Nissan Sentra 2006 and earlier

ral2167 · January 2001

did they put in a new engine? or a refurbished engine? you paid for a new car, i'd say you merit a new engine.

let's say you get this car back, and everything works fine... it runs fine...no more problems....would you be happy?

now, if problems continue to arise, eventually the New York State lemon law would apply, right? let's say you have the exact same problem and the dealer has had 3 opportunities to fix it-- doesn't the lemon law kick in at that point? so you're covered there, right?

i once was in an accident (head on at 55 mph/air bags deployed, engine dropped down like it should, crumple zones, all that stuff, not my fault!) and the total cost of repair was $14,000 ... during the 3-4 months i was without the car and was driving rentals, I was test driving other cars since i figured i'd be selling the one i had once i got it back...but as soon as i drove 500 yards with my repaired car, it drove better than anything i was test driving... i guess what i am saying is, if the repairs are done right, and they use new genuine nissan parts, it's amazing how cars turn out just fine... i drove another 50000 miles with my crashed car ,....

sure, little fella, i know how you feel with the concerns that it'll never run right...but if they put in a new engine (not a refurbished one), and they do the job right....i think you're covered. and if they're offering you that free extended warranty, take it. but again, i'd make sure you have a copy of the lemon law in the state, cause i think it' something like-- if you have the same problem 3 times, and 3 times they can't fix it, it's a lemon. but i'm no lawyer.

areece · January 2001

My 98 Sentra GXE has been in the shop twice in the past 3 months. It would not start and required a new battery and new brake pads when it only had 28,000 miles on it. It would not start yesterday and would not hold a charge. It was towed to the dealership. I have now been informed that it is the "slip idle", which must be adjusted every 15K miles. This is apparently another repair not covered by warranty. They are charging me to adjust this by tuning up the car. I was planning on taking the car to another garage for a tune-up to save money. My question: since this car has been in the service center at the dealership four times since I bought it in the summer of 98, shouldn't they have mentioned that this idle must be adjusted or my car could break down? I bought this car for its reliability and with only 30,000 miles on it, this is probably the most unreliable car I have owned. Anyone have similar problems with the Sentra?

savvy4 · January 2001

...might as well get my .02 worth! We're looking at a new 2001 SE Sentra to replace my wife's 1995 Sentra GLE with 111K on the odo. She had two minor, but still annoying, problems with her '95 and the Nissan dealership. First, at about 15,000 miles or so, it developed a terrible belt squeak. We drove it for a while, but it began to sound like a bush full of hungry, rabid, chirping sparrows...like the type that scurry the local McD's parking lot. That was it, I took it in. They replaced the belts. About 5K to 10K later, the sparrows were back, wanting some food. I was pissed. I took it back, and I got new belts again (mind you...belts are "normal wear" items, so we paid for the belts, not Nissan). Well, she's had a continuous belt problem that we tried to get Nissan Motor to do something about, but they never did. We finally took the car to a local mechanic, and he changed the belts from the OEM Nissan brand to the "Gates Rubber" brand, and they seem to be much better now. He found the OEM Nissan belts to be very hard & dry and the Gates are softer rubber and more resilient. Makes sense, and it seems to be working. Gates and Goodyear are the most common replacement belt brands, why didn't the dealership think of this?

Oh, yea, she had some front brake pads replaced at only 20,000 miles, too. The originals were shot, and that's pretty early to change them. Then, at 60K, we had to replace the pads and rotors both. That was a bit premature.

Overall, we didn't get much help from our local Nissan dealership for warranty items, and we felt like they were "blowing us off". I wasn't used to that treatment since I had an Acura and Infiniti. I never had any real problems with the high-end dealerships, although Acura was better than Infiniti overall in my experience. Still, Nissan, in our experience, is not the greatest with customer satisfaction when it comes to warranty and service items. But, it really depends on the dealership's philosophies on taking care of customers. There are some dealerships that will go the extra mile. With Nissan trying to "come back" from their lack of sales in the last half of the 90's, they should try a little harder when it comes to service. It's a bummer to hear they haven't learned their lessons. Their products are good, though. We only had the nagging belt squeak, the premature pad and rotor wear, and then the alternator failure at 90K. That's it besides normal maintenance. No one should have to put up with crappy treatment from a dealer's service, though. They love to sell, sell, sell, but hate to service.

Flarearrow, if I were you, I would've threatened Nissan that you were going to go "postal" on them. Not like that would help (I dunno, it may), but it'd be fun to see their faces, hehe. Seriously, you may need some legal representation, and you need to become aware of your state's lemon law in depth. I'd tell your Nissan dealer and Nissan Motor Corp. that you're seeking legal representation and will settle in court ("light threats" sometimes get you places), since they're not doing their share to keep you [rightfully] happy. If Nissan were to give you a fresh engine straight from the factory, you may have to settle for that. That should give you the new car you deserve, but you may not get an entirely new car. You may want to have another Nissan dealer do the warranty work for you (I would), if you can get them to give you a new engine. I would not settle for anything less than a new engine myself, and I'd be such a pain-in-the-[non-permissible content removed] to them, they would have to do it.

moparbad · January 2001

The replacement of all the defective parts in the engine and the 7/100 warranty seem to be a fair remedy to the problem. Drive the car and if you continue to have problems then lemon law may apply. Professional level of reassembly of the engine will yield a car that is as good as from the factory.

I sympathize with your desire to have the car replaced, but this is not a part of the warranty on the new car, allow some time to pass and see if the car is a lemon or not.

I have had engines disassembled and parts replaced twice before and the cars (non-Nissan) were problem free after the work.

Best of luck on whatever course of action you take.

gimpjomama · January 2001

How do I figure out my gas mile on my 2001 Sentra GXE? Based on what someone told me, I figured it to be about 12/mpg after filling the tank at 3/4 used.

Also, does any one live in NJ and know of a really good dealer? The dealer where I bought the car is not opened on Saturdays and so isn't convenient for me to use.

Thanks

hkchan · January 2001

Using shims to adjust the valve clearance is standard procedure on many cars. Other cars may have a screw and a nut for such adjustment. Then there are cars whose valves are "self-adjusting".

hkchan · January 2001

Well. Tell us how you came up with 12 mpg. I suspect the tank was not full when you started the measurement.

gimpjomama · January 2001

Well, I divided the miles drive by the size of the tank. that is 210/13.2x.75 = 12

Thanks

hkchan · January 2001

I assume the 0.75 was used because the gas gauge showed 1/4 empty. The gauge is not accurate enough for this purpose. You should use the amount of gasoline that you purchased. In addition, you need to make sure the tank was topped to the same level at each fill-up. There will always be some errors but after looking at the gas mileage figures for three to four fill-ups, you should have an idea.

ral2167 · January 2001

yes-- what you do is -- fill the gas tank to the top-- then set the trip odometer to 0--- then drive until the low fuel light is on again or you need another fill up... fill the tank to the top again... then divide the number of miles on the trip odometer by the number of gallons you needed to fill the car....simple...don't be figuring out gas mileage by looking at the needle, holy cow, is that wacky or what?

jl30 · January 2001

3/4 tank means 13.2x0.75= 9.9gal
Your mileage should be 210miles/(13.2x0.75)gal
=210miles/9.9gal
=21.2mpg

flarearrow · January 2001

Thanks for all your help guys and gals. I really
appreciate it. I'm trying to stir something up and get
noticed by Nissan.

Some of you want to know of the details. I figured writing this
would also benefit me to help me remember dates and events
that I would need to know to bring it up in arbitration or court.
I'll apologize beforehand for the length of this posting.

November 18, 2000 Saturday
My 2001 Altima SE in Titanium Frost/Dusk was home delivered
to me in the morning. I bought the car from Carsdirect and
the car came from Freehold Nissan on Rt. 9 in Freehold
NJ. (I have another thing with Carsdirect, but I'll save
that story for another time.) The car was driven over.
(I was hoping for flatbed service, but again that goes back
to my whole Carsdirect experience which I'll save for
later.) I made sure I tested everything, ie lights,
switches, radio, A/C, windows, sunroof, and everything
was working before the delivery left. Besides from having
79 miles on it already from the trip over, the wheel
alignment being slightly off and the tire pressure
in all 4 wheels being over 40 psi(!!!), everything was
fine.

Nov 18, 2000 - Dec 3, 2000
I was really excited about my new car. I couldn't wait to
really feel how the car performs after the break in period.
Going easy on the gas and keeping the spedometer under 55,
I was able to log 1000 miles in 2 weeks (making trips out
to LI, NJ, and Conn for Powerball tickets). I would take
my Altima out when ever I got the chance to get miles on
it to finish breaking the engine in.

During this time, I noticed a coolant leak. The green stuff
left a streaking mark on the front of the iron block next
to the tranny. I thought nothing of it. I thought it was
something as silly as a loose hose clamp. I mean, it's a
"brand new" car, and what could possibly go wrong.

December 4, 2000 Monday
I bring my Altima in for service to have the wheel alignment
adjusted and have the coolant leak looked into. I took it
to Star Nissan in Flushing, Queens.

Later that day I get the phone from the assistant service
manager saying that I'm going to need a new engine....
that the coolant leak is coming from the block. I'm not
sure what it's suppose to be called, but it seems like at
the shop "cracked" and "pourous" are used synonymously.

So then, the assistant service manager and service manager
were explaining to me that they can't procede with any
repairs until a Nissan technical advisor(?) can inspect
my vehicle and advise on the proper remedy. They were
explaining that Nissan has some sort of technical advisor/
engineer/auditor going around from dealership shop to
dealership shop to investigate new cars with oddball
defects, and is the one who has the final say on the
remedy for the problem. The assistant service manager said
this person was coming from New Jersey, the service
manager said this person was coming from California, and
the people at 1-800-NISSAN-1 Nissan (does not) Care line
said something on the lines of, "What engineer? If a
dealership shop says the engine is cracked and it needs a
new engine, we believe them and give approve to replace the
engine, no questions asked."

December 5, 2000 Tuesday
The supposed technical advisor from Nissan pays a visit to
Star Nissan service, inspects my car, and gives the go-
ahead to replace the defective iron block of the engine
(just the iron block). The work is begun to remove
everything from under the hood of the car. A new iron block
is ordered from Tennessee.

December 11, 2000 Monday
The whole engine compartment is gutted. The new iron block
arrives. Service begins to disassemble old engine and
prepares to replace the iron block.

December 12 or 13, 2000
Service discovers a problem with the aluminum head
assembly while disassembling it from old engine and
putting on the new iron block. As stated on my service
receipt:
"...while removing cylinder head found camshaft sprocket
bolt striped..."
New aluminum head assembly is ordered from California.

December 15, 2000 Friday
Aluminum head assembly arrives. Work is complete on
rebuilding the engine. Car is kept for the weekend
because "fine" tuning needed to be done on Monday.

December 18, 2000 Monday
Finally after 2 weeks I get the car back.

Dec 19, 2000 - Dec 27, 2000
During this time I'm breaking the engine all over again.
I was able to get in about 500 miles before some of the
problems got serious enough that it had to be brought
back to service.

Some of the things that happened were:
1) An oil leak this time is making a streaking mark on the
same spot as the infamous coolant leak.
2) The engine is very rough at a stop. Feels like the
engine is going to stall because it's like struggling
to maintain a minimum idling RPM.
3) The idiot lights on my dash were coming on and off. And
the interior and exterior were dimming.
4) When the car hits a sharp bump, like a expansion joint
on the highway, it sounds like something is not bolted
down tightly, and there's this rattle in front of the
driver position.

On Dec 27, I called the 1-800-NISSAN-1 number to voice
my complaint to the company about my Altima. And I demanded
a replacement. The rep was no help saying that my car does
not fit the definition of a lemon... that the car is cover
under the warranty... that I'm not paying for the repairs...
it's not Nissan's policy to replace or buy back cars...

The rep did take note of my request for a replacement
vehicle and forwarded my case for review by their review
board.

December 28, 2000 Thurs
I bring my Altima back to the shop for the problems above.

December 29, 2000 Friday
Star Nissan service gives the car back to me. The
electrical problems (idiot lights and lighting) was
because of a loose wire to the aternator. The oil leak
was from a loose tranny hose clamp. They couldn't
duplicate the rattling when the car hits a hard enough
bump. And the engine idle problem is because of the
valves not opening and closing properly, and their
positioning needs to be adjusted using shims. The shims
are ordered, and service tells me to bring the car back
when the shims come in.

Jan 2, 2001 Tues
I call the 1-800-NISSAN-1 Nissan (does not) Care line again
to voice my complaint, reiterate my request for a replacement,
and try to find the status of my case. The rep told me that
the review process takes 5 business days.

Jan 4, 2001 Thurs
I call the Nissan (does not) Care line again just to annoy
them and find status of my case. No status.

Jan 5, 2001 Fri
I received a message on my home answering machine from Star
Nissan service that the shims arrived.

Jan 8, 2001 Mon
The 5th business day and Nissan (does not) Care does not
call. What a surprise. (sarcasm)

flarearrow · January 2001

Jan 9, 2001 Tues
The 6th business day. I call the 800 number to find out myself
what the hell is going on. The rep tells me that there is a
regional rep (Tiaesha? pronounced as ti-e-sha) handling my
case and that I'll get a phone call from her later in the day.
Guess what? No one calls me back. What a surprise.
(sarcasm)

Jan 10, 2001 Wed
I bring my Altima in for service to get the shims installed
for the valves.

The 7th business day. No one from Nissan (does not) Care
call me back. What a surprise. (sarcasm)

Jan 11, 2001 Thurs
I had to call Nissan myself, again, to find out what the hell
is going on. I finally get in touch with this mysterious
Tiaehsa person. Tiaesha also re-iterated that my Altima does
not fall under the definition of a lemon, that they are
honoring their warranty, I'm not paying for the repairs, and
is offering to me the 7 year/100k mile $50 deductible
extended service contract free of charge to satisfy my need
for compensation.

Yeah, sure.... not a lemon?.... you got to be kidding me!
Today is Jan 17, 2001. I got the car Nov 18, 2000. My car
is still in the shop since Jan 10, 2001 because service
didn't order enough shims and their still waiting for more
to arrive. My car has been in the shop for a cummalitive
total of 25 calendar days in the last 2 months!!! WTF?!!!

Tiaesha called left me a messege on my voice mail at work
on Jan 16, 2001 about some of the details to the amount of
coverage I would be getting from the Security+ Silver plan.
I'm going to call back today demending for a replacement car.

25 days in the shop for the last 2 months... A new engine
block and aluminum heads needed at 1000 miles.... everything
under the hood had to be disassembled, and the engine
rebuilt, which will kill the resale value of the car and make
it hard to sell. Try telling to potential buyers that the
engine had to be replaced at 1000 miles and watch them walk
away. Or try trading it in at a dealer and get a lousy trade
in amount. I think I have a strong enough case here for
a replacement.

I'm also filing with the BBB's Autoline and Consumer Affairs
in NY.

ineto6 · January 2001

somehow, I can't feel sorry for the people who do it... we all suffer from bad lucks with cars... some more than others... just one bad car with one bad dealer does not make a bad car company.. in this case Nissan... I've driven several Nissans regularly... by doing this, the person is trying to to put down Nissans.... not just the Altima

too bad... I wouldn't qualify a new car with anything more than 10 miles... you are inviting trouble if you get a new car with more mileage.... chances are that they were demos ( I could be wrong, but why would I want to get a new car with such high mileage on it)

Sorry I had to be mean, but I really wonder what kind of cars you drove before this one.... I've driven 10+ years old car with less problems than that.

ctwo · January 2001

Where are all 7 speakers located on a 2001 Nissan Sentra SE?

Peace!

ineto6 · January 2001

My brother thought that it is pretty weak. He wanted to upgraded it, but it came with the package. I have not really looked at his car, but I know that the tweeters also count as speakers. They are located on the front pillars. Two front speakers are located on the doors. I have not been in the back seats, but the subwoofer also counts as a speaker... according to the Nissan website. I'll look at his car in more details when he comes back to town.

happyman1 · January 2001

There are two tweeters in the front pillars, two in the front door, and two speakers and one small subwoofer the the back. You can see where they are if you open the trunk.

pathway · January 2001

I don't listen to heavy metal or anything else really heavy, but I like the speakers I got with the car! I'm amazed how rich the sound is, especialy since I got the cheaper 4 speaker system. True, I don't listen to anything that prompts my hard-core friends to headbang, but even they are quite happy with the rich sound comming out of my speakers.

The 2 tweeters and 1 subwoofer you get for the 7 speaker system isn't bad, either. (I got a listen to them when I test drove a Sentra with the Luxury package), but we were looking to save some money... so we got the less expensive Sentra GXE w/o the Lux. Pkg.

Never the less, I can pump up any of my CD's (Blue Man Group's Audio is currently my favorite) fairly loud without worrying about blowing a speaker... and the sound is great! Way to go Nissan, great car!

I really can't recommend this car enough for people wo want an inexpensive car. There are a few caveats, like tall people should look elseware, and frequent car-pool drivers should find something with a bigger back seat... (space is realy the only issue in this small car, if you ask me) Otherwise, this car should be near the top of your list!

Pathway

gimpjomama · January 2001

Thanks - I thought that the total mileage should not be used. But, it looks correct. I guess.

Thanks again.

gimpjomama · January 2001

Anyone know of a good mechanic in NJ?

Thanks

socampo · January 2001

My brother just took delivery of a Sentry SE with performance package which I negotiated with the dealer. This is his first car purchase and is real excited about it. I test drove the car with him and was real impressed with the car. I told him that I would not recommend a car for him that I would not buy myself. We were able to get the car with all the options except the auto transmission and side air bag/as for $16075 out the door (we did get a $750 rebate from Nissan applicable only to the Washington, DC area). If you are in the market for a new Nissan in this area, I would recommend going to VOW Nissan in Rockville, MD. We did not have to deal with any b.. from the salesman after we told him exactly what we wanted to pay for the car.

hkchan · January 2001

Just to clarify, what's the price that your brother paid before rebate, tax and tags? The invoice would be $13,624+$540(freight)+$519(sun roof)+$58(floor mats)+$346(CD changer)+$31(In-Cabin Microfilter)+$779(Performance Package)=$15,897.

Did the dealer have any with the Side-Impact Airbags/ABS package? The rebate was good through the 22nd, wasn't it?

socampo · January 2001

Total price paid before tax, tags, and rebate was $15918 including the $400 MA fee. I would like to get your opinion on the MA fee, whether this is something that is negotiable, or if we even should be paying for it. Based on what I've read so far in this forum and some other sites, it seems that almost everybody just paid the whole amount since it was not negotiable and is a legitimate fee assessed to the dealer by the manufacturer. How much of this is true I really don't know. I hope you or anybody else in this forum can enlighten us a little bit on this issue.

BTW, the dealership is VOB not VOW. They did not have any with abs/side airbag and I was told that they are hard to find. I got the same response from another dealer. The rebate was only good until the 22nd, that's why we rushed to get the car that same evening.

hkchan · January 2001

Can you confirm that the car has the options I listed, and no more? It's 2001, right? It sounds like a great price, $21 over invoice. So that's your first offer? That's it?

I assume "MA fee" is some kind of advertising fee. It's always debatable whether it's a legitimate, per-car charge. The keyword is "per-car" or marginal cost. I suspect it varies with brands and/or distributors. For example, the dealership needs to pay for electricity, among other things, in order to operate and sell your brother that car, but it costs them the same wether they sell your brother that car or not. It's dangerous, from the dealership's point-of-view to regularly sell for a small marginal profit. IOW, they don't make enough to cover the overhead costs. OTOH, it's tempting to sell for even a small marginal profit if they consider it to be still better than nothing.

It's the total deal that counts. It doesn't matter whether the MA fee is negotiable. When you combine something that's negotiable (the price of the car) with something that's not (the MA fee supposedly) and negotiate from there, well then it's negotiable.

quark99 · January 2001

Someone earlier asked whether my upgraded tires had any rub/fit problems...No they do not. There is no interference whatsover. I highly recommend these tires as replacements for the junk Firestone 195-55-16's that come on the car. The 215-50-16's are virtually the same diameter as the OEM tires, thus there's no effect on speedometer reading occurs. You can get the KDW's at www.tirerack.com for $90 each (retail at your local tire store is as high as $189 each) I highly recommend the TireRack for there exemplary service and fast delivery.
Happy Driving!

quark99 · January 2001

Someone earlier asked whether my upgraded tires had any rub/fit problems...No they do not. There is no interference whatsover. I highly recommend these tires as replacements for the junk Firestone 195-55-16's that come on the car. The 215-50-16's are virtually the same diameter as the OEM tires, thus there's no effect on speedometer reading. You can get the KDW's at www.tirerack.com for $90 each (retail at your local tire store is as high as $189 each) I highly recommend the TireRack for their exemplary service and fast delivery.
Happy Driving!

happyman1 · January 2001

I was just wondering how things came out with your car and also with Nissan's Customer Service. If they are acting like pricks, that worries me in case of possible future problems with my car.

rone1 · January 2001

hi everyone, i own a 2000 sentra se w/ pp. with about 4000 miles on it. the car is great all around except for the handling. there is a vague straight-line feeling and you have to make a lot of minor adjusments to keep the car straight. what i mean by a lot is much more than normal for road imperfections. i also drive a 97 honda civic that tracks straight as an arrow. and when i drive them back to back the sentra feels like its wandering. should be the opposite since it has the bigger tires. anyone else experience this? thanx

hkchan · January 2001

That's funny. I'm contemplating trading my '99 Civic in for a Sentra or Protege for the very same reason. I'll pay more attention when I test-drive them. My Civic EX definitely doen't track straight as an arrow.

mdriver · January 2001

I too have noticed a slight wander while test driving an SE w/pp. My 97 Civic also tracks better and has superior on-center feel, although it leans more in tight turns. I am considering buying the SE w/pp, but expect a sharp drop in mileage from my current 36mpg (urban driving). What kind of fuel consumption are you (or anybody) getting from their SEs w/pp and 5sp?

radiumsentra · January 2001

I bought a 2001 sentra about a month ago and have noticed as of late that I get a high pitched whistling noise from my left front tire when traveling over 60 mph for an extended time. On a few occasions it got to the point where I could feel a slight vibration. Anyone else have this problem or know what it may be. Dealership says everything is fine.??

sentrafan · January 2001

I'm averaging 26.412 MPG in my 2000 Sentra SE with the performance package and 5-speed. Roughly 80% in-town driving, 20% freeway driving, and many rapid accelerations ;-)

hkchan · January 2001

Your driving is "roughly" 80% in-town. Yet the gas mileage is expressed in three decimal places. Sorry for the nit-picking.

quark99 · January 2001

My mileage is a solid 29-31 mpg. That's 80% freeway driving in a 5-speed SE with PP. Adding the overwidth 215-50-16's didn't seem to affect mileage. The wider/grippier the tires, the more apt to experience wandering. Road imperfections become magnified when your tires have better adhesion. It's a common trade-off for enhanced handling. Cars with "dead-on" center are either over-sprung (soft and mushy) or so heavy that hardly anything will deflect the vehicle in another direction. These are my observations only-please correct me if I'm wrong.

hkchan · January 2001

The cause can be very complex, but to me there're two separate issues, on-center feel and tracking. Imagine you're on the freeway travelling at 60 mph. The road is straight and the surface is "perfect". Close your eyes (in your imagination) and turn the steering wheel clockwise one degree. Turn it back to the original position and then one more degree. Can you feel if any one of these three positions is more on-center?
Wandering is possibly caused by play or slop in the steering system. You hold the steering wheel firmly and yet the front wheels are able to turn to the left or right slightly. Road imperfections would then cause the wandering.

robragland · January 2001

When I took delivery of my new Sentra (yesterday!), I too noticed an unusual noise coming from the frot right tire, so I had them take a look. I watched the mechanic put it up in the air and remove the tire. He noticed that the backing plate for the rotor was scrubbing against the rotor.

So check that out....... I hope that's all it is.

Robert

quark99 · January 2001

Have your alignment ("toe-in") checked. After reading these posts about constant "corrections" i.e., wandering I have been monitoring my SE. No problems, stays dead straight on the freeway and requires little correction. Please post if you have continuing problems, fellow Sentra owners!
Happy driving.

ineto6 · January 2001

My bro's car has no problem on freeway either. Handling is reminiscent of the my other brother's old 91 Max SE. If there are any annoying problems then he would be complaining loudly to me and everyone. I like the power that the car has. Very nice highway ride for a "small" car. I do notice that some people tend to constantly adjust the steering wheel while they drive.. even when it does not requires... strange habit... hmmmm... relax, let the blood flow through your hands and let the car drift a little

valde002 · February 2001

Hello! i am a proud owner of a new 2001 Sentra SE. So far (600 miles) it has been fun to drive, although it forgets to shift sometimes around 40 mph. Does anyone know how important it is to stay under 55 mph and why? The manual says stay under 4000 rpm and I have been going around 65 mph. Also I am interesting in doing aftermarket fixin's. I haven't seen many products out there so far for Nissan in general (seems to be all Hondas!). Can anyone inform me of a good resource to start? Thanks

mdriver · February 2001

Yes. A good resource to start is to trade your Sentra in for a Civic.

ral2167 · February 2001

i think mdriver is having some good natured fun with sentra owners, since he was quite critical of the civic in the civic topic, the just of the criticism being honda's kinda chintzy when it comes to amenities on its civics ....

as a neutral observer (i own a toyota)-- i'd take a sentra GXE with convenience package over the civic LX or EX --- much better value in my opinion, and i've driven both cars recently... that civic has one noisy engine (or poor sound deadening)...

the sentra SE isn't so bad except for that ugly spoiler they stick on the back--- spoilers in general are pretty darn useless...nissan should have made that an option on the SE, not standard...

enjoy your cars...

rtirich · February 2001

In regards to valde2000:My Sentra Se has about 1200 miles on it.I have been driving it at about 65mph since i bought it new in Dec.I have had no problems so far.As far as accessories go,go to yahoo and search nissan+sentra+accessories.This should help!

maxamillion1 · February 2001

The spoiler is an option on the new sentra se, they are not standard. You have to get the performance package to get the spoiler, are buy it as an accessory.

adc100 · February 2001

Check out this link for Sentra Owners.

http://www.b15sentra.net/UBB.html

Later

Al

valde002 · February 2001

Thanks for the input guys!

About:
Civic Ex: I looked into this but I thought that the interior was cheeeapy. Hollow sounding gearbox, plasticky. Sentra has a great interior that shares the feeling of a Maxima, such as the white tachometer. plus 127 hp seems like a rip for 18 K msrp (at least in NC area).

Al: I tried the link, but nothin came up!

Spoiler: I think that the sentra without a spoiler makes the back look like a baby's diaper. Spoilers in theory are added to decrease the drag of the car at high speeds, as they are used in high speed races. How about changing it to a mid-wing?

fart smell? Does anyone get a sulfur smell "rotten egg" from the vent sometimes? My girlfriend owns an Altima and she says hers does this sometimes.

Air intake: Does anyone know if the new Stillen air intake affect the warrenty? i guess it is supposed to add hp...

hkchan · February 2001

Try using IE instead of Navigator.

quark99 · February 2001

Rotten-Egg/Sulphur smell:
Sulphur smell has been noted in many different automaker/vehicles, including the Sentra, the Altima, and the Maxima. I believe it is caused by componds in some gasolines and their effect in the catalytic converter. To reduce/eliminate the problem: Change to a high-quality gasoline (I prefer Chevron and despise Shell, but it's your call....) Run the same gasoline for at least a month (5-10 fill-ups) and the smell should dissipate. I've never had this problem, but my suggested solution is based on the consensus of people who do, here at Edmunds.
Sentra Add-Ons:
Stillen makes a rear sway-bar for the Sentra. I've heard it greatly increases stability during cornering. I'll get one when I have a spare $260. Stillen also makes an intake system, haven't researched that. The easiest upgrade for all Sentras is a wheel/tire upgrade. I suggest 16 x 6 or 16 x 7 alloys and 215-50-16 BFG G-Force KDW radials. It will turn an already well-handling vehicle into corner-carver. Dealers in my area are selling GXE's with a similar wheel/tire package and marking the cars up $2000.00. That's ridiculous, you can do it yourself for less than $1200.00. Plus, they use inferior tires than the KDW's and cheap alloys.
I highly recommend the KDW (Yor Z-rated) tires. Incredible dry grip, fantastic in the rain, and they have a surprisingly long treadlife-300 rating. If interested, try www.tirerack.com...(boy do I get tired of plugging those guys!) Happy driving, Sentra owners. Do your duty and whip at least one Civic/Corolla/Elantra/Nubira/Jetta/Integra/Lanos/Tiburon/any non-turbo 4-banger each day.......!

adc100 · February 2001

Try this:

http://www.b15sentra.net/

Later

ral2167 · February 2001

on the one hand i can see where i'd be ticked off if the car smelled bad while driving...

on the other hand, i can see nissan's point as far as hey, it's a japanese car that's built in tennessee --- so the fact that it smells in Moose Jaw isn't really our problem...

have you tried different brands of gasoline?? does canada have any service stations with gasoline made by good ole USofA? do you live near the border where you can cross and get gas here in the lower 48?

also, i'm pretty sure you're supposed to swear on these posts

vtec2 · February 2001

I have a 2000 SE 5-sp. w/PP with about 8000 miles on it. The other day I noticed a dark rust colored buildup on the right front brake disc. It was on the inside of the disc and it made a ring all the way around it. It flaked off with a screw driver. I wouldn't think this unusual if it were on both front discs. Does anyone have any ideas about it?

By the way, I also drive mostly in town and I've been consistently getting 27 mpg.

Nissan Sentra 2006 and earlier

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