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Nissan Sentra 2006 and earlier

2065 messages,  Last post on Mar 09, 2013 at 1:02 PM

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What is this discussion about? Nissan Sentra, Sedan

Messages Page 176 of 208

#1743 of 2065 Sentra problems by slash1

Apr 07, 2005 (11:15 am)

Ok, I hear that these Sentra's are good cars. I am keeping an open mind. But I have had a bad month:
 
I have a 2001 Sentra GXE. 71000 miles. The engine light first went on 6 weeks ago. The car started to run rough (like missing) and idled low. I took it to the local Nissan dealership and the diagnostics showed an O2 sensor was bad. So I got it replaced. They said I should also change the plugs in case a plug misfire caused the problem. So after the $280 O2 sensor and $80 plugs (yep, $20 a piece NGK's) I took it home. The light promptly came back on. Angered (I'll keep it clean), I took the car to another place (ProCare). They diagnosed an O2 sensor problem. They said the dealership replaced the wrong one. After $264, the 2nd O2 sensor was replaced. I took the car home. The light promptly came back on and the car AGAIN was running rough. More irritated, I took the car 100 miles to another Nissan dealership in hopes of finding either competency or honesty. As you can tell, I do not trust these places a second time after they rip me off. This dealership said that the ECU was bad and needed replaced. They said that because Sentra ECU's are known for being bad in this particular year, it had an 8 yr/80000 mi warranty on that part. So they replaced it free of charge to me.
 
My issue is this: I probably did not have a bad O2 sensor. I spent almost $600 replacing parts that were probably in perfect working order. Ok, I'll meet them half way. MAYBE one O2 sensor was bad. But most probably not both. Do you guys know how I could contact a Nissan rep to see if I could get any restitution? Would it be worth it? Thanks in advance for any advice.

#1744 of 2065 ECU by sandman46

Apr 07, 2005 (2:05 pm)

What exactly is this and is poor gas mileage a sympton?
Thanks for any help.
 
The Sandman

#1745 of 2065 "87 sentra dies after a moments by luridlloyd

Apr 20, 2005 (12:36 pm)

My "87 nissan sentra dies after it's been running like a champ for years. This is sudden, and I know it's not lack of fuel or spark. My carburator has a window into the bowl(a first for me); it always has gas. I've watched the window when it stalls.
It always has spark. Pcv valve, egr valve, MAP sensor it any, or what? I'm sure it's some kind of vacuum deal, but I'm not sure where. This was so sudden, that something obviously broke. The exhaust isn't clogged.
Thanks for any Ideas. Lurid Lloyd

#1746 of 2065 '03 Sentra Wheels by sandman46

May 04, 2005 (10:33 am)

Replying to: luridlloyd (Apr 20, 2005 12:36 pm)
Went to the dealer to try and purchase the alloy wheels that came on the Synergy Package and their price per wheel was outrageous. Has anyone put on aftermarket wheels on their Sentra and was the ride as smooth and vibration free as the steelies that came with the car? I tried aftermarket wheels on my 1979 B-210 and they could never get them balanced without any shimmy or vibration.
I've seen other Nissan wheels on EBAY and very hesitant about switching rims as the car runs smooth as glass now and I don't want any problems if I do switch. I know there's a problem with different fitments and they have to be hub centric. Went to a rim store and they advised me to keep my steelies as I would never get the same smooth ride with any other wheels. Saw some nice one's at Sears also.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be great.
 
The Sandman

#1747 of 2065 Questions and Answers by kcflyer

May 07, 2005 (8:34 am)

First, questions. Should I have the timing chain replaced at 60K miles on my 2000 sentra? It has the 1.8L . If so should I let a nissan dealer do the work? They sent me a flyer this week offering to do the job for $359.
 
Here are the highlights or my 5 years and 57K miles with the sentra GXE.
 
Wheels replaced do to recall. No charge.
 
Hesitation when engine is cold. This occurs without fail if I don't let the car warm up. I'll drive a block or so to the first place where I gradually let off on the gas in anticipation of stopping. The engine stutters just for a second and then runs fine. I don't have this problem in summer months. I took it to three dealers while it was under warranty and none could duplicate / diagnose the problem. I even left if over night so they could experience the cold engine. No luck. So far this is just an annoyance, but I fear someday the other shoe may drop.
 
Air Conditioner - faulty wire. During the first month after purchasing this car new I noticed that on some days the a/c would stop producing cold air for short periods. Of course the dealer could never find the problem until - you guessed it - 2 months after the warranty expired - they found a wire bundle that had a short. Problem solved for ten cents worth of wire and $100 labor.
 
Alternator belt. Shredded itself at about 38K miles. Seems premature to me.
 
Front wheel bearing. Starting grinding at 55K miles. Decided to replace both just in case. While they had the front wheels off the mechanic shows me the rotors. The outer 1/8 inch was rusted. He explained that while the surface that made contact was still serviceable, the outer edge would soon contact the pad assemble or something like that. I frankly didn't understand what he was saying, still don't. Anyway, I bought his sales pitch since he said that there would be no labor charge for replacing the rotors since they were already off for the bearing change. Total cost for the bearing and rotor replacement -- $480. ouch. By the way. The pads were still good. Has anyone ever heard of a case where the original break pads lasted longer that the original rotors?
 
I average 36 mpg on the highway, 30 in town, and 32 mpg combined and I check it on every tank. Best ever 40 mpg, worst 29 mpg.
 
Overall, not a bad car. Knowing what I do now I would make the same choice if I had to do it over again. This was the new model (basically same as current) in the summer of 2000 when I bought it and at the time was IMO the best choice in its class.
 
Lastly, if I ever meet the sorry so and so who designed the placement of the oil filter and catalytic converter I'm going to strangle him. The filter sits directly above the converter surrounded by other engine and suspension parts. This makes it extremely difficult to remove/replace and results in oil dripping on the cat. That leads to a burning oil smell for the first week after every oil change. Not to mention the thrill of burning your wrist on the cat as you struggle to detach the filter.

#1748 of 2065 ECU's by navygz19

May 09, 2005 (12:45 pm)

the ECU's (or ECM's as Nissan calls them) are known to be bad...i own a 2002 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec-V and the ECM died at about 50K miles, and i have the 2.5L not the 1.8. needless to say now, my car is once again back in the shop getting a new motor...one of the butterfly screws on the butterfly valve in the lower intake manifold backed itself off and was sucked into the #1 cylinder...a problem that a LOT of 2.5 sentra's and altima's have that Nissan is aware of but refuses to place a recall on. so yeah, 3 yrs old, barely 60K miles, and already a new ECM, Mass Airflow Sensor and now a new motor...never been so dissapointed in a car before in my life

#1749 of 2065 2004 Sentra CD Player problems!!!! by sentra04

May 10, 2005 (1:42 pm)

Replying to: navygz19 (May 09, 2005 12:45 pm)
I have a 2004 Sentra 1.8S. I put a CD-R in my cd player, which usually reads them fine, but now the cd player will not eject my cd. When I first turn on the car, it will read the cd and play it. But when I try to eject the cd, it will not come out, the "CD in" signal disappears, and the cd player makes a weird noise.
 
Does anyone know of a manual override for this? Is there ANY way to get the cd to come out without taking it to a shop? Thanks for your help!

#1750 of 2065 Re: Vote now! [pat] by blizman

May 18, 2005 (4:49 am)

Replying to: pat (Mar 05, 2004 10:41 am)
I have a 2002 se-r and have also had a mass airflow sensor go bad. Rather than pay the 500 plus dollars for the part, I went online to junkyards and got the part for $120 and had my mechanic put it in for $70. No problems since. This is a relatively common problem with Sentras. The real issue with this part is that only Nissan makes it. You can't just go to NAPA and get the part. This part is small and way overpriced. Overall though the sentra is not bad for reliability but the dealerships are the way they are due to the lack of company support.
                                                                               Tom

#1751 of 2065 Trunk Leak by sandman46

May 18, 2005 (5:19 am)

They fixed my trunk leak last week under warranty. The rubber stripping was loose or something. I had wetness around the spare and the cardboard had a stain. For some reason the jack was on top of the carpet. Put it back and saw and felt the wetness.
Got the part in and fixed 2 days later.
 
The Sandman

#1752 of 2065 Car ticks by marienhill

May 18, 2005 (6:48 pm)

Okay, I tried to start the car, and when I put the key in the ignition and attempt to turn it toward the on-position, there is a distinct ticking (even-speed) noise heard--it stops once the car reaches the on-position, and the car does not start.
 
However, while in the on-position, it tries to start--and this can be heard as the engine turns; it just does not turn on the car.
 
The lights, radio, windows, locks, everything works. Just not the car itself.
 
Problems leading up to this problem include the 2002 Sentra quitting while driving. No warning, just stopping while driving. It would start right up again after having stopped, however now it does not.
 
I switched out the fuel pump relay, but it was to no avail either.
 
Do you guys think that the problem is a faulty fuel pump itself or is there another culprit?

Messages Page 176 of 208

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