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2020 Nissan Sentra

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2020 Nissan Sentra do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 116.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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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

57 reports with mileage · 147 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.

  • Forward Collision Avoidance. Review the 60 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Steering. Review the 55 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 44 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

8 crash reports0 fire reports2 injury reports

Power Train complaints

9 reports
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80,000 miles · Jul 9, 2025
Power TrainVehicle Speed Control

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated. No warning light was illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer w…

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The contact owns a 2020 Ford Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated. No warning light was illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

NHTSA ODI #11672316

Mileage unknown · Jun 5, 2025
Electrical SystemPower TrainUnknown Or Other

The starter and electric problems. The vehicle has been serviced 5 or 6 times each with the problem the issues has not been resolved. Is there a recall in any of the said problems above. No, incident occurred, it is a repair failure. Problem has not been fixed and diver has been back and forth to the dealer over and over with s…

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The starter and electric problems. The vehicle has been serviced 5 or 6 times each with the problem the issues has not been resolved. Is there a recall in any of the said problems above. No, incident occurred, it is a repair failure. Problem has not been fixed and diver has been back and forth to the dealer over and over with same problem, the diver wants to know if there are recalls on ignition or starter problems and electrical problems. Said vehicle is not in running condition, it is at the dealers as now.

NHTSA ODI #11665071

Mileage unknown · Nov 18, 2024
Power TrainSteeringSuspension

I have been having several issues with this vehicle since I bought it. I’ve had the vehicle break down on me about 3 times and need repairs or adjustments to previous repairs. The main issue right now is that the car has been in the shop for about 50 days or so for repairs on the suspension or tie rods, inner/outer. I’ve had the…

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I have been having several issues with this vehicle since I bought it. I’ve had the vehicle break down on me about 3 times and need repairs or adjustments to previous repairs. The main issue right now is that the car has been in the shop for about 50 days or so for repairs on the suspension or tie rods, inner/outer. I’ve had the same issue with vibrations and shaking coming from the front end when going about 60MPH. This has been going on for about 4-5 months now since I bought the car back in June. The car has been repaired about 6 times already and still no resolution to the problem. The technician at the dealership said there isn’t anything else they can do as all the work they’ve done has been by the manufacturer’s recommendation and book. My other main concern is the car tends to pull or JOLT when driving sometimes. The car has also been needing an alignment every so often. I’m not sure if it’s because the rack and pinion is broken or needs to be replaced. The boots around them keep tearing or coming off. This is my 2nd time hearing a technician tell me about them.The motor has been replaced already at 32K miles, 2 weeks before I bought it. Lately the car also been tugging and or shifting hard. My other issue is the back up camera and the windows, along with the outside button not working to keyless entry feature. I’ve been having several issues with the back up camera lately. It’s always DULL and DIM when switching from P to R, the screen turns dark and black. The other side issues are the Button for the Windows not rolling up or down. They seem to be getting stuck. This makes it hard sometimes as my kids don’t like the A/C on as much. It gives them horse cough. When it’s hot the car has no circulation or ventilation besides turning the A/C or FAN on.

NHTSA ODI #11625987

Mileage unknown · Sep 18, 2024
EnginePower TrainStructure

This Vehicle was bought back in Jun of this year. Since purchasing the vehicle with only 49,933 miles this Sentra has broken down 4 times, been in the shop for 1Month 2weeks consecutively. The first incident was 4.5 hrs after purchase. The Passenger side Tide Rod snapped in half on the highway causing the jam and slow down along…

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This Vehicle was bought back in Jun of this year. Since purchasing the vehicle with only 49,933 miles this Sentra has broken down 4 times, been in the shop for 1Month 2weeks consecutively. The first incident was 4.5 hrs after purchase. The Passenger side Tide Rod snapped in half on the highway causing the jam and slow down along with leaving me in fear for my life. The passenger rim was inverted facing the driver. The second time happened to be the same issue but at a different dealership. The car went to Moss Bros San Bernardino where it was bought and was there for about 25days .Later it was sent to Nissan of San Bernardino and was there for 2weeks. The same day It got picked up from Nissan it was taken back the same day. Had same Bumpy and shaking throughout the car. When the tie rod snapped in half it had destroyed the durability of the belt and pulley systems as the vehicle weight was slammed abruptly onto the passenger side of the car leaving it slanted and slid for 2-3 mins on the freeway this caused the engine to become weak which led up to the defective parts breaking over time of driving regularly. The Alternator Pulley, Serpentine Belt, Axle, and balance to become uneven. So as of 09/10 this vehicle has broke down 4-5 times. Been in the shop since. The vehicle has Powertrain warranty but as usual they denied coverage. Total cost is around $2,700 in damages due to the original recall. This Tie rod recall has destroyed the vehicle. Congratulation to me cause I still owe 22K. This hazardous, and dangerous vehicle has also been deemed unsafe by CHP as of 06/11/2024. This particularly Sentra is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode on the freeway.

NHTSA ODI #11615120

41,000 miles · Jul 5, 2024
Exterior LightingPower Train

The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that the word "Malfunction" was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the brake light s…

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The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that the word "Malfunction" was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the brake light switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 41,000.

NHTSA ODI #11599299

Mileage unknown · Jun 5, 2024
Power Train

On Sept 25 23 I was driving and the engine light came on the car stalled in traffic and would not move when I tried to go forward the car would not move. I called my insurance roadside service they had to tow the car to the dealer. The dealer said the cause of the problem was the transmission they had to replace the automatic C…

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On Sept 25 23 I was driving and the engine light came on the car stalled in traffic and would not move when I tried to go forward the car would not move. I called my insurance roadside service they had to tow the car to the dealer. The dealer said the cause of the problem was the transmission they had to replace the automatic CVT transaxle assembly. These cars need to be recalled because I had a 2018 nissan sentra with the same transmission problem.

NHTSA ODI #11592564

Mileage unknown · Sep 28, 2023
Power TrainSuspensionWheels

Catastrophic failure today. Car was towed with special tow truck to dealer after hours. Will know more tomorrow. While driving Passenger right front tire: upper tie rod broke, lower control arm broke, trans-axel broke, smoke came out of hood. Right before this happened the car experienced a shimmy in the steering wheel and to…

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Catastrophic failure today. Car was towed with special tow truck to dealer after hours. Will know more tomorrow. While driving Passenger right front tire: upper tie rod broke, lower control arm broke, trans-axel broke, smoke came out of hood. Right before this happened the car experienced a shimmy in the steering wheel and to keep car driving straight I had hold steering wheel at angle to the right (40mph). Next the anti-lock brakes engaged then disengaged. Four or so miles later I got a dashboard warning that had “malfunction” on almost every system (all amber lights). I pulled over at gas station immediately called dealer and was advised to bring in it ASAP. I put the car in reverse attempted to back out of parking spot, got 4 feet out and a horrible clanking/popping noise happened maybe 3 times and smoke came from engine compartment. I tried to put car back in gear to pull back into parking spot - but car would not move forward or backward. Got out and visual inspection showed front right tire had torn away from car and was hanging and car body was sitting imbedded into tire causing a dent in the panel. First tow truck driver said damage was so bad, they had to call a different kind of tow truck. Car then towed to dealer tonight after hours. Don’t know full extent of damage yet, tow truck driver thought transmission damaged when axel pulled away. What happened preceding this: I had just got off I-95 after a 7 hour drive from Myrtle Beach. Was 2-3 miles off freeway when this happed. Had it happed just a few minutes earlier, it would have happened on freeway at 70mph. There would likely have been multiple fatalities. Dealer replaced both left and right trans axels within last 2 months a week apart (car was making clunking sound). Tie rods inspected (told they were fine). Ten days ago clunking again (sounded like it was coming from engine compartment near center console.) took back to dealer they inspected it, changed oil and could not duplicate noise

NHTSA ODI #11547241

10,000 miles · Sep 20, 2021
Power Train

The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the contact noticed a vibration while depressing on the accelerator pedal. The contact was able to continue to drive to her destination; however, the failure persisted. The contact took the vehicle to a local dealer to be inspected however, the deale…

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The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the contact noticed a vibration while depressing on the accelerator pedal. The contact was able to continue to drive to her destination; however, the failure persisted. The contact took the vehicle to a local dealer to be inspected however, the dealer was not yet able to inspect the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.

NHTSA ODI #11433729

2,710 miles · Jul 22, 2020
EnginePower TrainService Brakes

THIS CAR'S EMERGENCY BRAKE SENSORS HAVE GONE OFF TWICE NOW IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS. THERE IS NO CAR OR ANY OBJECT IN FRONT OF ME AND THE SENSOR APPLIES THE BRAKES WHILE IN MOTION. ALSO, WHEN SLOWING DOWN TO A STOP AT CITY SPEEDS THE CAR JERKS AND/OR SURGES FORWARD AND I HAVE TO APPLY THE BRAKES HARDER OTHERWISE THE CAR CONTINUES …

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THIS CAR'S EMERGENCY BRAKE SENSORS HAVE GONE OFF TWICE NOW IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS. THERE IS NO CAR OR ANY OBJECT IN FRONT OF ME AND THE SENSOR APPLIES THE BRAKES WHILE IN MOTION. ALSO, WHEN SLOWING DOWN TO A STOP AT CITY SPEEDS THE CAR JERKS AND/OR SURGES FORWARD AND I HAVE TO APPLY THE BRAKES HARDER OTHERWISE THE CAR CONTINUES TO MOVE FORWARD.

NHTSA ODI #11340801

Official recalls

4

23V628000 · Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera

Sep 8, 2023

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Altima and 2020-2021 Sentra vehicles. Damage to the camera harness can cause distortion or loss of the rearview camera display image. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A rearview camera that does not properly display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect the rearview camera and harness for damage and replace them as necessary. If no damage is found, the dealer will apply protective tape and reroute the rearview camera harness. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 19, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R23C3.

23V581000 · Steering:linkages:tie Rod Assembly

Aug 15, 2023

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Sentra vehicles. The left and/or right tie rod may bend.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A bent tie rod can break and cause a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Owners are advised to contact their dealer for transport assistance if they are experiencing an off-center steering wheel or vibration. As an interim repair, dealers will inspect and replace any bent or broken tie rods, free of charge. Once newly designed parts are available, dealers will replace both left and right tie rods, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed November 27, 2024. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R23B3. This recall replaces and expands recall number 21V-461. Vehicles previously repaired under 21V-461 will need to have the new remedy completed.

22V244000 · Exterior Lighting:headlights

Apr 13, 2022

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020 Sentra vehicles, equipped with LED headlights. The right-hand headlight aim may be misaligned. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamp, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An improperly aimed headlight may reduce the driver's visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the right-hand headlight, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 10, 2022. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R20B4.

21V461000 · Steering:linkages:tie Rod Assembly

Jun 17, 2021

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Sentra vehicles. The left and/or right tie rod may be bent.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A bent tie rod can break, causing a loss of steering control and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the left and/or right tie rods as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 5, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is PM985.

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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.