Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2013 Nissan Sentra owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost automotive power and failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 65,000.
This vehicle will not go forward or move backward. We were on the freeway ... luckily we were able to get car to drive forward before oncoming traffic hit us We were scared for our lives. We have reached out to Nissan of North America SEVERAL times about this and correcting the issue. We were just made aware recently by an attorney to try reaching out to you. They are refusing to fix issue or a recall vehicles. It is a CTC transmission issue according to mechanics. I was told that a consumer filed a suit against them for this COMMON safety issue but Nissan corporation of North America are refusing to do a recall. They are putting consumers through a lot of red tape so that they can save money while risking human lives. I'm scared that someone will be hit bad or killed because Nissan North America will not do a recall for consumers. …
I called my home Nissan yesterday to get the information about my recalls on my car that I was not aware of after the State Troopers helped me get my cat to a safe location. I was told that there are recalls on the car (and was never notified) I called where it was originally bought from a Nissan Dealership and they gave me several recall codes as I was stranded in the freezing cold with my babies in the car. There are several recalls on my car (P1-1,P1-2, and P1-5,2, P1-8.) The car went from 1RPM and shot up to 8, and down to 0 and the car would not drive after that unless it was less than 15MPH. Anything over 15-20 the car would go from 1RPM back to 8, and shoot down to 0 and jerk the car forward and backwards. I was told it was only an 02 reprogramming recall from the location it was towed to, to a different Nissan dealership. …
Code P0101 came on, service Bulletin from NHTSA.gov was done. Car came back worst. Engine stalled in the middle of the street. It wouldn't turn on, we had to push it to get it out of the street. Car will accelerate on its own when turn on. Sometimes car will accelerate when put on Reverse on its own..... RPMs will be at 7 and 8 when going 45MPH. I notice this has been an issue for Nissan Sentras 2013-2015 based on research all over the internet. People have replaced Thottle body, air mass flow sensor, break sensors, fuel intake, fuses. Vehicle isn't safe to be driving in street, may caused an accident, even mechanic said I shouldn't be driving the car because it isn't safe. We already made a complaint with NHTSA, DMV for financial Help and nothing. Help is really needed.
I have repaired the mass airflow sensor 3x's by the dealership who sold me the car the last 2 times they didn't make me pay for it.and I'm still having the same issue. My car will jerk and idle and I was driving and all of a sudden I loss speed and I was accelerating but the car was only moving about 5 miles per hr the cars behind me almost hit me in the rear end. The longer I drive the car the worst it gets. Then if u pull to the side and cut the car off and back on again it would run hard but it would get speed. Until I try to accelerate then it will stall again. This is a safety hazard especially on the interstate.
The shift started locking, followed by consistent tugging while driving above 20 mph. It stutters and pulls when driving down hill which has caused me to pull over and restart the car in heavy traffic on the freeway. Now the car pulls so much it is not safe to drive above 20 mph. I have taken it to two service centers and both have confirmed the CVT transmission is faulty. No lamps or messages prior to the failure showed up. This started before the car hit 80,000 miles.
When I would hit my breaks and sit at a red light . My car would start vibrating really bad and then force it's self up even though my foot would be on the break and almost his someone walking and a few other times in a car . It also would shut its self off and back on . When I put it in park it would die and when I put it back in drive it would die . Sometimes turn its self back on & I have a push to start .
The wiring that connects to the throttle sensor is fraying and causes the car to stall unexpectedly when driving. If the car stalls unexpectedly it increases the chances of a fatal accident. There are no warnings, all the warnings appear when the car stalls. My safety is at risk because it stalls when driving unexpectedly and another car can hit me from behind causing an accident without warning.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that the vehicle would not accelerate properly. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it could not be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the failure occurred again, which resulted in a rear end collision. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was repaired; however, the vehicle made an abnormal noise and hesitated. The vehicle was returned to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was returned to the dealer where it could not be diagnosed. …
While driving the car would lose acceleration. The first time it had happen it was around April 2017 on a hot day. I thought maybe me turning the air on plus with the heat that it was the reason for the malfuction, but then it did it again a few days later while I was turning onto a busy intersection. I took it to a close friend of mine to ask if he had any known solutions to why I am losing acceleration while driving. But he didn't know of any. So for a while it was driving normal...at least I thought. My daughter had used the vehicle and I forgot to tell her about the acceleration issue, but she almost got into an accident due to the lost of acceleration. I then started paying more attention and was going to take it somewhere professional to get it looked at.unfortunately I did not get it looked at fast enough as the acceleration went out again and caused me to have an accident. …
Acceleration complaints in other Sentra years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2013 Nissan Sentra?
NHTSA has 51 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2013 Nissan Sentra, 8% of the model year's 638 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2013 Nissan Sentra acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2013 Nissan Sentra, though it has 6 recalls for other components. 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 2013 Nissan Sentra acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 71,000 miles, and 21% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury 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.