Complaint volume
183 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2018 Nissan Sentra Complaints
183 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2018 Nissan Sentra, grouped by component category.
183 Total complaints
17 Crash reports
3 Fire reports
10 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are power train, unknown or other, forward collision avoidance. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 17 crash reports, 3 fire reports, 10 injury reports, and 1 fatality report. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 96 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 49,489 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to power train, unknown or other, forward collision avoidance?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2018 Nissan Sentra?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2018 Nissan Sentra
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2018 Nissan Sentra complaints?
17 Crash
3 Fire
10 Injury
1 Fatality
20 Towed
10 Medical attention
What are the most common 2018 Nissan Sentra complaint categories?
POWER TRAIN 34
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 20
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 12
SERVICE BRAKES 11
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 9
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 8
ENGINE 7
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 5
AIR BAGS 4
STEERING 3
183 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2023 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The RPM increased, and the engine revved up. The vehicle was making an abnormal cutting metallic sound. The vehicle failed to shift from park to drive. The vehicle was jerking and jolting. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the mechanic determined that the transmission failed and needed to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Medical attention | 100,000 |
| May 2023 | POWER TRAIN | "What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request?" -Transmission Failure, already repaired as of 05/23/2023, and as such is no longer able to be inspected. "How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk?" -My safety, and others were put at major risk as the transmission completely gave out at 94k Miles as I was crossing the road. As I pressed the accelerator the engine revved up, I heard a loud thud, the car shook, the engine continued to rev deep into the redzone, and then all of the sudden it stopped accelerating and had barely enough momentum to get all the way across the 4 lane avenue. This could have resulted in a MAJOR accident, as I was horizontal crossing the road, and could have been T-Boned. "Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center?" -Confirmed and repaired at Glendale Nissan. -Address: 484 E North Ave., Glendale Heights, IL 60139 -Phone Number: (630) 469-6100 "Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear?" UNKNOWN. The car did sometimes have an issue moving forward from a stop, but I am not sure if that is related. This started happening around 80k miles. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle started making an abnormal sound and started to decelerate independently. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that he was able to continue driving to his residence at a slow speed. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the transmission to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 80,000 |
| Apr 2023 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | I bought the 2018 Nissan Sentra from Rusty Eck Ford in Wichita around 11 months ago. 2 days later I took it back in because stepping on the gas, it shuddered and had difficulty going into gear. I was told, I needed to relearn how to drive. I received a legal notice that I am in a proposed class action lawsuit (Nissan CVT Litigation Settlement Administrator) because there are known defects in the CVT Transmission. My car is now sitting at Briggs Nissan Service requiring a full new transmission $5500.00 I have pleaded with Nissan corp, ORR Nissan in Wichita and Briggs Nissan in Manhattan KS,and back to Rusty Eck Ford to help me. These were known defects. My transmission went out on a major highway and I about caused a pileup. I live on a fixed income. I went to the loan company asking for a refinance I owe $17,000+, they won't help me and Rusty Eck won't help even though that is where the loan originated from. I don't know what to do. I think all these service centers would hope I kill myself so I won't bother them anymore. You got lawyers in California that help their people. But there is no one to help me. Why would a company send out a vehicle with known transmissions defects. I think it is truly they wanted them to go out so that the buyer as to purchase a whole new transmission and point the finger and say buyer beware. I know you probably cannot do anything. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | CVT transmission problem. Car has burning smell and jerks on freeway. Case has been reported to Nissan consumer affairs and has been taken in for repairs at a Nissan service center twice and still have not fixed the problem. https://knightlawgroup.com/nissan-cvt-transmission-problems/ | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I would be driving and then the car would not want to pull after I would wait awhile it would start back driving. The most recent incident was I was driving and stopped at a light and accelerated to pull off and the car started moving and then stopped in the middle of the street. After a while it started back driving so I took it to get check and was told my transmission was gone. I did do a check on this site and saw where transmissions were recalled for nissan sentra for the following years 2014 to 2017.I feel if there was an issue with the transmissions in those car why would they not recall all the cars from that year on to have the transmission fix. I spent 3,852 dollars to have a new transmission put in my car which i feel is totally uncalled for. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | POWER TRAIN | I took a left turn going below 10 mph when it had immediately stalled like a a manual. I was stuck in the middle of an intersection where I had to push the car out of the road. The car no longer wants to be put in drive. it just sits like it is in neutral even when I press on the gas | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | POWER TRAIN | Transmission is constantly slipping. The car has randomly stopped and I have had to shift into park then back to drive in order for the vehicle to move out of traffic. There is no type of warning. I have no engine lights or any other warnings. This has almost caused 3 accidents. I have taken the car to the dealer and an independent mechanic for diagnostics and they are unable to find the issue even with having repeated the problem to some degree. This has been going on for the past 2 months. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | POWER TRAIN | While my husband was driving, the vehicle suddenly lost power. He was almost hit by the vehicle that was behind him. He was able to nurse it to the side of the road. There were no warning lights or any other indicators that there was something wrong. We called AAA and had it towed to the nearest independent service dealer. We were told that the transmission was gone. It only had 88,000 miles on it. It has not been reviewed by anyone else at this time. The repair bill is for almost as much as what we owe on the loan. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 - 40 MPH and approaching a stop going uphill, there was an abnormal beeping sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The automatic emergency braking (AEB) malfunction warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and the contact was informed to take the vehicle to the dealer for assistance. The contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000. The VIN was not available. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 61,000 |
| Jan 2023 | SUSPENSION,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | My car was hesitant to start i called the recalls line and i let the nissan lot know that my car had recall on the break switch which is connected to my gears, i never received a notice informing me about this issue so when i let the lot know they told me nothing was wrong, after driving it again it wouldnt start i took it to the lot and they said its my transmission and break switch battery ect. I am requesting that my car get repair for free for recall service i dont feel i should have to pay $8000 for service repair more then one nissan sentra has had transmission problems in the last year | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING | The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Sentra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V135000 (Exterior Lighting) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for the recall repair; however, the Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) remained illuminated after the repair. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where an unknown repair was completed but the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer. The contact stated that the recall remedy had failed to fix the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 105,816. | Crash: No Fire: No | 105,816 |
| Nov 2022 | STRUCTURE | When I open the hood, the hood release mechanism sticks in the open position. Closing the hood will not engage the primary lock, only the secondary latch. I need to physically reset the primary latch with a tool (screwdriver) to properly close the hood. If not completely latched the hood could open at high speeds, blocking the view and causing an accident. This vehicle has never been damaged. I have not had this problem looked at by a dealer or a mechanic as the vehicle is out of warrantee and I will most likely be charged a large amount to replace the entire release and latch mechanism to repair it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving 5 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was unable to shift out of drive(D). The contact stated that he was able to manually push the vehicle out of the roadway with the assistance of bystanders. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to his residence. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 113,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 113,000 |
| Nov 2022 | POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My 2018 Nissan Sentra is currently in the shop at my local Nissan dealership because it needs a transmission replacement. The car lurched ahead causing me to run into my garage door causing damage. It also while driving loses power, the rpm meter will drop for a few seconds and you will see and feel it re engage a few seconds later. It does this frequently at various speeds. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | POWER TRAIN | My car stopped accelerating normally and was losing power so eventually I deemed it unsafe to drive. I was told by a mechanic that it was just a speed sensor or the computer needed reprogramming. I took it to the Nissan dealership and they said that the entire transmission needed to be replaced. Mind you I had only had the car about 10 months. I declined the warranty since it’s a 2018 and was not told the car had any major concerns. I had the transmission replaced and it’s $4,391. It’s been in the shop since July 2022 and the place I bought it from is permanently closed so I couldn’t take it back or exchange it. I haven’t been able to work without a car. I’ve been working sporadically so the bills fell behind and now I’m going through eviction stuff and facing repossession etc… it all started with this transmission replacement. I’ve been so stressed out. I hope things turn around. ? CVT transmissions are not my first go with Nissans. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while making a left turn, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. The contact was able to pull over on the side of road and turn off the vehicle. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle still would not accelerate properly. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that there was no recall on the vehicle related to the failure. The manufacturer stated that 30% of the repairs would be covered by them and the contact would assume responsibility for the remaining 70% of the cost. The failure mileage was 81,200. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 81,200 |
| Oct 2022 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Sentra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V135000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front passenger’s side headlamp failed without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with an electrical failure. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 32,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 32,000 |
| Sep 2022 | POWER TRAIN | There needs to be a safety recall on Nissan CVT transmissions. The company can not knowingly continue to sell a faulty/detective product and pass the cost onto customers. I purchased my 2018 Nissan Sentra brand new October 2018. I had began to have transmission issues May 2019. I brought the car in several times and finally got a replacement in October 2019. July 2022 its the same issues again, hesitation when getting on the freeway, the car will jerk while driving and the RPMS will began to spike. I don't we are suppose to replace transmission every year or year in a half. My car is not even 4 years old I shouldn't have this issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | AIR BAGS | Currently, my passenger airbag light is always illuminated indicating that the airbags are off, even if a full-grown adult is in the vehicle. I reported this problem to my local Nissan dealership prior to taking a road trip. They said they did a zero point reset. They assured me that the issue was resolved and that the passenger air bags were working properly. After driving 400 miles with my family, we realized the issue was not fixed. I returned to the same Nissan dealer and they said it's now a faulty OCS sensor and control unit. The OCS sensors and control unit are faulty in my 2018 Nissan Sentra and it only contains 70,000 miles. The dealership says this unit will need to be replaced and I won't have passenger airbags until it is fixed. I'm worried about the safety of my passengers and I no longer have confidence in my Nissan dealer to correctly diagnose/repair the issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Sentra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V135000 (Exterior Lightning) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power, causing her vehicle to be side-swiped on the front and rear driver's side by another vehicle. Additionally, the driver's and passenger's front tires had to be replaced every month due to damage from the front end of the vehicle. No injury was sustained and no medical attention was received. No police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the suspension, lower control arm, tie rod, tie rod ends, wheel bearing, gas strut, and CV shaft needed to be replaced; however, the mechanic only replaced the suspension. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 29,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | 29,000 |
| May 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | When I try to start my car all the dash lights and power come on but the vehicle will not start. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The forward radar will randomly stop working while driving. When this happens it will be out anywhere from a few seconds to up to 10 minutes so far. This failure causes the cruise control to stop working as well as the collision warning, emergency braking, and pedestrian safety to fail to operate. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Trouble starting car as if there were no gas in engine. Radar warning coming on with no obstruction and, trunk poping open at the same time. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |