WARNING TO 2001 SENTRA GXE OWNERS

ComplaintsAutomotive2001 Nissan Sentra GXE

Complaint

0
Erin
Country: United States
WARNING TO 2001 SENTRA GXE OWNERS: DUE TO A PROBLEM WITH A CRANK/CAMSHAFT SENSOR, YOUR ENGINE MAY CUT OUT WHILE THE CAR IS IN MOTION.

I have a Nissan Sentra GXE, model year 2001. Since I purchased the car new, I have had to replace the same part twice, soon to be three times. Once I was lucky enough to have it covered under a product recall. The second time I was told there was no recall, only to find out a month after I paid to fix it myself, that there had indeed been a recall on the first recalls replacement parts.

My request for refund for parts and labor was denied. It was not an entirely expensive fix, just a couple of hundred dollars. However, as I was driving home this week my car did the exact same thing it always does when this sensor blows. I was driving on the highway, going about 70-the speed limit-and my engine cuts off.

I don't know if anyone has had this happen to them, but with power steering it becomes VERY hard to steer and control the car at that speed-especially with the engine off, if you turn it too quickly you lock the steering wheel. Also, this model has electronic assist on the brakes, so the brake pedal gets stiff and it will only depress about 1 inch, making stopping the vehicle almost impossible.

You almost have to just pray and let the car cruise to a stop, all the while almost causing several accidents and risking grave injury to yourself and others. So here I am, having cheated death for a third time now, fighting with Nissan trying to get them to realize that there is still a problem with the sensor. They seem to think that the problem has been resolved. I can assure you it has not. I am currently expecting a child, so I think it is time to just part ways with the car, and Nissan. After this has happened so many times, I just feel like I can't take the risk. It makes you nervous, you just never know when it is going to happen.

Comments

  • 0
    Rad
    | 1 reply
    I have also a Nissan Sentra GXE, model year 2001.  The same problem stated in the above complain has happened with my wife and myself twice and once lately with our my daughter who just graduated last week from her high school. On the three occasions the engine will cut off unexpectedly while you are in driving mode. On the first occasion my wife was the driver and she was driving in H.W. 95 south and likely she was in the right lane and just a mile from her exit 158. The second occasion happened with me after driving also in H.W.95 S for more than 45 miles and exited the H.W at exit 130 to go to Fun Land for a holiday family gathering and just before entering the parking lot of the Fun Land, the engine cut off. The last incident happened few days back on Wednesday afternoon June 15, 2011 to be exact.  While my daughter was preparing for her HS graduation, she was driving the car locally to go to her school which is about 4 miles away from our home. I have paid out of my own pocket to fix the problem in the two occasions. For the third occasion, I decided to search the safety and reliability record on line of this car and then called Nissan Dealer at 1-800-647-7261 and found out about the three recalls related to this engine cut off problem. Recall # (P3163) for Engine Control Module Foam, Recall #(R3022) for the Crank Position Sensor and Recall # (R1003) for Wheels i.e (The cooling holes in the steel wheel may have burns on their edges as a result of improper manufacturing.  You can find more about this recalls by going to http://www.carfax.com/car_safety/ratings/SRR.cfm/year/2001/make. I hope that by sharing this information a life or lives can be saved. Thank God for saving our lives so far.
    • 0
      verline albritton replies to Rad
      The same just happened to me ...scary
  • 0
    Jay Kay
    Thank you so much for sharing!  The only difference is that mine is not automatic. So when the engine cut off, I put the fear in neutral and stopped. But if I was in a fast lane, or if my wife was driving it, it could have been disastrous.  They fixed my  P3163 and R3022 in 2004, However, It's been 2 months that my car is dead in my garage and I can't afford to fix it and I  have been out of job for years! But thank you for your info, because I just send a complain to Nissan that why they didn't explain to me and neither ,they warned me that this Crankshaft sensor will go bad again. If they did, I would have call them 2 months ago, and ask them for help. My records show that I Paid  about 10,000. from 2001 to 2011 on repair. I still like the engine though it runs great with 174 miles. Thanks again!
  • 0
    James
    Had the same kind of issue.

    Three days ago I got the all clear from a dealer.

    Two days ago my car shut off while I was in the middle of a 6 hour drive to see family.

    Today it shut off in downtown Sacramento.

    Tomorrow I'm going to the dealer to get the recalls done and/or get a different car.
  • 0
    Kwame
    My Nissan GXE does the same when am driving.

    The engine cuts while driving.

    I was made to change the fuel pump but it still does the same.

    I think with you advice i will change the sensors because it is so worrying to have engine cuts in the middle of

    a journey. thanks for your advice.
  • 0
    Ana
    I also own a 2001 Nissan GXE and yesterday I was coming home from a 2 hour trip back home and my car all of a sudden cut off while it was running.  It was very scary and I was already calling someone to come get me however I was able to put the car in park turned it off and turned it back on; and it did get me home however it kept choking until I got home.

    This worries me because I drive for work and my drive is an hour away.  It was my mechanic that stated that the cam sensor must be bad.  I'm going to really think of keeping this car.
  • 0
    Joyce
    i own a 2001 Nissan and two days ago i was driving to go grocery shopping with my son and girl friend in the car and all of a sudden the car just stalled in the middle of the road. Lucky for us a person jogging by and my girl friend pushed us out of traffic to the side of the road. It took about 15 minutes and I was able to get the car started to turn around and head back home well the car never made it home because it kept stalling out on us and we had to have it towed. Now it is parked outside waiting for us to be able to get it fixed.  I was told if the part is on recall that the dealer is responsible to fix the part.
  • 0
    Lilo
    I own a 2001 Nissan GXE, too. It cut off when I was driving and it is super dangerous. It has a big risk and I do not want to drive it any more. What did you guys do with it finally? after changing all the parts, is it working OK now? It's so scary!
  • 0
    Verline Albritton
    I just had the same issue today 11/9/13....the car just shut off while I was turning a corner almost hit the curb....I would have been T Boned if I was in the middle of the street ...scary.....I have a manual transmission but I was able to start right back up ...but still a bit shaken ....
  • 0
    Verline Albritton
    I took my car into my Nissian dealiship and after showing them these posts with the same problem I was told oil dripping on the distributor was the cause .....my brother is a mechanic and no way that can cause the car to go completly dead in the middle of driving and start right back up....the car will also smoke if that is the issue ...I don't think this is something Nissian wants to own up to until some dies....I plan on getting a lawyer to look into this ....and probably a new car....
  • 0
    Billy Mullins
    My wife owns a 2001 Nissan sentra GXE with 182,000 miles on it.  It has been pretty reliable so far except today.  While driving on I-64 the engine just shut off without any warning.  I had no problem getting it off the road and stopping.  I tried to restart it but it would not start.  We waited about another 10 minutes and tried again and it started.  We continued on our trip about another 5 minutes without any trouble.  We drove back home about 30 miles but not exceeding 65 mph and had no problem.  I then went back out in the Nissan and did not exceed 65 mph and all seemed well but then I went back onto I-64 at 80mph and after about 10 mile it shut off again.  I waited about 3 minutes and the car started back up and I drove it home (15 miles) without any further problems.  I did not exceed 70 mph.  I am going to check with the Nissan dealer Monday 12/30/2013 about the recalls mentioned earlier.  Thanks for your info and I hope this may be of some help to others.
  • 0
    dilbert garfield
    [***] nissan.  we spent a boatload of money and this is our thx.  i wouldn't trade it in for nothing nor would i give it away to anyone because of this sensor issue.  good hard working folks that make such a large investment deserve better.
  • 0
    LindaV.
    | 1 reply
    Amen, Dilbert.  I'm not even going to type my Sentra horror story because everybody above has already nailed it.  F*** Nissan.  Never, ever again, piece of s*** deathtraps.
    • 0
      Angela replies to LindaV.
      My 2001 nissan shuts off when i turn the steering wheel, I sure hope what have happened to some of you want happen to me. This is a scary situation. Thank god you all were able to stop the car.
  • 0
    keith
    2nd nissan by default, 5 months ago it was a grand for a replacement ecm, now they want another grand for an air bag clock spring, the car is an 01 but only has 60,000.00. Never again will I buy a nissan Product.
  • 0
    narvell
    I have a 2001 sentra Gxe..i bought it private owner August 2015 when it gets cold single digits it want start..full tank of gas i have but soon as temperatures goes over 20 degrees it starts write up...its a good car 179000 miles on it
  • 0
    Kayla
    | 1 reply
    My 2001 Nissan Sentra GXE is doing the same thing cuts out while driving but let me be honest I love my car and I am going to fix and as soon as I find out what it is I will let you know. For my dad, brother, and I work on a lot of cars and I'm not about to give up on this one.
    • 0
      Kayla replies to Kayla
      Guess what fellows I found the problem with my car! Yay!!!! It was the coolant temp sensor and I only spent about $10.00 to fix it! Yippee! I knew I would figure it out!
  • 0
    brianh
    i just bought a 2001 nissan sentra gxe and its starting too cut out sometimes i had unplugged the terminals to the battery hoping to fix a maf sensor problem ever since its been cutting out and dieing or at least wanting to i have no idea hat causes this any ideas

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