2001 NISSAN SENTRA Complaints

LEAKAGE TO THE HEAD GASKET IN 2001 NISSAN SENTRA. ACCORDING TO MY MECHANIC, THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT OCCURS FREQUENTLY IN THIS VEHICLE DUE TO INFERIOR MATERIALS (ALUMINUM) USED IN THE MATERIALS USED FOR THE HEAD GASKET. IT WAS NOTICED AS I WAS DRIVING MY DAUGHTER TO SCHOOL AND WITHOUT WARNING, THE CAR BEGAN TO STALL ON A VERY BUSY STREET. I HAVE HAD FREQUENT PREVENTABLE MAINTENANCE SERVICED ON MY CAR AND THIS WAS NOT DETECTABLE UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE. MY MECHANIC HAS SINCE REPLACED THE PART AND HAD TO TAKE APART HALF OF THE ENGINE TO DO SO WHICH TURNED OUT TO BE VERY COSTLY. IT COST $1,500 WHICH IS ALMOST A THIRD OF THE CAR'S CURRENT BLUE BOOK VALUE. *TR

METAL PIECE OF OIL DIPSTICK BROKE OFF AND FELL INTO ENGINE. UNABLE TO RETRIEVE. POOR DESIGN NOTED. *TR

VALVE STEM SPLIT RESULTING IN FLAT TIRE AND DESTRUCTION OF TIRE. TIRE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 NISSAN SENTRA. WITHOUT WARNING, THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAD BEEN ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL FOR A YEAR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A MIDAS MECHANIC AND A DIAGNOSTIC WAS PERFORMED; HOWEVER, THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE IDENTIFIED. THE FAILURE RECURRED WITHOUT WARNING WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 49,500 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 49,550. UPDATED 09/10/08 *BF THE DEALER REPLACED THE CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR. UPDATED 09/15/08. *JB

THIS COMPLAINT HAS TO DO WITH THE FAILURE OF THE OIL STICK FOR THE 2001 NISSAN SENTRA. I HAVE OWNED THE CAR FOR LESS THAN FOUR YEARS AND HAVE HAD TWO DIFFERENT OIL STICKS BREAK IN THAT TIME. THE FIRST TIME THE OIL STICK WAS BROKEN IT WAS EASILY REMOVED FROM THE STEM IT RESTS IN. ON THE LATEST BREAK IT HAS BECOME LODGED INSIDE THE STEM. FROM WHAT I CAN GATHER THE STANDARD FEE MOST MECHANICS AND DEALERSHIPS RANGE FROM $120.00 TO $300.00 FOR THE REMOVAL OF THE OIL STICK. THE PROBLEM WITH THE DESIGN OF THE STICK IS THAT IT HAS A COMPLETELY PLASTIC HANDLE THAT EXTENDS FOR A WAYS BEFORE JOINING WITH THE METAL STICK. ON BOTH OCCASIONS THE STICK BREAKS WELL ABOVE WHERE IT JOINS WITH THE METAL COMPONENT THEREFORE MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO REMOVE WITH A MAGNET. THIS SAME PROBLEM HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED NUMEROUS TIMES ONLINE AND I SEE IT AS A PROBLEM THAT NISSAN CONTINUES TO SELL THIS OIL STICK. FROM ONE ONLINE FORUM ALONE I CAME ACROSS OVER 60 REPORTS OF THIS HAPPENING WITH A NISSAN OIL STICK AND ALMOST ALL OF THEM REFERRED TO EITHER A 2000 OR 2001 SENTRA. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 NISSAN SENTRA. WHILE DRIVING BETWEEN 50-70 MPH, THE VEHICLE WOULD SHUT OFF. THE VEHICLE WOULD IMMEDIATELY RESTART AND THEN SHUT OFF FIVE OR TEN MINUTES LATER. THE FIRST FAILURE OCCURRED ON MAY 30, 2008 AND HAS CONTINUED EVERY TIME THE VEHICLE IS DRIVEN. THE VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY WITH THE DEALER. NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 03V455000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING) WAS REFERENCED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 132,000.

THE PLASTIC PORTION OF MY OIL DIPSTICK BROKE OFF ON MY 2001 NISSAN SENTRA GXE. THIS CAUSED THE DIPSTICK TO FALL INTO THE ENGINE. I HAD TO PAY FOR A NEW DIPSTICK. THE NEW DIPSTICK IS ALSO PLASTIC AND I ANTICIPATE THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN. IT DOES NOT TAKE A GENIUS TO REALIZE THAT YOU SHOULD NOT USE PLASTIC ON AN ENGINE PART!!! *TR

ON A WAY HOME FROM A LONG TRIP (160 MILES EACH WAY), MY CAR SUDDENLY STOPPED RUNNING ON A HIGHWAY. IT STARTED AGAIN AND RAN FOR ANOTHER 30 MILES OR SO AND COMPLETELY STOPPED RUNNING AND DID NOT RESTART. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO A NEARBY GARAGE WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED TO REQUIRE A NEW CAM POSITION SENSOR. I WAS TOLD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO A NEARBY DEALERSHIP BECAUSE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. MY FAMILY HAD TO DRIVE 200 MILES TO GET ME HOME. RECENTLY, "SERVICE ENGINE" WARNING LIGHT CAME ON DURING TWO LONG TRIPS, BUT THE LIGHT WENT AWAY AFTER REPLACING OR TIGHTENING THE GAS CAP. AT THE TIME OF THE EVENT, NO WARNING LIGHT WAS ON. THE DEALERSHIP (HIGH POINT) CALLED LATER AND SAID THAT "THE GOOD NEWS" WAS THAT I DID NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THREE RECALLED PARTS, TWO OF WHICH CAUSED THE FAILURE. THE CAR WAS REPAIRED AND I DROVE 200 MILES TO GET IT HOME. I HAD NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE RECALL UNTIL THIS INCIDENT EVEN THOUGH THE RECALL CAMPAIGN HAS STARTED BEFORE WE PURCHASED THE CAR AT A NISSAN DEALERSHIP AS A USED CAR ON FEB. 29, 2004. SHOULD THIS HAVE BEEN REPAIRED BEFORE THE PURCHASE, OR SHOULD WE HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE, THE PROBLEM WOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED. THERE WERE MUCH EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH TOWING, EXTRA ENGINE CHECK AS WELL AS PERSONAL TIME SPENT ON DRIVING BACK AND FORTH. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THIS IS IN VIOLATION OF A LAW. I RECENTLY SPOKE WITH A FRIEND WHO OWNS A SAME MODEL CAR. THEIR DEALERSHIP (SERVICE DEPARTMENT, MIGHT BE UNDER THE SAME OWNERSHIP) TOLD THEM THAT THEIR CAR WOULD NEED SOME SENSORS WHICH MAY SOMETIMES CAUSE THEIR "SERVICE ENGINE" LIGHT TO COME ON. YET NO INFORMATION OF RECALL OR POTENTIAL SEVERITY OF THE PROBLEM HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO THEM. THIS MAKES ME WONDER IF SOME DEALERSHIPS ARE NOT ONLY NEGLECTING RECALL CAMPAIGN BUT ALSO INTENTIONALLY AVOIDING THE RECALL REPAIR. *TR

LEFT REAR SEAT BELT TENSIONER DOES NOT WORK. THE SEAT BELT WILL NOT RELEASE. *TR

THE LEFT-REAR SEAT BELT HAS MALFUNCTIONED IN THE "TIGHT" POSITION AND IS NOT USABLE. IT WILL NOT RELEASE FROM THE TENSION CONTROL DEVICE. *TR