2016 Nissan Sentra · symptom sheet
Transmission shudders, slips or shifts hard
- 51owner reports
- 96,000median miles
- $4,500median quote
- 1involved a crash
Newest report Dec 4, 2025 · checked Oct 2, 2026
127 of the 270 complaints on this car are about the transmission and drivetrain. 51 of those describe transmission shudder, which makes it the most reported problem on the 2016 Sentra.
Narrower sheets: Transmission jerks, lurches or bangs into gear (27 reports)
Tick what matches of 51 reports
Transmission shudder on other Sentra years
Report counts are for each model year on its own, so a newer car has had less time to collect them. Model years with too few reports of it for a sheet: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2026.
What this problem usually is
This is the biggest drivetrain group on the site: a transmission that shudders, slips, hesitates or bangs into gear. It's the everyday version of transmission trouble, where the car still drives but doesn't drive right, and it has three narrower sheets of its own for jerking, hesitation and slipping.
What got replaced
Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the transmission (8 reports).
Recalls and investigations
No recall on the transmission and drivetrain covers the 2016 model year as of Oct 2, 2026.
What owners paid
7 of the 51 reports quote a price. Each dot is one quote. The middle half runs $4,000 to $5,000.
When it happens
The middle half of failures fell between 70,000 and 108,000 miles, from the 34 reports that gave a mileage.
Is this a known problem?
The manufacturer has sent NHTSA 1 service bulletin or notice for the 2016 Nissan Sentra that deal with this problem. Newest first.
Federal rules make a manufacturer send NHTSA a copy of any notice about a defect that goes to more than one dealer or owner. Most of these are service bulletins, the repair instructions manufacturers send to dealers. NHTSA generally leaves safety recall bulletins out of this file, and recalls are listed separately.
2013-2017 SENTRA; CVT JUDDER IF YOU CONFIRM The customer reports a transmission judder (shake, shudder, single or multiple bumps or vibration), hesitation on acceleration, lack of power or RPM flare. ACTION Refer to the Repair Overview on pages 2 and 3.
What owners wrote
“Replaced catylc converter. No the car is power surging and slipping, took vehicle to my regular auto shop. They reported car needs a new transmission, the CVT is out. Took car to transmission specialist for a second opinion said the same thing. Both shops reported this is common for this make and model. I'd thought I should report it.”
Filed Nov 22, 2023
“I was driving the car and leaving a red light. The car lost power, abs light came on and the traction light came on. I was unable to turn and move out of traffic. It finally jerked and released so i could drive. I was in a cross section and thank God we did not get hurt. It did this to me twice on my way to work.”
Filed Nov 14, 2023
“CVT shuddering, slipping while shifting gears; lack of acceleration, then lunging into gear.”
Filed Nov 4, 2023
“When driving on the interstate above 45 miles per hour, the car jerks and does not want to go. The car almost did not make it thru the intersection with another vehicle coming on more than one occasion. Car finally stopped and had to be towed. Informed that a new transmission was needed.”
Filed Dec 25, 2022
Should you keep driving it?
This page can't tell you that. 1 of 51 reports involved a crash. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.
File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation. How reports land on this sheet.
Guide Taking it to a shop? How to describe this problem so it gets found
Other problems on this car
- Engine stalls or loses power while driving 49 reports
- Transmission fails or needs replacement 29 reports