2019 Nissan Sentra: What to check before buying

The radio turns on by itself with the car off, sometimes playing all night. Screens and the climate display go blank or freeze while driving. Push-button starts fail when the car does not register the brake pedal. Owners link this to the brake light switch covered by recall 21V135 (campaign PM971), and some cars outside the recall show the same fault. Front radar warnings shut off cruise control and automatic emergency braking, even after repeat dealer visits. Door locks, seatbelt lights and airbag lights also act up. One report involves a crash.

The CVT fails outright, with reported failures between 98,000 and 167,000 miles. Warning signs include jerking or slipping on takeoff, sudden downshifts, stalling, high revs with no added speed, and a car that will not go past 20 mph. Some owners say dealers found nothing wrong until the transmission quit. Most face a full transmission replacement. One crash with 3 injuries followed a loud noise, weak brakes and the shifter popping into reverse.

Most of these reports concern recall 21V135000 for the stop lamp switch. When the switch fails, the brake lights go dark and the car may not start, sometimes taking several tries or a jump. Many owners got the recall notice and then waited months for parts. Some saw the failure come back after the recall repair, which Nissan treats as a one-time fix. Three reports involve crashes, mostly rear-end collisions. One fire-related report describes burnt wires in the wiring harness after the taillights failed.

Automatic emergency braking slams on with nothing ahead. Small bumps, raised manhole covers and an empty highway at 70 mph have all set it off, and some cars come to a full stop. Other cars show a constant front radar warning that disables the system. A separate fault is the brake light switch failing to register the pedal, which blocks starting and kills the brake lights. A few owners report a pedal that sinks to the floor, a pedal that needs heavy force, or seized front calipers.

Front airbags fail to deploy in crashes, the most common report here. This category has 9 crash-related filings and 13 injuries. Several owners say no warning light came on beforehand. Other reports describe curtain airbags firing at highway speed with no collision, a door airbag cover popping off while driving, and a passenger seat sensor that thinks an empty seat is occupied. Some filings actually describe automatic emergency braking engaging on its own, including a high-speed spin into a guard rail.

The system fails both ways. Automatic emergency braking engages with no cars ahead and causes abrupt stops, in one case a fishtail at 45 mph. Other owners hear warnings, but the car never brakes, or the pedal briefly drops to the floor when the system sees an obstruction. Malfunction warnings come and go, and dealers often say it works as designed. One collision tech says the bumper hits the sensor bracket over small bumps and knocks the sensor out of calibration.

Front radar faults knock out cruise control and automatic emergency braking. In some cars the warning returns within minutes of every start. After a small bump at highway speed, one car lost all acceleration until it was shut off and restarted. Reported fixes include recalibrating or replacing the front radar unit, sometimes at the owner's cost once the warranty ran out. One crash report describes the engine racing and the car taking off on its own in a drive-thru line.

Door locks stop responding reliably to the key fob and the inside switch, starting at the driver door and spreading to the passenger door. Other reports cover a loose, rattling hood and hood paint that chips when the wiper blades are lifted, which the manufacturer called a design error. Another describes an overhead console that came loose from the roof and hung by its wires. One shop found the front impact bar missing during a crash repair. These reports are few and do not share a cause.