2001 Nissan Sentra Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 2001 Sentra most often describe the engine cutting out or refusing to restart, and much of that discussion involves the crank and cam position sensors covered by a 2001-2003 recall campaign. A second recurring theme is the plastic oil dipstick handle breaking off and leaving the stick stuck in its tube, plus horn failures traced to wiring near the radiator. Many of these complaints come in between roughly 30,000 and 100,000 miles, and owners frequently note whether or not their vehicle was included in the recall by VIN.

1. 1
   Engine cooling

   Engine stalls or will not restart (crank/cam sensor)

   • 101 complaints (43%)
   • median 65,000 mi at 4.5 yrs old (65 state mileage)
   • 4 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • owner-quoted repair $485 (median of 7 quotes)
   • filed 2001–2026

   Complaints describe the engine shutting off without warning while driving or idling, sometimes with rough running, loss of power steering and brakes, and then either no restart or an intermittent one. Several owners traced it to the crankshaft or camshaft position sensor and were told the repair fell under recall 01V357000, while others were told their VIN was not part of the campaign. A related group of complaints describes the Service Engine Soon light coming on with a store sensor code, and some owners say the engine stopped again after the recall work was done. Most reports fall between roughly 28,000 and 100,000 miles, with a few at much higher mileage.

   Recall 01V357000Recall 03V4550001 related service bulletin

   What to check: Ask whether the crank and cam position sensor recalls were performed and check the VIN against the campaigns. Have a shop scan for stored codes and note any history of stalling or hard starting.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “My vehicle broke down this morning, the problem is an active recall that Nissan is now performing on my vehicle. The breakdown and diagnostic checkout of the my vehicle replicates the same vehicle, year and problem that Nissan is repairing except they say that my VIN number is not on the recall list.”

   NHTSA complaint #10003119, filed 2003-01, 43,000 miles

   “After running normally, my car suddenly quit starting, and left me stranded with my child across town. I towed it to a firestone service station for repair only to find out the failure was a cam shaft sensor. The repair station then found out for me that my car had 3 open recalls which I was never notified of. I have now paid for another tow to get my car to a dealership to have these covered repairs completed. Now, Nissan refuses to pay for any of my tows or the bill I had to pay firestone for diagnostic services .”

   NHTSA complaint #10143933, filed 2005-11, 48,000 miles
2. 2
   Engine cooling

   Oil dipstick handle breaks off in the tube

   • 22 complaints (9%)
   • median 66,950 mi at 4.9 yrs old (13 state mileage)
   • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2002–2008

   Owners describe the plastic handle of the oil dipstick cracking or breaking off, leaving the metal stick lodged in its tube and hard to retrieve, sometimes during a routine oil change. Complaints say the whole tube assembly may need to come apart to remove it, and owners report quoted costs in the low hundreds of dollars. Several note the replacement part is also plastic. Reported from about 9,000 miles up to roughly 130,000, often at oil-change time or in hot engine conditions.

   What to check: Pull the dipstick gently and look for a cracked or missing handle before buying; ask whether the dipstick or tube has been replaced.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “The plastic portion of my oil dipstick broke off on my 2001 Nissan Sentra gxe. This caused the dipstick to fall into the engine. I had to pay for a new dipstick. The new dipstick is also plastic and I anticipate that this will happen again. It does not take a genius to realize that you should not use plastic on an engine part!!!”

   NHTSA complaint #10226593, filed 2008-05, 109,000 miles

   “The oil dipstick handle breaks off and the balance of the dipstick is unable to be retrieved out of the dipstick cylinder unless the whole assembly is taken apart. This a very costly procedure ranging from $200-400. This has happened more than one time and it seems to me that Nissan should provide a better quality dipstick that will not deteriorate and break from what I perceive as heat related damage. Will they pay the costs for this repair?”

   NHTSA complaint #10204369, filed 2007-09, 99,469 miles
3. 3
   Electrical system

   Engine control module faults and warning light

   • 36 complaints (15%)
   • median 80,365 mi at 6.2 yrs old (26 state mileage)
   • 3 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2002–2026

   Several owners describe the Service Engine Soon or check engine light coming on with stalling, rough idle, misfire or a no-start, and being told the engine control module needed replacement. Complaints reference the 03V477000 campaign on the foam lining of the ECM box, some saying the recall was done and the module failed anyway, and others saying their vehicle was not covered. Some also report ignition coil and catalytic converter replacement after misfires. Spread widely, from about 60,000 to 130,000 miles and beyond.

   Recall 03V4770001 related service bulletin

   What to check: Ask whether the ECM foam-lining campaign was completed and whether the module has ever been replaced; scan for stored or missing diagnostic codes.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Nissan Sentra 2001 had a recall to remove the foam covering the ECM. I had this done june 2004..the problem with the foam was as it cured , if there was a crack on the surface lining, corrosion of the resistor could cause the ECM to malfunction. Well I had the foam removed but I feel the corrosion was probably already occurring so in 6 months the ECM went bad. Nissan refused to pay to replace the ECM.”

   NHTSA complaint #10104110, filed 2004-12, 94,090 miles

   “Intermittent problems car stalling while driving, car rough idle, car not starting, car spurting while driving, car not going into overdrive car has been towed twice, been to two dealers, and 1 mechanic that told me that it is in the computer system and that the dealer needs to fix the problem. From my research, diagnostic codes are either not being reported by a bad sensor or the ECM is not storing the diagnostic codes.”

   NHTSA complaint #10106256, filed 2005-01, 61,225 miles
4. 4
   Tires

   Tire failures and premature wear

   • 17 complaints (7%)
   • median 40,041 mi at 3.9 yrs old (7 state mileage, few)
   • filed 2002–2012

   Complaints describe tread separation, blowouts and rapid or uneven wear, sometimes at highway speed and with body damage afterward. Owners report front-end vibration that worsened before a tire came apart, and repeated replacement of the same tires for early wear. Several mention the dealer attributing the problem to the tires themselves. Mostly reported between about 30,000 and 41,000 miles, some at lower mileage.

   Recall 01V2770001 related service bulletin

   What to check: Check tire age and tread condition, look for uneven wear or cupping, and have the alignment and tire pressures checked; ask about the wheel campaign 01V277000.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Dunlop tires sp20fe came completely apart while traveling down the highway. This tire failure caused significant damage to my car and potential life threatening situation while I was going over a seven mile bridge.”

   NHTSA complaint #10021243, filed 2003-06, 30,000 miles

   “On 5-4-07 I noticed driver's side rear tire was flat. My boyfriend filled it with air and I thought nothing further of it. On 5-15-07 I picked him up from work and had a flat on the way out of the parking lot. We filled it with air, but could not make it home before it was totally flat again. Since it was after 11 pm and we were close to home I continued to drive. Once we arrived the tire had a chunk of tread missing, exposing metal barbs, on the outside of the tire. The boy friend changed it the next day so we could take it to discount tire. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10191045, filed 2007-05, 79,400 miles
5. 5
   Electrical system

   Horn stops working (wiring near radiator)

   • 12 complaints (5%)
   • median 58,000 mi at 4.1 yrs old (9 state mileage, few)
   • filed 2003–2008

   Complaints describe the horn quitting entirely, with diagnostics pointing to a short in the wiring harness routed around the radiator rather than the fuse, relay or horn itself. Owners report the repair requires removing radiator-related hardware and significant labor time, and one owner notes an inoperative horn fails state inspection. Some complaints tie electrical trouble to the engine control module area as well. Generally reported between about 30,000 and 66,000 miles.

   What to check: Test the horn with the engine off and on, and ask whether the harness around the radiator has been repaired or replaced.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I own a 2001 Nissan Sentra. Several months ago, the horn stopped working. We finally took it in to our local mechanic and he called saying the horn works, the fuse is fine and the relay works, but somewhere between the fuse and the relay, it's losing power; likely a short in the wire. But they said it is wired in such a convoluted way that it's going to take another 2 hours to find the right wire and fix. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10165976, filed 2006-08, 65,100 miles

   “Consumer received recall 03v477000 concerning electronic control module ( emc) material: vehicle was taken to the dealer for recall repairs, and immediately started having problems with the horn not working. Approximately a week later, vehicle would not start even though the dealer performed recall repairs.”

   NHTSA complaint #10063550, filed 2004-03, 65,000 miles

Buying note. These cars are old enough that service history matters more than mileage: confirm which of the engine-sensor and ECM campaigns were actually performed, and budget for electrical and cooling-system repairs. A pre-purchase scan for stored codes and a careful look at the dipstick, horn and tires covers most of what owners report.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 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.