NHTSA vehicle safety data

2010 Nissan Sentra Recalls, Ratings & Complaints

The 2010 Nissan Sentra has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns and 144 owner complaints on file as of November 3, 2026. Recall repairs are usually free at an authorized Nissan dealer.

NHTSA recall and complaint data for the 2010 Nissan Sentra, plus NCAP crash-test ratings. Recall data is refreshed daily from NHTSA.

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2010 Nissan Sentra owner complaints

Owners have filed 144 complaints with NHTSA about the 2010 Nissan Sentra, describing incidents dated February 21, 2010 to December 24, 2025.

Most-cited components

Electrical System 50 complaints
Engine 43 complaints
Air Bags 31 complaints
Power Train 18 complaints
Unknown or Other 13 complaints
Vehicle Speed Control 11 complaints

Of the 144 complaints on file, 11 report a crash and 4 a fire; across all 144 complaints, owners report 8 injuries (owner-reported, not verified by NHTSA).

Newest complaints

ODI #11708564 · Filed January 3, 2026
As I was driving on the freeway 65 mph my car completely lost all Speed and the more I accelerated the more my car decreased speed and eventually it shut itself off as i stopped the car as I pulled over there was no time to make it to a safe area for a safe pull over i was on a bridge calling for…
ODI #11671211 · Filed July 4, 2025
Driving and all the sudden went from 20mph to not even 5mph was able to limp it to a mechanic who said the trans cvt was most likely the problem didnt know nissans has that issue of a fail safe.. thankfully wasn't on a busy road going 80. Have also hurd knocking under the hood a couple times before…
ODI #11643393 · Filed February 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2010 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the rear glass fractured after the contact activated the defroster to attempt to defrost the windows. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware…

Read all 144 complaints

Owner-reported

2010 Nissan Sentra mileage at failure

102 of the 144 complaints on file for the 2010 Nissan Sentra give the vehicle's mileage when the problem happened.

Mileage at failure by component, from owners' complaints to NHTSA
Component	Median	Middle half	Based on
Electrical System	Median 85,000 miles	Middle half 40,000–120,000 miles	Based on 35 complaints
Engine	Median 80,000 miles	Middle half 50,000–105,000 miles	Based on 33 complaints

A component's median is its 50th percentile, and its middle half runs from its 25th to its 75th percentile.

Owners give the mileage themselves, often as a round number, and NHTSA doesn't check it. A complaint that names several components counts under each one, and mileages that can't be right, such as 999,999, or 50 miles on a five-year-old car, are left out.

These figures describe the complaints owners filed. They don't predict when a particular vehicle will have a problem, and vehicles that never had one aren't counted.

Mileage from NHTSA's complaints file of October 31, 2026. How these figures are worked out

ENGINE CONTROL MODULE/BATTERY CABLE HARNESS

NHTSA #11V579000 · Electrical System — 12V/24V/48V Battery — Cables · NHTSA notice

Reported December 15, 2011 · NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.

Potentially affected: 33,803 vehicles

Owners notified January 23, 2012

Defect description

NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2010-2011 SENTRA VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH MR20 ENGINES, MANUFACTURED FROM MAY 11, 2010, TO MAY 22, 2010, AND JULY 8, 2010, TO OCTOBER 25, 2010. THE ZINC COATING APPLIED TO THE TERMINAL STUD BOLT WAS THICKER THAN SPECIFICATION. THIS CAN RESULT IN A VOLTAGE DROP THAT MAY CAUSE DIFFICULTY STARTING THE VEHICLE AND COULD CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (ECM).

Safety consequence

THIS ISSUE CAN CAUSE THE ENGINE TO STALL WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION AND IT MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE TO RESTART THE ENGINE AFTER IT STOPPED, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Manufacturer remedy

NISSAN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE POSITIVE BATTERY TERMINAL AND COVER, FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALLBEGAN ON JANUARY 23, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.

Notes

OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO <A HREF=HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV>HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV</A> .

POSITIVE BATTERY TERMINAL CABLE

NHTSA #10V555000 · Electrical System — 12V/24V/48V Battery — Cables · NHTSA notice

Reported November 12, 2010 · NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.

Potentially affected: 13,737 vehicles

Owners notified November 19, 2010 · Vehicles built May 22, 2010 – July 8, 2010 (per NHTSA)

Defect description

NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2010-2011 SENTRA VEHICLES, MANUFACTURED FROM MAY 22, 2010, THROUGH JULY 8, 2010. DUE TO A MACHINING IRREGULARITY, THE BOLT/WASHER SURFACE ON THE POSITIVE BATTERY TERMINAL CABLE END MAY ALLOW FOR A GAP TO OCCUR IN THE CONTACT AREA OF THE TERMINAL. THIS CAN RESULT IN A VOLTAGE DROP THAT MAY CAUSE DIFFICULTY STARTING THE VEHICLE AND COULD CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE.

Safety consequence

THIS ISSUE CAN CAUSE THE ENGINE TO STOP RUNNING WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION AT LOW SPEED WITH A DIFFICULT OR NO START INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Manufacturer remedy

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE POSITIVE BATTERY TERMINAL CABLE END WITH A NEW ONE FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN PN NOVEMBER 29, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.

Notes

PORTABLE AUTOMOTIVE GPS PRODUCTS/OVERHEATS

NHTSA #10V401000 · Equipment — Electrical — Navigational System(GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM) · NHTSA notice

Reported September 10, 2010 · NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.

Potentially affected: 7,948 vehicles

Owners notified September 16, 2010

Defect description

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.

Safety consequence

OVERHEATED BATTERIES COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.

Manufacturer 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.

Notes

2010 Nissan Sentra 4-DR.w/SAB

—

out of 5

Overall Safety Rating

Not Rated

Frontal Crash

Not Rated

Driver: 5, Passenger: 5

Side Crash

Not Rated

Driver: 5, Passenger: 4

Side Pole

Not Rated

Rollover

Not Rated

Safety Technology

144 owner complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 2010 Nissan Sentra.

Electrical System; Vehicle Speed Control

ODI #11708564

Incident: December 24, 2025 · Filed: January 3, 2026

As I was driving on the freeway 65 mph my car completely lost all Speed and the more I accelerated the more my car decreased speed and eventually it shut itself off as i stopped the car as I pulled over there was no time to make it to a safe area for a safe pull over i was on a bridge calling for help from my insurance. The car did not want to start at first about 45 minutes later my car started again and was able to drive away. I had no idea what happened. Then I was driving almost to 3 months down the road it does it again on the freeway i was in slow lane driving 65 was able to exit quickly so there was no accident as I pulled over it did the same exact thing to me again and I waited till it was able to go again. for the third time it did it in parking lot as I was driving about 3 to 5mph when it happened last and it did not start again and i had to get it towed it's been needing a new computer module ecu. Because the computer when plugging in to obd2 diagnostic monitors it does not read or communicate with my car to diagnose any issues so monitor does engage

Power Train; Electrical System; Engine

ODI #11671211

Incident: May 2, 2025 · Filed: July 4, 2025

Driving and all the sudden went from 20mph to not even 5mph was able to limp it to a mechanic who said the trans cvt was most likely the problem didnt know nissans has that issue of a fail safe.. thankfully wasn't on a busy road going 80. Have also hurd knocking under the hood a couple times before were couldn't get that figured out.

Visibility

ODI #11643393

Incident: February 18, 2025 · Filed: February 18, 2025

The contact owns a 2010 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the rear glass fractured after the contact activated the defroster to attempt to defrost the windows. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Electrical System; Engine

ODI #11641718

Incident: November 3, 2024 · Filed: February 10, 2025

The car stalls while the vehicle is in motion and has difficulty starting. The car stalls each time after it comes to a complete stop at lights or a stop sign makes it very dangerous

Air Bags

ODI #11620845

Crash

Incident: October 17, 2024 · Filed: October 20, 2024

Involved in a motor vehicle t-bone collision. Driver airbag deployed but the panel did not fully come off. Bottom section of the airbag/horn cover came off. Top section did not separate from the rest of the wheel.

Air Bags

ODI #11568272

1 injury

Incident: January 12, 2024 · Filed: January 27, 2024

Driver airbag randomly went off while driving down the road. Did NOT hit anything, no potholes, or anything that could have set the airbag off. Additionally, the airbag was extremely hot when it went off and burned the drivers arms and face.

Air Bags; Seat Belts

ODI #11487296

Incident: September 20, 2022 · Filed: September 30, 2022

Airbag light came on a week ago. Have reset it several times and returns. When the Airbag light goes off the Seat Belt light comes on, and sometimes simultaneously.

Power Train; Engine

ODI #11483320

Incident: June 4, 2022 · Filed: September 7, 2022

The contact owns a 2010 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH and slowing down due to traffic; after slowing down and attempting to accelerate the vehicle failed to exceed 20 MPH. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled off to the side of the highway and the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was turned off and towed to a dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the stepper motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 169,630.

Air Bags

ODI #11457018

Incident: March 16, 2022 · Filed: March 16, 2022

The airbag suddenly stopped working. Now the airbag sign is always on, signifying that the airbag is not active.

Air Bags

ODI #11449906

Incident: January 24, 2022 · Filed: February 2, 2022

Airbag light blinking all time

Other Nissan Sentra model years

Check your 2010 Nissan Sentra VIN

Not every recall applies to every VIN in a given year. Enter the 17-character VIN from your Nissan Sentra at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether your specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.

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