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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)

2 of 183 complaints match · Engine · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

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

Feb 20, 2020EngineFire1 injury

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2018 NISSAN SENTRA. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH, THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE. THE CONTACT STATED SHE MAY HAVE SEEN SMOKE FROM UNDER THE HOOD NEAR THE WINDSHIELD WIPER. THE CONTACT STATED SHE KEPT DRIVING UNTIL SHE SAW FLAMES AND ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATING AS WELL AS THE DOOR LOCKS UNLOCKING AND LOCKING AUTOMATICALLY. THE CONTACT STATED HAD TO KICK THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR SEVERAL TIMES TO EXIT THE VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS CALLED AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. A FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SEVERAL DAYS LATER SHE SOUGHT MEDICAL ATTENTION FOR HER EAR AND DISCOVERED THAT A PART OF THE AIR BAGS WAS FOUND IN HER EAR AS SHE HAS LOST HEARING IN HER LEFT EAR. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A TOW LOT AND DEEMED A TOTAL LOSS. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE 40,000.

NHTSA ODI 11310332

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 →