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New Sentra Owners' Experiences

86 messages,  Last post on Jan 27, 2012 at 4:58 PM

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What is this discussion about? Nissan Sentra, Exterior, Wheels, Sedan

Messages Page 7 of 10

#54 of 86 Lemon Law as a whole..... by beezer5

May 09, 2010 (11:19 am)

Have a 2010 Sentra. Crazy pull on it. Repaired 5 times in 7 months of ownership to no avail. Dealership isn't customer friendly, not willing to take bacj car and neither is big bad NIssan America, who can go **** themselves as far as I'm concerned. Car was purchaed in good faith with said defect, which wasn't discovered in the few blocks of test driving done and we're expected to hold onto vehicle for 1 1/2 to 2 years for a court date? What's the point in paying for the car if it can't be used? Why does Lemon Law take so freakin long? I am this close to going to one of those "in your corner" reporters to give them the story. Nissan refuses acknowledgement of defect although 3 dealership employees including service manager and a BBB inspector, who simply advised us to get it fixed AGAIN although we tried pretty much every month we've had the damn car.....pretty sick of this. Nissan could have handled this much different. WIll never in this lfetime buy Nissan again.

#55 of 86 Re: Sentra pulls to the left [capaccione] by barpye

May 10, 2010 (6:18 am)

Replying to: capaccione (May 08, 2010 1:43 pm)
Thanks for your response. I'm still waiting for court date. didn't know it would take so long. Went to nissan a few weeks ago for a court required inspection by nissan and their lawyers. Dropped it off in morning and told receptionist the car was there for inspection only. In afternoon they called to say they were done so I went to get it. Upon pick up the girl says they adjusted the steering wheel. I asked to see the service manager. I asked him who authorized the work. He said not to worry because it was warranty work and it was no charge. I explained that NOBODY AUTHORIZED THE WORK and that they should not have done any adjusting, etc. as the car was there for inspection only. He really had a hard time trying to answer. Then, unsolicited, he says " by the way that car does not pull". I told him I was not there to debate with anyone. When I drove my defective car home I did not notice any change in the steering wheels position nor any change at all. What a bunch of dummies. I hope this i a factor the judge considers on my behalf. I can't believe the outcome of your case. I will say this though, No more electric steering vehicles or nissan vehicles for me.

#56 of 86 Re: It might be a small electric motor [backy] by ovybox

May 10, 2010 (6:50 am)

Replying to: backy (May 09, 2010 11:27 am)
Hey backy,
 
It would be a good idea to rephrase your post: the way it sound right now puts you in the same boat with those people (working for the manufacturer probably) who try to tell us that we do not have a problem. Or that we should shut up.
 
Based on the symptoms my friend emitted a theory which explains very well the problems that we all feel: the steering requires a lot of effort when driving on the interstate. Interstate driving requires small adjustments and if you do not get enough assist from your power steering you'll feel it in your arms.
 
You are refuting the theory without presenting a better one, which nobody does in a world of adults. Only kids resume to saying "No, that's not it". Adults say "No, more likely this ... is the cause...". So please stop attacking MY theory if you do not have a better one. I do not need to drive the new-generation since that will not solve my problem, will it now? Unless you are willing to switch your Sentra with mine.

#57 of 86 Re: It might be a small electric motor [ovybox] by backy

May 10, 2010 (7:33 am)

Replying to: ovybox (May 10, 2010 6:50 am)
How about if you rephrase YOUR post? It makes it look as if you have no room for someone to have an opinion different from your own.
 
If you'll look at my post, what I said what that my Sentra does not seem to behave the same way you described your car's behavior--hence the speculation that mine might have a different design (which btw is in fact an alternate explanation, yes?). Mine does not require "a lot of effort" when driving on the interstate. I said that I'd prefer if the car actually had a firmer steering feel than what it does. I also questioned whether someone is in a position to determine that parts on a car are substandard or in some way not up to the task they were designed for, without knowing anything about the parts themselves or even driving the cars in question. Or has your PhD friend driven the Sentra, and Corolla, and has analyzed the parts in question?
 
I am not refuting or attacking your theory. I am pointing out that my car doesn't behave as yours does. I never said I doubt that your car behaves as you described.
 
Since you seem to want me to provide my own theory, here it is, which relates to cars like the Senta and Corolla that have EPS tuned for a light steering feel. My theory is that some owners will find the steering feel considerably different from what they are used to, and will think that the steering is therefore defective in some way. It's just a theory... you are free to ignore it. But if a car pulls to one direction or the other while driving down a flat road, that could be indication of a problem such as bad alignment or wheel balance, or some other defect. I wish you success in getting the problem resolved to your satisfaction.
 
Edit: Just found this, you might find it useful. Look in particular the section near the end starting "Disadvantages". I think the 2nd paragraph might explain why you are finding your car "tiring" to drive, especially compared to a car with non-EPS steering.
 
http://www.seminarprojects.com/Thread-electric-power-assisted-steering

#58 of 86 Re: It might be a small electric motor [backy] by ovybox

May 29, 2010 (11:53 am)

Replying to: backy (May 10, 2010 7:33 am)
Excellent contribution backy. Your theory is a very good alternative. Thank you.
I recommend everybody who has the problem to read your link.
 
I still do maintain the possibility of a small electric motor for the EPS. As we all know these work within certain ranges, that is you can only adjust the current within certain limits. If mine is already at a max, there is no solution. Also, increasing the current above a certain limit will decrease the lifetime of my EPS motor (right when I am about to go out of warranty).
 
Right now I am in contact with Nissan USA and they are collecting data from the dealers I have visited. With this new piece of information I can give more precise info about my problem. Let's hope they can tune my Sentra.

#59 of 86 FINAL REPORT by barpye

Jul 07, 2010 (1:57 pm)

Had arbitration hearing and won. That only means nissan gets 30 days to agree or file for trial. Given some of the posts here and others i have found, plus the fact that the assigned lawyer just lost in the previous case which was identical to mine, I elected to accept an offer of $5000 and keep the car as is instead of going to trial. I feel this is a bird in hand and chancing a trial is probably a loser. Something is better than nothing but I do it with no glee. Now I must trade in this p.o.s. for something else.

#60 of 86 New 2010 Sentra towed in 3 times for crashed electrical system by texassue

Aug 24, 2010 (8:56 pm)

I was prepared to love this car; my husband and I rented a Sentra on our vacation. Up to that point, I was looking at Mazda 3 and Honda Fit. But this car drove like a peach and was roomy and quiet. I researched and it looked like the Sentra was super reliable. And I got a great deal on my new SR- or so I thought. Now, I am living a nightmare-
 
1) Within the first 3 weeks of ownership, I got in the car twice to find out that the clock reset to 12 and the radio presets were gone- just like when you get a new battery. Dealership service maintained they were clueless about cause.
 
2) Two weeks later, radio and clock went out entirely. Replaced, and service said that there was a short and burned out fuse. I thought to myself- in a NEW CAR?
 
3) A week later, car did not start at all. I jiggled the gear shift, it then started. Drove 2 miles, suddenly ALL electrical systems went out and car lost power. Fortunately, I was not up on the highway and coasted into a plaza. No lights, no horn, no nuttin'. Water in five of the six battery cells was very low. Towed into dealership, where they replaced a "bad" battery. I insisted that they check to see why the battery would burn up water like that. I was told- "No problem".
 
4) Exactly ten days later, car is towed again from work. Completely dead electrical system again. This time, I am told that the mechanic is "100% sure" that the problem is likely the one that caused the radio- failure of factory to properly weld a connection behind the battery so that battery wasn't recharging. I was told, however, that the proper part to fix this was on national backorder. The proper part being called both a connector for a wire harness or the right battery terminal. (Hmmm- do I smell a coming recall?) After six days in the shop, with no loaner car furnished to me, I picked up the car tonight after the proper part came in and it was "repaired". I drove it home two miles this evening. Two hours later, when I got back in to visit a friend at the hospital, the dashboard lit up real purty and I still had a horn- but it didn't start. Not even a sputter. I looked in the battery and the water in all chambers was low. (Curiosity question- why was the battery not checked?) I put more water in then tried to start the car both in park and neutral. Nada.
 
Service division was closed but I talked to dealership sales manager who told me another 2010 Sentra with exactly the same problem got towed in to them yesterday. The mechanic had last week told me he saw the same thing four months ago.
 
By the way, I took this in twice before the electrical problems started because of a "popping sensation" under the floorboard when I turned the wheel to the right. It came and went, and shop said they couldn't replicate it so had no fix. But if the steering is electrical, I wonder if there is a relationship.
 
Well, my "new car" got towed in a third time in 2 weeks tonight. But I am beginning to question whether this is fixable, and, if a bandaid is put on this, what confidence can I have that there aren't other slipshod quality problems awaiting me in the future? Meanwhile, my 175,000 mile Taurus that I thought was on its last legs and that my son now uses is going strong, air conditioning cold as the day I bought it.
 
Is anyone else aware of such problems? What has been your experience?

#61 of 86 Re: New 2010 Sentra towed in 3 times for crashed electrical system [texassue] by ovybox

Aug 25, 2010 (7:10 am)

Replying to: texassue (Aug 24, 2010 8:56 pm)
Hey texassue, I hear you. It also seems to me like the service guys have a screw all attitude, no curiosity at all: they just stamp on a diagnostic without digging in too much. Oh and the "unable to replicate" seems to be the order of the day.
 
My car is about to go out of warranty because of mileage and I can't say I had big problems. Never had to tow it. Two problems that I had: sticking steering and "out-of-round" breaks. The latter got resolved. I think the former is a design flaw and I'm stuck with it like most people on this forum.

#62 of 86 Done some work by ovybox

Aug 25, 2010 (7:41 am)

Replying to: barpye (Jul 07, 2010 1:57 pm)
since nothing budged with NHTSA I placed a complaint with Nissan customer service. They did admirably in handling my case but it tooke some driving around until I found a service department which was acceptable (polite, share some information about the problems of my car). Here what I had on the plate:
 
Sticking steering: the car would follow the last header after a small adjustment instead of reverting to the neutral position (go straight). You know, when you briefly pull on your steering wheel at high speeds and let go, it would revert to a neutral position. If you do a small adjustment (just to stay in lane), it would not revert. They replaced the rack and bushing with very little improvement. I believe they did it just to impress me (have something done). This problem is not solved. I believe it is a design flaw and I'll stay away from Nissan.
I also suspect most people do not feel this problem because they have nothing to compare with: we have two cars, and I can feel how different the older Toyota drives. If most Sentra buyers have the Sentra as their only car and haven't had a car before, they wouldn't know about this problem.
 
Out-of-round brakes or whatever that means (comes off the work sheet). My steering would rattle and shake vigorously when I used the brakes repeatedly. Say if I was driving down a 3 miles long hill I would use the brakes intermittently. By the time I reached the base, the steering would shake very bad,almost scary. At first I thought the ABS was kicking in but looks like it was something else. They solved this problem.
 
Conclusion: I am really scared about buying another car which uses EPS and, well, I cannot buy another Nissan. For them it is easier to deny/divert attention than get their engineers to look at it. This is not a job for the repair guy but for engineers and they failed to realize this.

#63 of 86 Followup up on electrical issue by texassue

Aug 25, 2010 (10:30 am)

Here is a followup on my note above. Well, knock on wood, the solution to the third tow-in was easy; they had not programmed my usual key, just the one that I had given to tow truck #2. I hadn't tried the key I had left with them for the repair. The dealership took responsibility, picked up my key from work, dropped off the car to me after the key was reprogrammed. Hopefully, this is the problem and we have smooth sailing from now on. They also advised that battery was overfull and lowered the water level- my hubby was wrong about the water being low.

Messages Page 7 of 10

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