Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2015 Nissan Sentra owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving 5 MPH and making a right turn, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration and the steering wheel turned independently. The brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to stop. The vehicle crashed into an apartment complex wall. The air bags deployed. The contact sustained injuries to her right arm, left elbow, knee, shoulder, and back and burns on the right arm from the air bag deployment. The contact was transported to the hospital by ambulance to receive medical attention. A Police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The insurance company had not yet deemed the vehicle a total loss. The contact stated that the failure had previously occurred in May 2024, and the dealer had performed an unknown repair. …
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly stalled while in traffic. There was an abnormal screeching sound coming from the vehicle. The accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The transmission was shifted into reverse(R), but the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The vehicle was shifted into drive(D), and the vehicle lunged forward and then started moving slowly. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that there was a loose bearing inside the transmission. While completing a road test, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact was offered a partial refund and warranty. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. …
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that on several occasions while stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the failure might have been caused by an Oxygen sensor failure. The Oxygen sensor was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, there was an abnormal beeping sound coming from the vehicle before the vehicle stopped independently. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed; however, the diagnostic result was unknown. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 48,520.
This particular vehicle exhibits a very strong, almost dash rattling judder when moving from the 1st to 2nd gearing ratio. This is especially dangerous in traffic and intersections where the vehicle is known to be in 1st or 2nd gear ratio, as Nissan likes to ratio out their CVT in software through the TCM to produce what feels like shifting from gear-to-gear as in a normal automatic transaxle. What makes this situation extremely bad is that when entering an on-ramp to the interstate (I-20 for example) it will intermittently judder from 1st to 2nd and then no power. After the judder it takes another few seconds for the TCM to figure out what happened and engage maybe more valve body pressure? I'm not sure completely, but it's extremely unsafe to drive. …
The CVT in this car is faulty. The transmission has been rebuilt but it still has the same issue. The transmission doesn't di room properly and although the rpm's increase the car will not accelerate. I've taken the car to Nisan dealerships. They now deny that this issue exists and will not offer a fix. The car is a safety hazard. It loses the ability to accelerate at low and high speeds. While on the highway or in the city the car loses the ability to maintain or increase speed. There is also a known issue with this car related to the brake switch and moisture in the tail light. The dealership knows by way of Nissan corporation sharing an article with them about this issue in other cars and knows that the brake switch is faulty and that the car can brake and accelerate at the same time but no recall has been issued. …
Bought 2015 Nissan Sentra SR from Nissan West in Dickson, TN. The car didn't even a lot of miles on it. Not even a month after having the car, the transmission went out. Car started acting up on the interstate. Would not shift gears, wouldn't go over a certain amount of speed, almost caused us to be hit multiple times. Finally got it to Nissan West dealership where they did confirm transmission was no good. Nissan West, reworked the transmission instead of giving us a new transmission. Now, over a year and 3 months later, the transmission went out again. Has been confirmed by Nissan West in Dickson, TN. The transmission had only a little over 10,000 miles on it. This time I was pulling out onto a busy street when the car out of the blue would not go forwards or backwards. Luckily we did not get hit and we had to push the car out of the middle of the road.
Transmission malfunction. The car will reduced speed putting me on risk of getting hit in the back and someone colliding with me due the reduction of speed and the slowness of the car to start to gain speed. There was some jerking as gas pedal was pressed down and will slow down and then gain speed before it completely slow down to the point it will not go beyond 40 miles per hour. The car was inspected by the Nissan dealership where the car was bought and transmission is failing internally according to their findings. The vehicle has only been inspected by the dealership. There were no warning/message prior to this problem.
Over the last year my 2015 Nissan Sentra has been having problems of judder (shake and shudder), hesitation on acceleration, lack of power and RPM flare. It happens when I am driving highway speed and when going uphill on the highway as well. I went to Firestone to get a diagnostic check and came out with the code of p17f4. I was surprised given that no check engine light has turned on. I will be going to the Nissan dealership and asking them what steps can happen. This is the second Nissan vehicle (the second vehicle is a Nissan Rogue) that has had a transmission problem.
Transmission is really bad after even nissan replaced it doesn't shift correct, the car jumps, the brakes really doesn't do well even after they change it. The motor sound is really high. The car doesn't speed up on the highway to go in front of the right lane, so it puts me in dangerous several times. All documents of complain since 2019 at Nissan Petaluma ,CA and now the car at Nissan auto nation Las Vegas for the second time after they change the transition . Thanks
Acceleration complaints in other Sentra years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2015 Nissan Sentra?
NHTSA has 50 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2015 Nissan Sentra, 14% of the model year's 352 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2015 Nissan Sentra acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2015 Nissan Sentra, though it has 3 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 2015 Nissan Sentra acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 49,000 miles, and 38% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 2 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.