Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government
holds on this vehicle.
129
Complaints
14
Crashes
1
Fires
8
Injuries
0
Deaths
Owners of the 2021 Nissan Sentra have filed 129
safety complaints with NHTSA
between June 2021 and July 2026.
The most complained-about system is the steering,
named in 40 of them
(31%). The typical failure was reported at 23,000 miles, the median
across the 21 complaints that gave an
odometer reading.
NHTSA has issued 3 recalls covering this
vehicle.
Recalls (3)
BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
23V628000 · September 8, 2023
The defect
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."
The risk
A rearview camera that does not properly display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
The 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.
Nissan North America, Inc. · up to 153,376 vehicles across all model years covered
STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY
23V581000 · August 15, 2023
The defect
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Sentra vehicles. The left and/or right tie rod may bend.
The risk
A bent tie rod can break and cause a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
The 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.
Nissan North America, Inc. · up to 236,238 vehicles across all model years covered
STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY
21V461000 · June 17, 2021
The defect
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Sentra vehicles. The left and/or right tie rod may be bent.
The risk
A bent tie rod can break, causing a loss of steering control and increasing the risk of a crash.
The 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.
Nissan North America, Inc. · up to 138,736 vehicles across all model years covered
What owners report
Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add
up to more than 129.
STEERING 40 31%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 38 29%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 38 29%
SERVICE BRAKES 23 18%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 18 14%
ENGINE 7 5%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 6 5%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 6 5%
SUSPENSION 5 4%
WHEELS 5 4%
POWER TRAIN 4 3%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 3 2%
When the complaints arrived
By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures
happened. They peaked in 2023 at 42.
2021 to 2026, the last of them a part year
In owners' own words
Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the
people who filed them, not findings of fault.
STEERING
1 injured · fire · crash · towed
My accident was with Nissan Sentra veering out of control. I was lucky, see others who weren’t in past few weeks: Nissan Sentra’s have lost control resulting in fatal crashes against guardrail, train, snowbank, tree (fire), garbage truck, patrol car(s), highway wall, jeep, pedestrian, & some drove into a ditch, little river, river bank, heavy duty truck, injured police officer. Humble Request to investigate please: Nissan recalls + reported accident’s in past month (+ unreported\private), only NHTSA can identify a pattern
NHTSA complaint 11450320. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
STEERING
1 injured · crash · towed
The contact owned a 2021 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated their daughter was driving at 30 mph, when the driver was merging into a lane when the driver heard an unidentified noise and lost control of the vehicle, and crashed into a telephone pole. The air bags did deploy. The driver had a laceration and bruise and swelling in the left knee. The driver declined medical treatment at the scene. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard where it was later deemed as a totaled loss. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
NHTSA complaint 11430740. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
SERVICE BRAKES
1 injured · crash · towed
Out of control
NHTSA complaint 11450217. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
STEERING
1 injured · crash · towed
bent tie rod condition impaired the driver's ability to steer the vehicle
NHTSA complaint 11450285. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
My 2021 Nissan Sentra has experienced multiple false Automatic Emergency Braking (phantom braking) events where the vehicle suddenly applies the brakes despite there being no vehicle, pedestrian, or obstacle in its path. This issue occurred before and after my vehicle was serviced by AutoNation Nissan Chandler on June 12, 2026. Despite recent dealership service, the problem continues to occur. The unexpected braking creates a serious safety hazard because it can cause the vehicle to slow or stop unexpectedly in traffic, increasing the risk of a rear-end collision or other accident. I am also concerned that these repeated sudden braking events may be causing excessive stress or premature …
NHTSA complaint 11751232, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
STEERING
The scope of repair required fixing a recalled tie rod that suffered a catastrophic failure, which directly caused the vehicle’s ADAS, Advanced Emergency Braking (AEB), and collision detection systems to crash. Berman Nissan promised a legally compliant, safe repair but breached this agreement by returning an unsafe vehicle, failing to road-test the steering component (verified by identical check-in/out mileage), and intentionally scrubbing trouble codes to conceal active safety failures. Staff explicitly refused all safety assistance, failed to secure my signature on any authorization paperwork from tow to pick-up, and Nissan corporate stated they were 'not legally required' to resolve the …
NHTSA complaint 11750579, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Alternator needed replacement Front windshield needed replacement Unfortunately this kicked off the malfunction warning. All Nissan can say is it’s the ADAS 2 controller. They are unable to determine part numbers. However the alternator and windshield replacement kicked off the malfunction warning.
NHTSA complaint 11742845. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Several issues since purchasing vehicle. The front collision sensor malfunction. Came to an abrupt stop several times while on the freeway due to failed sensor. Narrowly avoided major collisions. Also, have had to replace batter every year along with brakes and tires. My suspension is awful. The brakes are crap and have consistently had to address worn tires in one side. Electric panel shit off and key fob malfunctions. So many issues and so much unnecessary repairs with no real results
NHTSA complaint 11739981. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
STEERING
Hello, I am reporting a steering-related issue involving the inner tie rods on my 2021 Nissan Sentra. Nissan previously issued safety recall campaign PM985 for bent inner tie rods on certain Sentra vehicles from the same model year. Two separate repair facilities inspected my vehicle and confirmed problems involving the inner tie rods and steering system components. No warning lamps or dashboard messages appeared prior to the issue being identified. Although my VIN may not currently be included in the recall population, my vehicle is experiencing a similar issue involving the same steering-related component identified in recall PM985. Because tie rods are directly related to steering …
NHTSA complaint 11739878, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
The door swung open while in drive, once was able to pull over and close it never opened back up due to a faulty door actuator. This was the third time the door had been “fixed”.
NHTSA complaint 11737180. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon
law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back.
What each state asks for
, read from the statutes.
Where these numbers come from
Complaints: NHTSA's ODI
complaint file
, published August 20, 2026. One
complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
Recalls: NHTSA's recall
campaign API
, most recent campaign filed August 12, 2026.
Investigations: NHTSA's ODI
investigation file
, published 2026-08-19.
A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by
us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that
sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.
G
Compiled and maintained by guarledes Independent developer and analyst