What ownership is like, what breaks at what mileage, what the repairs cost, and what to check before you buy one.
← All Nissan Sentra generations
NHTSA complaints per catalog listing run from 1.00 for 2019 (223 complaints across 222 listings) to 4.52 for 2013 (638 across 141), against a generation median of 1.94. The highest year, 2013, is 2.3 times that median. Flagged by our rule: 2013. MileageCurve, which analyses the same NHTSA complaints, calls transmission and driveline the largest complaint area for 2013-2019 with a median of 77,000 miles (complaints, not a failure rate). Our 2013 pull is led by Power Train (238), Service Brakes (64), Air Bags (60).
| Miles | Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| first drivability complaints at 70,000 to 120,000 miles (Transmission Audit); median 77,000 miles among transmission complaints that record mileage (MileageCurve) | CVT shudder, hesitation, failure | $4,200 to $5,800 total for a remanufactured CVT, of which $3,000 to $4,000 is parts and $1,200 to $1,800 labor (Transmission Audit, a shop-written site, 2013-2019 page). CVT Mechanic's owner-forum estimates for Sentras of all years: $4,000 to $6,000 new, $3,000 to $4,500 rebuilt, $2,500 to $4,000 used. A Nissan dealer blog (search snippet) gives $5,000 to $8,000 for a remanufactured unit. These ranges are quoted separately. One Reddit owner (2019, an anecdote) was quoted 8000 by Nissan. | Two different mileage sources that measure different things: a shop's experience and a median of owner complaints. Valve body replacement is priced at $1,400 to $2,200 at 70,000 to 110,000 miles by Transmission Audit alone (one source), and a fluid service at $240 to $400 (same page). Ask for fluid service records and feel for shudder when accelerating gently. |
| extended from 60 months/60,000 miles | Nissan CVT warranty extension, 84 months/84,000 miles | Covered work is free at a Nissan dealer while the extension runs | A Nissan owner letter covers 2013-2017 Sentras (CVT assembly, valve body, torque converter, cooler kit, software), and Nissan bulletins dated May and November 2023 cover 2018-2019 Sentras built 9/18/2017 to 11/23/2019. The 2013-2017 class notice made the extension contingent on court approval, and the 2023 notice says owners who opted out of the class action are excluded. The window runs from the original in-service date, so many older cars are already past it; a Nissan dealer can check a VIN. |
| any | Occupant classification sensor and air bag recalls | Free at a Nissan dealer when open | 16V242000 and 16V244000 (occupant classification sensor, 2013-2016), 15V681000 (frontal air bags, 2013-2014) and 17V253000 (inflator, 2014-2017) are among the campaigns on file. Air bags is among the top three components in the 2013 and 2014 NHTSA record. Confirm each by VIN. |
| any | Recalls on file (13 campaigns in our records): 13V068000 (2013), 13V069000 (2013), 14V138000 (2013-2014), 15V453000 (2015), 15V681000 (2013-2014), 16V242000 (2013-2016), 16V244000 (2013-2016), 16V436000 (2016), 16V485000 (2016), 17V253000 (2014-2017), 18V551000 (2017), 19V654000 (2018-2019), 21V135000 (2016-2019) | Free at a Nissan dealer when open | Other campaigns include 13V068000 (fuel tank assembly, 2013 cars built Sept-Oct 2012), 16V485000 (engine room harness, 2016) and 21V135000 (brake light switch, 2016-2019). Confirm each by VIN. |
A year is flagged by our rule only when all three hold: (1) its NHTSA complaints per catalog listing is at least 2.0x the median for its generation, (2) the share of ads that mention a problem is above the generation median, and (3) we track at least 30 listings for that year. The cutoff was fixed before we looked. Ad mentions are not failures, and a flag is a reason to inspect harder, not a verdict on any one car. We also re-ran the ad test with the 'rust' flaw left out, because the ad reader counts phrases like 'no rust' as mentions, and publish a flag only if it passes both ways.
Complaints add up over a car's whole life, so older years in a generation can look worse here than they are. Read this flag next to the complaint details below.
| Year | Complaints | Top components | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 638 | Power Train, Service Brakes, Air Bags | |
| 2014 | 380 | Power Train, Air Bags, Unknown Or Other | |
| 2015 | 352 | Power Train, Air Bags, Unknown Or Other | |
| 2016 | 270 | Power Train, Unknown Or Other, Air Bags | |
| 2017 | 231 | Power Train, Unknown Or Other, Air Bags | |
| 2018 | 185 | Power Train, Unknown Or Other, Forward Collision Avoidance | |
| 2019 | 223 | Power Train, Unknown Or Other, Electrical System |
source: NHTSA complaints database (api.nhtsa.gov). Complaints are owner reports, not confirmed failures.
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We don't tell you to skip a year; we flag by a fixed rule, and it flags 2013 (638 complaints across 141 listings, 4.52 per listing against a 2013-2019 median of 1.94) and 2007 (154 complaints across 35 listings, 4.40 per listing against a 2007-2012 median of 2.14, on only 35 listings). Third-party lists name 2013-2015 and 2004-2005. In our data 2014 has 2.05 per listing and 2015 has 1.94, both under our cutoff.
Sources disagree and none is a Nissan quote. Transmission Audit, a shop-written site, gives $4,200 to $5,800 for a remanufactured CVT on 2013-2019 Sentras. CVT Mechanic's owner-forum estimates for all years are $4,000 to $6,000 new, $3,000 to $4,500 rebuilt and $2,500 to $4,000 used. A Nissan dealer blog gives $5,000 to $8,000 remanufactured.
Yes, for 2013-2019. A Nissan owner letter covers 2013-2017 Sentras at 7 years/84,000 miles, and 2023 bulletins cover 2018-2019 cars built 9/18/2017 to 11/23/2019. The 2023 notice says owners who opted out of the class action are excluded, and the window runs from the original in-service date, so a dealer must check the VIN.
For 2013-2019 cars, Transmission Audit puts first drivability complaints at 70,000 to 120,000 miles, and MileageCurve's analysis of NHTSA complaints gives a median of 77,000 miles. The MileageCurve figure is a median of when owners reported, not a failure rate.
Campaign 23V581000 names 2020-2022 Sentras and 21V461000 names 2020-2021 cars. A bent tie rod can break and cause loss of steering control; the dealer repair is free. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, because a later campaign repeated the recall on some cars.
We don't rank generations. Our own numbers: 2013-2019 has a median of 1.94 NHTSA complaints per catalog listing and 2007-2012 has 2.14. Those rates are not directly comparable across generations, because newer cars have had less time and different ways of being reported.