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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2013 Nissan Sentra — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 638 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

638
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
24
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
4
Involved Fire
owner-reported
20 / 1
Injuries / Deaths
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.

144 complaints

142 complaints

180 complaints

638 complaints

380 complaints

351 complaints

270 complaints

231 complaints

185 complaints

222 complaints

206 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Power Train 311 reports
Service Brakes 97 reports
Air Bags 96 reports
Engine 87 reports
Unknown Or Other 64 reports
Vehicle Speed Control 51 reports
Electrical System 43 reports
Fuel/propulsion System 33 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Power Train ODI 11164104 12/30/2018

CVT TRANSMISSION SLIPPING: MY 2013 NISSAN SENTRA IS EXPERIENCING ISSUES WITH ITS CVT TRANSMISSION. MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH MY CVT COULD HAVE HARMED ME AND THE OTHER PASSENGERS IN MY CAR. MY CAR REFUSED TO ACCELERATE WHILE MAKING A TURN AT AN INTERSECTION WHILE ANOTHER VEHICLE WAS HEADING IN THE SAME DIRECTION. LUCKILY THE DRIVER NOTICED AND SLOWED DOWN PREVENTING A COLLISI…

Power Train ODI 10816724 12/29/2015

INTELLIGENT KEY FOB INTERMITTENT START/STOP OF VEHICLE. WENT TO START MY CAR AFTER DINNER AND IT WOULD NOT START.NO ACTIVITY WHEN PRESSING THE INTELLIGENT KEY FOB. STRANDED IN A PARKING LOT ,CALLED MY SPOUSE AND THEN HE CAME WITH A SPARE FOB, SAME THING, NO START.TURNED FOB AROUND PER OWNERS MANUAL AND CAR STARTED BUT KEY WARNING LIGHT FLASHED ALL THE WAY HOME. READ MANUAL AND…

Power Train ODI 11163798 12/28/2018

TRANSMISSION DIED AFTER 25K MILES, AND NOW THE "NEW" ONE DIED AT 75K. IT ALWAYS HAD PROBLEMS: DELAYED ACCELERATION, GRINDING WHEN COASTING DOWNHILL, AND SLIPPING GEARS WHILE ACCELERATING. IT THEN STARTED STALLING OUT WHEN GOING THROUGH INTERSECTIONS IN TOWN FROM A FULL STOP, AND REALLY STARTED TO DIE ON CHRISTMAS WHEN WE WERE ON THE HIGHWAY (IT BECAME UNSAFE SO WE HAD TO PULL…

Electrical System ODI 10816455 12/28/2015

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 NISSAN SENTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE PROPERLY. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT COULD NOT BE DIAGNOSED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER WHERE THE FAILURE OCCURRED AGAIN, WHICH RESULTED IN A REAR E…

Air Bags ODI 10816309 12/27/2015

I RECENTLY TOOK MY 2013 NISSAN SENTRA TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR A RECALL UPDATE WHERE THE VEHICLE DIDN'T RECOGNIZE THE PASSENGER SEAT WAS OCCUPIED BY AN ADULT AND AS A RESULT THE PASSENGER AIRBAG WAS TURNED OFF. WELL, EVEN AFTER THE SYSTEM UPDATE I KEEP HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. THE SYSTEM STILL DOESN'T RECOGNIZE WHEN MY MOM (150 POUNDS) IS A PASSENGER AND EVEN LESS WHEN MY 120 POU…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2013 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 2013 Nissan Sentra reliable?
Owners have filed 638 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2013 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.