2013 Nissan Sentra Powertrain (other) Problems

It's slipping in the transmission

NHTSA ID

11703554

Incident

Dec 13, 2024

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that similar model year vehicles were recalled for the transmission failure; however, the VIN was not included in a powertrain recall. The failure was a recurring failure. The contact stated that the vehicle had been parked in the backyard for over a year and was no longer driven due to safety concerns. The failure mileage was not provided.

NHTSA ID

11693618

Incident

Apr 15, 2024

Mileage

36 mi

The CVT transmission has a serious problem it does this jerking movement and could lead to an accident or serious bodily injury to occupants in the vehicle I am filing a complaint regarding the CVT transmission failure in my 2013 Nissan Sentra (VIN: [XXX] ). The vehicle began showing symptoms such as jerking, hesitation, and loss of power while driving. These are serious safety concerns, especially when merging or accelerating. After researching the issue, I discovered this is a well-documented and widespread defect in Nissan CVT-equipped vehicles from this generation. Many other owners have experienced premature transmission failure, and Nissan has issued extended warranties in the past on certain models. However, despite clear signs of defective transmission design, my vehicle has not been covered under any warranty or recall. I believe this defect poses a serious safety hazard and should be addressed by Nissan through a recall or formal investigation. Transmission failure while driving could easily lead to a crash. I urge the NHTSA to open an investigation and compel Nissan to take accountability for this widespread transmission failure. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11669280

Incident

Jun 25, 2025

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost automotive power and failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 65,000.

NHTSA ID

11646532

Incident

Mar 5, 2024

Mileage

65,000 mi

Transmission has failed. The car will not change speed when pressing on gas. Causing danger on the road when driven. The issue has been confirmed by an independent auto service. No warning lamps or identifiers has been present with this issue. The vehicle itself has only 97000 miles. This transmission issue with this vehicle is a known problem and many owners of this vehicle has reported this exact issue.

NHTSA ID

11646508

Incident

Jan 22, 2025

The car was stalled and wouldn’t go without warning and no indication issues were present. When it stalled driver put at risk of being hit and caused multiple cars to swerve to miss the car. Thankfully able to get the car off the road and toed. Transmission completely failed.

NHTSA ID

11632131

Incident

Dec 19, 2024

Vehicle loses power fails to excellerate while traveling on the freeway Cvt transmission is very difficult to work on or check fluids

NHTSA ID

11631323

Incident

Dec 15, 2024

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that several years ago an unknown recall notification was received; however, the dealer failed to complete the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.

NHTSA ID

11601295

Incident

Feb 11, 2024

Mileage

68,000 mi

The car has stalled or completely become unresponsive during traffic. I notified dealer but nothing was done. No warning lights the problem started about three years ago around 60000 miles. Just recently took to independent auto shop and was told it's a bad transmission

NHTSA ID

11583415

Incident

Apr 16, 2024

CVT Transmission, available for inspection any time. I was driving in a public area that’s heavily trafficked when this happened. My car gave out and would not continue in drive. All the other gears worked at the time besides driving forward. This could’ve ended very badly to other people on the road. I had to take it to a shop twice. Nissan automatically told me it’s a transmission issue and several recalls with CVT transmissions, took it for a second opinion just to make sure and the second shop also said it’s the CVT transmission. My dash did not have any warning lights to show what was the problem.

NHTSA ID

11576380

Incident

Feb 13, 2024

Bad transmission

NHTSA ID

11564079

Incident

Apr 20, 2021

Code P0101 came on, service Bulletin from NHTSA.gov was done. Car came back worst. Engine stalled in the middle of the street. It wouldn’t turn on, we had to push it to get it out of the street. Car will accelerate on its own when turn on. Sometimes car will accelerate when put on Reverse on its own….. RPMs will be at 7 and 8 when going 45MPH. I notice this has been an issue for Nissan Sentras 2013-2015 based on research all over the internet. People have replaced Thottle body, air mass flow sensor, break sensors, fuel intake, fuses. Vehicle isn’t safe to be driving in street, may caused an accident, even mechanic said I shouldn’t be driving the car because it isn’t safe. We already made a complaint with NHTSA, DMV for financial Help and nothing. Help is really needed.

NHTSA ID

11553612

Incident

Oct 16, 2023

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. On several occasions while driving on the highway, the vehicle failed to exceed 30 MPH. Additionally, while driving up an incline, the RPM revved to high however, the vehicle failed to properly respond. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 114,000.

NHTSA ID

11543192

Incident

Apr 1, 2023

Mileage

114,000 mi

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated, and the vehicle would not properly accelerate from a stationary position while driving up an incline. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who determined that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The transmission was replaced but the failure persisted. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 120,000.

NHTSA ID

11538584

Incident

May 1, 2023

Mileage

120,000 mi

The shift started locking, followed by consistent tugging while driving above 20 mph. It stutters and pulls when driving down hill which has caused me to pull over and restart the car in heavy traffic on the freeway. Now the car pulls so much it is not safe to drive above 20 mph. I have taken it to two service centers and both have confirmed the CVT transmission is faulty. No lamps or messages prior to the failure showed up. This started before the car hit 80,000 miles.

NHTSA ID

11533152

Incident

Jan 1, 2022

The vehicle will hesitate and stall when I am pulling out until traffic, causing me to almost get hit if there are any cars coming. When I go over 50mph on an incline, the RPMs will jump way high and the car will lose power in the middle of the highway. I will have to pull over and turn it off for awhile to get it to run again. There are no lights on at this time, but if I have the cruise control going, the Cruise light will flash and cruise will not work. Hitting Accelerate on the steering wheel cruise menu will move the car, but the gas pedal will not, and cruise control will not work.

NHTSA ID

11529982

Incident

Aug 1, 2022

The transmission gave issues a few years ago and I got it fixed by Nissan. They confirmed that they put in a new transmission. It’s been only 20,000 miles and the transmission gave out. The car reverses but will not drive. They quoted me $7000 to fix it again.

NHTSA ID

11529110

Incident

Jun 11, 2023

I own a 2013 Nissan Sentra SR with only 69,000 miles. The vehicle has been meticulously maintained with all recommended services being performed. The vehicle has had the factory/dealer recommended CVT reprogramming as well as CVT fluid exchange and coolant flush services. On May 25, 2023, my daughter was driving home from work when without warning the vehicle went into limp mode on the freeway causing it to decelerate rapidly, swerve and almost cause an accident. The vehicle would not accelerate over 40 mph and was taken to the dealership. There were no warning lights on the dash and no performance issues prior to the incident. The dealer ran diagnostics & code P17FO came up for a faulty CVT Transmission. The transmission was replaced at a cost of $6186.00. This is a Nissan CVT that has been dealer serviced following all preventive maintenance recommended by Nissan and the Dealership. Two days after the new CVT was installed, the exact same thing occurred, with the car again going into limp mode on a hill of a two-lane road with heavy traffic. The car this time was almost rear ended and would not accelerate above 15 mph. The vehicle is now at the dealership awaiting "transmission number three." Nissan Corporate was notified, and a case number was issued, 48966982. The arbitrator essentially washed their hands of the CVT issue and advised they would not take any action other than acknowledging the very long CVT failure history and that the issue was mine to resolve through my dealer. I filed a previous NHTSA complaint documenting the initial CVT failure, 11524137. The CVT failures is an issue Nissan has known about for twenty years, been sued for, yet continues to refuse to accept any responsibility for a flawed component known for failures, thus screwing countless Nissan consumers out of thousands in out of pocket expenses. Nissan should accept responsibility and recall all of these transmissions or be forced to reimburse consumers who have had to replace one.

NHTSA ID

11527063

Incident

Jun 7, 2023

I own a 2013 Nissan Sentra SR with only 69,000 miles. The vehicle has been meticulously maintained it's entire life with all recommended services being performed and then some. The vehicle has had the factory/dealer recommended CVT reprogramming as well as CVT fluid exchange services. The vehicle was purchased for my daughter who drives carefully, ensures the car is clean and well maintained. We have a stack of dealer service records showing an impeccable service history. On May 25, 2023, my daughter was driving home from work that evening when without warning the vehicle went into limp mode on the freeway causing it to decelerate rapidly, swerve and almost cause an accident. The vehicle would not accelerate over 40 mph and was immediately taken to the dealership. There were no warning lights on the dash and no performance issues prior to the incident. The dealer ran diagnostics and code P17FO came up for a faulty CVT Transmission. The transmission now has to be replaced due to failure. This is a Nissan CVT that has been dealer serviced following all preventive maintenance recommended by Nissan and the Dealership (Priority Nissan of Chantilly, Chantilly, VA). The vehicle ran perfectly prior to the failure and there were absolutely no warning signs of a transmission issue before the incident. As part of the preventive maintenance recommended for the vehicle we did the anti/freeze coolant flush at 51K , the CVT reprogramming and transmission flush at 52K, to ensure continued reliability. Despite the car being well maintained and having very low mileage for the model year, the CVT failed with an out of pocket repair of $5,900. The CVT failures is an issue Nissan has known about for twenty years, been sued for, yet continues to deny the problems or accept responsibility for thus screwing thousands of consumers. Nissan should accept responsibility and recall these transmissions or be forced to reimburse consumers. Repair invoice is pending. Car remains in shop.

NHTSA ID

11524137

Incident

May 25, 2023

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the vehicle was jerking abnormally. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the roadway. The contact then drove to the nearest gas station at 10 MPH and parked the vehicle. An independent mechanic diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.

NHTSA ID

11520481

Incident

May 3, 2023

Mileage

97,000 mi

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON CATALYTIC CONVERTER, AIR BAG LIGHT IS ON, SLOW TO ACCELERATE CVT IS ACTING UP

NHTSA ID

11511648

Incident

Feb 1, 2023

While driving down the road in my 2013 Nissan Sentra on December 31,2022 my cars engine light came on and went from a solid amber color to flashing and then my car lost power and I had to coast down the road to a near by house where I had to have my vehicle towed to my house and it is still sitting at the bottom of my driveway to this day I believe that my vehicle should be showing a recall on the cvt transmission but it don’t which isn’t right. I just need my car fixed and back to running

NHTSA ID

11509629

Incident

Dec 31, 2022

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle suddenly lost motive power and stalled. During the failure, the check engine and air bags warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 61,000.

NHTSA ID

11503942

Incident

Jan 1, 2023

Mileage

61,000 mi

While driving down the road power to the accelerator was lost thus making it so I had to roll down the road the the closes driveway and pull over and when I tried to get my vehicle in reverse my vehicle wouldn’t move after it was placed in reverse the engine would rev up but my vehicle wouldn’t move at all

NHTSA ID

11503869

Incident

Dec 23, 2022

The transmission just went out while I was driving. I tried accelerating and my car was not accelerating and now it is not going into gear

NHTSA ID

11501743

Incident

Jan 14, 2023