2007 Nissan Sentra
This year drew an ordinary 154 complaints for a Nissan Sentra — the model's median is 167. What they were about is the unusual part: 20.8% of them mention power steering, against 6.7% across the other years of this generation.
First year of a new generation. The Nissan Sentra was redesigned for 2007. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 154 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 167 |
| Involving a crash | 21 |
| Involving a fire | 10 |
| Recalls | 1 |
| EPA combined | 26.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- power steering — 20.8% of this year's complaints, against 6.7% across the other years of this generation (3.1×). Owners wrote it as: power steering, column, steering column, brought car.
- master — 7.8% of this year's complaints, against 1.1% across the other years of this generation (7×). Owners wrote it as: master, cylinder, master cylinder, routine.
- fluid — 7.8% of this year's complaints, against 2.2% across the other years of this generation (3.5×). Owners wrote it as: fluid, brake light, transmission fluid.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
What owners wrote
when the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for a routine oil change, the mechanic informed her that during the test drive, the brake pedal was depressed but failed to respond, and was depressed to the floorboard. The contact stated that the mechanic…
WHILE DRIVING IN REVERSE ABOUT 5 MPH THE POWER STEERING FAILED. THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD NOT TURN AND THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHO STATED THEY WOULD REPLACE THE STEERING COLUMN AT NO COST TO THE OWNER. THE [VIN] WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 08V311000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Nissan Sentra was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2007 Nissan Sentra? What happened to yours?
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