2022 Nissan Sentra: What to check before buying

Vibration and pulling lead this category. Owners describe a shaking steering wheel at highway speeds, a car that keeps going out of alignment, an off-center wheel, and popping or knocking from the front when turning. Many tie these symptoms to federal recall 23V-581 for weak tie rods. Some say the vibration continues after the tie rods, alignment, struts, or rack and pinion are replaced, and some dealers blame engine mounts. One filing reports a tie rod breaking and the car veering into a barrier. Other owners say dealers told them their car was not part of the recall.

Batteries go dead with no clear cause. Owners report the car draining overnight or after short trips, a message saying the key is not near the start button, and repeated jump starts. Dealers often find nothing wrong or simply replace the battery. A second pattern is a burst of warning lights at once, including collision sensors, traction control, ABS, and master warning, which turns off safety features. Other reports include headlights shutting off or dimming at night, windows locking on their own, and the car shutting off at an intersection and refusing to restart.

Stalling while driving is the most serious report. It happens at speeds from neighborhood streets up to highway speeds, sometimes with a "Vehicle Stalled Stop Safely" message and sometimes with no warning, and the driver loses power and gets stiff steering. Other owners describe the car hesitating when the gas is pressed, revving and nearly stalling at stops, and lunging forward when braking. Complaints also mention hard shifting and cruise control setting off collision warnings. Several problems start within the first few thousand miles.

The car fails to accelerate or slows sharply on its own, and owners describe near rear-end collisions at expressway speeds. These complaints include 4 injuries. One owner says a dealer traced the failure to a defective EGR valve with no repair date and no dashboard warning for the driver. Another problem involves regular cruise control: the car slows on gentle curves without turning on the brake lights, so following drivers get no warning.

The brake booster bursts with a very loud bang, leaving insulation hanging under the car. Dealers say they had not seen this failure before, and one replacement booster failed again within 1300 miles. Stopping still worked, but owners see a serious risk at highway speeds. A separate complaint describes a parking brake that will not engage on inclines, revs the engine when applied, and sometimes releases on its own after the car is shut off. The dealer could not reproduce it.

Automatic emergency braking engages with nothing in the way. Owners report the car braking hard at around 20 to 30 mph, sometimes several times, in cars with low mileage. Another pattern is the pre-collision system light turning on and off along with malfunction alerts saying the system is not working. A dealer found and repaired a fault in one case. False braking is a rear-end crash risk in traffic.

Front axle and wheel bearing failures appear early. In one report the front passenger axle broke and came off at low speed with no warning light, and the manufacturer said the car was out of warranty at 26,319 miles. Another owner lists wheel bearings wearing out before their expected life, CVT shafts stripped from the factory that had to be replaced with them, new struts, and an EGR valve failure that kept the car from starting.