Two problems related to ignition coils failure have been reported for the 2001 Nissan Sentra. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2001 Nissan Sentra based on all problems reported for the 2001 Sentra.
While driving down the road at 40 plus miles an hour the catalytic converter clogged and caught fire causing a misfire in cylinder one and ruining the ignition coil for that cylinder. I contacted Nissan after seeing online that the exact same part has malfunctioned on several other cars of the exact same year make and model. I was instructed to take it to a Nissan dealership and have them diagnose the problem for a $89 fee. Even if I had the 89 dollars to pay to have it diagnosed it would not have paid it. I did not use faulty material in the manufacture of the vehicle and feel that any diagnostic fee should have been absorbed by Nissan north America since they voluntarily recalled the part. It could have burst into flames and ignited the unused fuel in cylinder one killing me and my children. Upon further investigation into my vehicle it had already had the part replaced once and it started to fail again after I was the unlucky person to buy it. After the purchase of this vehicle, I have replaced the head due to a sand like material that eats away the head gasket. This material is a product of the catalytic converter crumbling and being sucked into the engines cylinders. I have replaced countless sensors and even the cars computer to try to solve the issue. After fixing the issue myself and removing the suspect part I have not had any issues with the vehicle. I am very displeased with the way Nissan has chosen to deal with the issues that consumers of their product have. It was explained to me that since the dealerships are privately owned they can charge for diagnosis even if it is to verify if the previously recalled part is eligible for the recall. Had it not been eligible it would be responsible for any repair attempts made by Nissan. So I fixed it myself and vowed never to buy another Nissan vehicle.
Car was driven the day before, ran just fine. Next morning, after driving about 1 mile, began running terrible. The ecu (ecm) is no longer sending a signal to the number 2 ignition coil. I know that these cars had a recall on the foam covering the ecu, that recall was done and foam removed. Car only has about 60,000 miles on it because in belong to a 90 year old lady, she bought it new. I have found that hundreds of these cars now have bad ecu, time for a recall!!.