237 complaints reported

2013 Nissan Sentra Power Train

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
237
Crashes
1
Fires
0
Injuries
2

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Oct 2025

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that similar model year vehicles were recalled for the transmission failure; however, the VIN was not included in a powertrain recall. The failure was a recurring failure. The contact stated that the vehicle had been parked in the backyard for over a year and was no longer driven due to safety concerns. The failure mileage was not provided.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Apr 2024
Jun 2025

The CVT transmission has a serious problem it does this jerking movement and could lead to an accident or serious bodily injury to occupants in the vehicle I am filing a complaint regarding the CVT transmission failure in my 2013 Nissan Sentra (VIN: [XXX] ). The vehicle began showing symptoms such as jerking, hesitation, and loss of power while driving. These are serious safety concerns, especially when merging or accelerating. After researching the issue, I discovered this is a well-documented and widespread defect in Nissan CVT-equipped vehicles from this generation. Many other owners have experienced premature transmission failure, and Nissan has issued extended warranties in the past on certain models. However, despite clear signs of defective transmission design, my vehicle has not been covered under any warranty or recall. I believe this defect poses a serious safety hazard and should be addressed by Nissan through a recall or formal investigation. Transmission failure while driving could easily lead to a crash. I urge the NHTSA to open an investigation and compel Nissan to take accountability for this widespread transmission failure. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2025
May 2025

Transmission has failed. The car will not change speed when pressing on gas. Causing danger on the road when driven. The issue has been confirmed by an independent auto service. No warning lamps or identifiers has been present with this issue. The vehicle itself has only 97000 miles. This transmission issue with this vehicle is a known problem and many owners of this vehicle has reported this exact issue.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2025
Dec 2024

The car was stalled and wouldn’t go without warning and no indication issues were present. When it stalled driver put at risk of being hit and caused multiple cars to swerve to miss the car. Thankfully able to get the car off the road and toed. Transmission completely failed.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Dec 2024
Dec 2024

Vehicle loses power fails to excellerate while traveling on the freeway Cvt transmission is very difficult to work on or check fluids

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Dec 2024
Nov 2024

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that several years ago an unknown recall notification was received; however, the dealer failed to complete the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Nov 2024
Sep 2024

CVT Transmission, available for inspection any time. I was driving in a public area that’s heavily trafficked when this happened. My car gave out and would not continue in drive. All the other gears worked at the time besides driving forward. This could’ve ended very badly to other people on the road. I had to take it to a shop twice. Nissan automatically told me it’s a transmission issue and several recalls with CVT transmissions, took it for a second opinion just to make sure and the second shop also said it’s the CVT transmission. My dash did not have any warning lights to show what was the problem.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Feb 2024
Aug 2024

Bad transmission

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Apr 2021
Apr 2024

The car has stalled or completely become unresponsive during traffic. I notified dealer but nothing was done. No warning lights the problem started about three years ago around 60000 miles. Just recently took to independent auto shop and was told it's a bad transmission

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Apr 2024
Aug 2023

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated, and the vehicle would not properly accelerate from a stationary position while driving up an incline. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who determined that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The transmission was replaced but the failure persisted. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 120,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2023
Jul 2023

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. On several occasions while driving on the highway, the vehicle failed to exceed 30 MPH. Additionally, while driving up an incline, the RPM revved to high however, the vehicle failed to properly respond. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 114,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2023
Jun 2023

The transmission gave issues a few years ago and I got it fixed by Nissan. They confirmed that they put in a new transmission. It’s been only 20,000 miles and the transmission gave out. The car reverses but will not drive. They quoted me $7000 to fix it again.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Nov 2023
Jun 2023

I own a 2013 Nissan Sentra SR with only 69,000 miles. The vehicle has been meticulously maintained with all recommended services being performed. The vehicle has had the factory/dealer recommended CVT reprogramming as well as CVT fluid exchange and coolant flush services. On May 25, 2023, my daughter was driving home from work when without warning the vehicle went into limp mode on the freeway causing it to decelerate rapidly, swerve and almost cause an accident. The vehicle would not accelerate over 40 mph and was taken to the dealership. There were no warning lights on the dash and no performance issues prior to the incident. The dealer ran diagnostics & code P17FO came up for a faulty CVT Transmission. The transmission was replaced at a cost of $6186.00. This is a Nissan CVT that has been dealer serviced following all preventive maintenance recommended by Nissan and the Dealership. Two days after the new CVT was installed, the exact same thing occurred, with the car again going into limp mode on a hill of a two-lane road with heavy traffic. The car this time was almost rear ended and would not accelerate above 15 mph. The vehicle is now at the dealership awaiting "transmission number three." Nissan Corporate was notified, and a case number was issued, 48966982. The arbitrator essentially washed their hands of the CVT issue and advised they would not take any action other than acknowledging the very long CVT failure history and that the issue was mine to resolve through my dealer. I filed a previous NHTSA complaint documenting the initial CVT failure, 11524137. The CVT failures is an issue Nissan has known about for twenty years, been sued for, yet continues to refuse to accept any responsibility for a flawed component known for failures, thus screwing countless Nissan consumers out of thousands in out of pocket expenses. Nissan should accept responsibility and recall all of these transmissions or be forced to reimburse consumers who have had to replace one.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Jul 2023
May 2023

I own a 2013 Nissan Sentra SR with only 69,000 miles. The vehicle has been meticulously maintained it's entire life with all recommended services being performed and then some. The vehicle has had the factory/dealer recommended CVT reprogramming as well as CVT fluid exchange services. The vehicle was purchased for my daughter who drives carefully, ensures the car is clean and well maintained. We have a stack of dealer service records showing an impeccable service history. On May 25, 2023, my daughter was driving home from work that evening when without warning the vehicle went into limp mode on the freeway causing it to decelerate rapidly, swerve and almost cause an accident. The vehicle would not accelerate over 40 mph and was immediately taken to the dealership. There were no warning lights on the dash and no performance issues prior to the incident. The dealer ran diagnostics and code P17FO came up for a faulty CVT Transmission. The transmission now has to be replaced due to failure. This is a Nissan CVT that has been dealer serviced following all preventive maintenance recommended by Nissan and the Dealership (Priority Nissan of Chantilly, Chantilly, VA). The vehicle ran perfectly prior to the failure and there were absolutely no warning signs of a transmission issue before the incident. As part of the preventive maintenance recommended for the vehicle we did the anti/freeze coolant flush at 51K , the CVT reprogramming and transmission flush at 52K, to ensure continued reliability. Despite the car being well maintained and having very low mileage for the model year, the CVT failed with an out of pocket repair of $5,900. The CVT failures is an issue Nissan has known about for twenty years, been sued for, yet continues to deny the problems or accept responsibility for thus screwing thousands of consumers. Nissan should accept responsibility and recall these transmissions or be forced to reimburse consumers. Repair invoice is pending. Car remains in shop.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: May 2023
Apr 2023

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the vehicle was jerking abnormally. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the roadway. The contact then drove to the nearest gas station at 10 MPH and parked the vehicle. An independent mechanic diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Mar 2023
Feb 2023

The vehicle will hesitate and stall when I am pulling out until traffic, causing me to almost get hit if there are any cars coming. When I go over 50mph on an incline, the RPMs will jump way high and the car will lose power in the middle of the highway. I will have to pull over and turn it off for awhile to get it to run again. There are no lights on at this time, but if I have the cruise control going, the Cruise light will flash and cruise will not work. Hitting Accelerate on the steering wheel cruise menu will move the car, but the gas pedal will not, and cruise control will not work.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2022
Jan 2023

While driving down the road power to the accelerator was lost thus making it so I had to roll down the road the the closes driveway and pull over and when I tried to get my vehicle in reverse my vehicle wouldn’t move after it was placed in reverse the engine would rev up but my vehicle wouldn’t move at all

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Dec 2022
Jan 2023

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving at various speeds the transmission inadvertently shifted from drive(D) to neutral(N), causing the vehicle to decelerate. The contact stated that occasionally the transmission randomly shifted from drive(D) to reverse(R) causing the vehicle to change direction. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 113,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2022
Jan 2023

While driving down the road in my 2013 Nissan Sentra on December 31,2022 my cars engine light came on and went from a solid amber color to flashing and then my car lost power and I had to coast down the road to a near by house where I had to have my vehicle towed to my house and it is still sitting at the bottom of my driveway to this day I believe that my vehicle should be showing a recall on the cvt transmission but it don’t which isn’t right. I just need my car fixed and back to running

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Dec 2022
Nov 2022

Transmission problem lose of power and unexpected noise even with regular maintenance like transmission fluid change regularly in summer

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Jul 2022
Sep 2022

My car had warning light code p285a clutch pressure control selonoid valve b service bulletin stated that Nissan reprogram recall would fix this issue with car computer and cvt computer. But instead software causes major communication with car computer and 2013 cvt. It pull different code p17bo with cvt shrudder stating hard shifting dealer solution after paying 182.00 is new cvt that understand new programming was update 4300.00 on various internet owners forums same senario is played this could lead to accident since computer of and cvt cannot communicate correctly in shifting making money for Nissan at expenses of owners cause by recall remedy Nissan must put correct update for 2013 transmission and if they cannot do that they must replace all cvt damage by recall by placing wrong gm software

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Sep 2022
Aug 2022

Nissan extended cvt warranty on 2003 to 2010 from 5 yrs or 36k to 10 yrs to 150k but in the cvt from 2010 to 2017 they did not match same Extention only gave 7 yrs or 84k not an equal remedy to the defective cvt the major year 2013 has worst cvt problems which has led to lawsuits but Nissan did not admit to wrong doing instead settle out court and gave unequal remedy to owners of all 2013 Nissan fleet a recall of all 2013 cvt must be done regardless of time or mileage

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2022
Jul 2022

2003-2010 WARRANTY EXTENSIONS When Nissan realized there were problems that affected a small percentage of owners, they immediately took steps to relieve the financial burden of repairing the affected continuously variable transmissions. One big piece of their plan involved extending the warranty free of charge. The extension applied to all Nissan vehicles manufactured between 2003 and 2010 equipped with a continuously variable transmission. This extension doubled the original powertrain warranty from five years or 60,000 miles up to 10 years or 120,000 miles. This extension is fully transferrable to new owners should the original owner sell the vehicle. Owners are not required to do anything. Should a problem with your continuously variable transmission arise simply bring your vehicle to a Nissan repair facility and they will handle everything. Another step Nissan took was to reimburse owners who had already paid for any continuously variable transmission repairs that would be covered by this new warranty, even if they had sold their Nissan. Owners just need to download the reimbursement form and follow the instructions. Additionally, Nissan reduced the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of a new continuously variable transmission and any affected parts to further help those who might need repairs after this extended warranty period expires. 2012-2017 WARRANTY EXTENSIONS Again, Nissan’s response was swift and decisive as they looked to relieve the burden of repairing these continuously variable transmissions. They extended the original manufacturer’s warranty from five years or 60,000 miles up to seven years or 84,000 miles. This Nissan continuously variable transmission warranty extension covers a variety of items. Torque converters, Transmission Control Module reprogramming, seals, gaskets, and more are all covered under this extension. Rental vehicles or loaner vehicles are also covered while your vehicle undergoes these covered repairs.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Jul 2022
Jun 2022

Cvt transmission defect

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2022
Apr 2022

Car has 79000 miles and is dangerous to drive the transmission lunges in and out of gear and it seems to be a common problem with this cvt transmission.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2013 NISSAN SENTRA, Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Incident: Apr 2022

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2013 Nissan Sentra has 237 Power Train complaints on file. 1 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.