2001 Nissan Sentra Electrical System
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
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 NISSAN SENTRA. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND THE IGNITION FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED AND REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 164,000. *CN
CAR WAS DRIVEN THE DAY BEFORE, RAN JUST FINE. NEXT MORNING, AFTER DRIVING ABOUT 1 MILE, BEGAN RUNNING TERRIBLE. THE ECU (ECM) IS NO LONGER SENDING A SIGNAL TO THE NUMBER 2 IGNITION COIL. I KNOW THAT THESE CARS HAD A RECALL ON THE FOAM COVERING THE ECU, THAT RECALL WAS DONE AND FOAM REMOVED. CAR ONLY HAS ABOUT 60,000 MILES ON IT BECAUSE IN BELONG TO A 90 YEAR OLD LADY, SHE BOUGHT IT NEW. I HAVE FOUND THAT HUNDREDS OF THESE CARS NOW HAVE BAD ECU, TIME FOR A RECALL!! *TR
THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED USED IN OKLAHOMA IN APRIL 2013, AND ALL THE DASH GAUGES QUIT ON THE WAY HOME, ALONG WITH THE ODOMETER GOING OUT. AFTER THE CAR COOLED DOWN, THE GAUGES/ODOMETER STARTED WORKING AGAIN. THE CAR WAS THEN DRIVEN CROSS COUNTRY TO WASHINGTON STATE, AND WHEN THE HEATER WAS TURNED ON, AND AFTER A FEW MINUTES, THE GAUGES/ODOMETER STOPPED WORKING AGAIN. ONCE COOLED OFF, THE GAUGES/ODOMETER WOULD START WORKING AGAIN. THE CAR WAS THEN DRIVEN TO TEXAS, AND THE SAME ISSUES CAME UP, ALL CENTERED AROUND TEMPERATURE. IT SEEMS WHEN THE HEATER IS TURNED ON (WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN WA), OR IF IT IS HOT OUTSIDE (THE DRIVE TO TEXAS, AND WHILE THE CAR HAS BEEN IN TEXAS), THE GAUGES WILL STOP WORKING AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME, AND WILL START WORKING AGAIN ONCE THE TEMPERATURE INSIDE THE CAR HAS COOLED DOWN. CURRENTLY WE ARE HAVING 100 DEGREE WEATHER DAYS IN TEXAS, SO IF THE CAR IS HOT WHEN LEAVING THE HOUSE, THE GAUGES WON'T WORK, UNTIL THE AC HAS BEEN ON ENOUGH TO COOL THE INSIDE OF THE CAR (AND I ASSUME GAUGES) DOWN. USING THE CAR AFTER THE AC HAS BEEN ON AND THE INSIDE OF THE CAR IS COOL, THERE IS NO PROBLEM WITH THE GAUGES. IF YOU TURN THE AC OFF AND ROLL THE WINDOWS DOWN, ONCE THE HEAT BUILDS UP IN THE CAR (ABOUT 85 DEGREES OR SO), THE GAUGES WILL GO OFF AGAIN. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 NISSAN SENTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING WHERE THE TECHNICIAN ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT THE COMPUTER WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. AFTER THE REPLACEMENT THE RPM READING WOULD REMAIN AT 2000 AND THE SPEED WOULD REMAIN AT 30 MPH WITHOUT DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE MECHANIC STATED THAT THE IDLE AIR CONTROL VALVE WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE THE WIRES HAD BEEN DAMAGED WHEN THE COMPUTER WAS INSTALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 NISSAN SENTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE STALLED AND WOULD NOT RESTART. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE THE CONTACT WAS TOLD THAT THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE FAILED. THE DEALER ADVISED THAT THERE WAS A RECALL UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 03V477000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: IGNITION MODULE) BUT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 73,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 NISSAN SENTRA. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 40MPH AND THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. SHORTLY AFTER THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE CONTACT COASTED THE VEHICLE TO THE NEAREST EMERGENCY EXIT. HE HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO LOCAL SERVICE STATION. THE VEHICLE STILL HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED AS OF THE TIME OF THE COMPLAINT. THE CONTACT INFORMED THE MANUFACTURER AND HE WAS TOLD THAT THEY WERE AWARE THAT THE PROBLEM EXIST WITH HIS VEHICLE, BUT THERE WAS NO RECALL FOR HIS SPECIFIC VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THEY ARE ONLY COVERING TWO ENGINES TYPES AND THE CONTACT VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE CONTACT WILL HAVE TO GET HIS VEHICLE REPAIRED AT HIS OWN EXPENSE. THE CONTACT WAS TOLD BY LOCAL DEALER AFTER HIS VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED THAT THE FAILURE WAS HIS ECN WHICH IS THE COMPUTER IN HIS VEHICLE. THERE ARE NO SPARK AND NO FUEL GOING INTO THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WAS 151000.
THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT WENT ON 2/1/09. TROUBLE WAS REPORTED ON 2/5/09 WHEN VEHICLE WAS DELIVERED FOR SERVICE AT MIDAS AUTO SERVICE, 463 GLYNN ST., FAYETTEVILLE, GA. REFER TO INVOICE WHERE A RELAY/ECM WAS REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN HOME TO OWNER'S RESIDENCE AT 6302 MORGAN PLACE CT., ATLANTA, GA. A POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC EVENT FOLLOWED WHEN THE OWNER WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN ON AN ATLANTA INTERSTATE AND THE CAR CUT OFF AND A SERIOUS WRECK WAS SOMEHOW AVERTED. VEHICLE WAS SUBSEQUENTLY TOWED TO FIRESTONE COMPLETE AUTO CARE; 2460 N DRUID HILLS RD. NE. SYMPTOM WAS DESCRIBED: ''CUT OFF WHILE DRIVING. OIL LIGHT AND BATTERY LIGHT CAME ON FIRST'. THE SERVICE REPORT SAID IN PART, 'HAS BLOWN IGNITION FUSE AND NO POWER TO THE COILS, REPLACED FUSE AND EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE WORKING OK. THE REMAINING COMMENTS CAN BE FOUND IN THE SERVICE REPORT. VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN HOME. NEXT PROBLEM OCCURRED ON 2/9/09 WHEN OWNER WAS LEAVING TO GO TO WORK IN THE MORNING. THE VEHICLE ENGINE CUT OFF ON A LOCAL ROUTE. THE CAR WAS SUBSEQUENTLY TOWED TO MIDAS AUTO SERVICE, 6550 ROSWELL RD., SANDY SPRINGS, GA. THE DIAGNOSTIC PACKAGE REVEALED, '' CODES P0140, P0505, P0137, AND P0460 WHICH INDICATED A TOTAL EMISSIONS FAILURE ON THE CAT CONVERTER AND ALL FOUR O2 SENSORS. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE VEHICLE IGNITION RELAY CIRCUIT (RELAY REPLACED 2/1/09) REPEATEDLY BLEW FUSES. THE VEHICLE WAS SUBSEQUENTLY DRIVEN BACK TO MIDAS AUTO SERVICE, 463 GLYNN ST., FAYETTEVILLE, GA WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE DIAGNOSTIC EVALUATION AND SUBSEQUENT RESEARCH INDICATED THAT THE ECM MODULE WAS DEFECTIVE. THE SAFETY RECALL FROM NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NO. 03V477000, CAME UP IN THE MIDAS RESEARCH AND IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE LINING MATERIAL FROM THE ECM BOX HAD NOT BEEN REPLACED. *TR
HORN SUDDENLY STOPPED WORKING. *TR
SEVERAL TIMES THE VEHICLE STARTS SHAKING, NOT STARTING AT ALL AND RUNNING ROUGH. IT WAS A ECM RECALL PERFORMED BUT AFTER THAT SEVERAL PROBLEMS OCCURRED AND RELATED TO THE SAME ECM. HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE IS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY AND I HAVE TO PAY FOR ALL THESE PROBLEMS. THE ECM WAS REPLACED BY THE TIME, THE PROBLEM IS STILL THERE, I AM GETTING THE SAME DIAGNOSTIC P0300 AND THE VEHICLE IS DEAD. POOR QUALITY ON THIS NISSAN. I HAVE A 1996 SENTRA WHICH IS BY FAR MORE RELIABLE THAN THIS JUNK! *TR
I OWN A 2001 NISSAN SENTRA. SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, THE HORN STOPPED WORKING. WE FINALLY TOOK IT IN TO OUR LOCAL MECHANIC AND HE CALLED SAYING THE HORN WORKS, THE FUSE IS FINE AND THE RELAY WORKS, BUT SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE FUSE AND THE RELAY, IT'S LOSING POWER; LIKELY A SHORT IN THE WIRE. BUT THEY SAID IT IS WIRED IN SUCH A CONVOLUTED WAY THAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE ANOTHER 2 HOURS TO FIND THE RIGHT WIRE AND FIX. I FOUND THIS IN AN INTERNET MESSAGE BOARD: "JUST CURIOUS IF ANY OTHERS HAVE ISSUES WITH THEIR 00-06 SENTRA HORNS...MEANING YOU HIT YOUR HORN OR KEY FOB AND NO SOUND FROM THE HORN? I HAD MY 2001 SE FIXED AROUND 60,XXX...FOUND OUT FROM NISSAN THAT THE WIRES ARE A BIT SHORT RUNNING TO THE HORN SPEAKER...I THINK THE WIRING GOES UNDER THE RADIATOR. IT GETS STRESSED AND RUBS SOMEWHERE AND DUE TO CORROSION OR TOTAL BREAKAGE THE HORN THEN NO LONGER FUNCTIONS. THE PART I'M PISSED ABOUT IS THAT NOW AT 68K THE PROBLEM IS ONCE AGAIN BACK. I KNOW ACCORDING TO MY FATHER WHO USE TO WORK FOR A COMPANY THAT PROVIDES TECHNICAL SUPPORT TO PRIVATE GARAGES AROUND THE U.S. THAT THIS IN FACT IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THESE SENTRA'S, BUT ACCORDING TO NISSAN DOES NOT REQUIRE AN NTSB. SAFETY FEATURE IN MY OPINION. NISSAN SAYS I'LL HAVE TO BRING IT IN AND PAY FOR DIAGNOSIS. I THINK I CALL THE REGIONAL MANAGER. TWICE I'VE HAD SOMEONE ALMOST HIT ME AND I HAVE NO HORN. ''NISSAN SAID CHECK THE FUSE...THEIR TYPICAL RESPONSE. AFTER TALKING AT LENGTH TO THE NISSAN DEALER THAT LAST FIXED THIS ISSUE THEY FINALLY GAVE UP AND SAID IT SOUNDED LIKE THE SAME ISSUE WAS BACK." AFTER THIS, I CALLED MY LOCAL NISSAN REPAIR SHOP (517 393-5700) AND SPOKE WITH THE SERVICE MANAGER. AFTER TELLING HIM THE PROBLEM, HE PUT ME ON HOLD AND CHECKED THEIR RECORDS. HE INDICATED TO ME THAT YES, THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH THIS MAKE/MODEL OF NISSAN, BUT THAT THERE WAS NOTHING NISSAN NOR THEY COULD DO RE: FIXING THE HORN WHICH IS CAUSED BY AN ADMITTEDLY POORLY DESIGNED HORN WIRING SYSTEM. *JB
SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT: THE HORN WIRE INSIDE AN INTERNAL WIRING HARNESS ON MY 2001 SENTRA FAILED SPONTANEOUSLY ON OR ABOUT FEBRUARY 15, 2006, RENDERING THE HORN INOPERABLE AND INCAPABLE OF PASSING THE RHODE ISLAND STATE SAFETY INSPECTION. THREE DIFFERENT EMPLOYEES OF THE DEALER (INSKIP NISSAN, WARWICK RI) MADE STATEMENTS TO ME INDICATING THAT THIS TYPE OF HORN FAILURE HAPPENS REPEATEDLY, IS WELL KNOWN TO THEM, AND IS NOT CAUSED BY ANY EXTERNAL FORCE, SUCH AS COLLISION OR ROAD DAMAGE. I HAVE INSPECTED THE AREA, WHICH IS NEAR THE UNDERSIDE OF THE RADIATOR, AND IT IS CLEAR THAT THE WIRING HARNESS IS WELL PROTECTED BY VARIOUS FRONT-END COMPONENTS AND HARD TO GET AT. THE BROKEN WIRE WAS REPAIRED BY THE DEALER ON 4/5/06 AT A COST OF $180.00 FOR A LITTLE OVER TWO HOURS WORK. THE DEALERS SERVICE CLERK TOLD ME EXACTLY WHAT THE COST WOULD BE AT THE TIME SHE WROTE UP THE REPAIR ORDER, PRIOR TO INSPECTING THE VEHICLE FOR THE CAUSE OF THE HORN FAILURE. I SUGGESTED AN INEXPENSIVE BYPASS WIRE, AND SHE STATED THAT OTHERS HAD EFFECTED A REPAIR IN THAT MANNER (FURTHER EVIDENCE THAT THE NATURE OF THE FAILURE IS WELL KNOWN THE THEM) BUT ALSO UNDERSTANDABLY STATED THAT THEY WERE NOT PERMITTED TO PERFORM THE REPAIR IN THAT MANNER. I SUBMITTED A COPY OF THE REPAIR BILL TO NISSAN CONSUMER AFFAIRS ON 4/8/06 ASKING FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF THE $180 AS A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT, AND THEY WROTE BACK ON 4/12/06 DENYING THE CLAIM. THE NHTSA SHOULD LOOK INTO THIS BY INSPECTING DEALER SERVICE RECORDS AND INITIATE A RECALL. *JB
1. HORN STOPPED WORKING. DIAGNOSTICS HAVE ISOLATED THE PROBLEM TO A SHORT IN THE WIRING HARNESS LIKELY DUE TO THE WAY IT IS ROUTED AROUND THE VEHICLE RADIATOR. DEALERSHIP SAYS IT HAS SEEN THIS PROBLEM BEFORE. RADIATOR AND ASSOCIATED HARDWARE WILL HAVE TO BE REMOVED TO GET TO THE SHORT, REQUIRING AN ENTIRE DAY OF DOWN-TIME PLUS EXTENSIVE HOURLY REPAIR BILL. 2. NON-OPERATING HORN PROHIBITS REQUIRED STATE VEHICLE INSPECTION. VEHICLE FAILS INSPECTION. 3. REPAIRS STILL HAVE TO BE MADE.*AK
MY CAR COMPLETELY STOPPED ON THE HIGGHWAY AFTER MY CHECK ENGINE AND OIL LIGHT CAME ON.I TOOK THE CAR TO A DEALER .THEY SAID I HAD 4 RECALLS ON THIS CAR AND THEY REPAIRED 3 OF THE 4 RECALLS. LATER THAT DAY THEY SAID THEY HAD TO GO BACK IN MY ENGINE BECAUSE THE TIMING WILL NOT SET AND THE CAR IS STIILL SHUUTING DOWN. THE CAR IS STILL IN THE SHOP .THE 4 RECALLS WERE SUSP BOLT,ECM FOAM, HEADLAMP AND CRANK SENSOR.
MY 2001 NISSAN SENTRA GXE STARTED SPUTTERING IN FEB 05, ALSO AN ELECTRICAL BUZZING SOUND WOULD OCCUR AT THE SAME TIME. THE CAR STALLED OUT ONCE WHILE DRIVING. TAKEN TO DEALERSHIP AND I WAS TOLD THE ECM WAS BAD. IT WAS REPLACED FREE OF CHARGE (HIDDEN 8YR/80,000 MILE WARRANTY ON THAT PART). THE NEXT DAY IT WAS DOING THE SAME THING. I TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THE STARTER/ECM SENSOR WAS REPLACED. I'M STILL NOT CONVINCED THE PROBLEM IS FIXED AND WORRY EVERY TIME I DRIVE IT.*AK
INTERMITTENT PROBLEMS CAR STALLING WHILE DRIVING, CAR ROUGH IDLE, CAR NOT STARTING, CAR SPURTING WHILE DRIVING, CAR NOT GOING INTO OVERDRIVE CAR HAS BEEN TOWED TWICE, BEEN TO TWO DEALERS, AND 1 MECHANIC THAT TOLD ME THAT IT IS IN THE COMPUTER SYSTEM AND THAT THE DEALER NEEDS TO FIX THE PROBLEM. FROM MY RESEARCH, DIAGNOSTIC CODES ARE EITHER NOT BEING REPORTED BY A BAD SENSOR OR THE ECM IS NOT STORING THE DIAGNOSTIC CODES. *NM
HORN STOPPED WORKING, WIRING HARNESS WAS CORRODED. *NM
NISSAN SENTRA 2001 HAD A RECALL TO REMOVE THE FOAM COVERING THE ECM. I HAD THIS DONE JUNE 2004..THE PROBLEM WITH THE FOAM WAS AS IT CURED , IF THERE WAS A CRACK ON THE SURFACE LINING, CORROSION OF THE RESISTOR COULD CAUSE THE ECM TO MALFUNCTION. WELL I HAD THE FOAM REMOVED BUT I FEEL THE CORROSION WAS PROBABLY ALREADY OCCURRING SO IN 6 MONTHS THE ECM WENT BAD. NISSAN REFUSED TO PAY TO REPLACE THE ECM. *JB
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONED. AS A RESULT, ALL ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS FAILED. *AK
CONSUMER RECEIVED RECALL 03V477000 CONCERNING ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE ( EMC) MATERIAL: VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR RECALL REPAIRS, AND IMMEDIATELY STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE HORN NOT WORKING. APPROXIMATELY A WEEK LATER, VEHICLE WOULD NOT START EVEN THOUGH THE DEALER PERFORMED RECALL REPAIRS. *AK
NEW IGNITION SWITCH NEEDED ON A 2001 NISSAN SENTRA!*AK
RECALL FOR CRANKSHAFT KIT AND RECENT SHUT DOWN OF ENGINE.*MR THE VEHICLE WAS SERVICE AT THE DEALER FOR A CRANKSHAFT SENSOR RECALL. AFTER THE RECALL WAS PERFORMED THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A LOCAL MECHANIC WHO PERFORMED A DIAGNOSTIC TEST ON THE VEHICLE. THE TEST INDICATED THAT THE CRANKSHAFT SENSOR WAS THE PROBLEM. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TOWED TO THE DEALER WHO STATED THAT I THE DIAGNOSTIC TEST HE RUNS CAME UP AS THE CRANKSHAFT SENSOR THEN THE CONSUMER WOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY THE DIAGNOSTICS FEE. THE DIAGNOSTIC WAS RUN AND THE TEST INDICATED THAT THE CRANKSHAFT SENSOR WAS THE PROBLEM. THE DEALER THEN STATED THAT ALTHOUGH THE TEST INDICATED THAT IT WAS THE CRANKSHAFT, IT REALLY WAS NOT THE SENSOR BUT THE WIRING AROUND THE CRANKSHAFT. THEREFORE THE CONSUMER HAD TO PAY THE DIAGNOSTIC FEE. THE CONSUMER FEELS THIS IS COMPLETELY DISHONEST AND IRRESPONSIBLE OF THE DEALER. *NM
2001 NISSAN SENTRA SE - HORN HAS BEEN DEAD FOR MONTHS - WIRING ASSEMBLY NEAR RADIATOR IS SHORTED MAY 14, CAR DIED DURING OPERATION AND STARTED ONLY INTERMITTENTLY - MOSTLY NOT - WIRING DEFECT TO ENGINE CONTROL MODULE - NO SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT WARNING. *AK
THE HORN ASSEMBLY FAILED.*JB
THE WIRING HARNESS WAS DEFECTIVE, WHICH CAUSED THE HORN NOT TO WORK.*JB
VEHICLE EXPERIENCED AN ELECTRICAL FAILURE.*AK
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The 2001 Nissan Sentra has 29 Electrical System complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.