a complete hazard to my life and to my family's life and to the lives of other civilians driving. Nissan will have a serious lawsuit on your hands if something happens to me and my family becomes aware that it was an electric issue. I'm going to take it into the dealership but if they claim that it is not fixable or they makeup some issue with my car that was truly isn't the problem and they're only doing that because they can't find the actual problem that caused that stall in those matter of seconds I will be seeking legal action against Nissan. I babysit people so I am putting those kids lives at risk driving this vehicle that I so deeply depended on for every day method of travel. Either Nissan is going to to fix this vehicle or you should consider this call a lemon and do a recall and provide the customer with a vehicle that is actually safe and not going to potentially kill someone can you imagine if this occurred on the freeway

- Mobile, AL, USA

problem #23

May 092018

Sentra 4-cyl

  • miles
My name is [xxx] I purchased this vehicle for my wife [xxx] the vehicle is 73,000 miles with frequent oil changes and check ups. The transmission went on this vehicle and I took it to my mechanic. After my mechanic did a diagnostic report and extensive research he found that this particular make and model has had nothing but problems with the transmission. I took the car to a Nissan dealership who advised me that Nissan said they are at fault and will pay for half the price of a new transmission. I am a disabled, retired veteran and cannot afford $3000 to put in a vehicle that Nissan knows they are at fault for. Vehicle only has 73,000 miles on it and my mechanic said that it should definitely not have any of these problems. I would like to know if there is anything I can do about this issue. Attach are all the reports from Nissan, my mechanic, etc. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Manchester, NJ, USA

problem #22

Apr 302018

Sentra

  • 15,000 miles
Update since April - purchased car 10-22-15 inspection and said it was good. In 1-14-2016 car growling/city street. Again inspection and said it was good 6-14-16 car in, car growling in motion on street. Again tested - good stranded (purchased a jump start) 8-16 2016 stranded in driveway 10-17-17 - twice car went into sport mode, on highway (50/60mph) no one touched anything-hands on wheel! they had car for 12 days and said nothings wrong with the trans. Still happens..and worse. Trans blows up while driving car. It was awful, had we been going 50/60 we would have been dead.no warning lights- stopped dead and abruptly on city street. Had it towed in they finally admitted it was the trans from the start Oct 2015! had to have a re-furbished trans as there was nothing left of this one, (car towed in-would not go into any gear). 1-16-18 car in for loud rattle. They said it was from the transmission being replaced. Straightened the heat plate under the trans. Still rattles 3-15-18 while driving with the new trans. Car went into sport mode on city street, just like before the original trans exploded. 4-29-18 stranded in driveway after driving it 28 miles- the battery was discharging while driving- we've been stranded about 14X's. took car in -got a loaner. They said it must be an electrical problem and did a parasitic test. Nothing wrong 6-26-18 went into sport mode driving for about 40 seconds -pulled over- shut off motor. 7-26-18 shifted into high gear again on its own while driving. Our hands on the wheel, when driving. The car is acting like it did before the trans was replaced. Their Nissan corporate man said, it must be electrical why we are getting stranded and there is definitely something wrong with the new transmission they put in as it's doing the same thing as originally, before the car exploded and could have killed us.

- Chicago, IL, USA

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