7.8
pretty bad- Typical Repair Cost:
- $3,540
- Average Mileage:
- 61,400 miles
- Total Complaints:
- 29 complaints
Most common solutions:
- replace transmission (16 reports)
- the transmission was replaced (9 reports)
- not sure (4 reports)
This problem may be covered under warranty. Ask your Nissan dealer.
I bought this car thinking I was making a good decision on a reliable car, especially since I am disabled and need a reliable and inexpensive vehicle. Based on the sound we initially thought it was an axle issue and the mechanic was shocked when they took it apart to find that transmission was failing. Thankfully I had the extended warranty but it took them a week just to get the new transmission in. They didn't cover rental cars except on days that the mechanic billed a minimum of 8 hours and the lowest rate I could find was $70/day. I would have been out hundreds had I gotten one before reading the fine print. Instead I had to cancel all the doctor appointments I had, including some I had to reschedule months out.
When I picked up my car 10 days after initially taking it in, I asked if they corrected the issue or if the new one would fail also. They said that the issue was NOT corrected and to stay on top of oil changes at every 3000 miles but the new one would most likely fail as well. They also said that their little shop has done 16 Nissan transmissions in the last 9 month. I still owe a bit on the car so now I have to try to pay it off sooner and trade it in because I know next time I won't have at least $4000 to put in yet another transmission.
- Angela S., High Ridge, US
click to see larger images
Since 2017 I've been having problems with my car. I had paid an average of $6,000 for fixings by 2019 and one in particular I can’t afford to fix, the transmission, because up to date the cost of the new transmission went up to $1,500 more in last year 2021. My daughter and I are in need of this car to commute, my daughter to get to work and other places. We can’t afford to loose the car. My dealer does not notify me about any recalls made up to the year of my car. Please help me.
- maria m, New Britain, US
The car has been lurching and sputtering for a couple of weeks. Took it to the mechanic and they told us it needed to go to the dealer and that it would have to be towed. The transmission popped when they put it in park in the bay. It took several attempts to get it into neutral. We had the car towed to Nissan. They informed me Nissan provided an extended powertrain warranty on this model to 8/84,000 and, unless something had eaten the wires or there was specific damage to the transmission, it would be covered by the warranty. Waiting to hear how long before the car will be ready as they had to order the parts.
- ghostmom01, Glendale Heights, US
I purchased a 2015 Nissan Sentra in 2/2017 and had regularly serviced and no one caught the problem with the transmission. Once it reached 100,000 miles the gears started to slip, and it started jerking. Eventually it would not accelerate over 5mph. It would start but wouldn't move and now it won't even turn on. I gave it a jump and I drove it to Meineke. They look at it and told me that it is the CVT and that I need a new Transmission. I had them replace the battery. I was able to drive it back home but slowly because it would not go over 5mph. I only had the car for almost 3 years when all this started happening. I have been making payments on a vehicle that I can not even drive for over a year now.
- Kirrin S., York, US
CVT (Transmission). This issue came without warning. There have been continuous complaints about these transmissions.
- Ramon S., Accokeek, US
The transmission completely failed. Other issues we've had include the car losing power in traffic, almost causing an accident. The transmission slipped out of gear when we were driving on a major highway, in traffic, almost causing another accident. The car has also lost power while on the highway. I opened a case with Nissan but they refuse to pay any portion of the $4017.27 bill to replace my transmission.
- Brenda L., Virginia Beach, VA, US
This CVT transmission is a piece of crap. I had it replaced once and less than two years later, it's starting to mess up again. Of course its past the warranty so we will have to pay to fix this piece of crap. Nissan should do right by their customers and recall this crappy transmission. I will never buy another Nissan because of this.
- 15nissansentrapos, Wendell, US
Transmission failed while driving - didn't make it out of the driveway. Car has 53,000 miles currently and when I bought it, it had 47,000. Did 2 oil changes. Dealership will replace the cvt tranny under extended 80,000 manufacturer warranty, which ends 7/21.
- James G., Norfolk, US
Transmission problems: heating, smell, loud noise - high RPM and did not switch to higher gear. Very frustrating because we were forced to spend thousands of dollars on extra-coverage. With second transmission, after 15,000 miles it is doing it again.
- Luis R., Albuquerque, US
My 2015 Nissan Sentra only had 49150 miles on it when the transmission failed and left me stranded alongside a busy highway at night with a child . Warranty wouldn't cover it and the replacement failed as well. This is a nightmare. I loved my car but is not worth all this hassle. It has been in the shop longer than it has. Been out.
- Jonni B., Redding, US
There was an issue with my transmission from the day I bought it. Under 100 miles the same night I got it the car down shifted 3 times on the interstate going 70 mph. Like someone pulled the ebrake. Then I could not duplicate the issue ever again. 30k later my transmission would go through all the gears on take off giving me zero power. Took it in and the local Nissa dealer replaced it. Fast forward to 60k and its slipping. Funny how this is happening again and last time I went to the local dealer for my oil change.... They didn't even put any oil back in. This particular dealership I would never go back again for anything.
Even had a sales men get mad at me for not buying a car when my Sentra was having the transmission replaced. They gave me a base model Versa to drive while my car was in the shop 2 or 3 weeks. Yeah if that's what you want to give me I will upgrade elsewhere.
- Susan G., Hendersonville, US
Transmission noise, grinding, another crap cvt transmission. Do not purchase cvt transmissions, too expensive and not many re-builders can rebuild them, it requires different tooling. I do not know what percentage of cars that have been built fail, but there are many.
- Matt K., Fairfield, US
Nissan's CVT transmissions suck. They're faulty. They die and require a complete replacement. The Nissan dealership (Conicelli Nissan in Conshohocken PA) quoted me $3900.
When I first brought the car in, the service manager told me there was a trans fluid leak. They failed to alert me to the problems that Nissan has with their CVT transmissions and the cars inability to cool the system.
The dealership pitted themselves against the manufacturer in an attempt to confuse the matter.
- seanpdoyle, Philadelphia, US
Classic Nissan, makes no attempt to help fix their mistake whatsoever. Very disappointed.
- Trevor P., Johnson City, US
I am so disappointed. I bought a brand new Nissan Sentra not even 6 months after owning this vehicle I had to take it in for repairs for what I am certain was a Transmission, well they said there was nothing wrong. Few weeks after that same issue so I took it in again and they said oh it's the Mass Air Flow Sensor. Well a month after that same problem, take it in again and they say oh it's only an Oxygen Sensor I believe they said and replaced it.
Well guess what? Month later I am driving with my wife and 2 young children ages 11 & 6 on a very busy 4 lane highway suddenly same exact issue car will not accelerate above 35 MPH and then stalls out in the middle of the highway causing my family to literally miss getting rear ended by a Semi by maybe a foot, again I was nearly certain it's the Transmission have it towed there and again they say no, this time it's the Throttle Body.
I have wrote corporate, my local dealership and all they keep saying is the Warranty is now up, however, if the problem persist the will cover it. I am literally petrified to put my family back in this 🋠lemon and now it literally sits in my driveway reminding of what a poor brand is. Bought the vehicle brand new and for 2 years it's been in the shop half a dozen times or more for the same issue that they keep saying is something else when I am certain it is the transmission, so I am stuck with a lemon and the payments on a lemon that myself nor my wife are comfortable driving for fear of the next close call with a semi becoming reality thanks Nissan for refusing to admit it's the Transmission and replacing every part in the car but the transmission.
- Jose A., Riverview, US
I’m posting this about my young daughters car. As a father I thought I was doing my best to help her get into a car that keep her safe. I saw all the complaints about the CVT transmissions but the 2015 didn’t have that many complaints so I had hoped that Nissan had worked out most of the issues and the car would be safe. I was wrong.
She does alright and drives as safely as possible as long as everything is right with the car she is fine. But she is not the strong, confident driver that we adults are and this car completely lost power on a major highway. She was able to pull it over, let it set for a while and then was able to make it home. The problem occurred at about 30 minutes into a 45 minute drive from work.
Next day we took it to Nissan and they said it sounded like the CVT problem and a few days later told us they would be replacing it under the 5/60K powertrain warranty. They supplied a rental vehicle which was good and the care should be better for a while but what about the next 30k miles or 2020, whichever comes first. I have thinking about buying a 4/48K Nissan Ext warranty but neither of us have any confidence that the CVT will last and not leave her stranded again.
She’ll probably keep the car awhile longer to build some credit history, but the plan now is to get rid of it sometime next year before 2020 or 60,000 miles. Just don’t think we will ever be able to fully trust this CVT transmission to keep her safe. I’m sure Nissan executives and employees have children like mine and should be ashamed of themselves for not trying harder to resolve this problem once and for all.
- Ronald B., Austin, US
My car got a new transmission at 1.5 years old and now at 3 years old the transmission is acting up again.
This past weekend, the car hesitated to accelerate, it at one point would not go into a gear. It would shoot up to 4500RPM and sit thee. I would have to physically let off the gas and hit it again to coax it into gear. It then would not go below 3000RPM. It was downshifting very hard.
It is now sitting at the dealership to see if there are indeed more transmission issues.
- Ashley S., Converse, TX, US
My car started choking, stopping, jerking in drive and finally completely cut off. The place where I took the car for repair says the transmission is completely gone and needs to be replaced. I cannot afford this type of repair and it is my means to earn an income.
- Kevin A E., Washington, US
I have bought New 2015 Nissan Sentra. It's April 2018 and my transmission has been replaced. Transmission failure happened while driving on state route, luckily I didn't encounter any accident. After fixing this, my family is hesitating to use this car.
I feel, this car is not a safe car for a family, and I don't have a feel that I am driving a safe car. Any recommendation to get rid of this piece of junk.
My car went through Nissan Safety recall once. I have taken good care of my car by doing on-time service. I have complained about the service recommendation which these service centers sell to customers in the name of Nissan, but Nissan totally dis-owned it. Mileage on my car is 55,000 miles, so far I've paid $1056 (5% on total car cost).12 towards dealer service & Mechanical Service Contract $1806 (9% on total cost). Put together so far I have paid 14% on total car value towards car maintenance.
- Sivakumar R., HUntley, US
I have a 2015 Nissan Sentra and had it towed to the dealership for inspection. The dealership verified that the transmission definitely needs replacing. I have 92,000 miles on the car and still paying on it. The dealership also told me that the transmission would not be covered by them and the cost would be 3,908.00 for parts and labor. I really can not afford to replace the transmission or buy another car at this time.
- Taylor B., Columbus, US