1997 Nissan Sentra Visibility
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
I HAVE A 1997 NISSAN SENTRA AND ON A RAINY DAY MY WINDSHIELD WIPERS QUIT WORKING WITHOUT WARNING. THE WIPER TRANSMISSION MOTOR SOUNDS LIKE ITS WORKING BUT NOTHING HAPPENS. IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED IT IS A FAULTY WIPER ARM. I FOUND OUT ABOUT RECALL 98V093000 AND CALLED NISSAN NORTH AMERICA. THEY INFORMED ME THERE IS NO OPEN RECALL ON THE ISSUE AND THAT MY VIN NUMBER DID NOT QUALIFY FOR THE RECALL. *KB
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 NISSAN SENTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS STOPPED WORKING ON THE VEHICLE. THERE WAS NO WARNING PRIOR TO THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS FAILING. THE MANUFACTURER CONFIRMED THAT NHTSA RECALL CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 98V093000 (VISIBILITY: WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER: LINKAGES) FOR THE VEHICLE WAS CLOSED. THE CONTACT WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAFETY ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000.
VEHICLE ENGINE WAS IDLING CAR WAS IN PARK. TURNED ON WINDSHIELD WIPER SWITCH I HEARD A LOUD KNOCK IN THE DASH CONSOLE AND COULD HEAR A MECHANISM SOUND AS IF WINDSHIELD WIPERS WERE MOVING BUT THE WIPERS THEMSELVES DID NOT MOVE SO THE RESULT OF THIS IS NO VISIBILITY WITHOUT WINDSHIELD WIPERS WORKING ON RAINY DAYS. UNABLE TO DRIVE VEHICLE. *TR
DT: THE VEHICLE'S WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR HAD TO BE REPLACED TWICE. WHEN THE WIPERS WERE IN USE THEY WOULD STOP CAUSING POOR VISIBILITY. *NM
NHTSA RECALL 98V093000. THIS VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE WIPER MOTOR RECALL DUE TO VIN ALTHOUGH IT EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEMS THAT WERE MENTIONED IN THE RECALL. *AK WHILE DRIVING IN SNOW/SLEET THE WIPER STOPPED FUNCTIONING WHICH CAUSED REDUCED VISIBILITY. *NM
WINDSHIELD WIPERS FAILED TO ENGAGE. HUSBAND DIAGNOSED WINDSHIELD WIPER SYSTEM, POWER TO WIPER MOTOR WAS OKAY, CONTINUED TO TROUBLESHOOT, FOUND WIPER ARM CONTROL SEPERATED FROM WIPER MOTOR. SEEMS LIKE THE SAME ISSUE THE RECALL 98V093000 PERTAINED TO. HUSBAND LUBRICATED BALL JOINT, AND SQUEEZED SOCKET TO BALL BACK TOGETHER. NO PROBLEMS SINCE REPAIR.*AK
WHILE DRIVING THE WINDSHIELD WIPER ON THE DRIVER SIDE QUIT WORKING. RECALL 98V093000 WAS ISSUED, BUT THIS VEHICLE WA SNOT INCLUDED DUE TO VIN. *AK
(1) IT WAS A LIGHT RAIN. THE WIPER IS IN THE LOWEST SETTING. BOTH WIPERS STOPPED WORKING. I CAN HEAR THE WIPER MOTOR RUNNING BUT THE WIPERS DOESN'T OPERATE. (2) AS IT WAS NO RAINING HARD, I WAS STILL ABLE TO DRIVE VEHICLE SAFELY HOME. I FOUND THERE IS A RECALL FOR THE WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:LINKAGES FOR 1997 NISSAN SENTRA. (3) CONTACTED NISSAN ABOUT THE PROBLEM BECAUSE I HAVE NEVER RECEIVE A RECALL NOTICE BUT I AM TOLD THE RECALL DOESN'T APPLIED TO MY VIN NUMBER. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A NISSAN DEALERSHIP REPAIR SHOP. THEY REPLACED THE WIPER TRANSMISSION WHICH CONSISTS OF THE PIVOT-ASSY-WIPE(R), AND 2 LINK ASSY-CONNE(CTOR). THE OLD PARTS ARE UNAVAILABLE.
THIS COMPLAINT IS REGARD TO THE VOLUNTARY RECALL ON THE '97 NISSAN SENTRA'S WIPER SEAL. WHEN I CONTACTED THE DEALER AND THEN THE 1-800 NISSAN CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE I WAS TOLD THAT THE RECALL DIDN'T APPLY TO MY VEHICLE DESPITE THE FACT THAT IT FALLS WITHIN THE RANGE OF NUMBERS GIVEN ON NISSAN'S OWN WEBSITE (CLIPPED FROM WEB PAGE - [XXX]TO [XXX] (SENTRA) WITH A VIN#[XXX]. I PURCHASED THIS AS A USED VEHICLE AND SO IT IS NOT UNREASONABLE TO EXPECT THAT THE WIPERS COULD HAVE FAILED THROUGH NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR. HOWEVER, I WOULD LIKE A BETTER EXPLANATION AS TO WHY THE RECALL DOESN'T APPLY WHEN BY ALL INDICATIONS ON NISSAN'S OWN WEB SITE IT APPEARS TO APPLY. *JB UPDATED 07/26/2012 *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
MY NISSAN SENTRA RECENTLY NEEDED TO HAVE BOTH WINDSHIELD WIPER LINKAGES REPLACED DUE TO THE PROBLEM WITH WATER ENTERING AND RUSTING OUT THE BEARINGS. I NEW OF THE SAFETY RECALL BUT ALL THE DEALER DID WAS ADD A RIDICULOUS 10 CENT STRIP OF FOAM TO THE PANEL ABOVE THE FALLEN APART BEARINGS. BOTH ME AND MY STEPFATHER ARGUED WITH THE DEALERSHIP AND NISSAN MOTORS BUT THEY REFUSED TO REPLACE THE BEARINGS FREE OF CHARGE. MY STEPFATHER ENDED UP BUYING AND REPLACING THEM HIMSELF BUT IN THE MEANTIME I GOT A $50.00 TICKET BECAUSE DURING THIS DELAY MY INSPECTION STICKER RAN OUT AND I COULDN'T GET A NEW ONE UNTIL THE WIPERS WERE FIXED. *LA
POWER WINDOWS OCCASIONALLY FREEZE IN THE DOWN POSITION ON 97 SENTRA GXE MODELS. POWER DOOR LOCK ON FRONT PASSENGER SIDE DOOR DOES NOT UNLOCK MOST OF THE TIME. *LA
CONSUMER CALLED COMPLAINING ABOUT HAVING PROBLEMS WITH HER WINDSHIELD WIPERS. ALSO STATED THAT SHE IS AWARE THAT THERE WAS A RECALL OUT BUT HER VIN # WAS NOT INCLUDED AND SHE IS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM THAT THE RECALL INDICATES. TS
CONSUMER STATES STILL HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS AFTER RECALL HAS BEEN PERFORM ON VEHICLE RECALL#98V093000 WINDSHIELD WIPER. TS
WHILE DRIVING IN RAINY CONDITIONS CONSUMER USED THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS AND WAS UNABLE TO TURN THEM OFF. CONSUMER HAD TO PULL THE FUSE. *AK
BOTH DEFECTIVE DESIGN OF THE REAR WINDOW STEEL MOLDING FLEW OFF THE VEHICLE WHICH MAY HAVE CAUSE DAMAGE TO ANOTHER VEHICLE OR CAUSE A CRASH. DEALER SAID THE MOLDING FLEW OFF BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS IN A CAR WASH WHICH MAY HAVE WEAKEN THE MOLDING. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK
DEALER REFUSED TO HONOR RECALL. INFORMED THAT WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR PART WAS MISSING, AND CAUSING A MALFUNCTION. COST OF PART WOULD BE AT CONSUMER'S EXPENSE. *AK
RECALL 98V093000/NISSAN WINDSHEILD WIPER: RECALLS REPAIRS WERE DONE BY DEALER. BUT CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THAT WIPER MOTOR MALFUNCTIONED, AND NEEDED REPLACEMENT WHICH WOULD BE DONE AT CONSUMER'S EXPENSE. WOULD LIKE NHTSA TO SHARE SOME LIGHT ON THIS MATTER. *AK
POWER WINDOW SWITCH FAILED.MGM
MAIN AIR FLOW NOT OPERATIONAL.
WINDOWS WOULD NOT CLOSE.
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Quick Summary
The 1997 Nissan Sentra has 20 Visibility complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.