2010 Nissan Sentra Transmission Problems

While driving at 20 mph, your car suddenly lost power and slowed to below 5 mph, forcing you to limp to a mechanic. The mechanic indicated your CVT transmission was likely the problem, and you noted Nissan has a known issue with this transmission's fail-safe system. You've also heard occasional knocking sounds from under the hood that couldn't be diagnosed.

While driving at 55 mph and slowing down for traffic, your car suddenly wouldn't accelerate past 20 mph, even though no warning light appeared. You pulled over and the engine lost power completely. A dealer diagnosed the problem as a faulty stepper motor. The fix will likely involve replacing the stepper motor that controls idle and engine functions.

Your car's knock sensor may be sending incorrect signals to the engine computer, causing it to misadjust ignition timing. This can lead to catalytic converter overheating and damage, along with engine bucking or hesitation that typically appears a few minutes after starting. You may need to replace the catalytic converter, and some owners report needing to use premium fuel to avoid engine damage.

Your car suddenly lost power and stalled without warning while driving in a parking lot, and wouldn't restart or respond. The dealership diagnosed that your CVT transmission needed to be replaced, but the repair wasn't covered under warranty. The transmission failure occurred around 70,000 miles.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 NISSAN SENTRA. AT VARIOUS TIMES, WHILE APPROACHING A STOP, THE VEHICLE WOULD ABRUPTLY SHUT OFF WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT HAD TO PLACE THE VEHICLE INTO PARK AND RESTART THE VEHICLE IN ORDER FOR IT TO OPERATE NORMALLY. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC, BUT IT WAS UNABLE TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT CALLED BENTON NISSAN OF HOOVER (1640 MONTGOMERY HWY, HOOVER, AL 35216, (205) 938-6103) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN A RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 80,000.

UNABLE TO DRIVE CAR BECAUSE THE TRANSMISSION GEAR CONTROL WAS LOCKED IN THE P POSITION. THE RELEASE WOULD NOT ALLOW ME TO PLACE THE CAR INTO ANY OTHER GEAR. HAD TO HAVE A NEW GEAR CONTROL ASSEMBLY ORDERED AND REPLACE THE EXISTING ONE. THE CAR WAS ONLY 117,000 MILES ON IT. THE COST FOR PARTS AND LABOR WERE $992 DOLLARS.

I WAS DRIVING THE CAR AND IT TURN OFF ON ME WHILE 40 MILES AN HOUR

I WAS AT A STOP LIGHT AND WHEN IT TURNED GREEN AND I STEPPED ON THE GAS, THE CAR MADE A NOISE AND JERKED. I WAS NOT ABLE TO DRIVE FROM THERE. I COULDN'T EVEN SHIFT TO ANY OTHER GEAR. THE CAR WAS STUCK IN A NEUTRAL POSITION, SO I WAS ABLE TO PUSH IT OFF TO THE SIDE. AFTER GETTING A TOW TO THE NEAREST SHOP, THEY DETERMINED THE TRANSMISSION WAS BAD. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND FOUND OUT NISSAN HAD BEEN HAVING ISSUES WITH THIS TYPE OF TRANSMISSION. (CVT) AND THEY EVEN EXTENDED THE TRANS WARRANTY TO 120K. (I HAVE 144K ON THE CAR) I DID CONTACT NISSAN TO SEE IF THEY WOULD MAKE A SMALL EXCEPTION. THEY TOLD ME TO HAVE A NISSAN DEALER CONFIRM THE CVT WAS BAD. I DID SO AND THEY CONFIRMED IT WAS BAD. AFTER I REPORTED BACK TO NISSAN THEY SAID THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO HELP ME IN ANY WAY. THE COST TO GET IT REPLACED IS ABOUT $4200

WHILE DRIVE ON INSTERSTATES AT 65-70MPH FOR 45MINS CVT GOES INTO "SAFE MODE" BC IT IS TOO HOT, WHICH RESULTS IN THE CARS SPEED TO NOT EXCEED 60 MPH ON A 70MPH INTERSTATE, AND CAR DECREASES FROM 60MPH IF TRYING TO GO UP HILLS. WHICH IS GOING TO RESULT IN MANY ACCIDENTS..

THE FIRST INCIDENT I WAS REVERSING OUT OF SPOT AND THE ENGINE JUST SHUT OFF, I HAD NO CONTROL OF GAS HOWEVER LIGHTS AND DASHBOARD ERRORS WERE DISPLAYED. I PUT CAR IN PARK, TURNED IGNITION OFF AND TRIED TO START UP CAR WITH SUCCESS . SO I THOUGHT MAYBE SOMETHING STRANGE HAPPENED AND I WENT ON WITH MY LIFE. OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS THIS KEPT HAPPENING MONTHS EVEN YEARS APART AT THE STRANGEST TIMES. FOR EXAMPLE THE MOST RECENT TIME IT HAPPENED I HAD STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN AND WHEN STARTING TO ACCELERATE THE CAR JUST SHUT OFF LIKE IT HAS SO MANY TIMES . BY NOW I STARTED THINKING MAYBE THIS IS MORE THAN A COINCIDENCE AND ACTUALLY SAW A RECALL ONLINE FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. ONLY THIS TIME THE CAR WOULDN'T START BACK UP. I HAD IT TOWED TO NISSAN AND TOLD THEM MY SUSPICIONS ON THE RECALL AND I GET A CALL BACK A FEW DAYS LATER SAYING I NEED A NEW ENGINE AND THEY CAN'T CHECK THE ELECTRICAL RECALL BC THEY CAN'T START THE CAR . WHAT DO I DO NOW!? *TR

I WENT TO SERVICE CENTER SEVERAL TIMES, BUT THEY COULDN'T FIX THESE. WHEN I AM DRIVING MY CAR SLOWLY UNDER 10 MPH, THERE IS NOISE FROM FRONT WHEELS EVERYDAY, IT IS LOUD. I CAN HEAR A CONTINUING SOUND WHEN I TURN MY CAR TO LEFT OR RIGHT ON ROAD. WHEN I AM DRIVING MY CAR ON LOCAL ROAD, THERE IS NOISE FROM GEAR-KNOB BUTTON(SHIFT-KNOB BUTTON). I FOUND MY CAR DOESN'T HAVE DOOR-LOCK WITH KEY. WHEN I LOCK THE FRONT DOOR, OTHER DOORS ARE NOT LOCK TOGETHER. BUT THE MANUAL DOESN'T SAY LIKE THAT. *TR

AFTER DRIVING FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES, THE TRANSMISSION DID NOT WANT TO COME OUT OF LOW GEAR. AT 35 MPH, I WAS AT ABOUT 6,000RPMS IN DRIVE. I CONFIRMED THE OVERDRIVE OFF BUTTON IS NOT ENGAGED, NOR IS IT IN "L", AND THE EMERGENCY BRAKE IS OFF. WHEN IT HAS BEEN COOLED OFF FOR ABOUT 3+ HOURS, IT WILL DRIVE FAIRLY NORMAL FOR ABOUT 10-12 MINUTES UNTIL WARMED UP, THEN IT ALL STARTS AGAIN. EVEN ONCE IT IS COOLED OFF, THERE IS A SLIGHT DRAG ON POWER AND IT WILL BEGIN TO HAVE ERRATIC SHIFTING (SIMILAR TO A REGULAR AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SLIPPING) AFTER A FEW MINUTES ON TAKE OFF IT FEELS LIKE THE PARKING BRAKE IS ON, BUT IT IS NOT. THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT COMES ON, THE VDC CONTROL LIGHT COMES ON, AND ANOTHER LIGHT THAT IS ABOVE THE VDC LIGHT COMES ON. CODES P0720 AND P1778 WERE FOUND BY A LOCAL NON-NISSAN DEALER WHO CHECKED THEM AS A COURTESY FOR ME. HAVE DISCOVERED THAT NISSAN HAS EXTENDED THE CVT TRANSMISSION WARRANTY ON CERTAIN NISSANS UP TO 10 YRS OR 120,000 MILES, MY SENTRA IS INCLUDED AMONG OTHERS. GET MORE INFO AT: HTTP://WWW.NISSANASSIST.COM/PROGRAMDETAILS.PHP. HOWEVER, MY LOCAL NISSAN DEALER SAYS IF IT WILL COST ME 4 HOURS LABOR AT $125 HR TO TEAR DOWN FOR A FULL DIAGNOSIS. IF NOT COVERED, I HAVE TO PAY THAT. A CALL TO ANOTHER NISSAN SERVICE CENTER EXPLAINED THE SAME EXPENSE. HE ALSO TOLD ME THAT THERE ARE MANY COMING THRU THAT ARE UNDER THE REPLACEMENT PROGRAM DUE TO A DEFECT THAT CAUSES ENGINE COOLANT INTO THE TRANSMISSION. FOR THAT PROBLEM, NISSAN WILL REPLACE IT BUT THEY EXPECT THE CUSTOMER TO PAY $2,000 TOWARD THE BILL. THAT IS RIDICULOUS FOR A MANUFACTURER DEFECT IN DESIGN THAT THEY HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT CAUSES THE FAILURE. I HAVE FOUND IN THE NISSAN FACTORY CVT MANUAL THAT THE PROBLEM IS INTERNAL AND MECHANICAL ACCORDING TO ITS OWN DIAGNOSTICS SEE THAT MANUAL HERE HTTP://ALLSENTRA.COM/FSM/2009_SENTRA/CVT.PDF . I HAVE A 2010, BUT IT IS THE SAME. *TR

DRIVING TO OKLAHOMA FROM EL PASO, TWO HOURS INTO THE TRIP WE ARE GOING UP THE MOUNTAINS AND THE CAR STOPS SHIFTING. WE WENT FROM 70MPH TO 40 MPH ALL THE WAY UP THE MOUNTAIN. THE CAR DID THIS FOR THE ENTIRE TRIP. WE CONTACTED CASA NISSAN ONCE WE RETURNED FROM OUR TRIP. MY CAR WAS DUE FOR ITS REGULARLY SCHEDULED TUN UP SO THE REPRESENTATIVE SAID HE WOULD CHECK OUT THE ISSUE DURING SERVICE. THE REPRESENTATIVE ASSURED ME THE PROBLEM WAS DUE TO LOW TRANSMISSION FLUIDS AND THE FLUIDS WERE FILLED AND SERVICED. ON AUGUST 10,2012 WE WENT BACK TO OKLAHOMA AND THE SAME PROBLEM OCCURRED. WE ARE BACK IN THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP AND THE SAME REPRESENTATIVE ADVISED ME THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION. SEPTEMBER 2011 THEY HAD TO REPLACE THE ENGINE IN THE CAR AND NOW ITS THE TRANSMISSION. *TR

I WAS DRIVING ON A WOODED BACK ROAD WHEN AN ANIMAL RAN OUT IN FRONT OF THE CAR. I HIT THE BRAKES HARD ENOUGH TO ENGAGE THE ABS AND COME TO A FULL STOP. IMMEDIATELY AFTER STOPPING I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE AND STEPPED ON THE GAS. THE CAR ACTED LIKE THE BRAKES WERE STILL APPLIED. I SHIFTED BETWEEN DRIVE AND REVERSE MULTIPLE TIMES IN AN ATTEMPT TO FREE UP THE BRAKES. EVENTUALLY I JUST PRESSED HEAVILY ON THE GAS AND THE CAR BEGAN TO MOVE FORWARD SLOWLY AND GRADUALLY PICKED UP SPEED. AFTER SOME 15-30 SECONDS FOLLOWING PRESSING ON THE GAS, THE CAR RESUMED ACTING NORMALLY. THERE WAS A SECOND INCIDENT ON AN INTERSTATE FREEWAY WHEN THE TRAFFIC IN FRONT OF ME SUDDENLY BRAKED HARD. THIS TIME I DID NOT STOP, BUT I FELT THE SAME SENSATION OF THE BRAKES STILL BEING APPLIED. THE NISSAN DEALER HAS REPRODUCED THIS PROBLEM ON MULTIPLE DIFFERENT SENTRAS OF DIFFERENT MODEL YEARS BUT OF THE SAME BASIC GENERATION. NISSAN HAS TOLD ME THAT THE CAR IS WORKING AS DESIGNED AND WILL NOT FIX IT. I BELIEVE THIS IS A DESIGN PROBLEM THAT PRESENTS A SAFETY ISSUE OF LEAVING A CAR UNABLE TO MOVE FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. *TR

AFTER DRIVING APPROX. 50 MILES AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS 65-70 MPH AND EXITING TO A FULL STOP, ENGINE WOULD REV UP AS USUAL BUT ONLY MOVE 1 MPH. TRANSMISSION NOT FULLY ENGAGED. THIS PUTS ONE IN HARMS WAY WITH NO ABILITY TO MOVE OUT OF THE WAY. OCCURRED IN ALL GEARS. ONLY WAY TO GET BACK TO NORMAL WAS TO SHUT OFF ENGINE AND RESTART. THIS OCCURRED THREE TIMES IN A ROW ON SAME DAY (10/13/2010). DOES NOT HAPPEN IN NORMAL SUBURBAN DRIVING OR SINCE THAT DAY BECAUSE CAR NOT TAKEN ON HIGHWAY SINCE (OR BEFORE 10/13/2010). DEALER (LEITH NISSAN APEX NC) WAS UNABLE TO REPRODUCE OR REPAIR BECAUSE TECH ONLY DROVE CAR FOR 4 MILES ON 50 MILE PER HOUR SUBURBAN ROAD WITH SEVERAL STOPLIGHTS. *TR