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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2011 Nissan Sentra — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 142 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

142

Complaints

filed with NHTSA

Involved a Crash

owner-reported

Involved Fire

owner-reported

Injuries

across all reports

Years to Avoid

Nissan Sentra — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

2010 Nissan Sentra

144 complaints

2011 Nissan Sentra

142 complaints

2012 Nissan Sentra

180 complaints

2013 Nissan Sentra AVOID

638 complaints

2014 Nissan Sentra

380 complaints

2015 Nissan Sentra

351 complaints

2016 Nissan Sentra

270 complaints

2017 Nissan Sentra

231 complaints

2018 Nissan Sentra

185 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Electrical System 34 reports

Engine 30 reports

Air Bags 20 reports

Power Train 18 reports

Unknown Or Other 18 reports

Electronic Stability Control (esc) 17 reports

Service Brakes 14 reports

Steering 8 reports

In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Electrical System ODI 10441744 12/30/2011

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 NISSAN SENTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ALARM SYSTEM WOULD SOUND EVERY DAY AT ELEVEN O'CLOCK. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER AND THE BODY CONTROL MODULE WAS REPLACED. THE FAILURE BEGAN TO RECUR APPROXIMATELY SIX MONTHS LATER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN BACK TO HAVE THE FAILURE DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWA…

Unknown Or Other ODI 11291599 12/27/2019

THE VEHICLE STALLS AFTER RUNNING FOR A FEW MINUTES AT FIR NOW STALLS WHEN STOPPED AT RED LIGHT AND WHILE MAKING A TURN AND WHILE DRIVING.

Engine ODI 10937411 12/26/2016

MY ENGINE BLEW THE MECHANIC SAID IT COULD BE MY TRANSMISSION OR MY HEAD GASKET 3,500 TO FIX

Latches/locks/linkages ODI 10440794 12/21/2011

2011 NISSAN SENTRA. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO DOORS LOCKED ON WHILE RUNNING *TGW THE CONSUMER STATED HE LEFT THE VEHICLE RUNNING FOR A MINUTE ONLY TO COME BACK AND DISCOVER THE DOORS WERE LOCKED.

Engine And Engine Cooling ODI 10440542 12/20/2011

ON DEC. 11, 2011, THE CAR WOULD NOT START IN THE MORNING. WENT BACK IN THE AFTERNOON AND STARTED FINE. ON DEC. 12, 2011, THE CAR HESITATED TO START IN THE MORNING. TOOK TO DEALER AND THEY REPLACED BATTERY. ON DEC. 19, 2011, THE CAR WOULD NOT START AT FIRST AND ONLY STARTED WHEN BRAKE WAS PUMPED SEVERAL TIMES, AND STILL HESITATED TO START. THE CAR WOULD NOT GO FASTER THAN 40 MP…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2011 Nissan Sentra, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

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Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2011 Nissan Sentra reliable?

Owners have filed 142 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2011 Nissan Sentra, most often about electrical system. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.

Which Nissan Sentra years should I avoid?

The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.

Where do these complaints come from?

Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.

Do complaints mean a recall is coming?

Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.