WAS DRIVING ON SNOW WHEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED, UPON RUNNING A CODE SCAN IT SHOWED TCM LOST COMMUNICATION. WHEN DEALER CHECKED THEY SAID THEY DETECTED A SHUTTER IN THE CVT.
2012 Nissan Sentra
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2012 Nissan Sentra do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 116.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Sentra years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
129 reports with mileage · 51 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Power Train. Review the 68 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 39 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
What owners actually said
180 reportsTL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 NISSAN SENTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE HESITATED TO MOVE FORWARD WHILE DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT AND HER DAUGHTER HAD TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO ROCKING NISSAN OF STAFFORD (1 COACHMAN CIR, STAFFORD, VA 2…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 NISSAN SENTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE HESITATED TO MOVE FORWARD WHILE DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT AND HER DAUGHTER HAD TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO ROCKING NISSAN OF STAFFORD (1 COACHMAN CIR, STAFFORD, VA 22554) AND NISSAN OF ORANGEBURG (2827 ST MATTHEWS RD, ORANGEBURG, SC 29118) ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS AND BOTH DEALERS WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT THEN TOOK THE VEHICLE TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE HE DIAGNOSED THE VEHICLE WITH A TRANSMISSION ISSUE LINKED TO THE RPM'S. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER HAD BEEN NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND INFORMED HER THAT THERE WERE NO RECALLS ON THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 40,000.
DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN MY CAR LOST 90% OF POWER AND COULD ONLY GO ABOUT 25MPH. THERE WAS NO WARNING. CAR JERKS VIOLENTLY STEERING BECOMES HARDER. YOU TRY TO PUNCH DOWN ON THE GAS AND NOTHING HAPPENS. ALSO WAS FORCED TO TAKE CITY STREETS DUE TO NOT BEING ABLE TO GO A SAFE SPEED TO STAY ON FREEWAY/HIGHWAY.
WHEN APPROACHING A RED LIGHT AND STOPPING QUICKLY, THE CAR COMPLETELY STOPPED EVEN THOUGH I WAS GOING 10 MILES PER HOUR AT 1000 RPM, TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT, OIL LIGHT, BATTERY LIGHT AND SEAT BELT LIGHT ALL TURNED ON. THE ONLY WAY TO GET THE CAR TO MOVE WAS TO TURN IT OFF AND TURN IT BACK ON. THIS HAPPENED A SECOND TIME WHILE RET…
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WHEN APPROACHING A RED LIGHT AND STOPPING QUICKLY, THE CAR COMPLETELY STOPPED EVEN THOUGH I WAS GOING 10 MILES PER HOUR AT 1000 RPM, TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT, OIL LIGHT, BATTERY LIGHT AND SEAT BELT LIGHT ALL TURNED ON. THE ONLY WAY TO GET THE CAR TO MOVE WAS TO TURN IT OFF AND TURN IT BACK ON. THIS HAPPENED A SECOND TIME WHILE RETURNING TO OUR HOME. AS I WAS GETTING OFF THE INTERSTATE AND STOPPING FOR ANOTHER VEHICLE, THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN. IT SEEMS TO DO THIS WITH A HARD STOP AT 1000 RMP OR 10-20 MPH.
WHILE DRIVING FROM AZ TO CA ON THE HIGHWAY, MY VEHICLE LOST THE ABILITY TO SPEED UP WHILE PUSHING THE PEDAL. IT HAPPENED A TOTAL OF THREE TIMES ON 2 DIFFERENT DAYS.THE FIRST TWO TIMES I COULDN'T GET ABOVE 60 HOWEVER ON ONE OCCASION, IT DROPPED DOWN TO 3-5 MILES PER HOUR AND THE PEDAL WAS TO THE FLOOR. I WAS ON A 2 LANE HIGHWAY W…
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WHILE DRIVING FROM AZ TO CA ON THE HIGHWAY, MY VEHICLE LOST THE ABILITY TO SPEED UP WHILE PUSHING THE PEDAL. IT HAPPENED A TOTAL OF THREE TIMES ON 2 DIFFERENT DAYS.THE FIRST TWO TIMES I COULDN'T GET ABOVE 60 HOWEVER ON ONE OCCASION, IT DROPPED DOWN TO 3-5 MILES PER HOUR AND THE PEDAL WAS TO THE FLOOR. I WAS ON A 2 LANE HIGHWAY WITH SEMI TRUCKS HAVING TO PASS ME ON THE LEFT. I WAS TERRIFIED, HAD NO CELL SERVICE AND HAD TO DRIVE ON THE SHOULDER WITH MY HAZARDS ON UNTIL THE SHOULDER DISAPPEARED. EVENTUALLY IT RETURNED TO NORMAL, BUT IT WAS A VERY SCARY EXPERIENCE. I SEE NOW THAT NISSAN HAS HAD A MULTITUDE OF COMPLAINTS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. SHAME ON YOU FOR NOT RECALLING THE TRANSMISSION. *TR
AIR BAG LIGHT IS ON ALL THE TIME AND THE HORN DON'T WORK
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 NISSAN SENTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 20 MPH, WITHOUT WARNING THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO JERK AS THE BRAKE PEDAL SHAKES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER PREMIER NISSAN OF SAN JOSE 1120 W CAPITOL EXPY, SAN JOSE, CA 95136 (408) 978-1234 TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO DUPLIC…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 NISSAN SENTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 20 MPH, WITHOUT WARNING THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO JERK AS THE BRAKE PEDAL SHAKES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER PREMIER NISSAN OF SAN JOSE 1120 W CAPITOL EXPY, SAN JOSE, CA 95136 (408) 978-1234 TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE OR RETRIEVE ANY DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE RECURRED MULTIPLE TIMES. THE VEHICLE THEN WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE BUT NO FURTHER ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATE 4,444.
RIGHT AFTER PURCHASING OUR NISSAN SENTRA, MY DAUGHTER WENT ON A ROAD TRIP TO SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE CAR LOST POWER AND STARTED STUTTERING. AS IT TURNS OUT THE CVT TRANSMISSION WENT OUT. WE HAD TO PURCHASE A USED TRANSMISSION TO GET THE CAR RUNNING. THE CAR ONLY HAD 118,000 MILES WHEN THIS OCCURRED WHICH IS RIDUCLOUS.
2012 NISSAN SENTRA WAS BOUGHT 3 WEEKS PRIOR WITH NO PROBLEMS. WHILE TRAVELING 60 - 70 MPH ON A HIGHWAY THE CAR SUDDENLY STOP RUNNING AND THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT AND THE VEHICLE WAS UNABLE TO STEER OUT OF THE TROUBLED AREA ON THE HIGHWAY. THE VEHICLE BROKE DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF A HIGHWAY. AFTER RESEARCH IT SEEM TO BE THE …
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2012 NISSAN SENTRA WAS BOUGHT 3 WEEKS PRIOR WITH NO PROBLEMS. WHILE TRAVELING 60 - 70 MPH ON A HIGHWAY THE CAR SUDDENLY STOP RUNNING AND THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT AND THE VEHICLE WAS UNABLE TO STEER OUT OF THE TROUBLED AREA ON THE HIGHWAY. THE VEHICLE BROKE DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF A HIGHWAY. AFTER RESEARCH IT SEEM TO BE THE SAME ACTIONS THAT HAS HAPPENED TO THOUSANDS OF OTHER NISSAN SENTRAS. THE DEFECTED CVT TRANSMISSION CAUSES THIS TO HAPPEN. LUCKILY MY SON WAS NOT KILLED DURING A ACCIDENT THAT WAS CAUSED AFTER HE WAS REAR ENDED AND THE VEHICLE WAS TOTALED.
WHEN TAKING OFF FROM ANY LOCATION ENGINE REVS TO 4000 RPM UNTIL UP TO SPEED , NEED TO BE VERY EASY ON GAS TO GET GOING UP TO SPEED , CAN BE DANGEROUS AT INTERSECTIONS TO GET MOVING QUICKLY IF NEEDED
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.
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