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2020 Nissan Sentra

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2020 Nissan Sentra do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 116.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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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

57 reports with mileage · 147 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.

  • Forward Collision Avoidance. Review the 60 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Steering. Review the 55 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 44 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

8 crash reports0 fire reports2 injury reports

Wheels complaints

5 reports
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Mileage unknown · Jul 4, 2024
SteeringWheels

The wheel keeps turning to the right and won't go straight. The wheel makes a clicking noise when it turns. It seems to be something to do with the steering column. Must keep turning the steering wheel to the left for it to work properly. I have replaced the steering gear assembly at my own expense, but the problem has not im…

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The wheel keeps turning to the right and won't go straight. The wheel makes a clicking noise when it turns. It seems to be something to do with the steering column. Must keep turning the steering wheel to the left for it to work properly. I have replaced the steering gear assembly at my own expense, but the problem has not improved, proving to be a design issue near the tire and tie rod. I'm sure the sound is coming from near the tire and tie rod. Yes. I found the recall notice but no solution was given. There doesn't seem to be any plan to fix this design flaw? I need to file a complaint!

NHTSA ODI #11598895

Mileage unknown · Sep 28, 2023
Power TrainSuspensionWheels

Catastrophic failure today. Car was towed with special tow truck to dealer after hours. Will know more tomorrow. While driving Passenger right front tire: upper tie rod broke, lower control arm broke, trans-axel broke, smoke came out of hood. Right before this happened the car experienced a shimmy in the steering wheel and to…

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Catastrophic failure today. Car was towed with special tow truck to dealer after hours. Will know more tomorrow. While driving Passenger right front tire: upper tie rod broke, lower control arm broke, trans-axel broke, smoke came out of hood. Right before this happened the car experienced a shimmy in the steering wheel and to keep car driving straight I had hold steering wheel at angle to the right (40mph). Next the anti-lock brakes engaged then disengaged. Four or so miles later I got a dashboard warning that had “malfunction” on almost every system (all amber lights). I pulled over at gas station immediately called dealer and was advised to bring in it ASAP. I put the car in reverse attempted to back out of parking spot, got 4 feet out and a horrible clanking/popping noise happened maybe 3 times and smoke came from engine compartment. I tried to put car back in gear to pull back into parking spot - but car would not move forward or backward. Got out and visual inspection showed front right tire had torn away from car and was hanging and car body was sitting imbedded into tire causing a dent in the panel. First tow truck driver said damage was so bad, they had to call a different kind of tow truck. Car then towed to dealer tonight after hours. Don’t know full extent of damage yet, tow truck driver thought transmission damaged when axel pulled away. What happened preceding this: I had just got off I-95 after a 7 hour drive from Myrtle Beach. Was 2-3 miles off freeway when this happed. Had it happed just a few minutes earlier, it would have happened on freeway at 70mph. There would likely have been multiple fatalities. Dealer replaced both left and right trans axels within last 2 months a week apart (car was making clunking sound). Tie rods inspected (told they were fine). Ten days ago clunking again (sounded like it was coming from engine compartment near center console.) took back to dealer they inspected it, changed oil and could not duplicate noise

NHTSA ODI #11547241

Mileage unknown · Mar 10, 2023
Electrical SystemForward Collision AvoidanceWheels

was driving down the highway nothing in front of me my car hit the brakes and flashed warning on the dash and made me come to a stop after this happened my fuel economy decreased over 100 miles per tank other times it just activates and taps the brakes for no reason also every window except the driver window gets stuck several t…

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was driving down the highway nothing in front of me my car hit the brakes and flashed warning on the dash and made me come to a stop after this happened my fuel economy decreased over 100 miles per tank other times it just activates and taps the brakes for no reason also every window except the driver window gets stuck several times a week another thing some how one of my rims cracked

NHTSA ODI #11511272

Mileage unknown · Dec 7, 2021
Wheels

On July 16 2021, I took my car to the dealer for an oil change and for a recall on a bent tie rod. They told me my tie rod was fine and did nothing. On November 15, I took my car back because my wheel was vibrating. They said my hub bearing assembly is loose so, they will order the part which takes 3 days to come in and advised …

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On July 16 2021, I took my car to the dealer for an oil change and for a recall on a bent tie rod. They told me my tie rod was fine and did nothing. On November 15, I took my car back because my wheel was vibrating. They said my hub bearing assembly is loose so, they will order the part which takes 3 days to come in and advised me "not to drive on highways". Now 4 weeks later, they told me that's not the problem and its my tie rod. I asked how this was misdiagnosed? They said the person who looked at it didn't know what they were doing. This put my children and I at risk!

NHTSA ODI #11442958

Mileage unknown · Oct 28, 2021
EngineUnknown Or OtherWheelsCrash

I had brought my car up to the dealership for an oil change, and they said there was a recall on the tie rods. They said they checked them out, but never gave me paperwork for it. And I’ve looked it up and it said no recall have been serviced on. A week or two later me and another passenger got in my car and put it in reverse, a…

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I had brought my car up to the dealership for an oil change, and they said there was a recall on the tie rods. They said they checked them out, but never gave me paperwork for it. And I’ve looked it up and it said no recall have been serviced on. A week or two later me and another passenger got in my car and put it in reverse, and heard a small pop as I turned the wheel I didn’t think anything of it at first. Then we started heading down the road we got to a stop light and my car was stalling the transmission didn’t sound right for a little while. And then we where going about 35 mph and started slowing down to about 10-15 mph to make a turn, as I started turning the wheel we heard a loud pop. All of a sudden I had lost control of the car, the right front side tire had broke off and barely holding only by the wires and piece of metal. Then we hit the curb almost hitting another car and smoke started coming out of the A/C vents. And also no warning for anything ever came up. the problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. The dealership has inspected it.

NHTSA ODI #11438576

Official recalls

4

23V628000 · Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera

Sep 8, 2023

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Altima and 2020-2021 Sentra vehicles. Damage to the camera harness can cause distortion or loss of the rearview camera display image. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A rearview camera that does not properly display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect the rearview camera and harness for damage and replace them as necessary. If no damage is found, the dealer will apply protective tape and reroute the rearview camera harness. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 19, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R23C3.

23V581000 · Steering:linkages:tie Rod Assembly

Aug 15, 2023

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Sentra vehicles. The left and/or right tie rod may bend.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A bent tie rod can break and cause a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Owners are advised to contact their dealer for transport assistance if they are experiencing an off-center steering wheel or vibration. As an interim repair, dealers will inspect and replace any bent or broken tie rods, free of charge. Once newly designed parts are available, dealers will replace both left and right tie rods, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed November 27, 2024. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R23B3. This recall replaces and expands recall number 21V-461. Vehicles previously repaired under 21V-461 will need to have the new remedy completed.

22V244000 · Exterior Lighting:headlights

Apr 13, 2022

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020 Sentra vehicles, equipped with LED headlights. The right-hand headlight aim may be misaligned. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamp, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An improperly aimed headlight may reduce the driver's visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the right-hand headlight, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 10, 2022. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R20B4.

21V461000 · Steering:linkages:tie Rod Assembly

Jun 17, 2021

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Sentra vehicles. The left and/or right tie rod may be bent.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A bent tie rod can break, causing a loss of steering control and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the left and/or right tie rods as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 5, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is PM985.

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.