Common problem is the CVT transmission issues of it slipping or grinding. Was told there’s a recall from Nissan on 2013 to 2017 Sentra of CVT transmissions.
2015 Nissan Sentra
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Sentra years
Owner complaints for the 2015 Nissan Sentra are substantially higher than 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
212 reports with mileage · 139 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 172 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 68 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 49 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Power Train complaints
172 reportsBought 2015 Nissan Sentra SR from Nissan West in Dickson, TN. The car didn't even a lot of miles on it. Not even a month after having the car, the transmission went out. Car started acting up on the interstate. Would not shift gears, wouldn't go over a certain amount of speed, almost caused us to be hit multiple times. Finally g…
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Bought 2015 Nissan Sentra SR from Nissan West in Dickson, TN. The car didn't even a lot of miles on it. Not even a month after having the car, the transmission went out. Car started acting up on the interstate. Would not shift gears, wouldn't go over a certain amount of speed, almost caused us to be hit multiple times. Finally got it to Nissan West dealership where they did confirm transmission was no good. Nissan West, reworked the transmission instead of giving us a new transmission. Now, over a year and 3 months later, the transmission went out again. Has been confirmed by Nissan West in Dickson, TN. The transmission had only a little over 10,000 miles on it. This time I was pulling out onto a busy street when the car out of the blue would not go forwards or backwards. Luckily we did not get hit and we had to push the car out of the middle of the road.
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle in for the emissions test, the vehicle failed to pass the State emissions test. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the continuously variable transmissi…
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The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle in for the emissions test, the vehicle failed to pass the State emissions test. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the continuously variable transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 152,000.
Excessive transmission slipping. I can be driving and it slips so bad and won’t gain speed or anything
Me and my daughter was pulling out onto a bypass highway and the car wouldn't go anywhere and we were stuck in the middle of the highway with cars coming towards us. So I had to jump out and while it was still in drive I had to push it out of the highway so we wouldn't get hit by the on coming traffic. I finally pushed it fast e…
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Me and my daughter was pulling out onto a bypass highway and the car wouldn't go anywhere and we were stuck in the middle of the highway with cars coming towards us. So I had to jump out and while it was still in drive I had to push it out of the highway so we wouldn't get hit by the on coming traffic. I finally pushed it fast enough and jumped back into the car and pressed the gas pedal and it caught so I could drive it home and I parked it.
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. No warning light was illuminated. The contact and his daughter exited the vehicle while the transmission was in drive(D) and pushed the vehicle to the side of the road. The contact then shifted the…
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The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. No warning light was illuminated. The contact and his daughter exited the vehicle while the transmission was in drive(D) and pushed the vehicle to the side of the road. The contact then shifted the transmission from park(P) to drive(D) but the vehicle failed to move immediately. Eventually, the contact was able to drive the vehicle to the residence. The contact related the failure to the transmission; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 176,635.
Car lost power going 70 on the freeway and started shuttering and jerking when accelerating. The rest of the 20 minute drive home, my vehicle would not stop jerking and wouldn’t go over 30mph.
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission was slipping. The warranty company was contacted, and the contact was informed to take the vehicle to a designated independent mechanic. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed wi…
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The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission was slipping. The warranty company was contacted, and the contact was informed to take the vehicle to a designated independent mechanic. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failed transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The repair was covered under warranty. The failure reoccurred. The warranty company was contacted, and the contact was informed to take the vehicle back to the designated independent mechanic. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000.
1. Front passenger side seat fails to activate the air bag once a passenger has occupied the seat, and buckled up. The airbag "off" indication light remains illuminated at all times, and if it isn't being activated, may cause bodily harm, injury, or death to any passenger of the vehicle in the unfortunate event of a collision. V…
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1. Front passenger side seat fails to activate the air bag once a passenger has occupied the seat, and buckled up. The airbag "off" indication light remains illuminated at all times, and if it isn't being activated, may cause bodily harm, injury, or death to any passenger of the vehicle in the unfortunate event of a collision. Vehicle was requested to be checked out at Lorenzo Nissan in Ft. Lauderdale, FL in November 2023, but was refused. FRONT PASSENGER SEAT, FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAG, FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAG INDICATION LIGHT ••••••••••••••••••••••• 2. 2015 Sentra CVT transmission slips, shakes and stalls. On numerous occurrence this has caused near tragic collisions with multiple vehicles. One such instance forced the vehicle into 'limp mode' in a high speed area of a busy freeway and nearly caused numerous vehicles to collide into the stalled Sentra at rates of speed over 70 MPH. Furthermore, the 2015 Sentra has an issue shifting from park, and will not move out of park, even with the brake applied, unless the gear release button is applied. Vehicle was requested to be examined by Lorenzo Nissan in November 2023, but the dealership refused to inspect any possible safety or equipment issues without the promise of purchasing a new Nissan from their dealership. POWERTRAIN, CVT TRANSMISSION, AUTOMATIC GEAR-SHIFT INDICATION, LIMP MODE, NO WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED
The contact owns a 2015 Nisan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact also stated that while slowing the vehicle, he heard an abnormal grinding sound coming from the brakes. No warning lights were illuminated. Th…
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The contact owns a 2015 Nisan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact also stated that while slowing the vehicle, he heard an abnormal grinding sound coming from the brakes. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 1,600.
Official recalls
316V242000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification
Apr 26, 2016
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.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: 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.
Remedy: 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.
16V244000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification
Apr 26, 2016
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.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: 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.
Remedy: 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.
15V453000 · Latches/locks/linkages
Jul 21, 2015
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2015 Nissan Rogue vehicles manufactured June 9, 2015, to June 10, 2015, and 2015 Nissan Sentra and Versa Note vehicles manufactured June 5, 2015, to June 13, 2015. In the affected vehicles, the driver side front and rear doors may not fully latch. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 206, "Door Locks and Door Retention Components."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A door that does not fully latch may result in the door opening while the car is moving. The distraction may increase the risk of a crash and/or a vehicle occupant may fall out of the vehicle if they are not wearing a seatbelt, increasing their risk of injury.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the date, lot number, and cavity code on the left front and rear door latches, and replace them, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on August 31, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
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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