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What 183 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Nissan Sentra

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (183)Crash / fire / injury (20)Transmission & drivetrain (45)Brakes (40)Electrical system (32)Driver assistance (24)Engine (22)Speed control (19)Lights (14)Airbags (9)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (7)Fuel system (7)

5 of 183 complaints match · Brakes · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Feb 1, 2022AirbagsBrakesCrash1 injury

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Sentra SV. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, she depressed the brake pedal and pressed the push start button but the vehicle failed to start. The warning message "Malfunction Indicator Light" illuminated. The contact stated that as she continued to depress the brake pedal and squeezed an unknown wire under the steering wheel, she was able to start the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring. The contact also stated that the brake pedal would make abnormal loud sounds and would intermittently hesitate to respond while driving. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed but failed to respond. The contact stated that she continued to depress the brake pedal but it failed to respond. The contact stated that as she was about to crash into the rear of the vehicle ahead of her, she veered off the road and crashed into a ditch. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained injuries on the shoulder and her friend who was in the front passenger seat did not sustain any injuries. The contact did not seek medical assistance. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to her friend's residence. A police report was filed. The dealer was notified of the failure. The contact received the recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V135000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that they could not assist as her vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

NHTSA ODI 11449812

Jun 21, 2021BrakesEngineFire

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the push to start button and brake pedal was depressed but the engine failed to start. The contact also stated that the RPM's would go to 5 when she depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle had a burning smell when driving. The contact stated the vehicle was previously serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V135000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) on June 11, 2021, at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 19,127.

NHTSA ODI 11421729

Apr 17, 2021LightsSpeed controlBrakesCrash

WHEN I BOUGHT THE CAR MY FRONT COLLISION SENSOR LIGHT WAS ON I HAD TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND I WAS TOLD IT WAS AFFECTED NOW THERE IS AN ACTIVE RECALL ON MY VEHICLE AND IT'S AFFECTING MY BRAKES MY LIGHTING AND MY SPEED CONTROL BECAUSE I CAN'T BREAK AND THEY HAVE NOT SENT ME A RECALL OR SEND ANY INFORMATION TO ME I FOUND THIS OUT ON MY CARFAX REPORT

NHTSA ODI 11408582

Oct 21, 2020BrakesFire

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 NISSAN SENTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START WHEN HER DAUGHTER ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE AND THAT THE FAILURE WOULD OCCURRED INTERMITTENTLY. IN ADDITION, ON ANOTHER OCCASION, THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE HER DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING 45 MPH, THE BRAKES FAILED TO FUNCTION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HER DAUGHTER WAS DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL BUT THE BRAKE WAS STOPPING THE VEHICLE. THE DRIVER WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND NOTICED THE BRAKE PAD FROM THE WHEEL WELL WAS SMOKING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SMOKE STARTED AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS STOPPED. THE CONTACT CALLED THE POLICE, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED. THE CONTACT ALSO MENTIONED THAT THE TWO FRONT TIRES GOT SO HOT THAT THEY MELTED THE WEIGHT THAT WAS ON THE RIMS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO WALSER NISSAN COON RAPIDS, 3300 129TH AVE NW, COON RAPIDS, MN 55448, AND WAS DIAGNOSED THAT TWO SENSOR THAT WAS NOT COMMUNICATING CORRECTLY WAS TELLING THE VEHICLE TO STOP. THE BRAKE AND STEERING ANGLE SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND PROVIDED A CASE NUMBER AND REFERRED THE CONTACT TO NHTSA. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 58,972.*DT*JB

NHTSA ODI 11365612

Jan 21, 2020Electrical systemSpeed controlBrakesCrash

I WAS DRIVING MY VEHICLE ABOUT 30 MPH, BEFORE I EVEN APPROACHED ANOTHER VEHICLE MY SENSORS BEGAN BEEPING QUICKER AS IF I WERE ABOUT TO HIT ANOTHER CAR. NO VEHICLE NEAR ME CLOSE ENOUGH FOR SENSOR TO BEGIN ALERTING ME. AS I TRIED TO SLOW DOWN , THEY BEGAN BEEPING VERY FAST AND I WAS UNABLE TO STOP, I WENT AROUND A CAR THAT WAS SITTING AT THE STOP SIGN TO AVOID REAR ENDING THEM, AND STILL REAR ENDED A PARKED CAR. POLICE WERE ON THE SCENE AND WITNESSED THE ACCIDENT. MY CAR WAS TOTALED DUE TO A MALFUNCTION

NHTSA ODI 11300743

Working with the data? Download all 183 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 7, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2018 Nissan Sentra verdict →