1989 Nissan Sentra E Sedan from North America - Comments

Timing belt was replaced at 185,000 miles.

Head gasket blew at 200,000 miles and the vehicle over-heats after 75-100 miles of driving.

Oil has always leaked from the engine, but not a significant amount.

This vehicle has amazing resilience! It still runs smoothly and efficiently without any significant transmission or engine problems after 225,000 miles of heavy use.

I wouldn't recommend the vehicle for extensive road travel, especially at high speeds. However, it is a perfect and efficient vehicle for students and/or anybody needing to travel only short distances.

I had overheating problems after long high speed runs and it was down to the inside of the radiator being restricted with rust and lime scale. The previous owner had left the engine with just plain water in the cooling system. It never ran hot in town or on shorter journeys but gradually got hotter and hotter on the motorway as the coolant could not circulate fast enough through the radiator.

You could either back-flush the radiator or replace it. This could have been what made the the head gasket blow.

I love my 1989 Nissan Sentra E. It only has 93000 miles, but it runs like a champ. Only problem is my AC doesn't work anymore. But the engine is great and it still has good pickup.

I've owned a 1989 Sentra for a little over a year now and I have to say, I've never been more impressed. At 300,000 kms it seems to run just find, however the head gasket has blown on me. I've put minor repairs into it, aside from your standard brake pads, tire rotation & oil changes. I drive this car on the highway 75% of the time, and it purrs like a kitten. It will over heat, but doesn't every car? I would advise anyone to purchase this vehicle.

Ranting about my experience:

I have a 1989 Sentra 4 doors sedan, automatic transmission. I got it from some friends of mine for free since they were getting a new car. I am very impressed by the sturdiness of this vehicle. I drove it around for six moths without opening the hood once (not even to check the fluids). The first major problem was with steering. I took it to a shop and found out that the power steering fluid was gone, the brake fluid was almost gone, and the motor oil was very low. I put in those fluids and the car ran fine for a few moths. I took it to a lube shop a couple of months ago and they said they checked all fluids and tire pressure and all that normal stuff and everything was fine. A few weeks ago the car started to behave strangely in traffic. It would tend to stall at a red light, and when I applied the brakes and almost came to a full stop the car would surge forward a bit as if I tapped the accelerator pedal. It would also change gears in a unpredictable way with loss of traction and sudden lurches forward. Yesterday I decided to check the transmission oil level and sure enough it was very low. I topped it off and all those symptoms are gone. now I'm just waiting to see if I'm loosing transmission fluid, or if the lube shop people did not actually check the level.

(they also said that both my brake lights bulbs were burned and offered to replace them - I refused, drove home, and sure enough they worked properly)

My main point is I abused - not used, ABUSED - this car and it still runs and I use it every day for commuting to work.

Great car.