1995 Nissan Sentra Reviews - Page 2 of 6

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1995 Nissan Sentra GXE 1.6L from North America

Model year	1995
Year of manufacture	1995
First year of ownership	2001
Most recent year of ownership	2005
Engine and transmission	1.6L Automatic
Performance marks	4 / 10
Reliability marks	6 / 10
Comfort marks	4 / 10
Running Costs (higher is cheaper)	7 / 10
Overall marks (average of all marks)	5.3 / 10
Distance when acquired	72000 miles
Most recent distance	115000 miles
Previous car	Oldsmobile Delta 88

Summary:

In general, it is an OK car for what it is, a low end commuter

Faults:

Window button at 70,000. Stupid thing cost $95. I never replaced it.

CV Joints 80,000 miles.

Alternator at 105,000 miles - Design makes it hard to replace and therefore expensive in labor charges.

Most of exhaust except catalytic converter completely rusted out at 110,000 miles. The catalytic converter is hanging on barely. Unbelievably expensive components, e.g. each piece of pipe is $100+

Has been leaking oil since about 100,000 miles. The oil builds up on the engine and on hot days you'd think it was going to catch on fire it smokes so bad.

General Comments:

Overall, the car is good dependable transportation. It gets good mileage, about 40 mpg on the highway and 25 around town.

The cost of parts is outrageous, I mean come on, $95 for a power window switch!

The check engine light has been on for over 30,000 miles. It is an intermittent oxygen sensor. I could replace it for a couple of hundred $'s, but it runs fine as is.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th December, 2005

Comment on this review

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6th Dec 2005, 07:44

I would suggest replacing that oxygen sensor. That is an important one. If you do not change it, your car will never go into "closed loop mode," where the computer interfaces with the oxygen sensor, to fine tune the air/fuel mixture for optimum performance and economy. Your car is therefore always running rich, in the mode it would-be/is during a cold start.

Another possibility that might arise out of not fixing this, depending upon the severity of the situation, is that you could damage your catalytic converter, a very expensive fix. If you are experiencing a rotten egg smell, it is too late.

On a '95 front wheel drive 4 cylinder, the oxygen sensor should be a very easy fix, which you can do yourself. It should be right on the exhaust manifold. You will have to buy a special oxygen sensor socket/wrench to get it out.

Disconnect the negative battery cable before you proceed. Take your time and study the connector for the oxygen sensor to see how its locking/clipping mechanism works. DO NOT FORCE THE CONNECTOR APART. Once you figure out how to disengage the clip mechanism, the connector should come apart with just the force necessary to separate the connector ends from their weather packing/seals.

Then, just unscrew the old oxygen sensor, and replace it with the new one using the reverse procedure from above. Be sure to leave the negative battery cable disconnected for 10 minutes, to assure that all existing trouble codes (hopefully only the oxygen sensor) are erased.

One additional piece of advice, is that in this case, although it costs more, get the new oxygen sensor from the dealer. After market oxygen sensors are complete crap compared to original equipment. Replacing it should be no more difficult than replacing a spark plug. It is ridiculous how much people want to charge for doing something so simple. I would consider giving it a try yourself.

1995 Nissan Sentra GXE 1.4 from North America

Model year	1995
Year of manufacture	1995
First year of ownership	2003
Most recent year of ownership	2005
Engine and transmission	1.4 Automatic
Performance marks	5 / 10
Reliability marks	2 / 10
Comfort marks	4 / 10
Running Costs (higher is cheaper)	1 / 10
Overall marks (average of all marks)	3.0 / 10
Distance when acquired	76000 miles
Most recent distance	110756 miles

Summary:

Can't wait to trade it in!

Faults:

One month after purchasing car, spent $900 on repairs. For what? I can't recall, since I've spent so much on repairs and it's been in the shop so many times. I know it had a bunch of oil leaks and there was some sort of major repair job done.

One month later, timing chain broke cost: $450.

Less than one month later, alternator failed Did this repair myself so it costs about $190.

At about 80,000 miles had to have fuel filter replaced. Cost: $260.

90,000 miles the mass air flow sensor went out. cost: $500.

Shortly after, around 92,000 miles, had starter replaced. cost: $350.

Six months later, starter went out again, but was still under warranty. Had to spend $90 on towing and miss a day's work, though I think this repair was the fault of the repair shop.

Car is now at a little over 110,000 miles and is in the shop once again. Not certain of the problem just yet, but think it is the ignition module and can only IMAGINE how much this repair will cost me.

General Comments:

I cannot WAIT to get rid of this car. The car has been well maintained and is only driven to work and around town. Have never taken any long trips in the vehicle or put excessive wear and tear, but have spent a fortune on repairs in two short years. I've probably spent more on repairs than I actually paid for the car. I bought this car because of all the great reviews I found here on CarSurvey... I dunno...perhaps I just bought a lemon?

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 31st October, 2005

Comment on this review

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2nd Nov 2005, 11:18

I wrote this original review and would like to add that I've now found out what the problem is with the vehicle: The ENTIRE engine is blown and must be replaced. Grrr... Needless to say, I am very put out by this and cannot afford the repair nor am I willing to put any more money into this car. I will probably never buy another used car because of this and will now have to settle for a cheaper new car than what I'd intended to trade the car for, due to the fact that I wasn't financially prepared to purchase a new car yet.

4th Nov 2005, 11:38

Back to comment on my original review again. I just remembered what the first major repair I had done on the car was- The harmonic balancer went out and was $900 to repair.

13th Feb 2007, 18:27

I bought a 1997 Nissan Sentra a few months ago. I read a lot of great reviews. It won't start now and I am told the timing chain broke. This repair cost is $1000. To find out if the cylinders and valves are damaged, an additional $300. If there is damage, could be another $150 - $300. I only paid $2200 for the car. I don't think I want to put this much money into it.

I am going to take a big loss. Service repair guy suspects there is damage due to gas in oil and not holding any compression.