2013 Nissan Sentra Problems, Recalls & Reliability
871 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2013 Nissan Sentra, alongside 6 recall campaigns and 3 defect investigations. It scores 100/100 on the trouble index — one of the years to avoid for this model. Transmission & drivetrain leads the reports, typically around 77,050 miles.
Avoid this year if you can. The 2013 Nissan Sentra sits at the top of this model's complaint rankings. Quieter picks in the same family: 1990–1993, 1998–1999, 2009, 2022.
Avoid
Where 2013 sits among all Sentra years
What owners report
“Vehicle wouldn't accelerate going up a small hill. Rpm's increased to 4000-5000 range but no power. Took to dealership said cvt transmission failure. 83,000 miles, 3 years old.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2013 Sentra
“The airbag light remains on in the dash board and the passenger airbag light remains on even a passenger is seated in the car.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2013 Sentra
“Brake master cylinder major failure in which i almost had an accident. Pedal went right to the floor and brakes did not function!”— owner report to NHTSA, 2013 Sentra
“Check engine light is on catalytic converter, air bag light is on, slow to accelerate cvt is acting up”— owner report to NHTSA, 2013 Sentra
“Cvt transmission went out on vehicle while on the road. I only had 76,000 miles on the vehicle at the time.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2013 Sentra
“My car doesn’t accelerate. I was driving and a car behind me almost hit me because I pressed on the gas but it didn’t go”— owner report to NHTSA, 2013 Sentra
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 591 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 65,000 miles. Half of those reports fall between 30,000 and 86,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (6)
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2016 Sentra vehicles manufactured June 4, 2012, to April 9, 2016. The front passenger seat belt bracket may become deformed if it is used to secure a Child Restraint System (CRS). The…
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will reinforce the seat belt bracket as well as reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU), free of charge. The recall…
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and…
Fix: Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in…
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima and Pathfinder vehicles, 2013-2014 Nissan Sentra vehicles, 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles, 2014-2015 Infiniti QX60 vehicles and 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid vehicles. The affected…
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on November 30, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, and Sentra, model year 2013 NV200 (aka Taxi) and Infiniti JX35 and model year 2014 Infiniti Q50 and QX60 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the occupant…
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on April 14, 2014. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Nissan is recalling certain model year 2013 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, Sentra, and Infiniti JX35 vehicles. Sensors within the passenger Occupant Detection System (ODS) may have been manufactured out of specification. This may cause the system to malfunction…
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ODS sensors and replace them as neccessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 6, 2013. Owners may contact Nissan Customer Service at…
Nissan is recalling certain model year 2013 Sentra vehicles manufactured from September 11, 2012, through October 4, 2012. Some fuel tank assemblies were not properly sealed during the manufacturing process. As a result, a small amount of gasoline may leak…
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tanks as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on April 1, 2013. Owners may contact Nissan Customer Service at 1-800-647-7261.
Federal defect investigations
Led to recall campaign 15V681000.
Technical service bulletins
201 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on electrical and transmission & drivetrain — are on file for the 2013 Nissan Sentra. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
See the 2013 Sentra TSB list →
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2013 Nissan Sentra reliable?
The 2013 Nissan Sentra drew 871 complaints in federal safety records — one of the years to avoid for this model. Its trouble index is 100/100, scored against the model's worst year (2013).
What are the most common 2013 Nissan Sentra problems?
The top reported problems for the 2013 Nissan Sentra are transmission & drivetrain (311 complaints), airbags (97), and brakes & stability (97).
At what mileage do 2013 Nissan Sentra problems show up?
Owners most often report 2013 Nissan Sentra problems around 65,000 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 30,000 and 86,000 miles.
Does the 2013 Nissan Sentra have recalls?
6 recall campaigns apply to the 2013 Nissan Sentra. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.