17th Jul 2005, 20:53
I just bought myself a 2001 Nissan Sentra GXE, actually just last Wednesday the 13th. Just today, the 17th, I was going up a hill in 4th gear and the car lugged hard just once, and lost about 5-7mph, then my "service engine soon" light came on. Running fine, but wondering what's going on. Have not talked to anyone about it yet, just found the recalls the car has had, and they are some pretty serious ones. I believe they all have the consequence of: crashing!? Wow, unbelievable, I totaled my last Sentra, it was a 1994 LE 1.6L. Ran great, only main thing I had to replace was the distributor, but otherwise, a grand car. Now I get a 2001, and wondering if it was a bad choice, it only has almost 69,000 miles on it. I guess I will be calling to see if this car has had the recall work done on it yet, I'll post an update so we can keep a record of the problems this vehicle has.
21st Jul 2005, 14:55
I agree completely with all of the above comments. I have had nothing, but heartache from my 2001 Nissan Sentra.
The first thing I encountered was a recall shortly after purchase. The recall was for the wheels. It was explained that the actual wheel could develop cracks and cause an accident. That was an uneasy feeling!
So, I had that repaired. Then about a year later I was driving to work and my car cut off completely, in the middle of the road. I coasted to a parking lot, thankfully. I had to have it towed to the dealer I purchased it from. They told me my crank sensor had failed and about $300 later I got my car back. The mechanic said, "Sometimes things like this just happen." I was infuriated.
About a year after that happened I received the recall notice for the crank sensor and the engine lining. I promptly called Nissan Customer Service and after weeks of faxing paperwork and receipts they reimbursed me the money I had spent on having the crank sensor replaced.
In addition, my driver's side power window motor failed a couple years ago, while the window was down of course. I took it to the dealership and they told me it would cost about $200, with labor, to fix it. Instead, I bought the part and had my stepfather install it. Now it's sluggish and gets stuck sometimes and I have to coax it back up. I'm convinced it's something to do with the connection.
I will NEVER buy another Nissan as long as I live. This car has really turned me off.
6th Aug 2005, 08:49
To all.
The problems with your Sentra's (stalling, erratic idle, service engine light and poor acceleration) are related to these problems.
1) ECM failure - the original problem with sulfur gas being created by the ecm housing foam insulation curing and the possibility that even though you had the recall work done, if a resistor had a scratch in its outer layer, it could cause it to become eroded and fail. this is the first problem that will cause all your others.
2) throttle chamber - this can fail either by a build up of deposits in the chamber itself or in conjunction with the ECM failure. this part is in very short supply and not made by Nissan. if it is on back order, it could take several weeks to come in (see last paragraph if this should be the case). list price is about $219.00 net is $295.00.
3) these items should be covered either by the long term warranty, 8 years or 80,000 miles (2002 and up) or the emissions warranty.
4) please note that since 1996, the Nissan Sentra has used the OBDII ECM system. this ECM, in its failure mode, sends erroneous error codes to the analyzers equipment. this could result in parts being replaced that do not need to be and at great cost to you. also, there are voltage spikes present at the throttle chamber positioning combination switch.
If you use the dealer for repairs and you have problems, first ask for the district managers number. if they will not give it to you, this is a violation. if this is the case, call Nissan corporate @ 1-800-647-7261 and tell them of your troubles and get a reference number. if the throttle chamber is on back order status, don't wait!!! call Nissan America again and get them to upgrade the part order to customer care urgent, this will at least give you an estimate time of arrival.
Good luck.
2nd Sep 2005, 00:24
Great comments guys!
I think that they are very helpful.
I am the "11 Oct 2004" guy...
I am at 55,000 miles and I am getting the "Check Engine Soon" light on. This happens with a rough idle at the engine start-up that last for 10-30 seconds.
The error code reported by the ODBC-II reader P0301 (Cylinder 1 misfire detected). I deleted the code myself, but the problem was still there...
I had the car at the Nissan Service and they had replaced the #1 Ignition Coil. (They were able to get the same error code I've got)
It didn't help... but I had to pay my deductible according to my extended warranty plan I have.
I had all the recalls done, but who knows... Now I have to go back to the service shop and leave the car there for an extensive investigation... I'm a bit nervous about it...
I hope for the best...
Good luck guys!
3rd Jun 2005, 12:08
I too have a 2001 Nissan Sentra GXE that I bought from the dealership brand new. I haven't had a warped rotor problem, but I drive a manual transmission so I downshift to slow my car whenever possible.
I do however, have an erratic idle issue and a severe stalling problem. My car is still under 55,000 miles and about 3 months ago my car died at a stop light when I was coming home from work. I thought maybe I just didn't have the clutch pushed all the way in and laughed at myself for stalling the car, because I have been driving manuals for 15 years.
Well, I get to the next light and bammo!... Car dies again and refuses to start. After much praying and sweating I finally got it started and limped it the rest of the way home.
When I got home I looked up if there had been any recalls for my car, and found 6! Three of which (TPS, ECU foam, and Crankshaft sensor) looked like they were very important, and I wondered why NISSAN hadn't sent me any information about ANY of the recalls. I know they have my address, because they sure seem to get my bill to me every month just fine.
Needless to say, I went and had the recalls done and explained the problem to them at the dealership with the stalling and erratic idling. The Service Manager stated that it was a "common problem" in 2001 Sentras and that the recall work would fix my problems.
The next day I picked up my Sentra and it stalled before I even got out of the parking lot. Infuriated, I limped my car to the nearest Auto Shop for a second opinion.
After several hours of reading codes and eyeballing my car, the mechanics could find nothing wrong and adjusted my idle up to keep it from stalling all the time.
Well, that fixed the stalling, but my car idle is so high now and so erratic that it sounds like I am "gunning" or "racing" my engine, even with my foot off the accelerator pedal at a dead stop. How embarassing...
To this day the car still acts possessed, and I haven't even paid it off yet. Seems to me that at least the 2001 year Sentras are all LEMONS!!!