Recall Alert: Nissan Sentra - Kelley Blue Book

Nov 05, 2024

Nissan has issued a recall for about 230,000 Sentra sedans from model years 2020 through 2022 because their tie rods – an important part of their steering system – can bend in normal operation. It’s the second recall Nissan has issued for this condition, the first one coming in 2021.

Many calls repaired as part of the first recall need to be repaired again in this one, the company says.

Nissan tells the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “On affected vehicles, the left and/or right side tie rod’s strength may be insufficient under certain operating conditions.” The rods are unlikely to fail under normal steering but can deform from “a high input force (such as a curb impact),” Nissan says.

Calling that a “high-impact force” may be fair, but we’d venture a guess that most drivers have misjudged a curb at least once in their current car. A curb impact is not a rare event.

A bent tie rod “may impair the driver’s ability to steer the vehicle,” the company explains. Drivers might notice vibration from one wheel or steering that feels off-center after a rod deforms. In a worst-case scenario, a bent rod can break. That “can lead to a partial loss of steering control,” Nissan says.

Nissan will perform some triage to repair the most-affected vehicles first. The company says it will ask owners “to contact dealers for diagnosis and transport instructions if they experience an off-center steering wheel or vibration.”

Dealers will inspect those cars and replace the tie rods if necessary. The replacement parts use a new design that should be more robust.

Dealers will later replace both tie rods in all recalled cars. That will happen “when additional remedy parts are available, currently expected beginning in Winter 2023-24.”

Recall repairs are always free.

Many cars face one or more recalls, even years after they leave the factory. Efforts are made to notify owners, but they don’t always reach everyone. Millions of drivers use their cars every day with defective parts that could be fixed for free if their owners knew about a recall. Check our recall center to see if your car is one of them.