CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2013-2017 Nissan Sentra has an expensive CVT transmission failure defect that shows up plainly in our complaint data from the earlier model years in this same 7th generation Sentra.
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:
5 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
42,774 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.
I have a 2016 Nissan Sentra SV with 103k miles on it. I was driving the car, and noticed at stop sign and red lights the car would strain and hesitate when the accelerator was pressed. It would jerk hard then drive normally. The car would also loose power while driving. It would drop from 65 mph to 20 mph. It has done this numerous of times, and I have to try and maneuver off to the side of the highway to avoid a crash. The check engine light illuminated.The car would sit for a few minutes, accelerate, and drive normal. A few minutes later, the cycle starts again. I would also smell as if something was burning. After taking it to the shop, it was determined it was the CVT which was recalled in 2018 for 2013-2017 Nissan Sentra due to faulty CVT's. However, it is based on your VIN number according to Nissan.I did speak to a representative from Nissan Consumer Affairs and she stated my VIN number should NO RECALLS!!!! I have this car that is doing everything that granted the recall, but because they did not put my VIN number on their list it doesn't qualify. Several transmission shop has told me they do not attempt to repair the CVT they buy a new transmission from Nissan dealership. The price starts at $5200. [XXX] please help!!! The check engine light code was a P2859 issues with the Power Tran transmission. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, the vehicle started to lose traction control. The check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that while attempting to shift gear, the vehicle started making a grinding sound, causing the vehicle to lose motive power. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle failed to respond as intended. The vehicle hesitated and lost motive power. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. The contact became aware of an abnormal burning odor. The vehicle was able to be restarted; however, the failure recurred. The contact stated the indicator on the instrument panel was moving independently. The vehicle was not taken to the local dealer or independent mechanic. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while driving 50 MPH uphill, the vehicle jerked and failed to properly accelerate. After several attempts, the vehicle moved slowly and was able to drive up the hill. The vehicle was towed to the residence and was not driven since the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the warranty on the vehicle had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while approaching a traffic light, the vehicle hesitated and stalled. The driver depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle paused and lost motive power. The vehicle was able to restart; however, the vehicle failed to move. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT); and the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while approaching a traffic light, the vehicle hesitated and stalled. The driver depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle paused and lost motive power. The vehicle was able to restart. However, the vehicle failed to move. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT); and the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.
- Chicago, IL, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while approaching a traffic light, the vehicle hesitated and stalled. The driver depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle hesitated and lost motive power. The vehicle was able to be restarted; however, the vehicle failed to move. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.
While driving car shuts down in traffic!!! Cuts off at stop signs!!! Cuts off driving up steep roads!!! Jerks and jolts forward!!! Speeds up and down while gauges fluster!!!! The car slips in and out of gear!!! My life has been in danger since I bought this car-?? I need the situation taken care of this car is a dear trap and a severe safety hazard!!! This car in whole was recalled I don-??t know why Nissan missed my vin number-??.
The vehicle just slows down and will not go while driving it. This could cause wrecks while driving and car just slows down and won't go. This has a cvt transmission that needs to be recalled. Nissan dealers and other automotive shops have said the cvt transmission in Nissans need to be recalled.
I purchased the car as a graduation present for my son in 2018. He was using it to get back and forth to work and school. Currently the car has less than 60,000 miles on it. So, it was not being excessively driven. In Dec her of 2023, He began having issues with the vehicle stalling and overheating. It began to jerk and would randomly lose power. While driving to work the car over heated and we got it to a mechanic on 1/7/24. The independent service center stated the engine needed to be replaced and he would also inspect the transmission due to the loss of power and slipping my son was describing. Once the engine was replaced the mechanic confirmed the transmission would also need to be replaced. My son spent all his savings on the engine so we took the car home to determine options. The quote for a new transmission is 3-4k plus labor. I am too scared to let my son drive the car so it has been parked in my drive way since we got the car back in February of 24. My son has been saving to try and get it fixed. His coworker told him about a class action that was filed against Nissan for the same issue for Sentras from 2013-2017. I was never contacted and never received any recall notice. There were no warning lamps or other symptoms when the issues began. I tried to add the receipt from the engine replacement but it will not upload
The problem with the car is that after a stop sign, the car no longer moved forward, it stayed in the road, this was blocking traffic and it was dangerous to get out of the car, the tow truck arrived to move it from the road, several mechanics examined it and said that the transmission was damaged, the car has only traveled 78,140 miles.
My 2016 Nissan Sentra malfunctioned while driving on the Highway three separate times. The car suddenly lost its ability to accelerate and seemed to power down while becoming more difficult to steer. It seemed to start shuddering and I thought it may have been a front end flat tire. After pulling off the road and putting the car in park, when I waited a minute or two, I placed the car in drive and there was no problem until a month later and it hppended again except on an interstate while driving over a long bridge. Two different Nissan dealers could not diagnose any issues and kind of threw up theirs hands with no suggestions except to bring it in again if it happens once more. The auto has become hazardous to drive for two seniors, and no one seems to be able to diagnose or fix the issues. I read online about Nissan CVT transmission recalls for these Sentras, but never received any recall notifications.
My Nissan Sentra 2016 (CVT) Transmission Failed while driving in middle of road. Riverside Nissan in Hackensack, NJ and Nissan Consumer Affairs denies allegations, denies the occurrence of the class action lawsuit in 2017, refuses to take accountability, lured me to the Nissan dealership under false pretenses to squeeze money out of me, and denies my right to repairs to a faultily manufactured Nissan transmission, which was undisclosed to me 2 years ago upon purchase of vehicle at full price. In addition to, when I went back to contact the dealership that I purchased the vehicle from, Autoholding 46, 74 US-46, Mountain Lakes, NJ, they were closed down. My attached PDF, "NHTSA General- Nissan" consists of the general description and details for your review. Please convey whatever else is needed.
My transmission has been acting up since 40k miles. I have took it to Nissan dealer update tcm same problems. I-??ve also too it too ford apple dealership York pa and still have open ticket because they couldn-??t figure it out. Me and my family are on our way home from Myrtle beach Sc and our transmission gives out at 60k miles causing us to lose control on highway hours away from home stranded.
I was driving about 55 mph in the left lane on Hwy 45S bypass and the transmission just stop working in the middle of the intersection causing traffic to have merge right then it would not accelerate in Drive but would go in Reverse. I had to push the car across traffic to side of the road and have it towed. This was the 3rd transmission that had been put in this vehicle. The Nissan manufacturers have admitted to transmissions are defective but would replace mine because it would have been the 4th transmission put in this vehicle.
The CVT Transmission Bands unaligned themselves around 75,000 miles. Nissan refuses to replace their defective transmission in my vehicle due to not going to Nissan Service Centers for regular maintenance but instead going to smaller more affordable certified mechanics for my regular maintenance. When I did take it to Nissan in June of 2023 I was told to change my transmission fluid and filter and the issues would be resolved. I went to my private mechanic and had this done and my issues were not resolved. Upon further investigation it was a defective transmission and the extended powertrain warranty had expired by time and mileage. I was told to call Consumer Affairs for Nissan and they refused to provide any assistance due to my inability to afford paying for my regular maintenance to be done through their service centers. The cost of their synthetic oil changes is 80$ more than my reputable mechanic charges me. I am a single mother of two kids, a full time employee, and college student I live paycheck to paycheck as is and need to save money where I am able. I am being punished for not paying their outlandish prices for their sub-par mechanics.
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle failed to respond as intended. The contact pulled off the highway and attempted to shift the vehicle into park(P) however, the vehicle started moving backwards. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.
I bought a 2016 Nissan Sentra brand new. It has 120,000 miles and the transmission needs replacement. This is a CVT so no way to check on fluid or anything. I was having pickup issues and brought it to the dealership and they are saying that it needs a new transmission which will cost $5600, which is more than the cars worth. This seems to be a defect on their CVT technology from what I understand, now I need help with resolving this issue since I don-??t think it-??s anything I have done.
Ref: NTB19-075 dated October 2019. Hello, I purchased this vehicle 08/03/2019. Less than one year later (April and October 2020), we had to take the vehicle to Nissan of Van Nuys, California for transmission service with only 58,596 miles. Today the vehicle has only 117.000 miles and my transmission is giving me problems again. The faulty transmission code is P17F4, which is considered a manufacturer defect according to NTB19-075, Nissan Service Bulletin Classification AT19-011. Basically, it seems that for this vehicle, the transmission breaks down every 58,000 miles. As mentioned, this is the third time it happens since we purchased the vehicle in 2019.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Southaven, MS, USA