2008 Nissan Sentra

WHILE DRIVING TO FLORIDA FROM DC FOR VACATION, THE ENGINE STARTED MAKING A RATTLING NOISE. SINCE WE WERE ON A TRIP, I FIGURED I WOULD TOP OFF THE ENGINE OIL JUST IN CASE. THE ENGINE WAS BONE DRY. THE NOISE SEEMED TO GO AWAY AFTER ADDING OIL AT FIRST, BUT THEN THE NOISE BECAME LOUDER, AND THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. WE TOOK THE CAR TO THE NEAREST DEALER WE COULD FIND. WHEN THEY LIFTED THE HOOD AT THE DEALER, THE OIL HAD EXPLODED AND WAS EVERYWHERE. WE WERE TOLD THERE WAS CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE IN MY 2008 SENTRA, BUT THEY COULD NOT DETERMINE THE EXACT CAUSE. SINCE I DID NOT HAVE MY MAINTENANCE RECORDS WITH ME (I WAS ON VACATION), THEY REFUSED TO EVEN CONTACT NISSAN WARRANTY WITHOUT PROOF OF ALL OIL CHANGES. THEY CLAIMED THE ENGINE FAILED DUE TO LACK OF OIL CHANGES. I COULD NOT AFFORD A FACTORY ENGINE, SO THE PURCHASE OF A USED 2008 SENTRA ENGINE VOIDED MY EXTENDED WARRANTY. AT THE TIME OF FAILURE, THE CAR HAD A LITTLE OVER 35K MILES. FURTHER RESEARCH ONLINE INDICATES A POSSIBLE OIL CONSUMPTION ISSUE, WHICH THE DEALERSHIP DENIES. *TR

I PURCHASED A NEW 2008 NISSAN SENTRA. THE FIRST WINTER DRIVING THE CAR I NOTICED IT DROVE POORLY ON WET OR SNOW COVERED ROADS - IT FELT LIKE IT WAS SLIDING OR WANDERING. I WAS GOING TO PURCHASE SNOW TIRES BUT DID NOT. AFTER ABOUT ONE YEAR I NOTICED THE REAR TIRES WERE GREATLY WORN. I PAID TO HAVE AN ALIGNMENT DONE AND ALSO PURCHASED NEW TIRES. I WAS TOLD BY THE TIRE STORE THAT THE REAR COULD NOT BE ALIGNED DUE TO A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. I THEN DISCOVERED THAT THE ALIGNMENT ISSUE WAS WELL KNOWN TO NISSAN BY THIS TIME. THE CAR DEALER SHOULD HAVE CHECKED THE ALIGNMENT, AND IF FOUND DEFECTIVE SHOULD HAVE FIXED IT PRIOR TO TRANSFER OF THE CAR TO ME. I FEEL MY SAFETY WAS AT RISK DUE TO THE ALIGNMENT PROBLEM. I FEEL THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL AND THE PROBLEM CORRECTED BY THE DEALER. I SHOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO DISCOVER THIS PROBLEM MYSELF, SINCE IT WAS A KNOWN PROBLEM BY NISSAN AND ITS DEALERS. *TR

AT 26K MILES A VERY LOUD, GRUMBLING, DRONING NOISE STARTED COMING FROM THE VEHICLE'S TRANSMISSION. APPARENT AT 25MPH. THE CVT TRANSAXLE ASSEMBLY WAS REPLACED BY THE DEALER BUT THE NOISE IS STILL PRESENT . IT IS WORSE THAN BEFORE. THE NOISE INSIDE THE PASSENGER CABIN IS UNBEARABLE,DEAFENING SPECIALLY AT HIGHER SPEEDS. IT FEELS LIKE THE VEHICLE IS STUCK IN LOW GEAR. IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO HEAR OTHER CARS OUTSIDE AS I HAVE TO INCREASE THE VOLUME OF MY RADIO AND OPEN WINDOWS TO TRY TO MASK THE NOISE. SIMILAR COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN FILED WITH OTHER NISSAN MODELS USING THE SAME TYPE OF TRANSAXLE. *TR

AT 50,000 MILES, I HAD A CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE WITH MY 2008 NISSAN SENTRA 2.0. WHEN I PULLED INTO THE GAS STATION, MY CAR HAD NO COOLANT AND NO OIL AT ALL. THE OIL PRESSURE LIGHT DID NOT ILLUMINATE AND THE COOLANT GAUGE APPEARED NORMAL. THE DEALERSHIP CANNOT TELL ME WHY THE WARNING LIGHTS DID NOT ILLUMINATE WHEN FLUIDS BECAME LOW. I SERVICE MY CAR REGULARLY. MY CAR GAVE NO INDICATION OF ANY PROBLEMS. DEALERSHIP STATES THAT THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF LEAKAGE. NISSAN IS STATING THAT IT IS DUE TO LACK OF SERVICE - MY POINT IS THE WARNING LIGHTS DID NOT ILLUMINATE AT ALL WHICH RESULTED IN ENGINE FAILURE. IF I HAD BEEN ON THE HIGHWAY THIS COULD HAVE RESULTED IN SIGNIFICANT INJURY, FIRE, ETC. *TR

WHEN STEPPING ON THE ACCELERATOR THE CAR WILL NOT MOVE, THE ENGINE REVS UP BUT THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION DOES NOT MOVE THE CAR. IF YOU KEEP YOUR FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR IN A COUPLE OF SECONDS, THE CAR WILL SLAM INTO GEAR AND MOVE WITH A LOAD BANG. THIS IS AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM, HAS OCCURRED APPROX. 6 TIMES IN 30K MILES. THIS CAN OCCUR FROM FIRST STARTING OUT OR WHILE DRIVING IF YOU LET YOUR FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR AND THEN GO TO ACCELERATE IT DOESN'T ACCELERATE, IT IS LIKE IT IS IN NEUTRAL. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 NISSAN SENTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VERY SLOW SPEEDS, SHE ATTEMPTED TO ENGAGE THE BRAKES AND THEY VEHICLE FAILED TO RESPOND. SINCE SHE WAS DRIVING IN THE DIRECTION OF A BUILDING, SHE WAS ONLY ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE BY CRASHING INTO A HANDICAP SIGN AND SHUT THE ENGINE OFF. THERE WERE NO INJURIES OR DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE. SHE ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE AND IT WOULD NOT MOVE FORWARD. THE "BRAKE" WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED ON THE DASHBOARD. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER HAS NOT BEEN NOTIFIED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 5,200 AND THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 5,100.

A LEASED 2008 NISSAN SENTRA HAS GOTTEN STUCK IN ACCELERATION GEAR WHILE I AM ATTEMPTING TO SLOW TO A STOP. I HAVE TO PRESS HARD ON THE BRAKES AND SHIFT THE CAR INTO NEUTRAL TO STOP THE ENGINE FROM RACING. THIS HAS HAPPENED SINCE AROUND 18,000 MILES AND I NOW HAVE 23,000 MILES ON THE CAR. BRAKES ALSO EMIT A LOW WHISTLING NOISE WHILE SLOWING DOWN TO STOP OR TURN. HAVE COMPLAINED TO DEALER ON MAINTENANCE VISITS BUT TOLD THEY CAN FIND NOTHING WRONG WITH BRAKES; "COULD BE DUST ON PADS OR MOISTURE." *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 NISSAN SENTRA. WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH IN FOGGY WEATHER CONDITIONS, HE CRASHED INTO AN EMBANKMENT. THE VEHICLE WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED AND THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE SEAT BELT ALSO CONSTRICTED HIS ABILITY TO MOVE AND EVENTUALLY HE WAS ABLE TO OPEN THE SEAT BELT. THE CONTACT SUFFERED INTERNAL BRUISING. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURES WERE UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 16,000. UPDATED 10/26/09. *LJ APPROXIMATELY 30 SECONDS AFTER THE IMPACT, THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED; SIMULTANEOUSLY THE SEAT BELT BEGAN TO TIGHTEN. THE SEAT BELT DID NOT STOP TIGHTENING UNTIL IT BROKE. IT BROKE FROM THE FLOOR EXPOSING A LONG CABLE AND OTHER WIRES. THE BUCKLE WAS STILL ATTACHED. THE SEAT BELT CAUSED DEEP INTERNAL BRUISING. UPDATED 10/26/09. *JB