2008 Nissan Sentra recalls and problems

The 2008 Nissan Sentra has 3 recalls and 167 owner complaints on file with NHTSA; the most reported problem area is air bags.

2008 Nissan Sentra
Photo: 2008 Nissan Sentra by Elise240SX, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
How the 2008 compares
Fewest complaintsMost complaints

Average complaint count among 27 Sentra model years — 16th most.

3recalls
167complaints
20crashes
3fires
17injuries
67,000median miles

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA, not verified and not adjusted for sales. Ranking compares this model's own years only.

Does your car have an open recall?
Recalls apply to specific vehicles. Only a VIN lookup on NHTSA's official site shows whether yours is affected and still unrepaired.
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3 recalls

Equipment

Sep 10, 2010 · NHTSA campaign 10V401000 · 7,948 vehicles

Problem: Nissan is recalling certain vehicles that were equipped with a garmin nuvi model 750 navigation system. The batteries contained in the affected GPS units can overheat.

Original NHTSA wording

NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN VEHICLES THAT WERE EQUIPPED WITH A GARMIN NUVI MODEL 750 NAVIGATION SYSTEM. THE BATTERIES CONTAINED IN THE AFFECTED GPS UNITS CAN OVERHEAT.

Risk: Overheated batteries could result in a fire.

Original NHTSA wording

OVERHEATED BATTERIES COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.

Remedy & notes

Nissan will notify owners and the repairs will be performed by garmin technicians by replacing the battery and inserting a spacer on top of the battery free of charge. The safety recall began on September 16, 2010. Owners May contact garmin directly at 1-866-957-1981 or Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.

Owners May also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to <a href=http://www.safercar.gov>http://www.safercar.gov</a> .

Service Brakes

Nov 3, 2009 · NHTSA campaign 09V431000 · 10,586 vehicles

Problem: 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 master cylinder reservoir decreases to below the minimum level, the brake system warning indicator will illuminate as designed and the brakes will not function properly.

Original NHTSA wording

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 MASTER CYLINDER RESERVOIR DECREASES TO BELOW THE MINIMUM LEVEL, THE BRAKE SYSTEM WARNING INDICATOR WILL ILLUMINATE AS DESIGNED AND THE BRAKES WILL NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY.

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.

Original NHTSA wording

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 & notes

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.

Owners May also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to <a href=http://www.safercar.gov>http://www.safercar.gov</a> .

Service Brakes

Jul 11, 2008 · NHTSA campaign 08V311000 · 169,202 vehicles

Problem: Nissan is recalling 169,202 my 2007-2008 sentra passenger vehicles equipped robert Bosch master cylinder. Due to the machining irregularity by the supplier, the internal seal groove in the body of some brake master cylinders May allow for a gap in the groove contact area of the seal. This May result in brake fluid slowly leaking from the master cylinder into the brake booster assembly, causing the brake warning light to illuminate.

Original NHTSA wording

NISSAN IS RECALLING 169,202 MY 2007-2008 SENTRA PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED ROBERT BOSCH MASTER CYLINDER. DUE TO THE MACHINING IRREGULARITY BY THE SUPPLIER, THE INTERNAL SEAL GROOVE IN THE BODY OF SOME BRAKE MASTER CYLINDERS MAY ALLOW FOR A GAP IN THE GROOVE CONTACT AREA OF THE SEAL. THIS MAY RESULT IN BRAKE FLUID SLOWLY LEAKING FROM THE MASTER CYLINDER INTO THE BRAKE BOOSTER ASSEMBLY, CAUSING THE BRAKE WARNING LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE.

Risk: If the warning lamp is ignored, one of the brake circuits on the vehicle May not operate as designed increasing the risk of a crash.

Original NHTSA wording

IF THE WARNING LAMP IS IGNORED, ONE OF THE BRAKE CIRCUITS ON THE VEHICLE MAY NOT OPERATE AS DESIGNED INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy & notes

Dealers will inspect the master cylinder/brake booster assembly and if brake fluid leakage is detected, the master cylinder will be replaced with a new one free of charge. The recall began on August 20, 2008. Owners May contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.

Customers May also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

Recall text as published by NHTSA and the manufacturer.

What owners complain about

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA; one complaint can name several areas. Not verified by NHTSA.

Complaints by year filed

2008: 14 complaints20082009: 19 complaints192010: 19 complaints20102011: 12 complaints2012: 11 complaints20122013: 8 complaints2014: 18 complaints20142015: 9 complaints2016: 14 complaints20162017: 9 complaints2018: 9 complaints20182019: 8 complaints2020: 11 complaints20202021: 1 complaints2022: 2 complaints20222023: 2 complaints2024: 1 complaints20241

NHTSA investigations

Scope of Recalls 08V311 and 09V431

DP16002 · opened Dec 20, 2016 · closed Oct 2, 2017
Summary

Nissan conducted safety recalls 08V-311 and 09V-431 to remedy leaking master cylinders on certain MY 2007 and 2008 Nissan Sentra vehicles.The recall populations were determined based on production changes to the master cylinder which were fully implemented into production on April 18, 2008.NHTSA utilized vehicle owner questionnaire (VOQ) reports and did not request field information from Nissan.ODI identified two MY 2008 Nissan Sentra VOQs including the petitioner?s vehicle, which were not covered by the recalls and reported a leaking master cylinder.Both of these incidents occurred 6 or more years into the service life of the vehicle.ODI also identified three VOQs which reported a leaking master cylinder after receiving the recall remedy.While one of these failures occurred within 36 months of the recall remedy, the other two occurred at a later time.ODI notes that the original recall addressed failures which occurred early in the life of the vehicle, typically during the first 36 months of service.Master cylinders are generally expected to experience wear and thus will display a finite service life.After a thorough review of the available data in NHTSA's VOQ database, the agency has not identified a trend that would call into question the scope or adequacy of Nissan's recalls.Accordingly, and in view of the need to allocate and prioritize NHTSA's limited resources to best accomplish the agency's safety mission, ODI is denying the petition.A detailed summary of ODI's analysi…

2008 vs. other Nissan Sentra years

Owner complaints by model year; the darker bar is the 2008. Click a bar to switch year.

Questions

Does the 2008 Nissan Sentra have recalls?

Yes — NHTSA lists 3 recall campaigns covering the 2008 Nissan Sentra, the latest from Sep 10, 2010 (equipment). A recall applies to specific vehicles: enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether yours is affected and still open.

What are the most common problems with the 2008 Nissan Sentra?

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA most often mention air bags (53), engine (25), service brakes (21). Complaints are consumer reports and are not verified by NHTSA.