Total Complaints
198 filings
NISSAN SENTRA · model year
198 NHTSA complaints, 27 crash reports, and 3 active recalls for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
5 / 5 ★
New Car Assessment Program
The 2021NISSANSENTRA carries 198 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 27 crashes, 3 fires, 19 injuries, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall 5/5 rating, with 4/5 front crash, 5/5 side crash, and 5/5 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 2021 SENTRA is electrical system with 36 filings, followed by steering (35) and forward collision avoidance: automatic emergency braking (25). 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. This model year has 3 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.
NHTSA currently has 2 investigation files overlapping the 2021 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
198 filings
Crashes Reported
27 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 36 |
| STEERING | 35 |
| FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING | 25 |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 23 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 17 |
| FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS | 10 |
| ENGINE | 7 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 6 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 6 |
| WHEELS | 5 |
| SUSPENSION | 4 |
| POWER TRAIN | 4 |
| LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING | 3 |
| STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY | 2 |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | 2 |
STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Sentra vehicles. The left and/or right tie rod may be bent.
STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Sentra vehicles. The left and/or right tie rod may bend.
BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Altima and 2020-2021 Sentra vehicles. Damage to the camera harness can cause distortion or loss of the rearview camera display image. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Stan
AEB system is initiating emergency braking at random times. Both on surface street, and the freeway on ramp. With and without weather, and without any obstacles or cars in the way. The vehicle comes it a complete stop when this happens and puts the driver in significant danger. At this point the dealer observed warning code on the dashboard, but it did not engage. Message relating to that the AEB may deploy. When it does happen Emergency Brake is on the dashboard. After it happens vehicle can resume driving. Various indicines happened last year. We took it to Ken Garff Nissan (11155 So. Jordan Gateway in South Jordan, Ut. 84095. They could not find the problem or get the problem reproduced. They recommended turning off the safety features when driving. We have done that for a year. Then on 1-15-26, the safety system was on and the break engaged and brought the car to a stop on the freeway on ramp. The car is now at Ken Garff Nissan (777 So. West Temple SLC, Utah) It has bee
AEB system is initiating emergency braking at random times. Both on surface street, and the freeway on ramp. With and without weather, and without any obstacles or cars in the way. The vehicle comes it a complete stop when this happens and puts the driver in significant danger. At this point the dealer observed warning code on the dashboard, but it did not engage. Message relating to that the AEB may deploy. When it does happen Emergency Brake is on the dashboard. After it happens vehicle can resume driving. Various indicines happened last year. We took it to Ken Garff Nissan (11155 So. Jordan Gateway in South Jordan, Ut. 84095. They could not find the problem or get the problem reproduced. They recommended turning off the safety features when driving. We have done that for a year. Then on 1-15-26, the safety system was on and the break engaged and brought the car to a stop on the freeway on ramp. The car is now at Ken Garff Nissan (777 So. West Temple SLC, Utah) It has bee
Rattling noise coming from the belt assembly. Tensioner pulley is shaky and alternator had a piece brake off causing metal shavings to fly around.
Rattling noise coming from the belt assembly. Tensioner pulley is shaky and alternator had a piece brake off causing metal shavings to fly around.
Purchased brand new with 0 miles. The system malfunction popped up and engine would not turn over after running perfectly fine a hour prior.Had to get towed to dealership and found a faulty battery luckily I still had 100 or so miles left on my warranty.Happened again last month the same exact thing except this time I had to get a jump off after several minutes the engine finally turned over.
I got in the car to start it and it would not start. This happened at the car wash one morning. It didnât give me any warnings of a bad battery and the only way I started it was to have someone jump it. This has happened 4 times now. It takes several minutes for the battery to charge to start the car. I have been stranded 2 times and could not get to work on time 2 times.
While driving down the highway along with other traffic the car went into limp mode and lost power instantly almost causing an accident. Come to find out the engine bearings caused the engine to go on it without any warning signs. This car has been maintenanced and taken care of and had the same issue happen that the other nissans have had that they have the recall out for.
Electric steering rack has play and causes violent shaking. Huge safety risk as this could have complete failure and cause accidents. Vehicle started showing symptoms at 68,000 miles and after reading separate forums, many others have experienced these same issues. No warning lights appear on the dash and no inspection by safety highway patrol. This is a serious issue especially given I do not appear to be the only person experiencing this. The steering and suspension seem to be a common issue on this call given the recall on the tie rods.
purchased my 2021 Nissan Sentra brand new with no prior owner. Around 2023, the air conditioning system stopped working. The AC will not turn on at all the switch or control that activates the system is completely unresponsive. I brought the vehicle to a Nissan dealership, where I was quoted $300 just for a diagnostic test, with no warranty coverage or acknowledgment of a known issue. This failure appears to be linked to a potential electrical fault or defective AC component. It compromises both comfort and safety, especially in extreme temperatures. Numerous complaints online suggest this is a recurring issue among Sentra owners, yet Nissan has not issued a recall for the AC system. I am submitting this report to request an investigation into a possible manufacturing defect and to advocate for a formal recall.
purchased my 2021 Nissan Sentra brand new with no prior owner. Around 2023, the air conditioning system stopped working. The AC will not turn on at all the switch or control that activates the system is completely unresponsive. I brought the vehicle to a Nissan dealership, where I was quoted $300 just for a diagnostic test, with no warranty coverage or acknowledgment of a known issue. This failure appears to be linked to a potential electrical fault or defective AC component. It compromises both comfort and safety, especially in extreme temperatures. Numerous complaints online suggest this is a recurring issue among Sentra owners, yet Nissan has not issued a recall for the AC system. I am submitting this report to request an investigation into a possible manufacturing defect and to advocate for a formal recall.
The check engine light comes on with a malfunction symbol. The car has delay acceleration, jerks, hard shifts.
The check engine light comes on with a malfunction symbol. The car has delay acceleration, jerks, hard shifts.
The check engine light comes on with a malfunction symbol. The car has delay acceleration, jerks, hard shifts.
Since having my Nissan 2021 Sentra I have for one, had to replace the battery in it twice. On a more serious note, it is now stopping the car at random and unnecessary times stating an object is in front of me. It happens once a while ago and I did not have any other signs, and it was just for a second, so I tried not to stress about it. Now it is happening more often and just this morning happened three times. Causing my car to come to a complete stop, it is very dangerous and I am not sure what I am to do about it.
Since having my Nissan 2021 Sentra I have for one, had to replace the battery in it twice. On a more serious note, it is now stopping the car at random and unnecessary times stating an object is in front of me. It happens once a while ago and I did not have any other signs, and it was just for a second, so I tried not to stress about it. Now it is happening more often and just this morning happened three times. Causing my car to come to a complete stop, it is very dangerous and I am not sure what I am to do about it.
Since having my Nissan 2021 Sentra I have for one, had to replace the battery in it twice. On a more serious note, it is now stopping the car at random and unnecessary times stating an object is in front of me. It happens once a while ago and I did not have any other signs, and it was just for a second, so I tried not to stress about it. Now it is happening more often and just this morning happened three times. Causing my car to come to a complete stop, it is very dangerous and I am not sure what I am to do about it.
Passenger side power windows and driver side rear window on occasion will stop working.
I and many others have noticed that the 2020+ Nissan Sentra has a very common issue with its window switch where the driver side window works, but all passenger windows get stuck refusing to roll up or down, or do so very slowly. I have had people try to come up to my window where I could not properly shut it, I have had to leave my window partially open over night, and in the rain.
The rear door locks on my vehicle fail to lock and unlock properly, especially using the power lock switches or key fob. This is not an occasional issue â it happens every single day. This is a major safety concern because the back doors often cannot be opened at all, which puts my children at risk of being trapped inside during an emergency or accident. In addition, the rear windows frequently get stuck and will not roll down. This is also a daily occurrence. It makes the problem even more dangerous because the windows cannot be used as an emergency exit if the doors fail. These issues are consistent and ongoing. Because the vehicle is used to transport children, the defective door locks and windows create a significant safety hazard that could prevent occupants from exiting the car quickly in an accident, fire, or similar emergency.
The competent that continues to fail is the emergency response breaks. They continue to stop at random times creating a very unsafe environment while I drive daily. I do have this on video and my car is available for inspection at any time. I just recently finally got the emergency break system on video since it is so random and plan on making an appointment with my local Nissan Dealer. I did have a visit recently regarding the recall for the tire rods. My car continues to make odd sounds and I paid over $1000 to get it fixed with all new tires. These problems have began since the day I got my car. I have bought over 10 wheels due to issues with the tire rods. The video we finally were able to get was last night regarding the emergency stop systems, it does not let me add to the complaint but I can send to any email if needed as well as the local Nissan dealer did inspect and work on the car for my tires and tire rods.
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.