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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2012 Nissan Sentra — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 180 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

180

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

2019 Nissan Sentra

222 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Power Train 68 reports

Engine 39 reports

Vehicle Speed Control 22 reports

Unknown Or Other 21 reports

Air Bags 20 reports

Structure 17 reports

Electrical System 13 reports

Visibility 10 reports

In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Power Train ODI 11291934 12/29/2019

2012 NISSAN SENTRA WAS BOUGHT 3 WEEKS PRIOR WITH NO PROBLEMS. WHILE TRAVELING 60 - 70 MPH ON A HIGHWAY THE CAR SUDDENLY STOP RUNNING AND THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT AND THE VEHICLE WAS UNABLE TO STEER OUT OF THE TROUBLED AREA ON THE HIGHWAY. THE VEHICLE BROKE DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF A HIGHWAY. AFTER RESEARCH IT SEEM TO BE THE SAME ACTIONS THAT HAS HAPPENED TO THOUSANDS OF OT…

Power Train ODI 10441543 12/28/2011

TL - THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 NISSAN SENTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS SHIFTED INTO DRIVE BUT INSTEAD, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO REVERSE. THE CONTACT HAD TO TURN THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY OFF IN ORDER FOR IT TO RESET AND RESUME NORMAL OPERATION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. …

Visibility ODI 10557409 12/27/2013

WHILE PARKED IN OUR DRIVEWAY, OPEN SPACE - NOTHING ABOVE, THE SUN ROOF IMPLODED. IT WAS FINE WHEN WE PARKED THE CAR, BUT THE NEXT MORNING THE GLASS WAS BROKEN. NO IMPACT, TEMP 15 DEGREES F. *TR

Visibility ODI 10557093 12/23/2013

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 NISSAN SENTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE SUN ROOF EXPLODED WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE RECURRED TWICE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER HOWEVER, THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE M…

Air Bags ODI 11162605 12/19/2018

I BOUGHT THIS CAR WITH 56,000 NOW IT HAS 96,000, IT HAS CVT TRANSMISSION, THE STEP MOTOR IS NO LONGER USEFUL; AFTER HAVING RUN ONLY 40,000 MILES IS NOT FAIR !!!! I KNOW MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THIS TYPE OF CAR, THE FACTORY SHOULD FIX IT AT NO COST TO THE CONSUMER, I STILL OWE THE BANK .. $ 7,000 AND THE REPAIR COSTS ME $ 4,000. YOU THINK IT'S FAIR TO PAY…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2012 Nissan Sentra, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

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 2012 Nissan Sentra reliable?

Owners have filed 180 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2012 Nissan Sentra, most often about power train. 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.