1997 NISSAN SENTRA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 107 complaints · 7 recalls
Most-reported system: AIR BAGS (25 complaints · 23.4%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 26
  • Fires 2
  • Injuries 26
  • Deaths 2
Compare with 1996 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution AIR BAGS appears in 25 of 107 owner complaints (23.4%) in this vehicle snapshot. AIR BAGS: 25 complaints, 23.4% of reports AIR BAGS 25 · 23.4% · 15 crash reports VISIBILITY: 20 complaints, 18.7% of reports VISIBILITY 20 · 18.7% SERVICE BRAKES: 11 complaints, 10.3% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 11 · 10.3% · 2 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 9 complaints, 8.4% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9 · 8.4% · 2 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 9 complaints, 8.4% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 9 · 8.4% · 3 crash reports ENGINE: 6 complaints, 5.6% of reports ENGINE 6 · 5.6% STEERING: 4 complaints, 3.7% of reports STEERING 4 · 3.7% · 3 crash reports TIRES: 4 complaints, 3.7% of reports TIRES 4 · 3.7% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 3 complaints, 2.8% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 · 2.8% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 76 complaints, 71.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 76 · 71.0% · 19 crash reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
AIR BAGS 25 23.4% 15 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 20 18.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 11 10.3% 2 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9 8.4% 0 crashes · 2 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 9 8.4% 3 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 6 5.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 4 3.7% 3 crashes · 0 fires
TIRES 4 3.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 2.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 76 71.0% 19 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1997; the first recall shown was reported in Jul 1997. 1997-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1997-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 1998-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 1999-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 1999-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2000-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2000-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2000-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2001-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2004-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 1997 Jan 2018 Recall campaign 97V110000 ◆ Recall campaign 97V110000 Recall campaign 98V008000 ◆ Recall campaign 98V008000 Recall campaign 98V093000 ◆ Recall campaign 98V093000 Recall campaign 06E026000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E026000 Recall campaign 06E049000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E049000 Recall campaign 09E012000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E012000 Recall campaign 09E025000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E025000
  • Campaign 98V008000 was reported 239 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 09E025000 was reported 4,367 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1997-Q1 Owner reports 1
1997-Q2 Owner reports 3
1997-Q4 Owner reports 2
1998-Q1 Owner reports 1
1998-Q2 Owner reports 1
1998-Q3 Owner reports 7
1998-Q4 Owner reports 7
1999-Q1 Owner reports 11
1999-Q2 Owner reports 3
1999-Q3 Owner reports 4
2000-Q1 Owner reports 2
2000-Q2 Owner reports 6
2000-Q3 Owner reports 4
2000-Q4 Owner reports 2
2001-Q1 Owner reports 6
2001-Q2 Owner reports 1
2001-Q3 Owner reports 2
2001-Q4 Owner reports 2
2002-Q1 Owner reports 3
2002-Q3 Owner reports 3
2002-Q4 Owner reports 1
2003-Q1 Owner reports 2
2003-Q2 Owner reports 2
2003-Q3 Owner reports 2
2003-Q4 Owner reports 4
2004-Q1 Owner reports 2
2004-Q2 Owner reports 3
2004-Q3 Owner reports 1
2004-Q4 Owner reports 4
2005-Q2 Owner reports 1
2006-Q2 Owner reports 1
2006-Q4 Owner reports 1
2008-Q3 Owner reports 1
2009-Q2 Owner reports 1
2009-Q3 Owner reports 1
2010-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q2 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
2012-Q4 Owner reports 1
2013-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 2
2016-Q2 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 97V110000
Recall campaign 1 98V008000
Recall campaign 1 98V093000
Recall campaign 1 06E026000
Recall campaign 1 06E049000
Recall campaign 1 09E012000
Recall campaign 1 09E025000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (7)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E026000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    WITHOUT THE AMBER REFLECTORS, THE VEHICLE WILL BE POORLY ILLUMINATED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.
    Remedy:
    PRO-A MOTORS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER TO REPURCHASE THE LAMPS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 3, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT PRO-A MOTORS AT 323-838-2988.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E049000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    WITHOUT THE AMBER REFLECTORS, THE VEHICLE WILL BE POORLY ILLUMINATED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.
    Remedy:
    CK MOTORSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE NONCOMPLIANT LAMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 1, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CK MOTORSPORT AT 1-909-610-7211.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 09E012000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    SABERSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 11, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SABERSPORT AT 1-909-598-7589.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 09E025000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DOPE, INC. WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 28, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DOPE, INC. AT 1-626-272-1798.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  5. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 97V110000

    Report date
    Component:
    STRUCTURE
    Consequence:
    IN THE EVENT OF A VEHICLE CRASH, AN OCCUPANT WOULD NOT BE PROPERLY PROTECTED INCREASING THE RISK OF PERSONAL INJURY.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSTALL THE MISSING PAD IN EACH REAR DOOR.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  6. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 98V008000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    FOLLOWING VEHICLES MAY NOT BE AWARE THAT THE VEHICLE IN FRONT IS STOPPING, INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    OWNERS WILL BE PROVIDED WITH TWO NEW LIGHT BULBS FOR THE STOP/TAIL LAMPS WHICH ARE BRIGHTER THAN THE ORIGINAL BULBS. A LABEL WITH THE NEW BULB NUMBER WILL ALSO BE PROVIDED FOR INSERTION INTO THE OWNER'S MANUAL. IF AN OWNER SO DESIRES, A DEALERS CAN INSTALL THE LIGHT BULBS FOR THEM.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  7. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 98V093000

    Report date
    Component:
    VISIBILITY
    Consequence:
    THIS CAN RESULT IN GRADUAL WEAR OVER A PERIOD OF TIME INSIDE THE JOINT THAT COULD LEAD TO THE SEPARATION OF THE WIPER LINKAGE ASSEMBLY FROM THE WIPER MOTOR LINKAGE AT THE BALL JOINT. A LOSS OF WINDSHIELD WIPER FUNCTION CAN RESULT IN THIS SEPARATION OCCURS.
    Remedy:
    TO PREVENT GREASE FROM BEING WASHED OUT OF THE JOINT, THE DEALERS WILL MODIFY BY ADDING A WATER DIVERSION SEAL THAT WILL PREVENT WATER FROM ENTERING THE WINDSHIELD WIPER LINKAGE BALL JOINT AREA.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 107 complaints · page 1 of 5

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources