IllustrationNUMBER 3 CYLINDER LOW COMPRESSION WITH ONLY 83K MILES ON THE VEHICLE. ROUGH ENGINE DRIVING AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON. CODES P0300 AND P0303 DISPLAYED. THIS KIND OF ENGINE FAILURE SHOULDN'T HAPPEN WITH SUCH LOW MILEAGE
2012 Nissan Sentra
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2012 Nissan Sentra do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 116.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Sentra years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
320–25K
1725–50K
3250–75K
2575–100K
18100–150K
5150K+
129 reports with mileage · 51 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Power Train. Review the 68 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 39 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
10 crash reports4 fire reports7 injury reports
Engine complaints
39 reportsMY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TRIGGERED AND I BROUGHT THE CAR TO MY LOCAL NISSAN SHOP. THE CAR HAD BEEN RUNNING ROUGH, LOOSING POWER, AND BURNING OIL. THE MECHANIC TOLD ME I NEEDED NEW SPARK PLUGS AND A NEW BOOT. AFTER AGREEING TO PAY THE $500, I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL FROM THE SHOP. THE MECHANIC EXPLAINED THAT THE PROBLEM WAS NOT FI…
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MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TRIGGERED AND I BROUGHT THE CAR TO MY LOCAL NISSAN SHOP. THE CAR HAD BEEN RUNNING ROUGH, LOOSING POWER, AND BURNING OIL. THE MECHANIC TOLD ME I NEEDED NEW SPARK PLUGS AND A NEW BOOT. AFTER AGREEING TO PAY THE $500, I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL FROM THE SHOP. THE MECHANIC EXPLAINED THAT THE PROBLEM WAS NOT FIXED, THAT ACTUALLY I NEEDED TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE ENGINE. AFTER THE $500 IN WORK HAD BEEN DONE, THE MECHANIC PERFORMED A COMPRESSION TEST. THE TEST INDICATED A BAD ENGINE. SO THE WORK WAS DONE ON A BAD ENGINE. THE CAR HAD ABOUT 100,000 MILES ON IT AND HAS ALWAYS HAD PROPER MAINTENANCE. SO WHY IS IT BAD ALREADY? AND WHY WAS I MISLEAD TO PAY $500 ON A BAD ENGINE? THIS IS NOT RIGHT. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, THE CAR WILL STOP RESPONDING TO THE GAS PEDAL AND LOSE POWER. YOU WILL EITHER HAVE TO PULL OVER OR MAINTAIN A MUCH SLOWER SPEED. THIS BECOMES A HAZARD AND CAN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.
WHEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY IN MY 2012 NISSAN SENTRA IT SOMETIMES DEACCELERATES GRADUALLY TO THE POINT WHERE YOU CAN'T GO PAST 60 MPH AND WHEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE IT IS SLUGGISH
THE CAR TURNS OFF WHEN STOPPED LIKE AT A RED LIGHT OR STOP SIGN. BATTERY WAS REPLACED BY THE DEALERSHIP A WEEK AGO. ALTERNATOR WAS CHECKED AND IS GOOD. I HAVE TO TURN THE KEY TO THE OFF POSITION AND START IT AGAIN.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 NISSAN SENTRA. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE JERKED AND STALLED. ADDITIONALLY, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL WHISTLING NOISE EMERGING FROM THE VEHICLE. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLA…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 NISSAN SENTRA. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE JERKED AND STALLED. ADDITIONALLY, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL WHISTLING NOISE EMERGING FROM THE VEHICLE. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO NISSAN OF NORWICH (691 W THAMES ST, NORWICH, CT 06360, (860) 892-6000) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE BELT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND THERE WAS METAL IN THE TRANSMISSION, WHICH NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND PROVIDED CASE NUMBER: 35185453. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THEY WOULD ASSIST WITH SIXTY PERCENT OF THE REPAIR COSTS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 57,000.
I AM HAVING ISSUES WITH THE TRANSMISSION. IT APPEARS THAT THE ENGINE IS NOT CHANGING GEARS AUTOMATICALLY. OR IT COULD BE A PROBLEM WITH THE FUEL INJECTION OF THE VEHICLE. ALSO THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYMENT SYSTEM.
I HAVE A 2012 SENTRA THAT I BOUGHT IN 2014. I STARTED TO EXPERIENCE RANDOM LOSS OF POWER ON HIGHWAY, AND RPM WOULD UP AT RANDOM TIMES, LIKE IT WAS STUCK IN GEAR. LAST YR I DISCOVERED THAT MY CVT TRANSMISSION WAS GOING BAD AND ALREADY HAD TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION (BOUGHT USED). LESS THAN A YEAT LATER, IM STARTING TO EXPERIENCE…
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I HAVE A 2012 SENTRA THAT I BOUGHT IN 2014. I STARTED TO EXPERIENCE RANDOM LOSS OF POWER ON HIGHWAY, AND RPM WOULD UP AT RANDOM TIMES, LIKE IT WAS STUCK IN GEAR. LAST YR I DISCOVERED THAT MY CVT TRANSMISSION WAS GOING BAD AND ALREADY HAD TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION (BOUGHT USED). LESS THAN A YEAT LATER, IM STARTING TO EXPERIENCE THE SAME PROBLEM. NISSAN NEEDS TO EXTEND THE WARRANTY THRU THE 2012 MDELS, ON ANY CVT TRANSMISSION TO 10 YRS. VERY AGGRIVATING CONSIDERING I'M STILL MAKING PAYMENTS! I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THIS VEHICLE TO ANYONE.
THE TEMPERATURE READING GOES UP TO 3/4
CAR STALLS FOR NO REASON WHEN STOP AT LIGHT OR STOP SIGN
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.