IllustrationWHILE PARKED, VEHICLE STARTS BUT WILL NOT SHIFT INTO DRIVE, NEUTRAL OR REVERSE. $798.00 TO REPLACE "SHIFTER KIT." VEHICLE IS LESS THAN 5 YEARS OLD AND WITH 75,000 MILES
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
What owners actually said
180 reportsAFTER A 1.5-2 HOUR DRIVE ON THE HIGHWAY, MY CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE BEYOND 60 MPH. IT DROVE FINE AFTER GETTING HOME AND GETTING SOME REST. NO LIGHTS CAME ON THIS FIRST. SIMILAR EVENT HAPPENED A COUPLE WEEKS LATER - MUCH SHORTER DRIVE APPROX. 20 MINUTES, SLOWER SPEEDS, BUT MAIN INCLINES. ALL LIGHTS (CHECK ENGINE, OIL, EMERGEN…
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AFTER A 1.5-2 HOUR DRIVE ON THE HIGHWAY, MY CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE BEYOND 60 MPH. IT DROVE FINE AFTER GETTING HOME AND GETTING SOME REST. NO LIGHTS CAME ON THIS FIRST. SIMILAR EVENT HAPPENED A COUPLE WEEKS LATER - MUCH SHORTER DRIVE APPROX. 20 MINUTES, SLOWER SPEEDS, BUT MAIN INCLINES. ALL LIGHTS (CHECK ENGINE, OIL, EMERGENCY BRAKE, BATTERY) CAME ON AND THE CAR WOULD NO ACCELERATE AT ALL. I PULLED OVER AND TURNED THE CAR OFF THEN BACK ON AGAIN AND IT WAS COMPLETELY FINE.
ENGINE STOPPED WORKING WITH NO WARNING WHILE AT A STOP LIGHT ON A CITY STREET, RESTARTED AFTER 5-10 MINUTES GOING BACK & FORTH THROUGH THE GEARS BACK TO DRIVE. TEMPERATURE 115 ON THIS DAY IN LAS VEGAS , NEVADA
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 NISSAN SENTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE GEARS FAILED TO SHIFT FROM PARK INTO THE OTHER GEARS INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS SCHEDULED FOR AN APPOINTMENT WITH A DEALER (CLINTON AUTO GROUP IN CLINTON, IA). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND ISSUED TWO TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETINS, BUT T…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 NISSAN SENTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE GEARS FAILED TO SHIFT FROM PARK INTO THE OTHER GEARS INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS SCHEDULED FOR AN APPOINTMENT WITH A DEALER (CLINTON AUTO GROUP IN CLINTON, IA). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND ISSUED TWO TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETINS, BUT THERE WAS NO MANUFACTURER RECALL. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE. UPDATED 09/20/17*LJ *CN
ON CHRISTMAS MORNING, I WENT OUT TO THE PARKED CAR TO DISCOVER AN EXPLODED SUNROOF . TEMPERATURE WAS UNUSUALLY MILD THAT DAY, 75 DEGREES RATHER THAN TEENS OR 20S. NOT SURE IF THE EXPLOSION WAS OVERNIGHT OR IN THE MORNING. THERE WAS NO OTHER DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE OR ANY DOWNED BRANCHES NEARBY. GLASS BROKE OUTWARD, NOT INWARD.
SES LIGHT THREW CODE 0420 INDICATING THAT BOTH O2 SENSORS NEED REPLACING. I BOUGHT THE PARTS AND TOOK TO A SHOP TO REPLACE. SHOP HAD TROUBLE REACHING THE UPSTREAM SENSOR AND WAS WORRIED IT MIGHT BE THREADED AND SUGGESTED I TAKE TO THE DEALER TO REPLACE. THE DEALER SAID THE PORT WAS INDEED THREADED UPON REMOVAL OF SENSOR, AND THE…
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SES LIGHT THREW CODE 0420 INDICATING THAT BOTH O2 SENSORS NEED REPLACING. I BOUGHT THE PARTS AND TOOK TO A SHOP TO REPLACE. SHOP HAD TROUBLE REACHING THE UPSTREAM SENSOR AND WAS WORRIED IT MIGHT BE THREADED AND SUGGESTED I TAKE TO THE DEALER TO REPLACE. THE DEALER SAID THE PORT WAS INDEED THREADED UPON REMOVAL OF SENSOR, AND THE ONLY FIX WAS TO REPLACE THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD. SEEMS LIKE QUITE A DESIGN FLAW THAT REPLACING A $70 SENSOR CAUSES THE NEED FOR A $1000 MANIFOLD. MANIFOLD ISN'T BROKEN, ONLY THE O2 SENSOR PORT IS THREADED SO THEREFORE A NEW SENSOR CAN'T BE PUT IN, NECESSITATING THE ENTIRE REPLACEMENT OF THE MANIFOLD.
CAR IS HESITANT, LOSING POWER AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. AFRAID OF GETTING REAR ENDED ON HIGHWAY!! SOMETIMES IT HAPPENS AT A STOP.
I HAVE OWNED THIS CAR FOR 2 YEARS. EVERY YEAR, AS IT STARTS TO WARM UP IN THE SPRING, THE SAME PROBLEM RECURS. I HAVE HAD IT TO SEVERAL REPAIR SHOPS, ONLY TO BE TOLD THAT IT CANNOT BE FIXED. AS I AM DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY, IT WILL SUDDENLY START TO DECELERATE, AND I MUST PULL OFF THE ROAD AND LET THE CAR SIT, TURNED OFF, FOR …
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I HAVE OWNED THIS CAR FOR 2 YEARS. EVERY YEAR, AS IT STARTS TO WARM UP IN THE SPRING, THE SAME PROBLEM RECURS. I HAVE HAD IT TO SEVERAL REPAIR SHOPS, ONLY TO BE TOLD THAT IT CANNOT BE FIXED. AS I AM DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY, IT WILL SUDDENLY START TO DECELERATE, AND I MUST PULL OFF THE ROAD AND LET THE CAR SIT, TURNED OFF, FOR 20-40 MINUTES. LAST WEEK, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, AND WHEN I TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALER, THEY WANT $3000 TO FIX THE CAR. THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM SINCE THE FIRST SUMMER AFTER I BOUGHT IT.
AFTER DRIVING FOR 3+HOURS, THE CAR BEGINS TO DEACCELERATE AND YOU CANNOT GO ANY FASTER WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY; VERY UNSAFE. QUOTED OVER $3.5K TO FIX TRANSMISSION. CAR SHOULD LAST LONGER THAN 80K MILES! SCARED TO DRIVE IT NOW. AT ONE POINT, NISSAN COVERED THE TRANSMISSION FOR 10 YEARS OR 100,000 MILES--SHOULD DEFINITELY GO BACK…
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AFTER DRIVING FOR 3+HOURS, THE CAR BEGINS TO DEACCELERATE AND YOU CANNOT GO ANY FASTER WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY; VERY UNSAFE. QUOTED OVER $3.5K TO FIX TRANSMISSION. CAR SHOULD LAST LONGER THAN 80K MILES! SCARED TO DRIVE IT NOW. AT ONE POINT, NISSAN COVERED THE TRANSMISSION FOR 10 YEARS OR 100,000 MILES--SHOULD DEFINITELY GO BACK TO THIS AS THE CVT IS NOT SAFE! CONTACTED NISSAN CONSUMER AFFAIRS TO NO AVAIL...
VEHICLE STOPPED PULLING IN TRAFFIC ALMOST GOT REAR ENDED VERY UNSAFE NISSAN SAYS INTERNAL FAILURE COST TO REPAIR 3800 DOLLARS VEHICLE IS NOT REPAIRED SCARED TO DRIVE IT.
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.