# POLL: How Reliable is your Sentra?



## damonfong0 (Jul 13, 2005)

I've had my car for a little over a month so I have no idea.
My driving habits are 
2000 RPM cruising
2,500 to 3,500 RPM accelerating
4,000 to 5,000 RPM cutting lanes and turning on red lights
4,000 RPM revving at a pedestrian walking a red light
Horn usage is about 4 or 5 times per day
Average 25 to 45 mph in cities
Average 70 to 90 mph in highways
Average 3 mph in traffic jams (i'm in san francisco)
Lots of stop and go's on lights and stop signs
I brake half a block away slowly and smoothly
Heavy braking about once or twice a month

According to my ways of driving what would you guess can go wrong with my sentra?

Please write your driving habits, year of sentra, trim, tell me what has gone wrong so far...
I am thinking of possibly voiding a few warranties for mods. I am deciding if the trade-offs are worth it

Please tell me about popular engine and tranny problems


----------



## Sorority Demon (Jul 15, 2005)

90 on the highway already? how many miles do you have on that thing? I hope you have broken that thing in ok. I know about how cali highway drivers drive about 85 everywhere. I have been out in LA enough to know.

I am not commenting on my highway speeds. :crazy: 

4k rpms reving at pedestrians, who are you trying to impress, and why?  

Also who are you honking at all the time? I use it about once a week.

I work in Chicago, city traffic sucks everywhere.


----------



## damonfong0 (Jul 13, 2005)

Sorority Demon said:


> 90 on the highway already? how many miles do you have on that thing? I hope you have broken that thing in ok. I know about how cali highway drivers drive about 85 everywhere. I have been out in LA enough to know.
> 
> I am not commenting on my highway speeds. :crazy:
> 
> ...


my dad taught me to do that to get them off the road, drive close and rev
the horn is used a lot, being cut off... warn people of accident... friendly honks, thabk you for letting me cut ins, stuff like that


----------



## matt123 (Dec 2, 2004)

It would be really helpful if there was a 

NO PROBLEMS

option for us to select on this poll.


----------



## Flying Vv (Apr 10, 2003)

damonfong0 said:


> I've had my car for a little over a month so I have no idea.
> My driving habits are
> 2000 RPM cruising
> 2,500 to 3,500 RPM accelerating
> ...


 oooh this is bad. Do you know anything about breaking in a car? You've probably started problems that will pop us at 50K by driving like that already. Bad move man, Bad move.


----------



## b15chik (Jun 4, 2005)

only problem i've had with my car is paint (which is a given for nissan) so i'm happy  i got my car repainted anyway :fluffy:


----------



## slhaas (May 1, 2005)

Under the warranty I've had a minor electrical problem not listed on your poll serviced. The power window regulator was replaced. It is fairly common with the Sentras and should be on the poll. Also I've had minor brake work done (rotors turned) which is also not on your poll. Last but not least I've had some vibrations/rattles checked out and attempts have been made to quiet them. All relatively minor things covered under warranty, but didn't fall anywhere on your poll.


----------



## imeric (Jun 1, 2005)

fuel pump replaced due to starting issues, 2002 SE-R


----------



## DEF 024 (Aug 11, 2005)

i got a 2005 sentra se-r spec v and it's only got 7000 miles on it. Already my check engine light came on for a week straight. Then just went off so i don't know what that was all about. My clutch is making a sound like it got wet or something. The other day my right front window wouldn't go up, but then i rolled it down and it went back up. Now my car is making a sound in the front when i accelarate, it sounds almost like too much stress, like something is being pulled, i don't know. Only 7000 miles and all this stuff, i know it's minor but it's a NEW car! So im about to go get me an STI.


----------



## Sorority Demon (Jul 15, 2005)

If you are only having minor stuff with a sentra, then good luck having the same with an sti.


----------



## Zac (Mar 10, 2004)

DEF 024 said:


> i got a 2005 sentra se-r spec v and it's only got 7000 miles on it. Already my check engine light came on for a week straight. Then just went off so i don't know what that was all about. My clutch is making a sound like it got wet or something. The other day my right front window wouldn't go up, but then i rolled it down and it went back up. Now my car is making a sound in the front when i accelarate, it sounds almost like too much stress, like something is being pulled, i don't know. Only 7000 miles and all this stuff, i know it's minor but it's a NEW car! So im about to go get me an STI.


I hope you realize that the STi is a very high maintenence vehicle and that you can probably lemon law your car and get a new one.


----------



## Zac (Mar 10, 2004)

The only problems I have had was when I essentially crashed the car and a few adjustments to aftermarket parts. That isn't the car's fault though. When I used it as a daily, it was exceptionally reliable despite trash talking of the QR. It isn't too streetable anymore compared to the other vehicles we own so I use it when I am alone (cant hear anyone in it) and/or want to have a little fun in the sun. When I drive it now, I am either doing 50 MPH on the highway because of the _horrible_ gas mileage or I am absolutely beating the living piss out of it.


----------



## damonfong0 (Jul 13, 2005)

matt123 said:


> It would be really helpful if there was a
> 
> NO PROBLEMS
> 
> option for us to select on this poll.



ahah sorry i didnt think of that... how do i add to it??


----------



## 707Spec-V (Mar 30, 2004)

lets see.....
Bad window lift motor regulator, faulty gas door lid, new Axle!, and it still grinds 3rd gear they checked it and said they found nothing


----------



## Plocmstart (Aug 17, 2005)

Guess I should have vented here instead of the engine thread... anyways not including the recalls:

Roughly 34k miles, usually drive pretty conservatively.

Paint loss off front bumper after only 7 months of ownership (not under bumper to bumper warranty ironically)
Transmission seal leak (warranty)
Both front struts replaced (warranty)
Stabilizer rod replaced (warranty)
Ventilation controls sticking (warranty, still not quite working right)
Front rotors warped (replaced on own)
Brake pads squeeling with over half left (replaced on own with rotors)
Replaced tires (stock tires don't do anything in snow)
Engine hard/rough start (not fixed yet, apparently fuel pump related, dealer charged me for fuel injector cleaning that didn't need done and didn't fix the problem)


----------



## myoung (Apr 15, 2002)

Plocmstart said:


> Replaced tires (stock tires don't do anything in snow)


I wouldn't consider that the cars fault.. it's not sold as a snow mobile.


----------



## chimmike (Oct 17, 2002)

2001. Both front window regulators have taken a dump on me.

Other than that....nothing broke that I didn't cause to break


----------



## synfin (Aug 13, 2005)

Have Sentra 2001 GXE, 1.8. 
72,000 miles. Runs great. No problems. No failtures.
Very economic on gas, drive long distances daily ~70miles/day 60 of em on a highway. Handles 90MPH perfecly.

Only thing - original tires kinda suck. Get better quality. It does make a difference.


----------



## ml04sentra (Feb 7, 2004)

My 2004 1.8S just went over 36K this week. Just a few small things and one pain in the arse....

Biggest thing....hard start at times, becoming more frequent. I've had it at 2 Nissan dealers and neither one could get it to act up when they had it. One of them had my car for 3 days. 

Other stuff....

Plug on fuel sending unit came loose, gas gauge wouldn't read right as a result. 
Radio screwed up on me a couple of times, had to disconnect and reconnect the battery to fix it. 
Door speaker broke after purchase. 

Other than that, it's been a great car. I moved from Florida to South Carolina then back to Florida in it, it's done a lot of highway driving and regularly sees 75-80 mph on my drive to work.


----------



## SHIFTVAX (Jan 15, 2006)

*Not many probs*

My 2003 Sentra just went over 64,000 miles and the only thing that caused a problem was the fuel pump at 44,000 miles. I keep up on all the matainance oil changes etc. Still runs very good! Oh the stock CD Player ate a CD one day and didn't give it back!


----------



## tim788 (May 20, 2006)

my 2004 spec-v has had so many problems. now after 30,000 miles im getting a new engine. all of the recalls and tsb's were done right away yet still had problems no one could figure out.


----------



## Atl Nissan (May 5, 2006)

'06 Sentra 1.8s Special Edition. Its the GFs car, but I'm the one that takes care of it. The car has less than 2000 miles on it, but its been in once to fix the front passengers side window, which was off track. I noticed a small paint blemish on the hood, the transmission feels like it slips on WOT downshifts into first, and the exhaust sounds terrible at certain RPMs when accelerating hard. The last one may or not be normal, I've been hearing mixed opinions on it. I'm gonna have them take a look at it when I take it in to have the transmission looked at. The paint blemish is very minor, I just want it to be noted incase it turns into a problem later. 

Its a nice little car, and I'm sure it will be fine in the long run as long as they address these problems. I've had a few Nissans before and they were good, reliable vehicles. Thats why I steered her towards a Nissan.


----------



## dmroberson (Jun 24, 2004)

Only problems I had, was a defect in my transmission, which was replaced 1 week after buying new from dealership, 137 miles on the car. Then, at 40k miles, the MAF took a dump. Both of these repairs were done under warranty, so wasn't all that painful, just left me out of a car for a week, each incident. All good now.


----------



## Superbaldguy (Oct 30, 2005)

My 2001 GXE has 187,000 kms on the odometer. I never had any issues with warranty but after I reached 145,000 kms, all hell broke loose. Here is a short list of my fun and games:

(1) Catalytic converter failure - the local dealership, Nissan, and myself split that three ways
(2) O2 sensor (one of four I believe that can quit)
(3) Filler tube replacement due to cooked sensor and pinholes thanks to rust
(4) Cracked bushings on control arms (whay ever happended to bushings that could be added/removed witbout replacing the whole arm?)
(5) Two horn failures, broken wires in harness
(6) Charcoal filter component sensor failures, still have the filter but all the parts around went dead - blame that on the dealership who didn't reconnect the hose in 2004
(7) Oil dipstick just disintegrated (common problem on Sentras, a $6 loss)

I did have all the recall items replaced, such as the crank position sensor and don't forget the recall on the steel wheels. I am now ready for my third set of brake shoes/rotors, got 120,000 kms from the original ones, so that's not terrible......

The Sentra is a classic example of a car designed for leasing, as people will get rid of it after 4 years or less. Oddly enough, I enjoy driving this car as it works so darned well, and looks better than most of the latest road-furniture sedans.

My 1997 Honda Civic EX sedan never had electrical issues and even had its original brakes when I sold it back in 2001, but it cost $100/month more in payments - what can you do?


----------



## nismoSeRchic (Aug 31, 2005)

I haven't had any problems with my SE-R. Even sitting for a week outside in the cold. Never a problem with it starting or anything else.

Kym


----------



## Sentra2704 (Apr 18, 2005)

I have had so many problems with my Nissan Sentra and it's only a 2002....I even just had a problem yesterday while I was driving and the car just shut off and it wasn't due to an empty tank of gas or no oil because I got an oil change and a full tank of gas yesterday and as I was driving home from doing some things around town as I was getting off the highway my car just quit on me on the off-ramp....does anyone have any idea what could be the problem and what it might cost to get repaired? The car only has 67,000 miles in it and I maintain it on it's scheduled basis and this is the first time something like this has ever happened. When I tried to turn the car back on it didn't turn over. Does anyone have any idea what could be the problem.


----------



## c_bear (Aug 15, 2006)

My Sentra: 04 Spec V

Bought used with 6,032 miles in July of 2005...as of now, a little over a year, I'm about to hit 19,000 miles.

I drive my car everyday...great on gas and has been problem since the day I drove it off the lot  (knock on wood).

I accelerate between 2,000 and 2,500 RPM
Cruise around 2,000 RPM

Average city speed is 28 mph
Average highway speed is 65 mph
I average about 290-300 miles on a full tank of gas (only fill it up with premium gas...as recommended  and I don’t drive like a jerk or try to show off)

So far I have had no warranty recall issues.

The only service the car has seen is a routine 3,000 mile oil change and rotating the tires.
I have also changed the in cabin air filter...plan on doing so every year.

Only changes to the car are a set of new Enkei rims and a new set of HanKook performance tires. The Enkei rims really gave the car a nicer look and the Hankook tires really made a difference over the stock tires when you're driving, especially in the snow and rain.

So I have nothing bad to say or report. Overall I'm very happy and glad I choose a Spec V.


----------



## Atl Nissan (May 5, 2006)

'06 Sentra 1.8s SE. Its a pretty good car, but we have had a few problems with it so far at 5K miles. Thats not normally a big deal, but it has become a really big deal since the dealer is so uncooperative and doesnt want to fix anything. This is the second Nissan I bought new that I've had issues fighting the dealer to fix obvious problems under warranty. Its really making me think twice before purchasing another one. Thats sad too, because I've always liked Nissan and defended them to my friends who prefer Toyotas. 

Nissan= Pretty good car, but terrible customer service. 

Also, a good friend of mine had an 04 Titan that had to be lemon lawed since they couldn't fix the problems with it. The dealer was very unhelpful and he had to hire a lawyer. All three of these incidents have been with different Nissan dealers in the Atlanta area.


----------



## skatehard90 (Dec 20, 2004)

man i dunno how my lil sentra even drives straight anymore. lol i take her off road, over curbs, speed bumps are not considered, air-born, body flex, etc. . . and everything is fine. except for the CD player doesn't work, and a simple O2 sensor swap. . . oh and lets not forget those amazing stock tires they give you! haha i'm so glad i got rid of those. 

i'm impressed with this sentra. . . it's living a hard life. spec v 2005. it's gunna give me a hard life too haha


----------



## 02silverspec (Oct 27, 2006)

me too. fuel pump. after that, all is good. (crossing fingers)


----------



## waznme (May 16, 2005)

I bought my '05 Spec new on New Year's Eve of '04 and the only problem with the car i have had is not coming in first EVERY time with my local autocross club. The car and dealership have been outstanding so far.
check it:








it is a blast.


----------



## WRXrob (Jun 4, 2003)

bumping this to the top, and subscribing for info


----------

