2020 Nissan Sentra problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Steering (46) · Electrical System (21) · Service Brakes (19)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Nissan Sentra model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
57 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (4)
Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera 2023-09-08 · campaign 23V628000 · 153,376 vehicles
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."
Risk: A rearview camera that does not properly display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Steering:linkages:tie Rod Assembly 2023-08-15 · campaign 23V581000 · 236,238 vehicles
Defect: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Sentra vehicles. The left and/or right tie rod may bend.
Risk: A bent tie rod can break and cause a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Exterior Lighting:headlights 2022-04-13 · campaign 22V244000 · 5,520 vehicles
Defect: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020 Sentra vehicles, equipped with LED headlights. The right-hand headlight aim may be misaligned. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamp, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Risk: An improperly aimed headlight may reduce the driver's visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the right-hand headlight, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 10, 2022. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R20B4.
Steering:linkages:tie Rod Assembly 2021-06-17 · campaign 21V461000 · 138,736 vehicles
Defect: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Sentra vehicles. The left and/or right tie rod may be bent.
Risk: A bent tie rod can break, causing a loss of steering control and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Service bulletins (115)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure:body 2026-04-13 · NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certification label and vin plate replacement service information because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “certification label” or “vin plate/label” may be needed. hint: certification label = fmvss (federal motor vehicle safety standards) label. these items may be availabl
Structure:body 2026-04-13 · NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certification label and vin plate replacement service information because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “certification label” or “vin plate/label” may be needed. hint: certification label = fmvss (federal motor vehicle safety standards) label. these items may be availabl
Service Brakes 2025-02-20 · NTB19-042F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
automatic emergency braking warning light blinking applied systems: vehicles equipped with a lane camera (see figure 1) service information if the automatic emergency braking (aeb) warning light or is blinking (but not illuminated steadily) or the customer states it is blinking, and there are no rel
Service Brakes 2025-02-20 · NTB19-033G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
intelligent cruise control inoperative and aeb/feb warning light on or radar obstruction message displayed with dtc c1a16 or c2582 if you confirm important: the purpose of action (on the next page) is to give you a quick idea of the work you will be performing. you must closely follow the entire ser
Engine 2025-01-13 · NTB25-005 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service information if one of the applied vehicles has dtc p2100 for “etc mot pwr-b1” or p2101 for “etc fnctn/circ-b1” stored in the engine control module (ecm) with a customer complaint of loss of power, perform the revised electronic service manual (esm) procedure noted on page 2 for "perform dt
Air Bags 2024-09-19 · NTB19-071D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
dtc b00a0-00 stored this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin. if you confirm dtc b00a0-00 (occupant detection sensor unit) is stored, and ocs zero point reset cannot be performed, (continued on the next page)
Showing the 6 most recent of 115 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-25 · Unknown Or Other“rear camera is not working. locking system in the back passenger door don’t work …”
2026-10-02 · Vehicle Speed Control“2020 nissan sentra , had been affected, fuel system and or transmission has been affected , i also communicated this with nissan consumers affairs on 9/1, case number(57016532) they didn’t bother to help. i also went to the dealer twice . they also were unbothered and monotone . it’s a safety issue since the car stalls in low speeds. cvt transmissi…”
2026-09-21 · Electrical System“the back up camera frequently goes blank when the car is put in reverse. this is a safety hazard as i can't see what is behind me when i am backing up. upon further research, this is common in nissan sentras around this time but my specific car was not under the recall. there were multiple reports of faulty wiring causing the same issues. there wer…”
2026-07-23 · Electrical System“3/4 doors will not lock/unlock using fob, or the door controllers. this increases risk of theft, car jacking, and safety as the locks do not engage while driving. very dangerous. windows do not roll up/down, which when paired with the doors needing to be locked/unlocked manually can cause one to become trapped, especially with passengers. dealershi…”
2026-07-08 · Electrical System“the power unlock on all four doors of my car doors will no longer operate via key fob, outside lock button or interior power unlock buttons, although the doors can all be locked using those same processes. in addition, the doors have all randomly locked while being inside the car with no key, locking me inside the car and requiring someone getting …”
2026-07-07 · Steering · 140,000 mi“the contact owns a 2020 nissan sentra. the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel was off centered and the vehicle vibrated. in addition, the contact stated that the vehicle vibrated while making a turn. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a passenger-side rear detached inte…”
2026-07-06 · Steering“i have an nissan sentra sv 2020 and steering rack is causing problems when i drive my car, making my whole steering wheel shake when i go 60 on the highway, it also makes noises when i try to gently press on the gas making my wheels shake violently against the road. it’s a really bad safety hazard. if that part breaks. i can or any other drivers ca…”
2026-06-03 · Latches/Locks/Linkages:electronic Lock/Latch Actuator“the rear driver side door does not lock/unlock when pressing the lock/unlock buttons on the key fob nor the buttons on either of the front seat door panels. it is only able to be locked/unlocked by manually flipping the lock/unlock switch on the (rear driver side) door. no other doors have this issue. i believe either the door switch actuator or fa…”
2026-05-26 · Electrical System“my vehicle backup camera has been turning blue i didn't know why because the first couple of months i've had it, it's been fine i found out it was a recall on it …”
2026-05-14 · Suspension“nissan had a recall 2 years ago for a tie rod issue. when i brought the car in for that recall nissan said that the tie rods showed no sign of bending so they didn't replace them. two years later my car is not steering correctly and making noises. i find out that nissan has a new tie rod recall (recall r23b3, nhtsa #23v-581) that requires the tie r…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.