"How reliable is the 1997 Nissan Sentra?"

"Based on 138 NHTSA complaints, the 1997 Nissan Sentra has a median complaint mileage of 113500 miles. The most common issue is AIR BAGS:FRONTAL."

"What are common problems with the 1997 Nissan Sentra?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1997 Nissan Sentra is AIR BAGS:FRONTAL, accounting for a significant portion of the 138 total complaints filed."

1997 Nissan Sentra: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 138 complaints

138

Total Complaints

113,500mi

Median Mileage

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

81,485 25th Percentile

113,500 Median Mileage

147,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

AIR BAGS

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:LINKAGES

VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER

TIRES

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:MOTOR

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"DRIVER HIT HIGHWAY DIVIDER AND AIR BAG DIDN'T DEPLOY. *AK"

"OWNER STATES THAT THERE IS NO COVER IN THE TRUNK AREA WHERE TAIL LIGHTS ARE. INDICATES CONCERN FOR SAFETY IF SOMETHING WAS TO HIT ELECTRICAL WIRES, SOMETHING COULD HAPPEN. OWNER FURTHER NOTES THAT THERE IS A DESIGN FOR A COVER, BUT IT HAS NOT BEEN INSTALLED ON VEHICLES. *AK"

"VEHICLE'S ABS HAS FAILED TWICE. DEALER TRIED TO SELL OWNER ANOTHER CAR. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

AIR BAGS 11 complaints

Median: 120,907 mi

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:LINKAGES 7 complaints

25th: 94,234 mi Median: 121,000 mi 75th: 147,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 29 NY: 17 GA: 9 MD: 7 FL: 7 TX: 7 NC: 7 VA: 6 WI: 4 TN: 3

Who Files Complaints?

37%

Original Owners

63%

Second+ Owners

Nissan Sentra — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	45	-	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	8
1991	77	202,299	SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY	10
1992	81	107,500	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE	10
1993	89	110,439	POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION	11
1994	130	180,000	SEAT BELTS	29
1995	158	157,994	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	38
1996	177	63,000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	47
1998	76	102,000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	21
1999	74	78,987	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION	19
2000	236	53,800	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	27
2001	307	60,500	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING	38
2002	372	69,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING	19
2003	240	66,956	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING	17
2004	235	75,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING	27
2005	224	77,650	ENGINE	16
2006	155	80,000	AIR BAGS	29
2007	214	61,000	AIR BAGS	32
2008	233	67,318	AIR BAGS	31
2009	81	56,000	AIR BAGS	18
2010	212	76,328	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	18
2011	199	75,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	26
2012	259	62,000	POWER TRAIN	22
2013	864	59,000	POWER TRAIN	35
2014	522	65,889	POWER TRAIN	32
2015	488	50,000	POWER TRAIN	34
2016	397	55,000	POWER TRAIN	29
2017	334	42,000	POWER TRAIN	41
2018	283	39,000	POWER TRAIN	29
2019	343	22,324	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	27
2020	306	17,250	STEERING	17
2021	201	25,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	27
2022	129	30,700	STEERING	3
2023	31	-	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	1
2024	49	30,000	STEERING	11
2025	33	-	ENGINE	7

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28