2013 Nissan Sentra Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Sentra years
- Far more complaints than other years 1st of 32 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 6 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- 4 out of 5 stars
Owners have filed 638 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Nissan Sentra. That is the most of any Sentra model year in the database (32 years). The most reported problem area is power train (311 complaints, 49%), typically at around 75,000 miles. Complaints mention 24 crashes, 4 fires, 20 injuries. There are 6 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 3 defect investigations involving it.
- 638owner complaints
- 6safety recalls
- 3NHTSA investigations
- 24complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2013 Nissan Sentra problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Train problems | 311 | 49% | 75,000 | “cvt transmission” (16%) | $5,250 |
| Air Bags problems | 96 | 15% | 16,050 | “air bag” (43%) | — |
| Service Brakes problems | 95 | 15% | 20,000 | “grinding noise” (15%) | — |
| Engine problems | 87 | 14% | 45,000 | — | $5,150 |
| Unknown or Other | 64 | 10% | 60,125 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control problems | 51 | 8% | 68,500 | “cvt transmission” (14%) | — |
| Electrical System | 43 | 7% | 29,000 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 33 | 5% | 57,749 | — | — |
| Steering | 16 | 3% | 58,250 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 13 | 2% | 31,000 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 13 | 2% | 24,270 | — | — |
| Suspension | 7 | 1% | 97,284 | — | — |
| Wheels | 7 | 1% | 73,000 | — | — |
| Structure | 5 | 1% | 490 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 4 | 1% | 3,200 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 4 | 1% | 51,000 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 3 | 0% | 101,500 | — | — |
| Seats | 3 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Visibility | 3 | 0% | 7,000 | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 3 | 0% | 8,050 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 2 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 1 | 0% | 91,000 | — | — |
| Lane Departure | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Tires | 1 | 0% | 17,000 | — | — |
| Traction Control System | 1 | 0% | 42,059 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2013 Nissan Sentra recalls (6)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Air bags:sensor:occupant classification
Problem: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2016 Sentra vehicles manufactured June 4, 2012, to April 9, 2016. The front passenger seat belt bracket may become deformed if it is used to secure a Child Restraint System (CRS). The deformed seat bracket may cause the Occupant Classification System (OCS) to incorrectly classify the installed CRS, resulting in the front passenger air bag to not be turned off as designed when a CRS is in the seat.
Risk: If the frontal passenger air bag deploys in the event of a crash when a child seat is installed in the front passenger seat, there will be an increased risk of injury to the child in the CRS.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will reinforce the seat belt bracket as well as reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU), free of charge. The recall began on June 13, 2016. Owners are warned not to install a CRS in the front seat. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669.
Air bags:sensor:occupant classification
Problem: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crash.
Risk: If the passenger frontal air bag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury.
Fix: Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669, Infiniti customer service at 1-888-833-3216 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.
Air bags:sensor:occupant classification; air bags:frontal
Problem: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima and Pathfinder vehicles, 2013-2014 Nissan Sentra vehicles, 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles, 2014-2015 Infiniti QX60 vehicles and 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid vehicles. The affected vehicles received an incorrect occupant classification system (OCS) control unit during a repair. These OCS control units may incorrectly classify the front passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.
Risk: If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger air bag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on November 30, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Air bags:frontal; electrical system:software
Problem: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, and Sentra, model year 2013 NV200 (aka Taxi) and Infiniti JX35 and model year 2014 Infiniti Q50 and QX60 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the occupant classification system (OCS) software may incorrectly classify the passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.
Risk: If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger airbag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on April 14, 2014. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Fuel system, gasoline:storage:tank assembly
Problem: Nissan is recalling certain model year 2013 Sentra vehicles manufactured from September 11, 2012, through October 4, 2012. Some fuel tank assemblies were not properly sealed during the manufacturing process. As a result, a small amount of gasoline may leak from the tank when it is full.
Risk: A gasoline leak in the presence of an ignition source may lead to a vehicle fire.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tanks as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on April 1, 2013. Owners may contact Nissan Customer Service at 1-800-647-7261.
Air bags
Problem: Nissan is recalling certain model year 2013 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, Sentra, and Infiniti JX35 vehicles. Sensors within the passenger Occupant Detection System (ODS) may have been manufactured out of specification. This may cause the system to malfunction and permanently suppress the passenger airbag.
Risk: If the vehicle is involved in a crash necessitating airbag deployment and the passenger airbag is suppressed, there may be an increased risk of personal injury.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ODS sensors and replace them as neccessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 6, 2013. Owners may contact Nissan Customer Service at 1-800-647-7261.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Occupant Classification System Failure (EA15004) — opened Aug 31, 2015, closed May 2, 2017, led to recall 15V681000.
- Occupant Classification System Failure (RQ15001) — opened Mar 18, 2015, closed Sep 1, 2015.
- Excessive Brake Pedal Travel (PE14014) — opened May 20, 2014, closed May 13, 2015.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated, and the front passenger's side air bag warning light remained illuminated while the front passenger's seat was occupied. The contact stated that the dealer had previously repaired the vehicle…
Transmission slipping
Mileage (~124k) * RPM behavior * Loss of power uphill * Can cause a crash on highway with the cvt promblems nissian sentras sv has been cause of loss of power out of no where needs to be addressed as a recall maintenance has been don great on vechile it has history and need to be addressed. It goes…
Erractic rpms. Shakes/hesitant on take off from stop. Accelerator can be pushed all the way and it goes 5mph. Shifting takes a good minute with shakiness. Can not drive in rush hour traffic almost got accident many times.
I am reporting a failed remedy for Recall R1608 (Occupant Classification System). My 2013 Nissan Sentra was serviced at Nissan of Van Nuys for this recall. Despite the dealership marking the recall as completed, the safety defect persists. Specifically, the passenger seatbelt warning light remains…
Other Nissan Sentra years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Sentra | 18 | 1 |
| 2025 Sentra | 31 | 4 |
| 2024 Sentra | 41 | 3 |
| 2023 Sentra | 20 | 1 |
| 2022 Sentra | 81 | 2 |
| 2021 Sentra | 132 | 3 |
| 2020 Sentra | 206 | 4 |
| 2019 Sentra | 222 | 2 |
| 2018 Sentra | 185 | 2 |
| 2017 Sentra | 231 | 3 |
| 2016 Sentra | 270 | 6 |
| 2015 Sentra | 351 | 3 |
| 2014 Sentra | 380 | 5 |
| 2013 | 638 | 6 |
| 2012 Sentra | 180 | 0 |
| 2011 Sentra | 142 | 2 |
| 2010 Sentra | 144 | 3 |
| 2009 Sentra | 55 | 1 |
| 2008 Sentra | 167 | 3 |
| 2007 Sentra | 154 | 1 |
| 2006 Sentra | 116 | 5 |
| 2005 Sentra | 170 | 5 |
| 2004 Sentra | 197 | 4 |
| 2003 Sentra | 180 | 7 |
| 2002 Sentra | 304 | 10 |
| 2001 Sentra | 236 | 7 |
| 2000 Sentra | 171 | 6 |
| 1999 Sentra | 59 | 0 |
| 1998 Sentra | 58 | 1 |
| 1997 Sentra | 108 | 3 |
| 1996 Sentra | 141 | 3 |
| 1995 Sentra | 117 | 3 |
See all Nissan Sentra problems by year, every Nissan model, or the Nissan VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2013 Nissan Sentra?
Owners most often report power train, air bags, service brakes problems. The top one, power train, accounts for 311 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2013 Nissan Sentra?
Yes, 6 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2013 Nissan Sentra a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Sentra model years, the 2013 has far more complaints than most years, and NHTSA rates it 4 out of 5 stars overall in crash tests. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.