Reliable Auto DB

2013 Nissan Sentra reliability

Is it reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2013 Nissan Sentra holds 638 complaints after 14 years, a rate of 50 per year. That is the most complaints per year among the 13 Sentra years on this site. NHTSA has 6 recalls on file, including Occupant classification, Frontal, and Electrical system, software.

2012 Nissan Sentra
Photo by Throwawayacc222, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC0
Complaints

638

Per year

50

Recalls

6

Years on the road

14

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Powertrain (311 of 638), then Air bags (96) and Service brakes (95). Those filings include 24 that report a crash, 4 that report a fire, 17 that report an injury, and 1 that reports a death.

Next to 2012 and 2014

The 2012 Sentra has 180 complaints, 14 per year, and the 2014 has 380 complaints, 26 per year. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2014.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2013 Nissan Sentra. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (6)

Recall air bags, sensor, occupant classification 2016-04-26 · NHTSA campaign 16V242000
Summary 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 deformed seat bracket may cause the Occupant Classification System (OCS) to incorrectly classify the installed CRS, resulting in the front passenger air bag to not be turned off as designed when a CRS is in the seat.
Remedy 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 began on June 13, 2016. Owners are warned not to install a CRS in the front seat. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669.
Recall air bags, sensor, occupant classification 2016-04-26 · NHTSA campaign 16V244000
Summary 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 Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crash.
Remedy 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 Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669, Infiniti customer service at 1-888-833-3216 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.
Recall air bags, frontal 2015-10-20 · NHTSA campaign 15V681000
Summary 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 vehicles received an incorrect occupant classification system (OCS) control unit during a repair. These OCS control units may incorrectly classify the front passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.
Remedy 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.
Recall electrical system, software 2014-03-25 · NHTSA campaign 14V138000
Summary 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 classification system (OCS) software may incorrectly classify the passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.
Remedy 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.
Recall gasoline fuel system, storage, tank 2013-03-01 · NHTSA campaign 13V068000
Summary 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 from the tank when it is full.
Remedy 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.
Recall Air bags 2013-03-01 · NHTSA campaign 13V069000
Summary 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 and permanently suppress the passenger airbag.
Remedy 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 1-800-647-7261.

Complaints by component (638 total)

Powertrain
311
Air bags
96
Service brakes
95
Engine
87
Speed control
51
Electrical system
43
Fuel and propulsion system
33
Steering
16
Electronic stability control (ESC)
13
Seat belts
13
Suspension
7
Wheels
7
Structure
5
Engine and engine cooling
4
Exterior lighting
4
Fuel system, gasoline
3
Seats
3
Visibility
3
Visibility and wipers
3
Hydraulic brakes
2
Forward collision avoidance
1
Fuel system, other
1
Lane departure
1
Latches, locks, and linkages
1
Tires
1
Traction control
1
Show 18 more Show less
Crash-flagged

24

Fire-flagged

4

Injury reports

17

Death reports

1

Complaints filed per year

12012432013522014542015442016632017115201810720195020203320212620222520231220248202552026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated, and the front passenger's side air bag warning light remained illuminated while the front passenger's seat was…"
    Air bags · filed 2026-06-26
  • "Transmission slipping"
    Powertrain · filed 2026-06-08
  • "Mileage (~124k) * RPM behavior * Loss of power uphill * Can cause a crash on highway with the cvt promblems nissian sentras sv has been cause of loss of power out of no where needs to be addressed as a recall…"
    Unknown or other · filed 2026-05-10
  • "Erractic rpms. Shakes/hesitant on take off from stop. Accelerator can be pushed all the way and it goes 5mph. Shifting takes a good minute with shakiness. Can not drive in rush hour traffic almost got accident many…"
    Engine, Lane departure · filed 2026-04-11
  • "I am reporting a failed remedy for Recall R1608 (Occupant Classification System). My 2013 Nissan Sentra was serviced at Nissan of Van Nuys for this recall. Despite the dealership marking the recall as completed, the…"
    Air bags, Seat belts, Seats · filed 2026-01-04

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2013 Nissan Sentra 4 DR FWD 4 stars 4 stars 5 stars 4 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Sentra 1.8L, 4-cyl Automatic (variable gear ratios) Front-wheel drive 30 38 33 MPG $1950
Sentra 1.8L, 4-cyl Manual 6-speed Front-wheel drive 27 35 30 MPG $2150
Sentra 1.8L, 4-cyl Automatic (variable gear ratios) Front-wheel drive 29 38 33 MPG $1950
Sentra FE 1.8L, 4-cyl Automatic (variable gear ratios) Front-wheel drive 30 39 33 MPG $1950

Specs and fitment

7th generation (B17), 2012–2019
Body styles Sedan
Oil 0W-20 (1.8L and 2.0L) , 4.875 qt capacity
Tire size 205/55R16 to 215/45R18 (trim dependent)

Known issues for this generation

NHTSA campaign 17V253000. Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 LEAF and 2014, 2016 and 2017 Sentra vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error within the air bag inflators, the passenger frontal air bag may not properly deploy in the event of a crash. In the event of a crash, if the front passenger air bag doesn't deploy properly, it can increase the risk of injury to passengers. Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began June 7, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

Compare

Previous year 2012 Nissan Sentra Next year 2014 Nissan Sentra See every Nissan Sentra model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2013 Nissan Sentra reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2013 Nissan Sentra holds 638 complaints after 14 years, a rate of 50 per year. That is the most complaints per year among the 13 Sentra years on this site. NHTSA has 6 recalls on file, including Occupant classification, Frontal, and Electrical system, software.

What are common problems with a 2013 Nissan Sentra?

The complaints owners file most often name Powertrain (311 of 638), then Air bags (96) and Service brakes (95). Those filings include 24 that report a crash, 4 that report a fire, 17 that report an injury, and 1 that reports a death.

Is the 2013 Nissan Sentra more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2012 Sentra has 180 complaints, 14 per year, and the 2014 has 380 complaints, 26 per year. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2014.

Has the 2013 Nissan Sentra been recalled?

The 2013 Nissan Sentra has 6 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2013 Nissan Sentra?

Owners have filed 638 complaints about the 2013 Nissan Sentra with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2013 Nissan Sentra get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2013 Nissan Sentra is 32.3 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What oil does a Sentra take?

0W-20 (1.8L and 2.0L)

What does NHTSA recall 17V-253 cover on the Nissan Sentra?

NHTSA campaign 17V253000.

What generation is the 2013 Nissan Sentra?

7th generation (B17) (2012-2019).