1993 Nissan Sentra Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 1993 Nissan Sentra most often describe gear problems, such as fifth gear popping out or a shifter that will not release from park, and engine stalling or cutting out. Restraint reports about airbags and seat belts form another group, while fuel delivery, rust, tires, brakes, and suspension appear in scattered individual complaints. Most reports were filed in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and the sample is limited, so these patterns are a snapshot rather than a full picture.

1. 1
   Transmission and drivetrain

   Gears popping out, shifter faults, or surge on shift

   • 9 complaints (16%)
   • median 88,504 mi at 15.9 yrs old (2 state mileage, few)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 1996–2010

   Owners describe fifth gear popping out of the manual transmission, sometimes while driving uphill or at speed. Other reports describe the shifter moving to neutral when put in park, not locking in drive, or a park-release button that does not release when starting. Some owners describe a sudden surge when shifting from reverse to drive or into park, and a minor collision is described. A dealer reportedly found no record of the gear problem, while other reports say dealers recommended a transmission replacement. Where mileage is listed, these reports range from about 24,500 to 152,500 miles; gear-popping reports describe driving uphill or at speed, while park and shifter reports describe starting or parking.

   What to check: Ask whether the transmission and shifter have been inspected and whether any repairs are documented. On a test drive, shift through every position, including park, reverse, and drive, and confirm the shifter locks and releases properly.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Manual five speed transmission; fifth gear (shifter stick) continuously pops-out. Fifth gear inoperable. This situation is all too common with this vehicle and Nissan corporation should finally take full responsibility for this common defect.”

   NHTSA complaint #10183623, filed 2007-02, 152,508 miles

   “When getting in and starting up the button on the stick shift does not go in to release the stick shift from park to reverse. The vehicles warranty is currently effective, and the dealer has not been notified. Recalls are on ultima and other nissans, but not on the (xe) version of Nissan.”

   NHTSA complaint #823109, filed 1998-05
2. 2
   Engine cooling

   Engine stalling or cutting out

   • 7 complaints (12%)
   • median 110,439 mi at 15.5 yrs old (1 states mileage, few)
   • filed 1997–2013

   Owners describe the engine stalling or cutting out while driving, sometimes on the highway and sometimes with no warning, with engine fail lights reported in some cases. Some describe stalling at startup, where the driver had to keep the pedal down and rev the engine to keep it from stalling, and others describe a knocking noise before the stall. Some reports link the stall to a cracked distributor cap that let water in, or to the electrical system cutting off so the battery stopped feeding the alternator. Dealers reportedly could not determine the cause in some reports, and an owner mentions a fuel injector replacement. Where mileage is listed for these reports it is about 110,000 miles, and most do not give a mileage; stalls are described both on the highway and at startup.

   What to check: Ask whether the distributor cap and the charging system have been inspected, and whether any stall was reproduced and diagnosed. On a test drive, watch for stalling, warning lights, or rough running at highway speed and after a restart.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I have had many problems that is costing me lots of money now to fix. Five years ago, my distributor cap cracked, reason unknown. Driven by old lady. Because it cracked, it caused water to be able to seep in, causing the car to stall out. Don't know why it would have cracked. Another problem it has is when I went to use the cruise control, springs flew out of it. I had never used it before. Another problem is the axles, cv joints and steering kit. Everything went out on my car. One lead to the next. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10541697, filed 2013-09, 110,439 miles

   “This has happened many times before in the past 3 years that I have owned this car. I will be driving and for no reason the car cuts off. Sometimes I am driving uphill, sometimes on straight, flat road. I was almost rear-ended yesterday because for now reason, and no warning my car stops dead in it's tracks. All the engine fail lights come on, as if you were just starting the car in the morning. The car hasn't been driven for an extended period of time, meaning it's not overheated when this occurs. I have had a fuel injector replaced. …”

   NHTSA complaint #734717, filed 2000-10
3. 3
   Air bags

   Airbag deployment and seat belt concerns

   • 6 complaints (10%)
   • typically at 3.5 yrs old
   • 4 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 1995–2003

   Owners describe airbags that deployed late after a frontal impact, deployed right after braking with no prior sign of a problem, or are reported as not deploying in a front-end crash. Seat belt reports describe a belt that did not lock in a crash, a missing buckle, and a rollover in which the belts were attached to the doors, giving no restraint when the doors opened. A report also describes the airbag warning light staying lit and beeping for an extended period, along with a fuel leak. Mileage is listed only for the warning light report, at about 63,000 miles, and the other restraint reports list none; most describe crashes.

   1 related service bulletin

   What to check: Confirm that the airbag warning light is off and ask for a scan of the restraint system for stored codes. Check that every seat belt buckle latches and that each belt locks when pulled sharply.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “While traveling at 60 MPH vehicle was in a rollover accident that threw both driver and passenger out of the vehicle. The seat belts were manufactured attached to the doors. So when the doors came open during the accident, there was no support from the seat belts. Dealer has been contacted.”

   NHTSA complaint #855573, filed 2000-01

   “While in front-end accident, air bag did not deploy consumer states air bag did deploy, but seat belt did not lock, to hold consumer into to place, consumer suffered injuries.”

   NHTSA complaint #985385, filed 1996-06

Buying note. Ask for service records covering transmission, shifter, ignition, and charging-system repairs, since owners describe these areas most often. On a test drive, shift through every position and include some highway driving to check for gear, shifter, and stalling symptoms.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 31 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.