Problems · by component

2013 Nissan Sentra engine problems

87 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2013 Nissan Sentra cite engine, 14% of all 638 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
87
14% of all complaints
Crashes
2
Reported by owners
Fires
3
Reported by owners
Injuries
2
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the engine

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“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.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 11, 2026Engine, Lane departureODI 11730515
“Feb 26th, 2024 i drove my car for the first time since having surgery on Jan. 11, 2024. I was going about 35 mph when extremely fast the car radio turned off it felt as if the engine was also turned off but within a blink of your eye the car was turned back on , all by itself, a tiny jerk, nothing major. I instantly looked at the temp gauge, made sure the key was in ignition correctly. There was nothing to signal a problem. The next day i didnt leave my home. On Feb. 28, 2024 i drove the car about 7 miles and it did this same glitch twice .Again all gauges read normal, i got out of the car this time popped the hood. No smoke , no burning smell or any smell at all. I checked the fluids, the belt, the battery connections everything was fine. Later that night a family member had someone try breaking into their home. Very upset i decided to leave my home and drive over to be if some comfort. I drove a total of 21 miles, as i was turning into the driveway the car fid it again however this time i had to get it in park and restart my car. Again no over heating no smoke no burning or fuel smells. I parked the car went inside. About 7 minutes later , definitely no more…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 27, 2024Unknown or other, EngineFire reportedODI 11579642
“I was driving down the road and all of a sudden the car started to sputter and I couldn't accelerate. Whenever I came to a stop it jerked after a minute of the RPM just revving, it finally shifted and lunged forward. I think the transmission went bad. Made it home parked it and I've been too concerned to drive it since.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 20, 2023Unknown or other, EngineODI 11561051
“Code P0101 came on, service Bulletin from NHTSA.gov was done. Car came back worst. Engine stalled in the middle of the street. It wouldn’t turn on, we had to push it to get it out of the street. Car will accelerate on its own when turn on. Sometimes car will accelerate when put on Reverse on its own….. RPMs will be at 7 and 8 when going 45MPH. I notice this has been an issue for Nissan Sentras 2013-2015 based on research all over the internet. People have replaced Thottle body, air mass flow sensor, break sensors, fuel intake, fuses. Vehicle isn’t safe to be driving in street, may caused an accident, even mechanic said I shouldn’t be driving the car because it isn’t safe. We already made a complaint with NHTSA, DMV for financial Help and nothing. Help is really needed.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 4, 2023Power train, Vehicle speed control, EngineODI 11553612
“I called my home Nissan yesterday to get the information about my recalls on my car that I was not aware of after the State Troopers helped me get my cat to a safe location. I was told that there are recalls on the car (and was never notified) I called where it was originally bought from a Nissan Dealership and they gave me several recall codes as I was stranded in the freezing cold with my babies in the car. There are several recalls on my car (P1-1,P1-2, and P1-5,2, P1-8.) The car went from 1RPM and shot up to 8, and down to 0 and the car would not drive after that unless it was less than 15MPH. Anything over 15-20 the car would go from 1RPM back to 8, and shoot down to 0 and jerk the car forward and backwards. I was told it was only an 02 reprogramming recall from the location it was towed to, to a different Nissan dealership. However, I was given several codes of recall from the Nissan Dealership that I purchased it from.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 8, 2023Electrical system, Vehicle speed control, EngineODI 11506272
“transmission problems that don't show up on diagnostic.. it shows up as air sensor problem. That could cost a lot of money if you listen to it...by keep trying to fix the air sensor that has no problem so you will go to auto machines and dealership and they don't know why and keep tell you to fix this or that. The real problem is the transmission. the system fails by not tell you the real problem and have a malfunctioned transmission with the the wiring inside.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 25, 2023EngineODI 11503577

Showing 6 of 87 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.