Total Complaints
260 filings
NISSAN SENTRA · model year
260 NHTSA complaints, 22 crash reports for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
4 / 5 ★
New Car Assessment Program
The 2012NISSANSENTRA carries 260 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 22 crashes, 4 fires, 18 injuries, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall 4/5 rating, with 3/5 front crash, 3/5 side crash, and 4/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2012 SENTRA is power train with 68 filings, followed by engine (39) and vehicle speed control (22). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 2 investigation files overlapping the 2012 SENTRA, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page, a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
260 filings
Crashes Reported
22 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
Above median complaint volume, review patterns below.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | 68 |
| ENGINE | 39 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 22 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 21 |
| AIR BAGS | 20 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY | 14 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 12 |
| STEERING | 9 |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 9 |
| VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY | 8 |
| SUSPENSION | 6 |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 5 |
| ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) | 4 |
| WHEELS | 3 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | 2 |
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.
Mileage: 160,504
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.
Mileage: 160,504
My ABS light and skid light is staying on all the time.
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.
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
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
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.
Mileage: 174,000
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.
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 clo
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 clo
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 clo
Leaking transmission oil. Also burning engine oil a week after doing an oil change to the point there is no oil but no leaks.
Leaking transmission oil. Also burning engine oil a week after doing an oil change to the point there is no oil but no leaks.
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.
Mileage: 79,000
The contactâs 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.
Mileage: 100,000
******* DELETE VOQ ******* THIS COMPLAINT IS BEING MARKED FOR DELETION BECAUSE IT IS AN INADVERTENT DUPLICATE OF ODI# 11502677*DJR ******* DELETE VOQ *******
Mileage: 100,000
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!
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.
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.
--- 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. ----
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.