2022 Nissan Sentra User Complaints and Problems
Nissan has already sold over 20,000 units of their 2022 Sentra compact sedan so far and the official complaints registered against it total to only one as per the NHTSA. That is nothing short of impressive as its closest and well-established competitors, the Civic and the Toyota Corolla have had more complaints lodged in the same period. That said, the past has not been so kind to the Nissan Sentra as there have been consecutive years where more than 10 complaints were registered against the Sentra. Before planning on getting hold of one of these cars, we think that prospective owners must know what to expect from the Nissan Sentra.
Listed below are the most common problems of the 2022Nissan Sentra and their implications on the ownership experience.
Mechanical Complaints
- Engine- Although not as common as the other complaints mentioned here “Engine malfunction light/ power reduced/ service now” warnings on the instrument cluster have been an issue troubling a considerable number of Sentra owners. Random stalls and occasional loss of throttle response have been some issues tagged with this problem. Some owners also complain about the engine not coming back on after the start-stop-system engages.
- Transmission – One major mechanical complaint registered against the Sentra, more common so with the previous generation Sentra produced before 2019. The CVT transmission on these is said to slip and sputter as per the owners. Whiny noises, occasional jerks, sudden spikes in RPMs, and inability to shift to drive-mode are also complaints raised regarding these CVT issues. At least 8 instances of transmission replacement have been officially recorded by the NHTSA since the release of the 2016 facelifted model.
Electric System Complaints
- Sudden battery drain- Brand new Sentra’s running out of battery has been a problem that has been notified by several owners. In most cases, the issue has been said to have happened overnight, where the driver is left without a car that doesn’t crank, even though the door locks and accessories work. The dealerships were not able to trace the problem once the car was started with a battery booster and no issues to the physical battery, starter, charging system, and wiring were found.
- Infotainment- The factory infotainment system on the Sentra is said to reboot itself while on the drive. Has been a common issue on cars with 2019 and 2020 model years on them. Some owners also have complained about the screen going blank when the drive selector is put into reverse. Both issues have been corrected by a firmware update with the latter even getting a recall (19V654000) by the tail end of 2019.
- Headlamps/ brake lights- The LED headlamps on the Sentra were said to be of poor performance. The overall brightness, spread, and throw of the beam are said to be less than adequate, especially in the winters. The auto headlamp functionality is also said to be faulty leaving drivers unaware that the headlights have not been turned on.
Similarly, the brake lights are also said to malfunction on these cars, especially with the previous-gen models. Faulty brake light switches were diagnosed as the issue and a massive recall of cars built between 2016-2019 was initiated by the automaker to fix this.
Structural Complaints
- Tie rod issues- Multiple instances of crashes caused by bent or broken tie rods have been recorded against the latest gen Sentra. Owners involved in this unfortunate event, recollect hearing a loud snap from the front end, with the car suddenly veering out of control. At least 4 crashes, multiple near misses, and 4 injuries were recorded against this issue. The latest recall (21V461000) initiated by the automaker is in response to this major issue.
Safety Complaints
- Forward Collision system- Faulty forward collision system has been a very common and major complaint on the latest crop of Sentra sedans as per owners. The system is said to throw a warning “Front radar unavailable” on the dash in most cases while in others, the car cuts speed without any traffic or obstruction in its vicinity, which increases the risk of the vehicle crashing from behind. Even though the dealerships are aware of this problem, no place was able to come up with an error code or failure, rendering a recall as the only viable option.
- Airbags- Airbags failing to deploy in the event of a crash and the passenger side airbag deploying without any specific reason have been complaints tagged against the previous generation of Sentra sedans. The automaker has been aware of these issues and multiple recalls rightly numbered 17V253000, 16V43600, 16V244000, and 16V242000 have been initiated in the past to fix these concerns.
|
Category
|
Number of complaints
|
|
Fuel and Propulsion System
|
25
|
|
Engine/ Powertrain
|
212
|
|
Safety
|
179
|
|
Service brakes
|
96
|
|
Electrical
|
164
|
|
Structural
|
68
|
2022 Nissan Sentra Recalls
The Nissan Sentra has no recalls on the table for 2022 and in fact, it has only been recalled twice since 2020. The new generation introduced did bring in a few niggles, but compared to what the previous generation has been going through, the performance, we must say, has drastically improved. The tables show minimum recall on the latest gen with the year 2020 even devoid of one.
|
S. No
|
Date
|
NHTSA ID
|
Issues Noticed
|
Additional Remarks
|
|
1
|
17th July 2021
|
21V461000
|
Tie rods Amy bend
|
A bent tie rod can break, resulting in loss of steering control and potentially increasing the risk of a crash.
|
|
2
|
3rd March 2021
|
21V135000
|
Brake lights may not illuminate
|
Brake light switch may become contaminated, preventing the circuit from closing and the brakes lights from illuminating.
|
|
3
|
12th September 2019
|
19V654000
|
No Backup camera display image
|
Software bug in the infotainment system causes the backup image to not display, increasing the risk of a crash.
|
|
4
|
21st August 2018
|
18V551000
|
Ignition switch may turn off
|
The weight of the keyring or adverse road conditions may cause the ignition switch to move from run position to accessory position, which could stall the engine while on the move and increase the risk of a crash.
|
|
5
|
13th April 2017
|
17V253000
|
Front passenger airbag may deploy improperly
|
Due to a manufacturing error with the inflator, the airbag may deploy incorrectly in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
|
|
6
|
29th July 2016
|
16V485000
|
Engine room harness connection may fail
|
If the engine room harness loses connection with the ECU, the engine could stall, possibly increasing the risk of a crash
|
|
7
|
15th June 2016
|
16V436000
|
Passenger airbag harness may disconnect
|
Harness may disconnect from the dual-stage airbag, causing it to fail and thereby increasing the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
|
|
8
|
26th April 2016
|
16V244000
|
Passenger airbag may not deploy due to OCS error
|
Occupant Classification system(OCS) may work improperly causing the airbag to not deploy in the event of a crash increasing the risk of injury.
|
|
9
|
26th April 2016
|
16V242000
|
Deformed seatbelt bracket affecting OCS operation
|
Seatbelt bracket may deform if it was used to secure a child restraint system, which prevents the OCS to work improperly, preventing the passenger airbag from deploying.
|
In presence of competitors like the 2022 Honda Civic and the 2022 Toyota Corolla, the 2022 Nissan Sentra holds its ground, positing no recalls so far this year. In fact, if you compare it to the previous generation, the Sentra has shown a drastic drop in the number of recalls, signaling better quality control. Once a place where Nissan still needs a bit of improvement would be with the services as many owners complained about the same issue still persisting after so-called recalls that were supposed to fix it.
|
Component Affected
|
2022
|
2021
|
2020
|
2019
|
2018
|
2017
|
2016
|
|
Safety
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
|
Exterior
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Electric
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
|
Interior
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Drive System
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Fuel System
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Engine
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Which Nissan Sentra model year should you avoid?
We would recommend anyone looking for a Nissan Sentra to stay away from its previous generation, ie, cars manufactured from 2012 to 2019. Even though this generation has been on sale for almost 8 years, the complaint registered against it has never gone below a hundred in any year of its total life span.
Should you buy a used Nissan Sentra?
Even though the recent generation of Nissan’s compact sedan, the Sentra, has been considered as a viable alternative to the segment leaders, it was not so much the case in the past. The previous generation of Sentras were riddled with problems, especially with the CVT, which multiple users needed replacement of. Despite there being multiple updated iterations since launch, these models bugged users with a variety of electrical, mechanical, and safety problems. In contrast, the 8th gen car, which came into production in 2019, is a highly recommended purchase and the issues pointed out on it are not dealbreakers in our opinion. So when buying a used one, better stick to a new one.
