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What 202 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 Nissan Sentra Nismo

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 (202)Crash / fire / injury (21)Electrical system (57)Transmission & drivetrain (49)Brakes (36)Driver assistance (31)Lights (26)Engine (19)Airbags (14)Speed control (12)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (5)Fuel system (5)

36 of 202 complaints match · Brakes · clear filters · page 2 of 2

Jan 11, 2021BrakesDriver assistance

OUR 2019 SENTRA WON'T START AND WE ENDED UP BUYING A BATTERY AND IT STILL WON'T START. FROM THE RESEARCH I'VE DONE LOOKS LIKE A BREAKING SENSOR. DUE TO THE. REAL LIGHTS NOT LIGHTING UP AT ALL. SEEMS TO BE A REOCCURRING THING FOR SENTRAS. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND POTENTIAL LAWSUIT DUE TO THE CAR TURNING OFF ON THE ROAD.

NHTSA ODI 11387628

Jan 9, 2021AirbagsBrakesDriver assistanceCrash2 injuries

LAST MONTH I WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT THAT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF MY SENSORS WERE WORKING PROPERLY, MY EMERGENCY BRAKE SYSTEM DID NOT EMPLOY AFTER BEING INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT I USED MY STANDARD BRAKE THE CAR WENT DOWN BEING REAR-ENDED SOMEBODY BUT I HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO STOP WITH ONLY THE FRONT BRAKES TO BULLYING ALLOWED MY CAR TO NOSEDIVE AND SLIDE EMERGENCY BRAKE WAS NOT RELEASED AND STOPPED WORKING BECAUSE OF SENSORS WERE NO LONGER TELLING THE CAR TO BREAK I HAD FULL COVERAGE INSURANCE AND INSURANCE AND NOT COVERING MY CAR BECAUSE THE CAR LOT DID NOT ADVISE ME OF HIS PROBLEM OR THE RECALLS ON THIS CAR I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH MY CREDIT FOR OVER 2 YEARS NOW AND BECAUSE I'M NEGLECTED TO TELL ME WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE CAR I HAVE TO SET FOR NOW, AND I ALSO NOTICED THAT ONLY THE DRIVER SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYED AND ME AND MY DAUGHTER WERE IN THE CAR AND THAT WAS THE ONLY SAFETY FEATURE THAT WAS RELEASED WITH MY CREDIT BEING BAD I WAS FORCED TO A HIGH APR RATE AND NEARLY $40,000 FOR A NISSAN SENTRA THAT WASN'T WORTH $0.25

NHTSA ODI 11387269

Nov 13, 2020BrakesDriver assistance

MY CAR FREQUENTLY CHIMES WITH THE FORWARD COLLISION WARNING / EMERGENCY BRAKE ASSIST AS THOUGH THERE IS A CHANCE OF A COLLISION. WHEN IT DOES THIS, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN FRONT OF MY CAR! WHEN LEAVING WORK 2 DAYS AGO, I STARTED TO CROSS A LITTLE BUMP IN THE ROAD THAT I CROSS DAILY WITH NO ISSUES; THIS PARTICULAR INSTANCE HOWEVER, MY CAR DECIDED THAT IT WAS AN APPARENT COLLISION BECAUSE MY CAR CAME TO A DEAD STOP FROM ABOUT 15-20 MILES PER HOUR. FORTUNATELY MY HUSBAND AND I WERE BOTH WEARING OUR SEATBELTS, AND NO ONE WAS BEHIND US AS IT WOULD HAVE CERTAINLY CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. THE SENSOR/RADAR FOR THE FORWARD COLLISION/EMERGENCY BRAKE ASSIST IS A HAZARD IN MY OPINION. THE CONCEPT IS FANTASTIC, BUT IF IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK PROPERLY, THEN IT NEEDS TO BE REMOVED FROM VEHICLES, OR AT LEAST BE ABLE TO BE DISABLED INDEFINITELY, NOT JUST WHILE YOU'RE OPERATING THE VEHICLE ONLY TO HAVE TO REMEMBER TO DISABLE THE FUNCTION NEXT TIME YOU'RE DRIVING.

NHTSA ODI 11374549

Oct 2, 2020BrakesEngine

BRAND NEW NISSAN WITH LESS THAN 11K MILES AND BEEN HAVING NONSTOP ISSUES WITH STARTING THE CAR. THERE'S BEEN MULTIPLE OCCASIONS WHERE THE BRAKE BECOMES VERY STIFF AND HARD EVEN THOUGH THE CAR HAVEN'T SAT FOR LONG. I'VE BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND CALLED SEVERAL ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE AND STILL HAVE NO SOLUTION TO FIX IT. I'VE SEEN AND READ HUNDREDS OF FORUMS ONLINE AND DECIDED TO CHANGE MY BRAKE SWITCH AND I'M STILL HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM.

NHTSA ODI 11362491

Nov 20, 2019AirbagsSeatsBrakes

THE FRONT BUMPER SENSOR IS DETECTING THINGS IN THE ROAD THAT AREN'T THERE AND AUTOMATICALLY APPLYING THE BRAKES ON MY CAR. WHEN THIS HAPPENS, THERE'S A LOUD ALMOST GRINDING SOUND AND THE CAR BRAKES VERY HARD. THE OTHER ISSUE I'M HAVING IS THE CAR WILL SOMETIMES DETECT SOMEONE IN THE PASSENGER SEAT WHEN IT'S EMPTY AND TURN ON THE BUCKLE SEAT BELT LIGHT AND TURN OFF THE AIR BAG OFF LIGHT FOR THE PASSENGER SEAT.

NHTSA ODI 11281376

Nov 20, 2019Transmission & drivetrainElectronic Stability Control (esc)BrakesCrash3 injuries

DRIVING ON FREEWAY LESS THAN 35 MPH, CAR MADE LOUD NOISE FOR 1-2 MINUTES AT SAME TIME I FELT UNDER FLOOR BOARD SOMETHING PULLING. I TRIED TO SLOW DOWN, BRAKES DIDN'T WORK. I REAR ENDED A CAR. THE CAR GEAR SHIFT POPPED INTO REVERSE; I PRESSED HARDER ON BRAKES & THEY FINALLY WORKED. I NOTICED A BIG LIGHT ON THE DASHBOARD SAYING 'MALFUNCTION, CHECK OWNERS MANUAL' THERE WAS A GRAY SYMBOL NEAR THESE WORDS. INSIDE THE SPEEDOMETER CIRCLE THAT SAME SYMBOL APPEARED IN BRIGHT YELLOW. AT SOME POINT WITHIN AN HOUR 2 MORE YELLOW SYMBOLS APPEARED ON THE FAR LEFT OF THE DASH, A YELLOW TRIANGLE WITH AN EXPLANATION POINT, AND A CAR WITH 2 CURVED LINES BEHIND THE BACK TIRES. WHEN THE CAR WAS RETURNED TO THE DEALERSHIP I PURCHASED IT FROM, THE STAFF IMMEDIATELY ATTEMPTED TO BLAME ME FOR THE INCIDENT'ASKING WHY DIDN'T I BRING THE CAR IN FOR SERVICE? AND THAT I HAVE TO GET A RENTAL CAR AND MY CAR REPAIR THROUGH MY INSURANCE COMPANY. HE PUSHED THE IDEA OF GETTING THE CAR REPAIRED. I STATED I JUST BARELY GOT THE CAR 3-4 WEEKS AGO BRAND NEW. I LEFT THE CAR TO BE CHECKED BY SERVICE DEPARTMENT. THE NEXT DAY THE SERVICE MANAGER DENIED ANY MALFUNCTION SAYING THERE WASN'T ANY CURRENT CODES JUST PAST CODES; I ASKED WHAT THAT MEANT HE SAID A BRAKE SENSOR AND SOME OTHER DATA I DIDN'T COMPREHEND. HE SAID GET MY INSURANCE TO FIX THE CAR. I SAID NO SIR, I WANT MORE INFORMATION ON WHY THE CAR MALFUNCTION FIRST. ONCE I EXPLAIN TO HIM AGAIN WHAT HAPPENED HE SAID HE WOULD HAVE HIS FORMAN CHECK OUT THIS CAR THE NEXT MORNING; HOWEVER LESS THAN AN HOUR THE SERVICE MANAGER ME BACK TO SAY HE TALKED TO A FIELD TECH ENGINEER AND WAS ADVISED THAT I HAD A RIGHT TO CALL NISSAN CORP TO MAKE A REPORT. I WENT BY SRVC DPT TO GET SOMETHING, THEY TRIED TO GET TO TAKE/REPAIR MY CAR. I DIDN'T. ONCE I SPOKE TO NISSAN CORP THEY SAID IT TAKE 6-8 WEEKS FOR INVESTIGATION ETC TO BE COMPLETED AND FOR ME NOT TO GET CAR REPAIRED.

NHTSA ODI 11281415

Oct 28, 2019Brakes

FRONT RADAR SENSOR IS FAULTY. CAUSING EMERGENCY BRAKING FEATURE TO BECOME DISABLED.

NHTSA ODI 11271449

Oct 12, 2019Electrical systemBrakesCrash

TRAVELING IN TRAFFIC ABOUT 35 MPH ALL OF A SUDDEN TRAFFIC CAME TO STOP. I APPLIED MY BRAKES AND DID NOT GRAB RIGHT AWAY I TURNED THE STEERING WHEEL TO AVOID HITTING THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. I HIT MY FRONT LEFT CORNER IN THE BACK RIGHT CORNER OF THE OTHER VEHICLE. MY AIR BAGS DID NOT DISCHARGED,MY FRONTAL BRAKE SENSOR GAVE NO WARNINGS . I JUST HAD MY VEHICLE INSPECTED LAST WEEK. I FILED A CLAIM WITH MY INSURANCE COMPANY, MADE A POLICE REPORT. TWO WEEKS AGO I WAS AT THE DEALER ASKING IT THERE WAS ANY RECALLS BECAUSE MY SENSOR LIGHTS COMES ON WHEN NOTHING IS IN FRONT OF ME. I WAS TOLD THAT THERE IS NO RECALLS ON MY VEHICLE. THAT THE RECALL ON THE FRONT SENSOR WAS FOR THE NISSAN ROGUE WHERE THE VEHICLE BRAKES ON ITS OWN.

NHTSA ODI 11268061

Sep 6, 2019Brakes

FRONT RADAR OBSTRUCTION LIGHT ON NO AEB AVAILABLE WHILE DRIVING

NHTSA ODI 11253555

May 13, 2019Speed controlBrakes

FAULTY RADAR ON FRONT OF MY CAR CAUSED SPEED CONTROL AND EMERGENCY BRAKING SYSTEM TO MALFUNCTION WHILE IN MOTION. THIS OCCURRED SPORADICALLY SINCE NEW AND THEN CONSTANTLY FOR LAST 3 MONTHS. I FINALLY TOOK THE CAR IN FOR TROUBLESHOOTING LAST WEEK AND THE RADAR UNIT ON THE FRONT OF THE CAR WAS REPLACED. THIS FIXED THE PROBLEM BUT IT SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO SOMEONES ATTENTION BECAUSE OF THE SAFETY HAZARDS INVOLVED.

NHTSA ODI 11207263

Dec 12, 2018Electrical systemSpeed controlBrakes

I PURCHASE 2019 NISSAN SENTRA ON 11/6/2019 WITH 15 MILES AT NISSAN OF MUSKOGEE. SINCE PURCHASE THE AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING (AEB) SYSTEM DEACTIVATES AND SHOWS A WARNING ON THE DASHBOARD 'FRONT RADAR UNAVAILABLE DUE TO OBSTRUCTION.' A CRASH ICON ALSO ON DASHBOARD AT ALL TIMES. NO CRUISE CONTROL. THE CAR IS OUT OF BALANCE. THE SENSOR COMES ON AT ALL TIME WETHER OR NOT THERE ARE OTHER VEHICLE NEAR THE CAR. THE DEALERSHIP AND SERVICE DEPARTMENT ALLEGES THAT I AM THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS PROBLEM AND THE PARTS NOT AVAILABLE. I BROUGHT IT IN TO SERVICE. THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE BARELY LOOK AT THE CAR NOR CHECK CODES. THE BALANCE IS WORSE. THIS IS CAUSE BY A FAULTY DEFECTIVE RADAR SENSOR IN THE FRONT GRILL. SERVICE IS NOW WAITING FOR PARTS THAT NISSAN CAN'T GET ANYWHERE.

NHTSA ODI 11161043

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Working with the data? Download all 202 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 21, 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 2019 Nissan Sentra Nismo verdict →