CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2013-2017 Nissan Sentra has an expensive CVT transmission failure defect that shows up plainly in our complaint data.

In late 2019, the CVT defect was subject to a class action settlement. However the settlement only covers transmission repairs up to 7 years after purchase or 84,000 miles (whichever occurs first).

Because many owners commonly drive 20,000 miles/year or more, Sentra owners experiencing CVT transmission problems may find they are not covered by this settlement due to the mileage limitation.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
56,720 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2014 Nissan Sentra drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2014 Nissan Sentra Owner Comments (Page 7 of 9)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #47

Nov 242018

Sentra

  • 87,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Sensor/warning/check engine lights appear to not work. I was driving on the freeway when my vehicle started to shift erratically, the car would then barely move when pressing gas. After trying to accelerate more, the vehicle did not move at all. When the vehicle was taken to the dealership there were no warning lights such as a check engine light at all which made me believe there was nothing serious wrong with the vehicle. When it was inspected by Nissan technicians, they said the transmission was completely bad and needed to be replaced. This is a serious issue if the transmission is faulty and the fact that there was no indication that something wrong cause me serious potential danger as I was stuck in the middle of the freeway, unable to move. Because there was no indication that there was a problem with the transmission, this made it impossible to fix the issue early on so this could have been avoided.

- Rancho Cucamonga, CA, USA

problem #46

Nov 222018

Sentra

  • 75,000 miles
Had my car on the highway Oct.13,2018 for a 2hr trip...1hr into trip and my car knocked off the cruise control and began jerking with rpms jumping up and down. On return trip it did the same thing, but no warning lights ever appeared on dash. When checked, no red flags and after a day or 2 around town rpms did not jump. Nov.22,2018(just a little over 1 month) I put my car on the highway for the same trip and within an hour the car knocked off the cruise control, began jerking and rpms were jumping up and down. On the return trip back, 1hr and a half into trip, my car lost all aceleration power..pedal to the floor and it continued to drop speed from 70mph to 45 before I turned on hazards and stopped on the shoulder. Then finally the check engine light pops on! but my daughter and I were now stranded on the side of the busy highway. My car hit 75K miles during this 2nd trip, so first time was under 75K. After spending over an hour helpless, the car jumped back into gear and allowed me to drive it the remaining 20 miles, but once exiting the highway I could not acelerate to merge into street traffic and was almost rear-ended. There has been no mention of any cvt issues when I take it in for routine maintenance. Now it's in need of repair badly! no other choice but to take it in to the Nissan dealer asap. I've been loyal to Nissan for many years having had a 1995 and 2002 Sentra for years...I haven't even had this 2014 for 2 yet, and if being stuck on the side of the highway with a young child or almost being rear-ended due to loss of power to engine doesn't scream 'we need a safety recall' what will??

- Olive Branch, MS, USA

problem #45

Nov 162018

Sentra

  • miles
My car would jerk when going into second gear. It was slight at first. It didn't matter if I was starting from a dead stop or slowing to turn then accelerating. Later on it began the shaking later accompanied by a whine. This began around 65K miles. There was no mention of any problems cvt issues when I took it in for routine maintenance. The rpms would jump up or drop down while driving highway speeds. Now its in need of replacement badly because if I got off highway and had no pedal when I pressed accelerator taking it in to the Nissan dealer

- Middletown, VA, USA

problem #44

Nov 052018

Sentra

  • 106,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Vehicle was in motion and then suddenly as I turned out into the middle of the street it would not move! I had to push the gas pedal all the way to the floor just to avoid being hit by oncoming traffic. I took car to dealership and transmission is going out. I have only had car for two years. Nissan knows that the cvt transmissions are defective and are still putting consumers at risk. At minimum they should be offering option to purchase extended warranty.

- Mableton, GA, USA

problem #43

Sep 182014

Sentra

  • 82,000 miles
Transmission is not changing the gears correctly. When driving on a city street or highways and pulling off from a complete stop the vehicle drives off as if it is pulling a load and then when it should be changing in the 2nd or 3rd gear it starts to slip out of gear as if it is going in neutral and then you feel roughness in the changing of gears.

- Chicago, IL, USA

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problem #42

Jan 012018

Sentra

  • 65,000 miles
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Sentra. While the contact's wife was driving 65 mph, the tachometer fluctuated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to moses Nissan of huntington (5200 us route 60 East, huntington, wv 25706, 304-736-5291) where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed. The vehicle was repaired, but the remedy failed and the tachometer continued to fluctuate. The manufacturer was notified and stated that they would assist. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000. The VIN was not available.

- Kenova, WV, USA

problem #41

Oct 112018

Sentra 4-cyl

  • 87,393 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While operating under normal everyday driving on a city street a stop light the car just shuts down. Had a new transmission put in at under 90,000 miles. And then it happened again. At a light, the car just shuts down in the middle of the road and won't move......

- Everett, WA, USA

problem #40

Aug 282018

Sentra

  • 112,000 miles
The transmission in my car went out. The car is only four years old. The check engine light came on and the car will not go pass twenty miles an hour. If I turn it off and back on it will run for a while, but if it stops at a light of stop sign, it will not go again.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #39

Sep 042018

Sentra

  • 91,000 miles
No recall yet but seen over 159 complaints of the season problem, 80000 - 90000 miles!! driving the car and it starts revving itself and R guage bounces from 2 to 3 and back down!! called to see what the problem could be and the mechanic said most likey the transmission and that this problem is too common! does not matter the speed you ate traveling!! this happened on the highway!

- Woodbury, TN, USA

problem #38

Aug 302018

Sentra

  • 77,000 miles
Cvt needs to be replaced and car isn't even at 80,000miles

- Villa Park, IL, USA

problem #37

Mar 072018

Sentra

  • 85,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Sentra. While driving 50 mph, the vehicle decelerated and shook violently. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was pushed off the road by another driver and the contact powered off the engine. The vehicle was restarted, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed, but no failure code was found. The vehicle was not repaired. In addition, while driving, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was able to coast to the side of the road. The vehicle was pushed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure recurred. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000. The VIN was not available.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #36

Aug 062018

Sentra

  • 75,000 miles
Got my oil changed, car only at 75,000 miles and 1 year old. The acceleration of my car just stopped while I was driving up a hill, the engine shaking uncontrollably. Shortly after had it towed, and now it won't accelerate at all. Cvt transmission completely went out.

- Cedar Hill, MO, USA

problem #35

Jul 302018

Sentra

  • 54,000 miles
On 7/30/2018 I was driving, when I came to a stop my 2014 Nissan Sentra sr with 54,000 miles on it stalled. I thought it may be a fluke, but kept happening. This only happened when in gear and at a complete stop. If I was in park or neutral it would not stall. Took it to the dealership that day. Found out on 8/01/2018 that the torque convertor is bad and they are replacing the transmission.

- Overland Park, KS, USA

problem #34

Jun 272018

Sentra

  • 88,500 miles
Purchased my 2014 Sentra brand new(124 miles) in November 2014. I keep up with reg scheduled maint because I use my car for work, I'm in sales. Mid-June I started to experience a jolting from my car when I started to accelerate. Once I reached 40mph the jolting and tugging feeling would somewhat stop, that is until I had to slow down and then accelerate again. I had my spark plugs changed, throttle body cleaned, engine filter replaced, and it still jolted and tugged. Pretty much every year but 2014 is included in an extended warranty program from the crappy cvt. Took my vehicle to a transmission garage and they did a diagnostic test. Said cvt was bad, like all Nissan transmissions, and that it needed to be rebuilt. The price they were going to charge was a little steep but it also came with a 3 year warranty, anything happens to the transmission in 3 years and they fix for free. I was talked into going to Nissan to get a Nissan certified diagnostic and pay $105 for something I already knew. They called me 2 days after my appointment to tell me that it was indeed the cvt, surprise surprise. I made a claim with Nissan to see if I could get any out of regular warranty assistance for my 4 year old car that I still owe a lot of money on. After a week of waiting and $200+ dollars in rental car fees that I have to pay for waiting, Nissan gets back to me saying they can offer a little bit of assistance. I guess a little bit is better than nothing but now I am force to wait 2+ weeks bc the dealership only has 1 Nissan certified technician to work on 15 plus vehicles a day. There a 2 transmission jobs ahead of mine that have been waiting for a while and they did 6 cvt rebuilds last month. Nissan or their dealerships do not support their customers with loaners and they are only offering a 1 year/12K warranty on their work. Nissan is screwing all of us with this cvt issue!

- Centerville, OH, USA

problem #33

Jul 072018

Sentra

  • 113,000 miles
I was driving down the interstate at 75mph on the interstate and the car began shaking and rattling so hard I thought NY tire was falling off. I had to hit the brakes with a semi behind me and a semi beside me and try to get onto the shoulder from the left lane. Come to find out it is the cvt transmission that Nissan knew was bad in the first place

- Marshall, MO, USA

problem #32

Jul 062018

Sentra

  • 45,689 miles
This 2014 Nissan Sentra has been in my possession since September 12, 2015. The issue started up on Sunday, July 1, 2018. I noticed the car hesitating and "jerking" whenever I attempted to accelerate above 40 mph to reach highway speed. The problem increased dramatically over the week, and during my commute on Friday, July 6, 2018, my car was resisting accelerating, RPM would jump up and down while attempting to get to highway speeds and acceleration seemed to be the most difficult thing to accomplish. On my way back home from work on Friday July 6, 2018 is when the problem became blatantly dangerous. I ended up experiencing a sudden "drop" in speed on the highway. The car went from 65 mph to 30 mph and refused to go any faster. The RPM did jump dramatically at one point, from barely over 1 RPM leaping up to 7 rmp, though the car's speed did not increase. The car whined loudly when that happened, then it plummeted back down to the barely over 1 rmp. I managed to get the car back up to highway speed on a downhill portion of the highway, and got myself almost to my home. The car ceased to accelerate or even recognize I was pushing on the gas pedal after coming to a complete stop at an intersection 8 blocks from my home. I called my boyfriend who came down to assist a kind neighbor who heard me trying to get my car going by turning it on and back off numerous times to no avail. He thought it "simply needed transmission fluid", as the car sounded like it wanted to go....just couldn't "catch gears". this gentleman and my boyfriend ended up giving the Nissan a push/running start after I started it back up and put it into drive. Incredibly, this allowed the car to make the last 8 blocks to my driveway, where the car came to a very abrupt, halting stop after putting it into park. Terrified to drive it, my dealership is nearly 100 miles away..leaving me sol.

- Clearlake, CA, USA

problem #31

May 182017

Sentra

  • 60,000 miles
When you are trying to excellerate the vehicle will rev up the engine and will not go unless it jerks into gear. The check engine light is on and it says its the clutch pressure plate the car only has 62,000 miles on it and has been doing this for a year. Dealership says it will cost thousands of dollars to fix.

- Yucca Valley, CA, USA

problem #30

Feb 102016

Sentra

  • miles
About a year and half ago my car started acting like the transmission wasnt wanti G to pull when I question the dealership I am told thats just how the varible transmission works. It has only gotten worse. I bought the car brand new I woyld not have bought it if I would have known about the transmission problems. I can not afford a car note and to fix the transmission. Why are there previous years recalled and not the 2014?

- Memphis, TN, USA

problem #29

Jun 142018

Sentra

  • 97,000 miles
I was driving down the highway in Virginia and got off at my exit in woodbridge. When I got off at the exit, my car started revving, even though I was only doing 30 mph. My car then dropped down to 25 and the rpms kept revving. I'm in traffic, cars are swerving not to hit me because the speed limit is 40 mph. I ended up pulling into a shopping center where my car was still in drive but would not move when I put my foot on the gas. Since I was in Virginia to visit a friend, I drove my car with my hazard lights on for 2.5 (which took 20 minutes because I couldn't get over 25 mph) and parked it at his house. I ended up having it towed from Virginia back to Maryland the next Monday. I bought my car brand new off the lot with 36 miles on it. I had already had my transmission replace with the 36,000 mile warranty (Nissan had to replace it). This is dangerous. What if my transmission would have started stalling on 95 South? I might now have been filling this complaint right now.

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #28

May 252018

Sentra

  • 99,721 miles
I'm not even sure of what's going on with my car but what I do know is that I never had a problem with my car until the 25 of may, I was driving my car and all of a sudden it started stalling as I was turning on the freeway and wouldn't take power so I had to stomp the gas to make it go then I pull off the road because it started running like something had broke I called a tow truck and had it towed and had my mechanic look at it and he said it was my transmission.

- Roanoke Rapids, NC, USA

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