Seven problems related to engine shut off without warning have been reported for the 2004 Nissan Sentra. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2004 Nissan Sentra based on all problems reported for the 2004 Sentra.
August 2014:I was driving home from work on a city street doing about 45 when the car just shut off. I was able to coast into a parking lot with the residual power the car had. Luckily no one was next to me. The steering was gone since there was no power. After many attempts, I finally got the car started but had to put the car into neutral whenever I was at a light (because the rpm was at 500 and it kept shutting off when I applied the brake). Managed to make it home. Ended up being the cam/crank sensors that went out. Fast forward to November 2015 and I had to replace the cam sensor again!! car still idles at 500 rpm and always feels like it's going to shut off. Next issue is the power windows. Drivers side gets half-way down, but you have to pull the switch up quickly in order for it to roll back up. Cannot open/close passenger window from drivers side, only passenger side. Next issue is random leak in the trunk where the spare tire is stored. About 1-2 months after we had gotten some heavy rains, I noticed a slight mildew smell in the cabin. I sniffed around, didn't see or feel anything that was wet. Figured it was a cabin filter that needed to be replaced. Another month goes by and I can still faintly smell it. I open my trunk and it's coming from there. I pull everything out of the trunk; nothing feels wet, nothing looked wet, nothing had water stains on it (books, clothes). I pull back the trunk carpet, the trunk stabilizer and I notice there's mold on it and the mdf covering the spare is wet. I pull it off and there was about two inches of water in the spare wheel well! when I was driving to get stuff to clean it, it sounded like I had a kiddie pool in the trunk! to this day, I have no idea how it got in there - again nothing was wet or water-stained in the trunk. Also experienced misfires, fuel gauge (due to fuel pump). I don't feel safe in this car at times.
The car could be going down the road then it would just shut down.
Car engine stalls while running. . It doesn't matter what speed I am driving, the car will just shut off and I lose power steering. Luckily the brakes still work so I was able to pull over. Once pulled over I turn the key off and start the car back up again and it works fine. This has happened a repeated number of times. I am sure it is the throttle position sensor or ecm like the 2006 recall of the altima's and Sentras.
Same as 06v242000, but with Nissan Sentra 1. 8 (2004). Engine shuts off suddenly, rendering power steering and engine dead, frequently at high speeds. Very dangerous, but dealership say not part of Nissan recall 06v242000, so driver must pay for repair.
At 65mph the engine shutoff. After that incident the engine shuts down frequently and only starts after 10min approx after repeated engine cranking.
I have a 2004 Nissan Sentra (1. 8 engine, auto trans). On two occasions I have experienced the engine unexpectedly revving up while stopped at an intersection with my foot on the brake and not the accelerator. Several months ago, I was stopped at a traffic light, car in drive, foot on brake. The engine began steadily increasing the idle speed and the engine revved (with my foot ton the brake the whole time) to I would guess 2500-3000 rpms. Just as quickly, revving ceased and the engine returned to a normal idle speed. The increase and decrease in idle speed probably occurred over about 5-8 seconds. About two weeks ago, I had a similar episode, again while stopped at a light, with the car in drive and my foot on the break. This time, the engine began to rev at an even higher rpm rate. I put the car in neutral and the car revved violently at a rate that must have been approaching full throttle. It sort of revved full and then backed off slightly several times before I turned the ignition off. Once the engine shut off, I restarted the car and everything was back to normal. I took the car to the dealer and they could not duplicate the problem. They adjusted the idle but I have no confidence that the problem is resolved. This is a safety issue, it is my daughter's car, and I am concerned. I suspect a computer failure of some kind. Nissan must be pressured to resolve this issue.
Engine shuts off while driving. Started a month ago, has been happening once a week but getting more frequent. Was told it was the crankshaft sensor. There is a recall on the 2. 5l not the 1. 8l that I own.