What breaks most · 1990 to 2026 model years
Nissan Sentra problems by year
Owners have filed 5,806 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Nissan Sentra across model years 1990 to 2026. Three years stand out: 2013 for powertrain and transmission complaints, 2014 for powertrain and transmission complaints and 2015 for powertrain and transmission complaints. The quietest years are 2023, 2024 and 1990.
- Years to check closely: 2013, 2014, 2015
- Fewest complaints: 2023, 2024, 1990
- Complaints on file
- 58061990 to 2026, all trims
- Worst year
- 2013638 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 583114 fires · 503 injuries · 13 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 65kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 144Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | 6 | 2 | Seat belts (14) | |
| 63 | 8 | 2 | Seat belts (19) | |
| 62 | 8 | 0 | Electrical system (14) | |
| 58 | 8 | 0 | Powertrain and transmission (12) | |
| 99 | 20 | 0 | Seat belts (27) | |
| 117 | 26 | 7 | Air bags (46) | |
| 141 | 43 | 7 | Air bags (53) | |
| 108 | 26 | 7 | Air bags (33) | |
| 58 | 17 | 5 | Air bags (15) | |
| 59 | 14 | 3 | Electrical system (12) | |
| 171 | 20 | 7 | Engine and cooling (72) | |
| 236 | 20 | 8 | Engine and cooling (93) | |
| 304 | 19 | 14 | Engine and cooling (127) | |
| 180 | 13 | 10 | Engine and cooling (86) | |
| 197 | 20 | 5 | Engine and cooling (59) | |
| 170 | 13 | 6 | Engine and cooling (48) | |
| 116 | 22 | 6 | Air bags (30) | |
| 154 | 21 | 1 | Air bags (41) | |
| 167 | 20 | 3 | Air bags (53) | |
| 55 | 9 | 1 | Air bags (15) | |
| 144 | 11 | 3 | Electrical system (50) | |
| 142 | 19 | 2 | Electrical system (34) | |
| 180 | 10 | 0 | Powertrain and transmission (68) | |
| 638 | 24 | 6 | Powertrain and transmission (311) | |
| 380 | 27 | 5 | Powertrain and transmission (182) | |
| 351 | 23 | 3 | Powertrain and transmission (172) | |
| 269 | 18 | 6 | Powertrain and transmission (127) | |
| 230 | 29 | 3 | Powertrain and transmission (76) | |
| 185 | 17 | 2 | Powertrain and transmission (46) | |
| 221 | 16 | 2 | Electrical system (64) | |
| 204 | 8 | 4 | Forward collision system (60) | |
| 130 | 14 | 3 | Steering (40) | |
| 81 | 1 | 2 | Steering (31) | |
| 19 | 1 | 1 | Electrical system (8) | |
| 36 | 5 | 3 | Steering (9) | |
| 28 | 6 | 4 | Unknown or other (5) | |
| 14 | 1 | 1 | Unknown or other (5) |
What fails on the 2013 Nissan Sentra
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 49% |
311 | 1 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Air bags | 15% |
96 | 11 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| BrakesBrake pads, rotors and calipers | 15% |
95 | 9 | Shop brakes parts for the 2013 Nissan Sentra |
| EngineEngine gaskets and seals | 14% |
87 | 2 | Shop engine parts for the 2013 Nissan Sentra |
| Unknown or other | 10% |
64 | 2 | — |
| Speed control and throttleThrottle and pedal sensors | 8% |
51 | 2 | Shop speed control and throttle parts for the 2013 Nissan Sentra |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 7% |
43 | 2 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2013 Nissan Sentra |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 5% |
33 | 0 | Shop fuel system parts for the 2013 Nissan Sentra |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
The car was stalled and wouldn’t go without warning and no indication issues were present. When it stalled driver put at risk of being hit and caused multiple cars to swerve to miss the car. Thankfully able to get the car off the road and toed. Transmission completely failed.
-
CVT problem stopped on highway with kids in car put our life at risk called you all about the extended warranty or help fixing transmission. I was told it’s nothing you all can do because the warranty was expired but there’s a class action lawsuit saying thousands of people are having the same specific problem
-
Complete transmission failure and need replacement the car is less than 10 years old Nissan has had major issues with the CVT system and transmission…transmission lose power on the highway
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Nissan Sentra years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2013, 2014, 2015 carry the most filings on the Nissan Sentra. The 2013 alone has 638 complaints, led by powertrain and transmission.
What is the most common Nissan Sentra problem?
On the 2013 model year, the most-reported component is powertrain and transmission with 311 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Nissan Sentra problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Nissan Sentra complaints that include mileage is about 65,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.