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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 →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

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 reports
Mileage unknown · Sep 4, 2019
Engine

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 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.

NHTSA ODI #11253183

98,000 miles · Aug 21, 2019
EngineFuel/propulsion System

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.

NHTSA ODI #11245583

95,000 miles · Aug 14, 2019
EnginePower TrainVehicle Speed Control

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

NHTSA ODI #11243964

64,332 miles · Aug 1, 2019
Power Train

GOES LIMP, DELAY WHEN PRESSING THE GAS WHILE IN MOTION, APPLICABLE TO BOTH CITY STREET AND HIGHWAY. BASED ON INFORMATION GATHERED, IT APPEARS THE TRANSMISSION COOLER IS NOT PROVIDING ADEQUATE FLUID COOLING WHEN DRIVING IN HIGH TEMPERATURES RESULTING IN THE TRANSMISSION FLUID TO GET HOT AND THE CAR TO GO LIMP (STALLED ACCELERATIO…

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GOES LIMP, DELAY WHEN PRESSING THE GAS WHILE IN MOTION, APPLICABLE TO BOTH CITY STREET AND HIGHWAY. BASED ON INFORMATION GATHERED, IT APPEARS THE TRANSMISSION COOLER IS NOT PROVIDING ADEQUATE FLUID COOLING WHEN DRIVING IN HIGH TEMPERATURES RESULTING IN THE TRANSMISSION FLUID TO GET HOT AND THE CAR TO GO LIMP (STALLED ACCELERATION) WHICH CREATES AN UNSAFE OPERATING CONDITION. VARIOUS DATES...

NHTSA ODI #11241067

55 miles · Jul 29, 2019
Vehicle Speed Control

ON MY WAY HOME VISITING MY SON, I WAS ON THE FREEWAY DRIVING 75 MPH, WHEN I BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE ACCELERATION LOSS IN MY 2012 NISSAN SENTRA SL. MY CVT TRANSMISSION WAS OVERWORKING AND YOU CAN CLEARLY HEAR THE TRANSMISSION TRYING TO CHANGE GEARS, MY CAR DROPPED FROM 75 MPH TO UNDER 50 MPH ON A BUSY FREEWAY, THE RPM'S WERE RUNNING …

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ON MY WAY HOME VISITING MY SON, I WAS ON THE FREEWAY DRIVING 75 MPH, WHEN I BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE ACCELERATION LOSS IN MY 2012 NISSAN SENTRA SL. MY CVT TRANSMISSION WAS OVERWORKING AND YOU CAN CLEARLY HEAR THE TRANSMISSION TRYING TO CHANGE GEARS, MY CAR DROPPED FROM 75 MPH TO UNDER 50 MPH ON A BUSY FREEWAY, THE RPM'S WERE RUNNING HIGH WHILE THE CAR HAD ZERO POWER, MY FOOT WAS COMPLETELY PRESSED DOWN TO ASSIST THE CAR TO ACCELERATE AND IT WOULD NOT. I MANAGED TO MOVE MY CAR OVER TO THE FAR RIGHT LANE TO TRY AND RECOVER MY VEHICLES SPEED. THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE HAZARD TO THOSE EXPERIENCING THIS SAME PROBLEM, IT'S A SAFETY HAZARD FOR ANYONE TRAVELING LONG DISTANCES, ON A BUSY HIGHWAY DURING, WITH CHILDREN IN YOUR VEHICLE WHEN YOUR CAR DROPS TO LIMP MODE OUT OF NOWHERE. MY BROTHER IN LAW WHO JUST RETIRED FROM THE MARINE CORP AFTER 20 YEARS OF SERVICE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO BE SERVICED DUE TO THE RECALL ON THIS MODEL FOR THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE JUST A YEAR AGO AND IS STILL SHOWING SIGNS OF THE SAME CVT TRANSMISSION FAILURE EVEN AFTER IT WAS TAKEN TO NISSAN FOR REPAIRS.

NHTSA ODI #11240446

92,000 miles · Jul 26, 2019
Structure

THE PLASTIC PIECE ON DRIVERS FRONT FENDER KEEPS POPPING OUT SO YOU HAVE TO KEEP POPPING IT BACK SO IT'S SECURE ON FRAME AS AFRAID IT WILL FALL OFF IF DON'T. I NOTICED IT AFTER I HAD PARKED. PREVIOUSLY HAD TO HAVE A CLIP PUT ON TO SECURE THE PART. SO THIS IS SECOND TIME IT'S HAPPENED IF SOMEONE HITS ON THAT SIDE WOULD CAUSE DAMA…

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THE PLASTIC PIECE ON DRIVERS FRONT FENDER KEEPS POPPING OUT SO YOU HAVE TO KEEP POPPING IT BACK SO IT'S SECURE ON FRAME AS AFRAID IT WILL FALL OFF IF DON'T. I NOTICED IT AFTER I HAD PARKED. PREVIOUSLY HAD TO HAVE A CLIP PUT ON TO SECURE THE PART. SO THIS IS SECOND TIME IT'S HAPPENED IF SOMEONE HITS ON THAT SIDE WOULD CAUSE DAMAGE FOR SURE

NHTSA ODI #11235192

68,000 miles · Jul 14, 2019
Unknown Or Other

THE SUNROOF EXPLODED WHILE DRIVING ON A SUBURBAN STREET ON 7/12/2019. NO STONES WERE INVOLVED.

NHTSA ODI #11231814

85,000 miles · Jun 24, 2019
Power Train

2012 NISSAN SENTRA LOST POWER AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WITH FAMILY IN CAR. NO RESPONSE FROM GAS PEDAL. COASTED TO A STOP ON SIDE OF HIGHWAY AND HAD TO WAIT APPROXIMATELY 30 MINUTES UNTIL CAR WAS RESPONDING TO GAS PEDAL. NOT SAFE FOR ANYONE TO BE DRIVING THIS CAR. MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT NISSAN'S CVT TRANSMISSION WITHOUT A SOLUTION FROM N…

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2012 NISSAN SENTRA LOST POWER AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WITH FAMILY IN CAR. NO RESPONSE FROM GAS PEDAL. COASTED TO A STOP ON SIDE OF HIGHWAY AND HAD TO WAIT APPROXIMATELY 30 MINUTES UNTIL CAR WAS RESPONDING TO GAS PEDAL. NOT SAFE FOR ANYONE TO BE DRIVING THIS CAR. MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT NISSAN'S CVT TRANSMISSION WITHOUT A SOLUTION FROM NISSAN. CAR HAD APPROXIMATELY 85,000 MILES ON IT AT THE TIME. SAME THING OCCURRED AROUND 102,000 MILES. MY CAR IS REGULARLY SERVICED AND CARED FOR. IT IS PARKED IN A CLOSED GARAGE EVERY NIGHT.

NHTSA ODI #11222224

108,000 miles · Jun 17, 2019
Air BagsStructureCrash

I WAS PULLED OVER STATING MY TAGS WERE BAD AND TO GO TO THE DEALERSHIP TO OBTAIN NEW ONES. HE THEN INSPECTED MY CAR AND I WAS ON MY WAY AFTET WE DISCUSSED THE TIEROD ISSUE AND MADE AN APPOINTMENT I THEN RECORDED ON MY PHONE THE SHAKE FROM THE STEERING WHEEL. I LATER FOUND OUT THE BLINKING LIGHT WAS THE AIRBAG LIGHT NOT THE SEAT …

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I WAS PULLED OVER STATING MY TAGS WERE BAD AND TO GO TO THE DEALERSHIP TO OBTAIN NEW ONES. HE THEN INSPECTED MY CAR AND I WAS ON MY WAY AFTET WE DISCUSSED THE TIEROD ISSUE AND MADE AN APPOINTMENT I THEN RECORDED ON MY PHONE THE SHAKE FROM THE STEERING WHEEL. I LATER FOUND OUT THE BLINKING LIGHT WAS THE AIRBAG LIGHT NOT THE SEAT BELT LIGHT AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON AS WELL. THE CAR SHOULD NOT HAVE PASSED INSPECTION. I GOT IN A SMALL FENDER BENDER AND THE INSURANCE IS NOW TOTALING MY CAR.

NHTSA ODI #11220636

76,000 miles · Jun 2, 2019
Power Train

BLIGHTY VEHICLE USED AT ROUTE 46, TOTOWA, NJ IN 2017. IT HAS 76K MILES AND WE JUST MOVED TO RHODE ISLAND. MY 18 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER DRIVING BY HERSELF UP I 95 WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH HAD THE VEHICLE DECELERATE SEVERAL TIMES DOWN TO 40 MPH DESPITE PURSUING THE GAS TO THE FLOOR. AT ONE POINT WITH SEMI TRUCKS ALL AROUND HER IT DROPPED T…

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BLIGHTY VEHICLE USED AT ROUTE 46, TOTOWA, NJ IN 2017. IT HAS 76K MILES AND WE JUST MOVED TO RHODE ISLAND. MY 18 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER DRIVING BY HERSELF UP I 95 WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH HAD THE VEHICLE DECELERATE SEVERAL TIMES DOWN TO 40 MPH DESPITE PURSUING THE GAS TO THE FLOOR. AT ONE POINT WITH SEMI TRUCKS ALL AROUND HER IT DROPPED TO 25 MPH WHERE SHE HAD TO PUT THE HAZARDS ON WHILE THESE TRUCKS WHIPPED BY HER. SHE GOT HERE BUT WAS FREAKED OUT. MY ODB PICKED UP ERROR CODE P074 FOR A CLUTCH SOLENOID ISSUE WITH THE TRANSMISSION. KNOWN ISSUE TO NISSAN. HOW MANY OF THESE DO WE HAVE TO REPORT BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED TO GET THIS LISTED AS A RECALL TO FIX THE TRANSMISSION? NHTSA YOU HAVE A DUTY TO PROTECT US AND ORDER NISSAN TO FIX THIS ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI #11217393

Official recalls

0

No 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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.