Electrical system, forward collision avoidance, and steering issues are among the top complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
Originally introduced to the U.S. market in 1982, the Nissan Sentra has been one of the manufacturer’s best sellers for many years. The current model was redesigned in 2020, and it retains its popularity. There are no design changes, so it makes sense to take complaints about the previous two model years into account when assessing 2022 Nissan Sentra problems. Unsurprisingly, many issues are the same. Mostly, owners are complaining about varied malfunctions, stalling, and faulty steering.
Click on other model years to view more problems: 2019 2020 2021
As mentioned above, the Nissan Sentra is now in its third model year. And it seems that the 2022 Sentra complaints pattern may follow in the footsteps of the 2020 and 2021 Sentras. The most common problems, as with the previous two years, are the electrical system and forward collision avoidance.
Airbags are another problem worth mentioning.
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Steering | |
| Electrical System | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Vehicle Speed Control | |
| Wheels | |
| Power Train | |
| Engine | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking | |
| Suspension |
There are all sorts of problems that owners link to the forward collision avoidance system. These include stalling and a lack of acceleration as well as issues with the brakes.
While stalling is primarily a forward collision avoidance issue, it is also reported as a vehicle speed control problem For example, an owner from Arizona tells how the Sentra “doesn’t want to accelerate. When driving and attempting to make turns the vehicle fails to go forward with pressing the gas pedal to the ground. Vehicle continues to feel like it is going to stall, shutters at various times and is unstable when driving.” The complaint states the “ driver is not in control. I do not feel safe driving this vehicle.”
Another owner says much the same thing in a complaint categorized as a forward collision avoidance, brake, and vehicle speed control problem. It states that the “vehicle fails to accelerate and brakes for no reason.” It also stops abruptly and sometimes, “I am unable to accelerate when pressing the gas. “I’m traumatized by this vehicle.”
An owner from Florida tells how the 2022 Sentra started stalling about 7 months after purchase. “At first it started at slow speeds driving in the neighborhood, then (it) started happening about 4-5 times a week. Essentially, you could be driving at forward speeds of 10-50 mph, and the car would stall. Intermittently a message would appear on the display with a warning sign and ‘Vehicle Stalled Stop Safely’.” Then it got even worse and would stall at highway speeds up to 75 mph. The vehicle’s diagnostics showed no errors, so the dealership was unable to help. When the problem continued to recur, they went to a different dealership, and then another, both with the same “no errors, we cannot help” result. At the time of the complaint, the owner was waiting to hear from Nissan.
“This vehicle is NOT safe, and will potentially cause an accident resulting in serious injury or death.”
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Another Florida owner from a different part of the state, reports multiple problems in a complaint. These include stalling for no reason, a faulty transmission, lack of acceleration, and other issues.
“My car continuously feels like it’s going to stall out and actually is just sitting at a red light. With no warning the car just stalled on me. The throttle body has been replaced already, they reset my RPMs a different time, and just replaced the entire transmission. It’s a brand new 2022 Sentra and only had 14 miles on it when I bought it in March. I should not have had the transmission replaced already on a brand-new car. Even with the transmission being replaced, the car is still wanting to stall out. This makes for very unsafe driving and could lead to an accident as well.
“It also has acceleration issues. When pressing the gas pedal it doesn’t want to go, then out of nowhere speeds up real fast. Very concerned and wondering if I’m the only person with such bad luck to be the only car owner of a brand-new Sentra having this problem with my car. It’s been to the repair shop 4 times already and I will be going back less than a week later after having the transmission replaced. The forward collision sensor stops working when it’s raining outside as well. That’s the time you need it the most. It says it’s been disabled and the sensor is blocked even though there is nothing blocking it.”
Several forward collision avoidance complaints report that the automatic emergency brakes are applied for no reason. “While driving the car this morning at about 30 mph, and with no obstructions around, there was a sudden red flasher on the dashboard (a red long bar with a hazard triangle in the middle, three flashes). I could feel ABS with the car applying emergency brakes automatically. His concern is that if this happens on the highway they might be injured.
In a complaint filed under Airbags and Forward Collision Avoidance, an owner from California first had problems with the airbag warning light that kept illuminating. He took the vehicle to a dealer who replaced an airbag sensor. But this did not remedy the problem. Additionally, the Sentra was auto-braking when merging onto the freeway. Then, while accelerating, the dashboard warning lights activated, and the center dash communication area notified me of an error in the system.”
Many 2022 Sentra electrical system problems relate to malfunctions of various kinds. Battery drain issues are another problem.
An owner from Oklahoma states that after starting the car one day, a malfunction signal popped up “and we lost power to everything.”
A Washington DC owner was told the throttle of the car malfunctioned. ”I was driving on the highway and the car would not accelerate, the dash said (it was) malfunctioning and the cars driving beside me had to swerve around me. I took the car back to the dealership where I purchased it and was told that parts had to be ordered and that it was a throttle malfunction.
“The car has not been inspected by anyone except those at the Nissan dealership where it was purchased. There were no warning signs before the malfunction. In the middle of driving, the car slowed down and would not allow me to accelerate to match the speed of the other vehicles around me (70 MPH). As I continued to push the gas, the lights on the dash lit up and said malfunction.”
An owner from Michigan tells how “the traction control, ABS, ESP Fault, and Master Brake System warning lights illuminated.” Then “several other warning lights on the instrument panel started to malfunction.” The dealer said this problem was that the sensor had come away from the module, possibly because rodents had chewed through the wiring.
Another owner had issues with the “master control switch in the door, electric intake valve, crash detection system failure, and throwing codes.” After 15 visits to dealerships, he states that this is a “death trap vehicle” and “Nissan will not address issues.”
“Nissan made a lemon, not a sound vehicle, (it’s a) waste of time and money!”
Owners are complaining about batteries that drain for no reason. Several refer to this as “parasitic draw” or “parasitic drain” on the battery, or “unexplained battery depletion.”
An owner from Virginia discovered the battery was completely drained after it had been parked for two nights and a day. An AAA technician jump-started it and he drove to the Nissan dealership. They charged the battery and reported that the “battery tested okay.”
An owner from Michigan had a similar experience that recurred 10 times in one week. The dealer in this case also said there was no problem with the car or battery charging system.
An owner from Arizona said the “battery drained overnight after a day of normal use.” This Sentra was also jump-started and taken to a dealer. This time, they found that the battery was faulty and replaced it.
“The battery in my car died out of nowhere,” states an owner from Maryland. This 2022 Sentra was also jump-started, but after that, “the battery still is not holding a charge.” Because of this, the owner had to have the battery jump started once a day for 3 days. “The service advisor confirmed the issue is with the battery. Every time I turn my car off, it won’t start again without a jump.” But when Nissan inspected the car, everything regarding the battery was “marked green,” indicating that there were no issues.
It appears that Nissan is aware of battery problems in their vehicles, as Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) NTB21-053B indicates. This is titled, No start due to battery discharge through audio unit and dated September 2, 2021. It doesn’t list which vehicles are implicated. More recently, on June 16, 2023, Nissan issued a TSB, NTB23-049, that lists the procedure for testing batteries in 574 Nissan vehicles.
Complaints about steering are varied, from steering wheels that rattle, slip, or feel stiff, to those that make loud clicking or popping noises when drivers turn the wheel.
An owner from Arizona states that there are “clicking/popping noises when turning the steering wheel.“ Another complaint states that when cruise control is on, “the slightest turn in the steering wheel causes the vehicle to slow down.”
An owner from Texas barely missed crashing after the airbags deployed suddenly. The complaint is filed under airbags, wheels, and steering because a witness “heard a loud pop and then saw me swerving and then come to a stop.”
The owner from Florida who experienced stalling issues described earlier, states that “At time of stall you lose all power, (the) steering gets stiff, and pressing (the) accelerator does nothing.”
An owner from Connecticut states that when driving on the highway, “the steering wheel moves slightly, almost feels like I am slipping on ice.” He has to “jerk the wheel back to keep the car driving straight.” The dealer’s response was that since there are no recalls, “it’s my imagination.”
And an owner from California puts it simply: “My steering was out of control.”
On August 15, 2023, the same day the last complaint (above) was filed, just over a week after this complaint was filed, Nissan announced a steering-related recall. Nearly a quarter of a million (236,238) 2020-2022 Sentra vehicles were potentially affected. The issue was that either the left and/or right tie rod may bend. If this happens, it can cause a loss of steering control, which increases the risk of a crash.
“Owners are advised to contact their dealer for transport assistance if they are experiencing an off-center steering wheel or vibration.” Dealers are instructed to inspect and replace tie rods that are bent or broken. But this is only “an interim repair.” The automaker has commissioned “newly designed parts” for a “final remedy.” There is no indication when this will be, but according to NHTSA Campaign Number 23v581000, Nissan was only planning to notify owners by mail on October 5, 2023.
If you experience problems or safety issues with your 2022 Nissan Sentra, you might have bought a lemon. Generally, these will be issues that keep recurring, and they will impact your safety or use of your car.
You can try and get your dealership to rectify the problem, or you can contact Lemberg Law to do it for you. We negotiate all kinds of settlements for clients who have bought lemons, including buybacks and replacement vehicles.
Call our Helpline so that we can do a free assessment of your case. You’ll be fully covered because the law makes Nissan pay the legal fees of lemon law cases.
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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My girlfriend Laurie owns a 2015 Nissan Sentra and she’s had nothing but problems with this car. First off we will start with the transmission problems this car has due to having a CVT transmission they claim they will help there customers and they don’t. There is multiple issues with this car and Nissan knew about the problems before they put the vehicles on the market. The ECU has issues tie rod issues seat belt issues and many more I can go on about but I don’t have to because anyone who owns a Nissan are aware of these issues.