2008 Nissan Sentra: problems, recalls and reliability
3 recalls and 167 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is air bags (27% of complaints); the 2009 model year looks more trouble-free.
Data updated weekly · latest recall Sep 2010
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 167 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“Transmission problems! Dealer wants to Charge me $7,000.00 dollars to fix it! Recall has a warranty until 2022 or 120,000 miles . My car has 85,375 miles!they said that warranty already expired! But my car only has 85,375 miles and the warranty is 120,000 miles!”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Apr 2024
“The car's airbag dashboard light has been on and blinking for about a month now- indicating an issue. I have not been in any recent accidents and it appeared on its own. Subsequently, the car horn does not work. Airbags and car horn are necessary to prevent accidents and serious injury, including death in the event of an accident. I advised my local Nissan dealership who stated there are no current recalls and the car would need to be inspected- which will likely be costly. No inspections have been made at this time.”Owner report · Air Bags · Feb 2023
“The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving approximately 45 mph, the vehicle in front abruptly depressed its brake pedal causing the driver to crash into the rear of the vehicle. During the crash, the front end of the vehicle was severely damaged but no air bags were deployed. No injuries were reported. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 117,000.”Owner report · Air Bags · Jan 2023
Show 7 more owner reports
“Driver Air bag sensor light came on. The dealership reset it several times but it continues to come on. We paid the money to have them put the car on the diagnostic system. They are saying after review, the airbag needs to be replaced. It costs $1500 to replace the airbag. Which makes zero sense. The car has never been wrecked. Reports have shown issues with airbags in hundreds of thousands of Nissans. The 2008 Nissan Sentra needs to be reviewed for an airbag recall. This is extremely dangerous.”Owner report · Air Bags · Dec 2022
“I purchased the car drove it home with no problem. 2 days after my purchase it drives very slow and won't pick up speed.”Owner report · Service Brakes · Mar 2021
“There the code of p1778 that keeps coming up on about a cvt and ifs affecting the drive and strain the transmission I dont understand the issue is recurring.and this happen while driving on the highway. You can feel the car hesitant”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Nov 2020
“Tl* the contact owns a 2008 nissan sentra. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, there was an abnormal noise coming from the front of the vehicle. The vehicle failed to move forward. The contact mentioned that the transmission failed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000. *bf”Owner report · Power Train · Nov 2020
“Backing out of a driveway my axel and ball joint. The control arm disconnected from my transmission. This caused damage to the side paneling in front my tire. The car wouldn't move even when put in neutral. When I go in reverse before this happened my car would putter and then die. The car will not reverse unless I put the car in neutral and roll out from where I am.”Owner report · Fuel/Propulsion System · Sep 2020
“Air bag light flashes on dash won't go off. This should be a safety issue... Over 10 in the last year alone reported same problem”Owner report · Air Bags · Sep 2020
“Driving over an hour and the car starts to struggle, I can feel it loosing power, in order to not press down all the way, I'm doing a give n go praying I dont stop on the freeway. I would sometimes feel jumping and that I'm not in full control and it has stopped on me in a 15minute drive. I have gotten, a diagnostic, 1time it had 4different transmission codes and another a fuel code. Not sure what's going on, this started around the 60,000 mile I'm at 90,000 now, so ya, it's been rough.”Owner report · Vehicle Speed Control · Aug 2019
When filing, owners marked a crash in 20 of these complaints and injuries in 17 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 3 campaigns
NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN VEHICLES THAT WERE EQUIPPED WITH A GARMIN NUVI MODEL 750 NAVIGATION SYSTEM. THE BATTERIES CONTAINED IN THE AFFECTED GPS UNITS CAN OVERHEAT.
Remedy: NISSAN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND THE REPAIRS WILL BE PERFORMED BY GARMIN TECHNICIANS BY REPLACING THE BATTERY AND INSERTING A SPACER ON TOP OF THE BATTERY FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 16, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT GARMIN DIRECTLY AT 1-866-957-1981 OR NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2008 SENTRA PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH BOSCH MASTER CYLINDERS. BRAKE FLUID MAY LEAK FROM THE MASTER CYLINDER. IF THE AMOUNT OF BRAKE FLUID IN THE MASTER CYLINDER RESERVOIR DECREASES TO BELOW THE MINIMUM LEVEL, THE BRAKE SYSTEM WARNING INDICATOR WILL ILLUMINATE AS DESIGNED AND THE BRAKES WILL NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND REPLACE THE MASTER CYLINDER BRAKE BOOSTER ASSEMBLY FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON DECEMBER 14, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
NISSAN IS RECALLING 169,202 MY 2007-2008 SENTRA PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED ROBERT BOSCH MASTER CYLINDER. DUE TO THE MACHINING IRREGULARITY BY THE SUPPLIER, THE INTERNAL SEAL GROOVE IN THE BODY OF SOME BRAKE MASTER CYLINDERS MAY ALLOW FOR A GAP IN THE GROOVE CONTACT AREA OF THE SEAL. THIS MAY RESULT IN BRAKE FLUID SLOWLY LEAKING FROM THE MASTER CYLINDER INTO THE BRAKE BOOSTER ASSEMBLY, CAUSING THE BRAKE WARNING LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE MASTER CYLINDER/BRAKE BOOSTER ASSEMBLY AND IF BRAKE FLUID LEAKAGE IS DETECTED, THE MASTER CYLINDER WILL BE REPLACED WITH A NEW ONE FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 20, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
Specifications
Factory options offered for the 2008 model year, decoded from the NHTSA vPIC database. Individual vehicles have one of each.
How other years compare
Check your exact Sentra by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2008 Nissan Sentra reliable?
NHTSA has 167 owner complaints and 3 recall campaigns on record for the 2008 Nissan Sentra. The most complained-about area is air bags (27% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2008 Nissan Sentra problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 69,000 miles or less.
Does the 2008 Nissan Sentra have open recalls?
3 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning equipment:electrical:navigational system(global positioning system). Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.