2002 Nissan Sentra GXE from North America - Comments

Car has an intermittent high-idle/sudden-acceleration problem the cause of which hasn't been found.

The rotors were warped at only 12,000 miles.

There have been 2 Recalls on the car so far: Crank Position Sensor and ECM Foam insulation removal.

I bought my 2002 Sentra GXE because I had a mid-80's vintage Nissan Sentra that was very reliable and mechanically indestructible. Furthermore, Nissan's customer service was superb at the time. I had a warranty issue -- albeit minor -- which they went out off their way to correct. Overall, I was very satisfied with my Nissan experience at the time.

I cannot say this for my 2002 Sentra GXE. At about 12,000 miles my car developed a dangerous intermittent high-idle/sudden acceleration problem. Since my car fell outside the Lemon Law time/mileage limits for our state when this problem began, I’m stuck with this junker. I have taken the car back to numerous Nissan dealers and none of them can find the problem. All they ever do is hook it up to the computer and if they find no code, they do nothing. Sorry, but this is not the sign of “skilled” mechanics. I can train just about anyone to read computer codes in a day – it doesn’t take a genius. A good mechanic will do extensive manual diagnostics if he cannot find the problem via a stored computer code. And if that doesn’t lead him to a cause, then he uses his knowledge, experience, and research to make an educated guess on what part is the cause and replaces it.

Complaining to Nissan Customer Service was a waste of time since they did nothing other than call the clueless mechanics at the dealerships to get their opinion. Furthermore, they treated me like my Nissan’s defect was my problem. Like I have the time to make up problems and repeatedly take the car back to the dealer! Based on my own research and the opinion of several independent mechanics I have asked, the intermittent problem my car has is most likely caused by one of 3 parts. One of these potential culprits has already been replaced under warranty due to a massive recall – the Crank Position Sensor. I mentioned my findings on numerous occasions to the dealership mechanics and to Nissan Customer Service, but they just blow me off and say that they can do nothing for me if no codes are stored. Years ago, Nissan would have replaced these 2 parts under warranty just to make sure –especially since this is a safety issue. Not anymore. Now they have the arrogant, big corporation attitude that permeates the majority of the auto industry.

In addition, I have repeatedly complained about a sticky gas pedal since the car has been about 18 months old. After getting nowhere with Nissan on this, I finally went in and carefully cleaned the throttle body with throttle body cleaner on the advice of a long-time mechanic friend. I had asked the mechanics at Nissan if this needed to be done when this problem first started and they said ‘no’. Furthermore, nowhere in the owners manual does it say to clean or check this on a regular basis. It’s amazing how this simple cleaning solved the sticking throttle issue I’d been complaining about for a year which the genius “factory-trained mechanics” at Nissan couldn’t figure out.

At about 13,000 miles my car developed warped rotors. To me that indicates junk parts. But did Nissan replace them? No, they simply turned them and replaced the brake pads. And I suspect this problem will return in the future, but then it will be my problem because the warranty will be over. What does Nissan care – they’ve ‘saved’ on warranty repair costs.

If Nissan thinks they can get away with poor quality such as this, they should think again. They can only ride their previous quality reputation for so long. GM thought they could get away with it too and in the long run ended up losing 20% of their market share. AMC as we all know went out of business thanks to the junkers they produced. I know many long-time Nissan buyers who have bought recent Nissan models and have had so many problems that they have vowed never to buy another Nissan again. I too will never buy another vehicle from Nissan in my lifetime nor will anyone in my family. Nissan can fool people for awhile, but not forever. Companies like this deserve to go out of business. Nissan is no longer a quality automaker. They’ve proven to me that they don’t back up what they sell. I definitely do not recommend any vehicle to anyone from their lineup.

I had the same problem with the rotors. After 18,000 miles they were warped. The Nissan dealership was very arrogant on determining that I was doing "hard driving". The car being in warranty didn't help, so I bought the original rotors and brake pads and had my mechanic install them. I had complaint to Nissan Customer Service... The most useless thing... They will never look into your problem. They will always send you to a dealer.

I had my engine flooded with oil at the regular 3,000 oil change. They forgot to put the oil cap. At the same dealership they did it again because the mechanic installed an oil filter with a missing gasket...

All the dealerships I went to in the NYC add an extra quart of oil over the maxim.

Also, after every oil change, for more than 1,000 miles I was getting burnt oil smell in my car.

I was asking Nissan Customer Service how will the warranty of my car is going to be affected based on the abuse my car was subjected to at the Nissan Dealers. No comments. They claimed I never contacted them in this regard. I've told them to look into my Service Questionnaires I sent back to Nissan. To my complete surprise they responded that they don't have them... They didn't know were they were... I am wondering if anybody at Nissan reads them. After that Nissan stopped sending me any Questionnaires. Interesting?

I experienced the sticky gas pedal myself. They wanted close to $90 to fix it. It is just a matter of cleaning the throttle. I did it myself.

I am lucky that I moved out of NYC. The local dealer is great. At least I didn't experience additional problems. They've told me that the oil smell after the oil change is due to a design problem. (do you think they are going to make that statement official??? I don't think so...)

With all due respect to Nissan, I have to tell that they've lost another customer. They have to understand that people are talking. (this is how I've made my decision to buy this brand). Apparently, in the last few years things changed a lot, but not for the better?

I felt like posting similar problems just to help to spot an eventual recurring problem that will eventually be admitted as such by Nissan.

I too have a 2001 Nissan Sentra GXE that I bought from the dealership brand new. I haven't had a warped rotor problem, but I drive a manual transmission so I downshift to slow my car whenever possible.

I do however, have an erratic idle issue and a severe stalling problem. My car is still under 55,000 miles and about 3 months ago my car died at a stop light when I was coming home from work. I thought maybe I just didn't have the clutch pushed all the way in and laughed at myself for stalling the car, because I have been driving manuals for 15 years.

Well, I get to the next light and bammo!... Car dies again and refuses to start. After much praying and sweating I finally got it started and limped it the rest of the way home.

When I got home I looked up if there had been any recalls for my car, and found 6! Three of which (TPS, ECU foam, and Crankshaft sensor) looked like they were very important, and I wondered why NISSAN hadn't sent me any information about ANY of the recalls. I know they have my address, because they sure seem to get my bill to me every month just fine.

Needless to say, I went and had the recalls done and explained the problem to them at the dealership with the stalling and erratic idling. The Service Manager stated that it was a "common problem" in 2001 Sentras and that the recall work would fix my problems.

The next day I picked up my Sentra and it stalled before I even got out of the parking lot. Infuriated, I limped my car to the nearest Auto Shop for a second opinion.

After several hours of reading codes and eyeballing my car, the mechanics could find nothing wrong and adjusted my idle up to keep it from stalling all the time.

Well, that fixed the stalling, but my car idle is so high now and so erratic that it sounds like I am "gunning" or "racing" my engine, even with my foot off the accelerator pedal at a dead stop. How embarassing...

To this day the car still acts possessed, and I haven't even paid it off yet. Seems to me that at least the 2001 year Sentras are all LEMONS!!!

I to have a 2002 Nissan Sentra GXE and have brought the thing back at least four times for a sudden acceleration issue. Upon pulling to a stop or even waiting at a light with my foot on the brake the engine begins to rev up and my foot was no where near the gas. I had to put it in neutral and than back into gear to get the idle down. I took it to the local Nissan dealership and although they were sympathetic, since there were no problem codes in the computer they could not help. They said come back if it happens again, presumably to be told the same thing when they again find no error codes. Even though their "master mechanic" looked at my car he offered no suggestions since the computer said nothing was wrong. Very frustrating. I'm sure there can be only a hand full of parts that can send a signal to the throttle to tell it to accelerate (since I didn't put my foot on the gas) but apparently no one at Nissan can figure that out or is willing to change out those parts, they say the need something to point them in the right direction and since the computer indicates nothing is wrong there at a loss to proceed with solving the problem. As the owner of several Nissan's in the past and two currently I feel that Nissan has fumbled the ball big time with me. Already looking at other car makers.

I just bought myself a 2001 Nissan Sentra GXE, actually just last Wednesday the 13th. Just today, the 17th, I was going up a hill in 4th gear and the car lugged hard just once, and lost about 5-7mph, then my "service engine soon" light came on. Running fine, but wondering what's going on. Have not talked to anyone about it yet, just found the recalls the car has had, and they are some pretty serious ones. I believe they all have the consequence of: crashing!? Wow, unbelievable, I totaled my last Sentra, it was a 1994 LE 1.6L. Ran great, only main thing I had to replace was the distributor, but otherwise, a grand car. Now I get a 2001, and wondering if it was a bad choice, it only has almost 69,000 miles on it. I guess I will be calling to see if this car has had the recall work done on it yet, I'll post an update so we can keep a record of the problems this vehicle has.

I agree completely with all of the above comments. I have had nothing, but heartache from my 2001 Nissan Sentra.

The first thing I encountered was a recall shortly after purchase. The recall was for the wheels. It was explained that the actual wheel could develop cracks and cause an accident. That was an uneasy feeling!

So, I had that repaired. Then about a year later I was driving to work and my car cut off completely, in the middle of the road. I coasted to a parking lot, thankfully. I had to have it towed to the dealer I purchased it from. They told me my crank sensor had failed and about $300 later I got my car back. The mechanic said, "Sometimes things like this just happen." I was infuriated.

About a year after that happened I received the recall notice for the crank sensor and the engine lining. I promptly called Nissan Customer Service and after weeks of faxing paperwork and receipts they reimbursed me the money I had spent on having the crank sensor replaced.

In addition, my driver's side power window motor failed a couple years ago, while the window was down of course. I took it to the dealership and they told me it would cost about $200, with labor, to fix it. Instead, I bought the part and had my stepfather install it. Now it's sluggish and gets stuck sometimes and I have to coax it back up. I'm convinced it's something to do with the connection.

I will NEVER buy another Nissan as long as I live. This car has really turned me off.

To all.

The problems with your Sentra's (stalling, erratic idle, service engine light and poor acceleration) are related to these problems.

1) ECM failure - the original problem with sulfur gas being created by the ecm housing foam insulation curing and the possibility that even though you had the recall work done, if a resistor had a scratch in its outer layer, it could cause it to become eroded and fail. this is the first problem that will cause all your others.

2) throttle chamber - this can fail either by a build up of deposits in the chamber itself or in conjunction with the ECM failure. this part is in very short supply and not made by Nissan. if it is on back order, it could take several weeks to come in (see last paragraph if this should be the case). list price is about $219.00 net is $295.00.

3) these items should be covered either by the long term warranty, 8 years or 80,000 miles (2002 and up) or the emissions warranty.

4) please note that since 1996, the Nissan Sentra has used the OBDII ECM system. this ECM, in its failure mode, sends erroneous error codes to the analyzers equipment. this could result in parts being replaced that do not need to be and at great cost to you. also, there are voltage spikes present at the throttle chamber positioning combination switch.

If you use the dealer for repairs and you have problems, first ask for the district managers number. if they will not give it to you, this is a violation. if this is the case, call Nissan corporate @ 1-800-647-7261 and tell them of your troubles and get a reference number. if the throttle chamber is on back order status, don't wait!!! call Nissan America again and get them to upgrade the part order to customer care urgent, this will at least give you an estimate time of arrival.

Good luck.

Great comments guys!

I think that they are very helpful.

I am the "11 Oct 2004" guy...

I am at 55,000 miles and I am getting the "Check Engine Soon" light on. This happens with a rough idle at the engine start-up that last for 10-30 seconds.

The error code reported by the ODBC-II reader P0301 (Cylinder 1 misfire detected). I deleted the code myself, but the problem was still there...

I had the car at the Nissan Service and they had replaced the #1 Ignition Coil. (They were able to get the same error code I've got)

It didn't help... but I had to pay my deductible according to my extended warranty plan I have.

I had all the recalls done, but who knows... Now I have to go back to the service shop and leave the car there for an extensive investigation... I'm a bit nervous about it...

I hope for the best...

Good luck guys!

This is in addition to my August 6th comment. It took 16 days for the dealer to repair my car, only after over 20 phone calls to Nissan America and about 5 to the dealer. All repairs were covered by the long term warranty.

Remember the part about the wrong error codes and availability of parts!!! Keep in mind that Nissan America Corp. has little control or influence over the dealerships! Customer service on this level is just lip service at best!

Always remember it's a car made in Japan, but the company is owned by a french holding corp! Nissan America never returns your calls and its dealers will always give you the best run around you can find.

My advice to all of you, is that if your cars are under warranty, get them fixed and sell them off. I did. I find Honda, is by far, the best in price, service and customer relations!

I too have a 2001 Nissan Sentra which I had to leave at home today and ask for a ride to work. It was doing the high idle number and acting as though it wanted to jump ahead of itself. I was afraid to drive it to work today. Previously, it has stalled on me twice. I did not get an extended warranty and I hope they can repair what is wrong with it. It is amazing that so many people have similar problems with the same vehicle and we have to spend money for such repairs.

I have had my 2002 Sentra for almost four years now and with only 36,000 miles on her. I take real good of my vehicle and it was a complete shocker when my car started having idle problems then gradually worked itself to a no-start. I'm not a car mechanic, but I do know my way around my car pretty well. It did not take me long to figure out that fuel was not getting to the cylinder and there was no spark in the plugs. I then check the recalls made on my vehicle, call the 1800 number, and find that recall that did apply to my vehicle was the ECM foam lining needing to be removed. Being that I'm currently in the Military and me moving all the time, would probably be a good reason on not receiving the recall notices. Another problem is that the nearest Nissan Dealer is about 100 miles away from this small town where I live now. Dilemmas, Dilemmas... Needless to say, I am pretty certain they will not tow the vehicle for me all that way. So, I'm more than likely gonna do the repairs myself or have a local place fix the problem and pray for reimbursement from Nissan. I haven't had any rotor problems as of yet (crosses his fingers). And to think, I was gonna call my bank for a car loan for the Nissan Quest. I'll pay the extra money for another brand just for the piece of mind.

I have a 2001 Nissan Sentra GXE and am having lots of problems with it already. The car only has 33,000 miles on it I have replace the mass air flow sensor and two 02 senors and it still runs terrible. everything that happens to it the codes read sensors. I am so dissapointed in this car. No one ever should buy a new Nissan

Dean Meredith.

Wow, this really is amazing how almost everyone is having the same troubles. I drive a 2001 sentra GXE (which has never ever given me any problems what so ever and it has 90,000 miles on it), and today at the gas station, it wouldn't start. So I figured it would be the battery cables (might be loose. After cleaning them, still crank no start. I'm currently attending an Automotive class in high school, after a few minutes of thinking about what it could be, I remembered the car had a TBS on a Crank Shaft Position Sensor (a sensor that tells the PCM how many RPMS the engine needs to operate at) Some how I got it to start, I pulled it into drive way, I shut the car down, and restarted it, the RPM needle moved up and down quickly and retarded the speed so low it would shut down after a few minutes. So I'm guessing its the Crank Shaft Position Sensor, to all of you that are having these problems maybe you should check this out. I will update and let you guys know what the problem as soon as I figure this out.

Follow-up on "2nd Sept 2005"

I want let you know of the outcome: the real problem was the head gasket. The dealer said that it is an uncommon problem for Sentra.

I have to admit that this particular dealership did a great job on this particular problem and they took care of everything very well. It's been almost 2 month and the car is running fine.

I am happy that I found a great Nissan Service shop, but not so happy about the quality problems of my car...

I have a 2001 GXE Sentra as well, I had a no start problem as well. I heard clicking under the passenger side of the dash board, like a relay switch engaging and disengaging rapidly. The SES light was also fluttering on and off while the clicking noise continued. I brought it to a local mechanic and they found a shorted wire to the ECM. The wire was under the dash where I heard the clicking. An easy test to identify this problem is by turning the car to the start position, if the SES light does not come on at all the ECM is not getting power in which case you probably have a shorted wire or a bad ECM relay, both of which are fairly cheap fixes. Email me if you would like more info on this problem. kvn8533@yahoo.com.

I have an 01 Sentra GXE. My dad in the past owned a 1993 Maxima and can't remember exact year, but I think late mid/late 80's 240SX. Those cars were built like rocks. The 240 rusted after 11 years, but the mechanics were fine only needed new plugs, wires and timing belt and retime. Same with the maxima, body got a little rust, but took about 9 1/2 years to have its FIRST leak (it was brake fluid).

But my 01 Sentra every time I turn around something is screwed up. First at 26,000 and almost 4 years old Yea pretty low for an 01 my check engine light came on almost $400 for some backup valve and power cell, not one penny covered by warranty. Next my oil dipstick got stuck in tube. (common problem google it) The plastic top came off the metal body, um plastic parts in engine compartment that is not a heat or dust cover??? bad design perhaps. Now last week my catalytic converter heat shield dropped. When the dealer took it off they say I need a new pipe from my engine to my catalytic converter almost $300 (this is estimate work has not been done yet). All of this happened to a 2001 that as of 11/8/05 has only 29,912 miles. BTW all of these problems happened in less than six months time.

Will never buy another Nissan? I raise my hand.