Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2012 Nissan Sentra owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated to respond. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,504.
While driving on the freeway pulling approximately 70 miles per hour, my car will begin to shake violently, continuously decelerate and my RPMs drop significantly. I am unable to go over 55 miles per hour when this happens. This has happened to me a total of four times now within the last 2 months. I had my car take this one auto repair shop in which my spark plugs were changed out a brand new air intake hose was put in my coils were changed out and everything. Today while driving on the freeway, going 72 mph my car decelerated and would not go above 55. This is a major safety issue considering I drive on the freeway a lot. I just paid $970 to have my car fixed and can't continue to pay to have the car fixed along with still paying a car note and insurance on this car. Well researching transmission issues I came across this page when filing a complaint. …
When driving at 70 or above mph for a long distances, speed automatically declines to 60 mph and will not increase. When trying to accelerate, nothing happens. After a few miles, my vehicle then starts to accelerate on its own. The problem is extremely unsafe and frightening, especially with express highway traveling. Ive traveled out of state and the past 6 months when I've moticed this now frequent problem. I informed my mechanic who said it could be my transmission or possibly fuel pump, which are not his areas. He advised talk to NISSAN and stated Nissan is known for faultly transmission s on Sentras. Mines is a 2012 with only 126k of mileage. Was was there no recalls on this? I will now see what Dealer has to say. What can be done to hold Nissan responsible? I 've screenshot an article regarding many complaints on this. …
While traveling down the interstate doing the normal speed limit, I was forced to pull over to the emergency lane so cars can pass me. My car lost power to the engine without notice. No check system engine lights were not activated during this time. Car and Trucks were having to swerve over in other lanes to keep from rear ending me and causing a major wreck. This happen several weeks ago again with no lights lighting up on dash. I was able to pull over for a few minutes and restart the car and it was back to normal. I looked things up online and took my car into a repair shop to let me know the problem, They stated that they have seen this issue with Nissan vehicles. It is the CVT transmission issue. The loss of power comes from the CVT fluid getting too hot and reduces power to save the CVT transmission, I have a 2012 Nissan Sentra that was Manufactured 6/2012.
car stalled no power in gas pedal traveling across for lane traffic just lost power to the gas pedal. was able to pull over and tuned off car after a few minutes of sitting power was restore and was able to drive again I have been told this is a transmission issue I am not sure but defiantly a safety issue losing power like that
I have had my car for just over 2 years. I bought it used for business trips mostly. I drove it for the first time on a long distance business trip and 3 hours into trip it stopped accelerating over 70 miles an hour. This continueed the entire way to my final destination. No lights came on, no sounds or smells either. Once I was in town driving on normal roads it was fine again. Then I drove it back home, same thing happened but more extreme. I took it to the Nissan dealership in boulder colorado. In doing so I found out that all nissans had a warrenty recall to put in a CVT cooler part. A feature that all nissans need to insure the possibilty of long distance travel without the transmission over heating and not accelerating properly. The dealership then informed me that it would have been covered if I had brought it in before it was over 60,000 miles. …
On my way home visiting my son, I was on the freeway driving 75 MPH, when I began to experience acceleration loss in my 2012 Nissan Sentra sl. My CVT transmission was overworking and you can clearly hear the transmission trying to change gears, my car dropped from 75 MPH to under 50 MPH on a busy freeway, the RPM's were running high while the car had zero power, my foot was completely pressed down to assist the car to accelerate and it would not. I managed to move my car over to the far right lane to try and recover my vehicles speed. This is an absolute hazard to those experiencing this same problem, it's a safety hazard for anyone traveling long distances, on a busy highway during, with children in your vehicle when your car drops to limp mode out of nowhere. …
Takata recall: I was driving on the highway when the "check engine" service light came on, and my car immediately went from 60pmh to 20mph in a matter of minutes. I took it to the dealership that same day (3 weeks ago). After a diagnostic was tested, the throttle pedal position sensor needs to be replaced, and is on backorder. When I asked what that meant, they informed me that the part is not available. The dealership reached out to corporate (after having my car for 2 weeks) and come to find out there are 300 other cases dealing with this same part.
I have owned this car for 2 years. Every year, as it starts to warm up in the spring, the same problem recurs. I have had it to several repair shops, only to be told that it cannot be fixed. As I am driving on the freeway, it will suddenly start to decelerate, and I must pull off the road and let the car sit, turned off, for 20-40 minutes. Last week, the check engine light came on, and when I took it back to the dealer, they want $3000 to fix the car. This has been a problem since the first summer after I bought it.
After a 1.5-2 hour drive on the highway, my car would not accelerate beyond 60 MPH. It drove fine after getting home and getting some rest. No lights came on this first. Similar event happened a couple weeks later - much shorter drive approx. 20 minutes, slower speeds, but main inclines. All lights (check engine, oil, emergency brake, battery) came on and the car would no accelerate at all. I pulled over and turned the car off then back on again and it was completely fine.
Acceleration complaints in other Sentra years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2012 Nissan Sentra?
NHTSA has 22 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2012 Nissan Sentra, 12% of the model year's 180 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2012 Nissan Sentra acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2012 Nissan Sentra. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2012 Nissan Sentra acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 84,000 miles, and 24% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 0 injuries to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.