Nissan Sentra Complaints (2012)

180 consumer complaints on file.

#11677777August 1, 2025
ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated to respond. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,504.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11642312February 12, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES
My ABS light and skid light is staying on all the time.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11626015November 18, 2024
AIR BAGS
The contact owned a 2012 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while her boyfriend was driving at 40 MPH and passing a side street, another driver traveling in a Subaru failed to yield. As a result, the Subaru collided with the passenger side of the contact's vehicle sending the vehicle careening off the roadway and into a wooded area only coming to a complete stop after colliding with a tree. The air bags did not deploy resulting in the driver sustaining injuries that the contact attributed to the failure. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed a total loss by the insurance provider. A police report was filed and injuries were reported. The driver was transported to an area hospital by EMT and treated for bruised ribs and pain in his neck, chest, back, abdomen, and knees. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11622787October 30, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
car stalled no power in gas pedal traveling across for lane traffic just lost power to the gas pedal. was able to pull over and tuned off car after a few minutes of sitting power was restore and was able to drive again I have been told this is a transmission issue I am not sure but defiantly a safety issue losing power like that
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11615049September 17, 2024
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to turn on the headlights, the air bags deployed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact related the failure to Special Coverage Adjustment: 23520 Passenger Presence Sensor (PPS) Module; however, the VIN was not included in the Special Coverage Adjustment. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 174,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11608044August 12, 2024
VISIBILITY/WIPER
The rearview mirror fell off the windshield and was hanging by the wires, which was found when entering the vehicle to drive; when touched, the wires and everything fell the rest off the way off the windshield. Glass from the windshield broke off with the rearview mirror. This was hazardous to be missing while driving and has prevented visibility and impacted safety. A mechanic is repairing the vehicle and has never seen anything like this issue, but upon looking up this specific problem, it appears many Nissan Sentra owners have experienced the same issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11591810May 31, 2024
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
Our nissan Sentra with 106K miles the car lost nearly all power as my son was turning onto the freeway. He could only drive 16 miles an hour and it was hopping and jumping through a 8 lane freeway/highway intersection while he tried to get into a parking lot off the road. He turned it off, waited 5 minutes, and turned it back on, but it was still slowly hopping and jumping. After another 10 minutes my husband drove it for about 10 minutes and it operated normally. This same behavior happened in 2019 with 82k miles at a large intersection. It suddenly lost power and slowly hopped through the intersection. At 60k the cruise control buttons on the steering wheel quit working. When we asked the Nissan Dealership about it, we were told that was typical and it would slowly lose all the functionality of the steering wheel controls. All the functionality was gone by 70k miles. We have learned that Nissan's transmissions are very problematic and these situations are typical as you get closer to 120k miles. We planned to have this car for several more years. If we sell it and buy a different car we are out several thousand dollars or if we keep it we will likely have to pay for a new transmission also several thousand dollars.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11580187March 29, 2024
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
Leaking transmission oil. Also burning engine oil a week after doing an oil change to the point there is no oil but no leaks.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11575624March 5, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled and, on several occasions, and the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who replaced the ignition switch, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was later taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the ignition switch needed to be replaced a second time. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 79,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11502677January 19, 2023
ENGINE
The contact’s husband owns a 2012 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started to smoke at an unknown location of the vehicle and caught fire. No warning lights were illuminated. No injuries were sustained. No medical attention was required. The local authorities were notified, and the fire department was notified and extinguished the fire. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed a total loss by the insurance company. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11502678January 19, 2023
ENGINE
******* DELETE VOQ ******* THIS COMPLAINT IS BEING MARKED FOR DELETION BECAUSE IT IS AN INADVERTENT DUPLICATE OF ODI# 11502677*DJR ******* DELETE VOQ *******
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11500622January 7, 2023
POWER TRAIN
The Transmission is making a whining nose and smells terribly bad! When driving on the interstate and parkways; after the car reaches 60 -70 miles, the car starts shaking and slows down; almost coming to a complete stop and we have to either get over in the slow lane and/ or sometimes, we have to pull over, off the interstate, because it has came to a complete stop and would not accelerate and/or move forward ! We sat there for an hour waiting for help/ and I called my Granny! When she got there; she checked the oil, added a quart of oil! After sitting there for over an hour; the car accelerated and we drove onto a side road and drove it slowly back to the house! WE took it to Unitires on Charolette ! He told us, the whining noise appeared to be the Transmission ! He repaired the wheel bearing , which stopped some of the shaking; but not all of it!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11492573November 7, 2022
ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
While traveling down the interstate doing the normal speed limit, I was forced to pull over to the emergency lane so cars can pass me. My car lost power to the engine without notice. No check system engine lights were not activated during this time. Car and Trucks were having to swerve over in other lanes to keep from rear ending me and causing a major wreck. This happen several weeks ago again with no lights lighting up on dash. I was able to pull over for a few minutes and restart the car and it was back to normal. I looked things up online and took my car into a repair shop to let me know the problem, They stated that they have seen this issue with Nissan vehicles. It is the CVT transmission issue. The loss of power comes from the CVT fluid getting too hot and reduces power to save the CVT transmission, I have a 2012 Nissan Sentra that was Manufactured 6/2012.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11485164September 19, 2022
POWER TRAIN
--- What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Transmission malfunction, yes available for inspection by NHTSA. 28k miles on odometer. --- How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? While driving and starting from a stop, the car loses power momentarily and then jerks forward, causing a dangerous driving condition. --- Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? No. --- Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No, an accident was not caused. --- Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? None. ----
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11480032August 18, 2022
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
While driving on the freeway pulling approximately 70 miles per hour, my car will begin to shake violently, continuously decelerate and my RPMs drop significantly. I am unable to go over 55 miles per hour when this happens. This has happened to me a total of four times now within the last 2 months. I had my car take this one auto repair shop in which my spark plugs were changed out a brand new air intake hose was put in my coils were changed out and everything. Today while driving on the freeway, going 72 mph my car decelerated and would not go above 55. This is a major safety issue considering I drive on the freeway a lot. I just paid $970 to have my car fixed and can't continue to pay to have the car fixed along with still paying a car note and insurance on this car. Well researching transmission issues I came across this page when filing a complaint. I looked to see if there was a recalls on my car and noticed that there is not. My VIN number is [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11477475August 3, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
When driving at 70 or above mph for a long distances, speed automatically declines to 60 mph and will not increase. When trying to accelerate, nothing happens. After a few miles, my vehicle then starts to accelerate on its own. The problem is extremely unsafe and frightening, especially with express highway traveling. Ive traveled out of state and the past 6 months when I've moticed this now frequent problem. I informed my mechanic who said it could be my transmission or possibly fuel pump, which are not his areas. He advised talk to NISSAN and stated Nissan is known for faultly transmission s on Sentras. Mines is a 2012 with only 126k of mileage. Was was there no recalls on this? I will now see what Dealer has to say. What can be done to hold Nissan responsible? I 've screenshot an article regarding many complaints on this. Now my transmission seems to have my engine feeling like it is not in drive gear. I am making an appointment w/ NISSAN ASAP.Please respond.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11475974July 26, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Transmission died. For a few weeks, the transmission will randomly have a high whine at about 55mph, sometimes hard shifting or high revving when I feel it should have shifted. A mechanic told me the CVT transmission wasn't good and would eventually need replacement. As I made a left turn, the car started jerking and lunging. The vehicle behind had to stop fast to avoid hitting me. I was almost stranded in the intersection, but was able to limp the car out of traffic. No warning lights. I had the car towed home. I am trying to sell it as is.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11462524April 27, 2022
POWER TRAIN
While driving at around 70 mph on the highway the car suddenly lost power and was no longer able to accelerate. This issue persisted for the duration of the drive and has happened now on more than one occasion. There were no warning lights or messages before or after the car stopped accelerating and this very nearly caused and accident when the car wouldn’t accelerate during a lane change even with the gas pedal fully depressed. After a few minutes of no acceleration the car also begins to accelerate suddenly and without warning. I haven taken the car to an auto shop and they were able to pull codes that indicate an issue with the transmission. I have not yet paid for the issue to be fixed and the car is available for inspection upon request.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11453110February 20, 2022
POWER TRAIN
Vehicle transmission appeared to slip from gear causing vehicle to lose power while in heavy interstate traffic at 70mph, vehicle lost acceleration and began to slow then "bucked" jolting vehicle several times almost suffered rear collision from following cars. Upon stopping to check fluid in transmission, stick read full for hot.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446568January 7, 2022
POWER TRAIN, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I was driving on thruway and I pushed the gas pedal and there was no power. I was a nervous wreck. This definitely is dangerous. I would like something done.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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