The 2018 Nissan Sentra was praised for its budget-friendly price, spacious interior, and great safety ratings. But it hasn’t been without its problems—the 2018 Sentra has had two recalls due to faulty brake lights and a problem with the backup camera display not showing images correctly.

The 2018 Nissan Sentra gets a fairly mediocre ninth-spot ranking from J.D. Power in the 2018 compact car segment, which isn’t exactly a glowing review. The Sentra has received some common criticism for its lack of power and sluggish acceleration—but it’s got some more important mechanical problems that are worth your attention, too.

If you’re considering purchasing a used 2018 Nissan Sentra, it’s important to know what you’re getting into. Luckily, you have

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* checking your rate won’t affect your credit score

The most common 2018 Nissan Sentra problems

Since it was released about five years ago, there have been two recalls for the 2018 Nissan Sentra.

The first recall involved a problem with the brake light switch becoming contaminated, preventing the lights from turning on, and creating a crash risk. The recall was issued on July 1, 2022, which means you could end up with a used model that hasn’t had this problem addressed yet.

To address this problem, owners of a 2018 Nissan Sentra can bring their car to a Nissan dealership, where they will replace the brake light switch and install a grommet to prevent the issue from recurring. Because this is a recall issue, Nissan dealerships will conduct this fix free of charge.

The second recall applied to several Nissan and Infiniti models which may have been equipped with faulty backup camera display software. The software bug results in a failure of the backup camera display and thus raising the risk of an accident. This recall was initiated on November 11, 2019, but it’s a good idea to double-check your Sentra’s vehicle history report to make sure it’s been addressed.

Here are some other common complaints about the 2018 Nissan Sentra:

Electrical issues

Transmission failure

Engine problems

Service brake issues

Faulty forward collision avoidance system

Poor handling

Bad acceleration

Unintuitive dashboard layout

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Is the 2018 Nissan Sentra reliable?

It depends on who you ask. RepairPal gives the Nissan Sentra an “Excellent” reliability rating of 4.0 out of 5.0, ranking it 14th out of 36 compact cars from the 2018 model year. However, J.D. Power only gives it a quality and reliability rating of 71/100.

RepairPal predicts an annual repair cost of only $368, well below the repair cost of an average vehicle. So while you might end up needing to take your 2018 Nissan Sentra in for a recall fix, you likely won’t need to spend very much on repairs over a year.

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How to simplify car insurance shopping and still optimize coverage

Driving a 2018 Nissan Sentra is already likely to net some insurance savings, thanks to its relatively low value and excellent safety ratings. But the savings don’t have to stop there! You can use the Jerry app to easily find the lowest price on your car insurance premium.

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The average Jerry user saves over $800 on their annual car insurance premium!