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KLUNK
KLUNK

2008 Nissan Sentra

The Verdict

61 Solid Pick

The 2008 Nissan Sentra has 167 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are electrical (53 complaints) and body (48 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 61/100, it earns a "Solid Pick" rating. If you're shopping for a Nissan Sentra, consider the 2023 model year which has 89% fewer complaints.

Safe Bet

The 2023 has 89% fewer complaints

View the 2023 Nissan Sentra dashboard →

61

Klunk Score: Solid Pick

Fewer complaints than most vehicles. Generally dependable, but check the top problems below.

How is this calculated?

The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.

Recalls 1

Active safety recalls from NHTSA for this vehicle year.

09V431000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:MASTER CYLINDER

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 MAS...

Risk

IF THE WARNING LAMP IS CONTINUOUSLY IGNORED, ONE OF THE BRAKE CIRCUITS ON THE VEHICLE MAY FAIL INCREASING STOPPING DISTANCES AND INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

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.

Reported Mar 11, 2009

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Under the Hood

Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.

YearBodyBrakesElectricalEngineTransmission
200047734817
20016121451117
200262107816914
2003163371176
2004188521136
20051912251104
200624435467
20075317403014
20084818533117
200916101892
2010271604412
20113613393815
2012475264755
2013668595117275
201453306375159
201561134977147
201643184658101
20174915485363
20184735342542
20195134662444
2020124243897
202158233374
20224342184
202372531
2024134644
2025172240

By Category

Electrical
53
Body
48
Engine
31
Brakes
18
Transmission
17

By Severity

1
71
2
70
3
3
4
23

Worst Problems

Compare Against

See how the 2008 Nissan Sentra stacks up against rivals.

Complaints

Body 2

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!

27mo ago
Electrical 2

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.

40mo ago
Electrical 4

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.

43mo ago
Electrical 1

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.

43mo ago
Brakes 1

JUST DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY (NO BRAKES APPLIED) AND THE MASTER CYLINDER WENT BAD AND LOST POWER BRAKES.

52mo ago
Brakes 2

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.

64mo ago
Transmission 2

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

68mo ago
Body 1

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

68mo ago
Engine 2

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.

71mo ago
Electrical 2

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

71mo ago
Engine 2

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.

72mo ago
Brakes 2

MASTER CYLINDER IS LEAKING AND BRAKE LIGHT IS COMING ON

72mo ago
Electrical 1

THE AIRBAG LIGHT BLINKS CONSTANTLY WARNING THE OWNER THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE UNIT. OTHER YEARS AND MODELS ARE AFFECT BY RECALLS AND I BELIEVE THIS YEAR MAKE AND MODEL SHOULD ALSO BE.

73mo ago
Electrical 2

MY AIR BAG LIGHT WILL NOT GO OFF IT WAS IDLE WHEN IT CAME IN BUT IT IS CONSTANTLY BLINKING , THE HORN COMPLETELY STOPPED WORKING THE FIRST TIME WHEN I WAS TURNING THE CORNER, I GENERALLY REPLACED IT TWICE BUT IT STOPPED WORKING AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AS I WAS SITTING IDLE MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON EVEN AFTER I HAVE BEEN KEEPING THE MAINTENANCE UP ON IT.

76mo ago
Electrical 2

AIRBAG LIGHT IS ON. I TOOK IT TO A CERTIFIED DEALER AND THEY SAID IT IT SOMETHING TO DO WITH A 'COIL' THAT WENT BAD

77mo ago
Body 1

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 NISSAN SENTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS BEING STARTED, THE RPM REVVED UP WITH AN ABNORMAL SOUND COMING FROM THE ENGINE. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO NISSAN INFINITI OF SAN FRANCISCO LOCATED AT 1395 VAN NESS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109, TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE FUEL INJECTOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TAKEN TO NISSAN SERRAMONTE LOCATED AT 1500 COLLINS AVE #A, COLMA, CA 94014, FOR A SECOND DIAGNOSTIC TEST. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE THROTTLE BODY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

78mo ago
Engine 1

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. MECHANIC DIAGNOSIS IS DEFECTIVE CATALYTIC CONVERTER SENSORS.

79mo ago
Electrical 1

VEHICLE AIR BAG BEGAN FLASHING AND HORN STOPPED WORKING WHEN PRESSED.

79mo ago
Electrical 1

AIR BAG LIGHT REMAINS ON AND BLINKING CONTINOUSLY. THE HORN ALSO STOPPED WORKING. FEELS VERY UNSAFE DRIVING WITHOUT A HORN. SINCE BOTH THE AIRBAG AND HORN ARE IN THE STEERING WHEEL AND READING THROUGH SEVERAL OTHER SIMILAR COMPLAINTS I WOULD ASSUME THEY ARE RELATED. SHOULD BE RECALLED AS MANY OTHER NISSANS HAVE BEEN RECALLED WITH THE SAME ISSUE.

83mo ago
Engine 1

ON JUNE 20, 2016, I TOOK MY CAR INTO A NISSAN CERTIFIED DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THE TRANSMISSION REDONE UNDER THE EXTENDED WARRANTY THAT NISSAN DID FOR THE CVT ENGINE. THE CAR DROVE FINE AND THEN IN THE BEGINNING OF AUGUST 2019 JUST 3 YRS LATER AND 40,00 MILES ON THE NEW TRANSMISSION, THE TRANSMISSION IS MESSING UP AGAIN AND WE ARE TOLD THAT WE HAVE TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION FOR THE SECOND TIME AT OUR COST. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH I FOUND OUT THAT THERE WAS A SERVICE BULLETIN SENT OUT TO THE TECHNICIAN ON AUGUST 15, 2014 STATING THAT A 2007-2012 SENTRA WILL NEED A TRANSMISSION COOLER ADDED TO THE CVT TO PREVENT IT FROM OVERHEATING. THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP DID NOT PUT THAT ON OUR CAR WHEN WE HAD OUR TRANSMISSION REDONE UNDER THEIR EXTENDED WARRANTY IN 2016, AND NOW BECAUSE OF THEIR LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY OUR TRANSMISSION IS OUT, AND NISSAN IS NOT WANTING TO MAKE IT RIGHT.

84mo ago

167 total

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