This car has given me HELL! It all started with the pumping gas that spits back out when you're refueling. The car hesitates when starting. It has been doing it after riding the care for a year. Mechanic said he did not know what it was but he found nothing.Then the check engine light came on the third year.Checked the codes it said I needed Mass Air Flow Sensor, Oxygen Sensor, Replace Spark Plugs, Replace Engine Coils. I did all that & it cost me 1000 in repairs. After all that the light came on a week later. This time just had the code reset because I replaced everything. Finally a year later I noticed coolant kept running out too fast but mechanics saw no leaks. Check Engine light codes said something was wrong with the Vacuum, catalytic converter checked & nothing wrong. Finally car really had problems starting - tried to give it gas & it would start but hesitated. Came out one morning to go to work and it would not start. Got it towed to the mechanic, he said 1600 to fix gasket if could be fixed or more if it can't. I did everything possible to keep my car running well, that a consumer could do by following maintenance scheduled. I WILL NEVER BUY THIS CAR OR ANY OTHER NISSAN MODEL. I brought it brand new and it should not have failed like that. I had a 1990 honda accord with 200000 miles before the engine failed and transmission going bad. And it was used and I got it at 99000 miles. DO NOT, I REPEAT, BUY A NISSAN A PILE OF SxxT also parts are extremely high.

I bought this car from Grote Automotive in Fort Wayne, IN. I would recommend that you do not buy a car from there! They say that they do a 115 point inspection, but I'm sure if they did they would have know that the head was blown. I started having problems with it from day one. It had issues starting when it was warm and the antifreeze leaked out the first day. They had me take it to their retarded mechanic who fixed something that had absolutely nothing to do with the problem. Then when I took the initiative to figure out on my own what the problem was they were suddenly MIA. I would also not recommend that anyone buy a 2005 NISSAN SENTRA. I think that the Nissan dealership should also be held responsible for this because from lots of research that I have done they know that this is an issue with this model, yet refuse to recall the head.

My story seems to be very common after reading other nightmares like mine. December 23, 2010 while driving my 05 Sentra, the heat stops working. When I get home 10 minutes later I pop the hood. The coolant reservoir tank is bubbling and coolant is splattered everywhere. I bring it to the garage the next day and they replace the thermostat and water pump, covered under extended warranty. On the way home there still is no heat. I'm back at the garage 5 days later to remedy. They tell me i have a warped head that will need to be removed. The warranty company inspects the damage and determines there was excessive heat and I am to blame. I should have known there was an inferno inside the engine while the gauges and temperature lights were normal. They wont cover my expenses. I was furious beyond belief. (Never buy an extended warranty. Ever.) After weeks of bickering and legal action that got me nowhere, I am stuck with the $1500 bill. I called my local nissan dealer to get their take and they were not surprised. They think nothing of 1 or 2 blown head gaskets a year on Nissan engines. What does that say about Nissan zero quality. I've driven a 95 Altima that was a rock and lasted 180000 miles but now Nissan is in the toilet. I am done with nissan forever. You'd be much better off with a smart car.

I thought I had found a fantastic deal when I bought my 2005 Sentra!!!! It was a 1 owner car with only 15000 miles.

I have owned the vehicle 7 months and it started running rough and the heater only worked while moving and would blow cold air when stopped.

Took it to the shop twice before they determined it had a head gasket issue.

They called on the warranty and was told it expired in Dec.... go figure

Car at the shop being repaired and I am NOT a happy camper.

If the car had 200,000 miles on it that would be one thing but 30,000.... come on Nissan, this is so unacceptable!

This car has never run right. I bought it new in 2005 complained several times to the dealer & they said there was nothing wrong with the car. The heater stopped working & I didn't even bother with the dealer, just drove around with my heavy coat on. Finally the service engine light came on and the dealer said we have a blown head gasket. They kept my car for a few days and said it was fixed. Picked it up and after driving maybe 10 miles it's missing again. I didn't even bother with it, by then I'm used to the hesitating engine. 2 years later my service engine light came on again. brought it into the dealer and its blown another head gasket. I don't want to sell it to some unsuspecting sucker so I guess I will trade it in. This really sucks because I just paid the damn thing off and was hoping to go a few years without car payments. I hope the next owner buys the warranty.

I have the same complaint as all other 2005 Nissan Sentra owners on this site. Blown head gasket.

My car has never overheated. My engine light had come on and it started running rough. The heater wouldn't work if you were idling.

Warranty had just expired, so I brought it to a local mechanic, who said the coil ignition switch needed to be replaced. After I got off the phone with Him, I googled 2005 Sentra and found this site. I called my mechanic and told him to check the head gasket. He called back later to confirm it. No chance I would fix this piece of crap.

Went car shopping and brought a used Ford Taurus and traded in the Sentra. He called 2 Nissan Sentra Dealerships and both dealers warn him that the head gasket may be blown. I was up front with him before that, so it didn't matter.

This was my 2nd Sentra.......IT was also my last.

So thanks for the Lemon.......You are on my permanent Sh*t List.

Just got off the phone with Nissan Consumer affairs(800-nissan1). I called because my moms nissan continues to have the same problem of over heating and a loss of heat in the vehicle. Oh by the way, the lady at nissan is Margaret Jones at extension 47139. We have the car at the shop now and face a repair bill of $1106.00 samolians!!! The "we" is my sister and I cause ma can't afford (head gasket failure) the repair cost. Long story short Margaret said I had to take it to nissan for repair or they will not help with the repair costs. The fact that they would even consider paying for the repair suggests that they know there is a problem (its an implied admission of guilt). We didn't know that and since the car is already being fixed somewhere else she said I was out of luck. Think I just got screwed with my pants on! For those of you who say you won'y buy another nissan, cars break down, engineers are human. Relax and have a Merry Christmas.

So this piece of sh*t car that i bought brand new failed on me after 5 years. I had a similar problem 8 months ago but it was fixed...kinda. We replaced the radiator and the car worked fine until last week, when the car started to overheat and was not driveable. My mechanic told me that the head gasket is shot and that is exactly what i was scared of when i read this forum 8 months ago.

MEMBERS OF THIS SITE, THIS IS AN OFFER TO JOIN TOGETHER AND MAKE A COMPLAINT TO NISSAN AS A GROUP TO EITHER REIMBURSE OUR REPAIR COST OR BASICALLY SUE THEM. I KNOW THERE IS NOT MUCH WE CAN DO ALONE, BUT AS A GROUP WE CAN FIGHT THIS! PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT THIS!!!

Our check engine light came on for the second time. We currently have around 140K miles. The first time the check engine light came on we got the usual symptoms, losing water in the radiator reservoir, rough idle, etc. But I thought what the heck....it's a nissan, nissan's are built like a rock. Boy was I wrong, the condition worsened fast and one morning the car would no longer start. I brought the car to the shop but at that point, water had been circulating throughout the engine to the point that the spark plugs were rusted in. We not only had to replace the gasket but also the entire head. I can't recall how much I paid but I think it was around $2000.

Now the check engine light is coming on again. Hope it's not the same problem because if so, this model is a lemon. I also own a 1997 toyota rav4 with over 300K miles and no engine problems like this. I hope Nissan is monitoring in on this site and would consider some sort of recall or at least giving some sort of compensation to 2005 sentra owners who encountered this problem.

I have been having quite a run around with the Nissan dealership here for over 3 months. My gasket has never been replaced to date. Though it desperately has to be as engine light on for 3 months. I have been taking my car back to the dealership since May. It has heavy shaking and rattling on a cold start up. And the engine light is on. I only have 34,000 kilometers.

My 5 year warranty expired in April 2010 when I first felt the problem, but because it went away I thought it my imagination.

I paid for the $200.00 diagnostic May 10, and they told me the car was firing up on 3 cylinders instead of 4. They swapped 2 coils. They manually turned off the engine light and told me to come back if it happens again. This procedure has happened 3 times now with a 4 hour wait each time.

The last visit (June 23)they were busy and actually told me they had checked out the car - and had not. I waited another hour for them to tell me it was the head gasket and it would cost approx $3000.00!!! At this point I still have the heavy shaking and rattling on a cold start up. And the engine light is still on.

I have a complaint into Nissan Canada as well since July 5. I feel this is a faulty gasket that Nissan has to own up to. I have follow up calls to them July 20 and 28 but they know nothing. In the meantime I am afraid to drive the car. I will never buy another Nissan!!

Update: August 4: The dealership contacted me July 30. The dealership and Nissan Canada are offering to cover a percent of the cost. I am taking my car into the dealership tomorrow again. They will be sending the gasket out somewhere for some testings, where we go from here I am uncertain.

On cold start heavy shaking and misses and engine light on "again".

After them swapping 2 coils "again" in May and on June 4 car ran OK for about one week.

I phoned them, and they said it was doing it again. They said they would order in the parts I needed from the last suggestion. The parts would be in 3-5 days.

Return car to dealership for 3rd time June 29. After another 4 hour wait they tell me after looking at my car I should get the 4 ignition coils and spark plugs replaced and they will do so. However I asked them how they knew this for sure? I told them I was not happy for all this wasted time and that I didn't think Nissan was handling this well. I asked what proof they had that all of a sudden they knew for sure what it was. He said they would look again and to come back in 2 hours I did so. When I returned I could tell they had not moved my car, and I knew this for sure because I had to park a bit crooked because of the car beside me. He said "oh yes we moved it and looked at it, we just put it in the same stall." I really was upset and realized how much they were lying to me. So he quickly got someone to take it in to the service garage. He then came out and said you need to replace your gasket!! I said what if I had just replaced all the other stuff you wanted me to do that didn't need to be done. How do I know now it is the gasket!!! He took me into the back and showed it to me, which didn't really make any difference to me. I told him that he has confused me so much that I no longer no what to do. He said to call Nissan complaint 1-800 #. I said that the gasket should not have to be replaced with a car that has had all its checks and oil changes and scheduled mntce for 5 years. He agreed that it was usually in much older cars. I told him about all the complaints I googled and that the gasket was faulty from the beginning. I also told him that the customer should not have to deal with this and that the dealership should do something about it for me. He said he would talk to his boss John and get back to me. He told me my car was unsafe to drive as it will overheat and if so to pull over right away!! I told him I am a caregiver for my 89 yr old father and that is not good enough. I also told him I was not in a position to pay $3000.00 for a faulty Nissan issue. He agreed. Again they turned off my engine light and told me he would call when he spoke to John. A few days later he called back to say "John" would be willing to take 10-15% of labour charges. I was not happy. I called Nissan 1-800 # and gave them all this info from these 3 visits on July 5, but have not heard back yet.

I will never buy or recommend anyone buying a Nissan.

I bought a 2005 Nissan Sentra for my niece about 3 years ago. Since having bought it there have been problems with the thermostat, car overheating, constantly having to add coolant, running rough, and now the head gaskets. Two months ago I took the car to a very well know mechanic chain of stores where I spent about %1500 having the thermostat, water pump and other things replaced. The car began "chugging" yesterday and wouldn't accelerate. Thank goodness she was near an exit off of the highway and was able to exit the highway without incident. I had the car towed to the mechanic shop (not the same one as two months ago) where they are now telling me the water pump was leaking causing the car to overheat and hence, cracked head gaskets!!! I find this very disconcerting considering the temp gauge on the car has not shown it as overheating. What the heck!!!!

So they are working on the car as I write this and tell me that if they don't find an actual cracked head then it will cost me about $2,000 for this repair and will take a couple of days. This is not right. Considering going to the repair shop that replaced the water pump a couple of months ago to attempt to have them reimburse me something since it appears they either did not install the water pump correctly or installed a defective pump. If it had been installed correctly and is not defective then I don't understand how this could have happened. From all of the postings I've read I am now wondering if I would be better served to simply trade the car in on an American made vehicle and not keep putting money into this obviously piece of crap someone calls a car.

Same issues as May 2010.

(This car has gone to the same dealership for all its oil changes and scheduled maintenance for 5 years.)

In May I was sent home after they had swapped two coils and manually turned off the engine light. I had heavy shaking and misses on a cold start up. I was told to come back if it happened again.

After about one week it happened again. Engine lite on again too. I returned the car to the dealership June 4. They didn't have a record of what 2 coils they swapped in May, so swapped Cyl 4 with 1. Another 4 hours waiting. Told me I probably need to replace all 4 ignition coils & spark plugs. A worse case scenario would be a head gasket replacement. I questioned the care taken with my car and my low kilometer reading and he agreed. Again they manually turned off the engine light and told me to come back if it happened again.

Really getting fed up.

Car running a bit rough on start up for about a month. Worsened to misses and high idle upon start up when car cold, where I thought it was going to stall. Putting car into gear and moving corrected shaking etc and car ran smooth all day. Except engine light came on and stayed on.

Took car into dealership on second day. They said it was probably starting on 3 cylinders instead of 4. They did a diagnostic test. They were not sure but thought it was firing up on 3 cylinders instead of 4. They swapped 2 coils. They manually turned off the engine light and said to come back if the problems returned.

What can I say? A blown head gasket is expensive. I've heard this happens on cars with higher mileage, but my mom's Honda didn't have this problem at over 140,000 miles, nor has my fiance's Chevy at almost 140,000. I can honestly say that my fiance has had fewer problems with her 2000 Chevy Cavaliere, with almost 140,000 miles on it, and spent less money in upkeep, than I have with my 2005 Nissan Sentra with just over 120,000 miles. Needless to say, I WILL NOT buy Nissan again- Despite having 3 Nissan's in my family in the past that were excellent, and that being the reason I bought a Nissan. I have had other problems with this car (fuel pump replacement issues- one under warranty, one not, which cost close to $600). If Nissan knows that the head gasket on this model is faulty (which I don't know that they do) then they should recall it.

My car ran hot, a head gasket was blown. My 5 year warranty expired six weeks ago. I was told by Nissan North America, they would pay for my car repairs. I later rec'd a call back telling me, the board declined to pay for my repairs.

I have driven Nissan for many years. I've owed two other Sentra and a Maxium, never had any problems. If I am not reimbursed by Nissan, I plan to contact an attorney. There are countless complaints regarding this issue on other sites. Nissan should recall this car again for the head gasket problem. Exactly what is the problem Nissan?? You have gone from suger to sh*t!