CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2013-2017 Nissan Sentra has an expensive CVT transmission failure defect that shows up plainly in our complaint data from the earlier model years in this same 7th generation Sentra.

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.

8.0

pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
No data
Average Mileage:
34,000 miles
Total Complaints:
4 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. not sure (2 reports)
  2. replace transmission (2 reports)
2016 Nissan Sentra transmission problems

transmission problem

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2016 Nissan Sentra Owner Comments

problem #4

Jun 122022

Sentra SV 3.2L V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 96,500 miles

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

On June 10th, 2022 I was driving down the road and my car cut off on me, a.k.a stalled more than once. I took it to a Nissan dealer and they couldn’t tell me why, due to it cranking up just fine for them. Two, maybe three days later, my car went into limp mode and started throwing off codes for the transmission. Ever since my car stalled on me I’ve been having transmission issues. This Sentra has less than 97k miles with no indication of transmission issues. Back in 2016, there was a recall on 2016 Nissans for stalling while driving. Something needs to be done.

- Sarah H., Rockingham, US

problem #3

Feb 012017

Sentra

  • CVT transmission
  • 9,000 miles

I bought the car brand new. Before 9000 miles, I started hearing a high pitch noise on the passenger side while driving highway speeds. It was accompanied by the car veering to the right. I took it to the dealership in Grey Daniels Nissan in Jackson, MS. They decided it was the brakes. The brakes were supposedly glazed over. The service guy tried to make out like I would have to pay to get the brakes replaced. I told him if they were bad already, it should be covered under warranty. I was not going to pay to replace them. They had to order the brake pads. I came back two days later. I said in the waiting room two hours before I found out they had not arrived like they were supposed to. So I had to come back another day.

- Stefanie L., Ridgeland, US

problem #2

Aug 022017

Sentra

  • CVT transmission
  • 18,500 miles

After the moving, I was finally able to take this pain in the butt car to the Murfreesboro Nissan Dealership. After about three hours...I'm told the transmission is going out. That's what the high pitch noise is. Oh, so you mean to tell me for the past 10,000 miles and about five trips to another Nissan dealer, you figure out it's the transmission. Just as it is out of the one year Lemon Law warranty. Seems like a set up.

Luckily, the Mississippi Lemon Law says that if you have taken the vehicle more than three times in the year and continue having problems, it should still be covered. So I was told we will just replace the transmission. I said that's not exactly an okay fix at this point. I asked him was there some way to replace the car. He said no. So I have wasted 15 to 20 hours sitting in Nissan dealerships with them trying to figure out what is wrong with this thing, only to find out that it has been going out for the past 10,000 miles. I called the Jackson Dealership and asked them to send me all of my invoices. They send about three that are correct. Some that should have been multiple invoices they rolled into one and used the same invoice number on multiple trips. I still have not gotten the one for the very last trip in which they supposedly "cleaned" things to get rid of the noises. They emailed me an invoice for a completely different person. I was also told that the genius that had been handling me and my car no longer works for the company...why did he ever work there in the first place? And how exactly does that help me in my situation? I also called the gentleman that sold me the car. He said based on the information that I had given him, the car should be covered under the Buy Back Program.

I had also called the Customer Service number to talk to someone about this. They assigned me to a Regional something or other named Amanda. She attempted to call me, but I was at work so I missed it. I called her back pretty quickly...no answer. I attempted to call about 20 more times that day...no answer to any and did not receive a call back. I called Customer Service and was told she had noted she tried to call me and could not get back to me by 1:30 so she would try again the next day. He also told me she called my old job. I asked why she would have called that number when I specifically stated that she should call my cell phone. So the next day after I called her about 3 times right after she was supposed to be available, she finally called me back. She informed me that she would have to submit some information and they would have to call the other dealership and get their side of the story and find out some information from them. I informed her that I had gotten an electronic copy of said invoices and could forward them to her. She said that she could not take those. She needed to speak with them. I also mentioned to her how they had put multiple days under the same invoice number. She then said she would investigate it and pass the info along. It will be at least 10 business days before any decision is rendered on if it is covered under the Buy Back Program. So I informed her that I will not make any further payments on the hunk of junk. I did not buy a brand new car to deal with this much extra junk.

I have purchased used cars from Ford, Pontiac, Chevrolet, and Camry with 100K-150K miles and never had to spend this much time with them at a dealership getting fixed. COMPLETELY ridiculous!!! Do yourself a favor and DO NOT BUY A NISSAN!!!

- Stefanie L., Ridgeland, US

problem #1

Mar 262017

Sentra

  • CVT transmission
  • 12,000 miles

So back to Grey Daniels Nissan I go. Let's see if the third time is the charm. Now the car has started making the noises on not one, but BOTH sides of the car. If the noise came from the passenger side, the car veered to the right. If it came from the left side, it veered to the left. Loads of fun when driving through Birmingham, AL or Memphis, TN trying to make sure when the car does decide to act crazy, that you don't run someone off the road or run off the road yourself.

I had them also look at the scrubbing noises it was making when applying the brakes. After two hours or so, I was told the tech can't hear any noise. I was rather irritated by this time. So many trips here, and these people do not know anything about working on a vehicle!! I asked for the service manager and had him ride in the car with me. Before we made it out of the parking lot, he heard the scrubbing noise! WOW! So he asked me to bring it back the next day so they could work on it. I was finally told after they kept my car ALL day, that they had removed the brakes and rotors and "cleaned the dust off" so they wouldn't make the scrubbing noise. They finally dropped by car off. I asked where the invoice for the work was. I was told o I didn't bring it but I will mail it to you. But it never showed up....By this point I had gotten a new job and knew I would be moving to another state, so I did not even waste any more time dealing with these morons.

- Stefanie L., Ridgeland, US

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