general problems of the 2008 Nissan Sentra

I just picked my daughter up from her bus stop when I was leaving her bus stop to take the vehicle back to harbor Nissan when I heard a loud bang and under the hood started smoking and caused a fire (I had only had the car for 8 days)because I had been having exhaust issues as well with the all my dash lights flickering and stalling while in motion on 2 highways on 2 seperate occasions.

I was operating my vehicle on riverside drive in studio city, California when the vehicle shook abruptily followed a few seconds later with a loud explosion. Debris and oil sprayed onto my hood and I had to nearly avoid an accident as my car was completely out of control. I was able to turn the wheel slightly and pull to the side. It was at this point the vehicle caught fire under the hood and I immediately got out of the vehicle. My father who was following me ran to the nearest gas station in an attempt to calm the flames while I called 911. The vehicle was still on fire when the fire department arrived. Eventually they were able to put the flames out and open the hood. Under the hood you can see a fire starting from the electrical and battery area leading to the engine. The car was deemed a total loss a few days later by my insurance. It appeared the battery overheated.

This is the second transmission that has been replaced on the vehicle and it only has 56,354 miles on it. It's not being abused in any way, I only got this vehicles because it's economic on gas and I only drive it about 5-15 miles a day during the week. My fear is that, my luck, the transmission will go out again when I'm outside the power train warranty period and I'm screwed. Now I'm debating whether I take a loss and sell it way below what I paid for and get another vehicle that's not a Nissan. I have also been having issues with the tire sensor, which I keep hearing is a problem with this vehicle and the dealer refused to fix it under warranty, they want $200 to fix it. I have also had a weird vibration coming from the front of the vehicle which I'm told is cause by a "hood latch" and they keep adjusting it every couple of months instead of fixing it permanently.

Tire pressure gauge has been serviced numerous times since purchase. Nissan can't seem to fix it. Nissan worked on warning light serviced June 20, 2012, June 28, 2012, June 30, 2012, and light came on again evening of June 30, 2012, the same day it was worked on. Once a week I take my 90-year-old neighbor out. June 28, 2012, we were out and it was 100 degrees outside and due to the safety light I had to get to somewhere to service the tire pressure. She had to go with me to attend to the tire pressure problem (concern for heat stroke in 100 degree plus temperature). Recent problem history: warning light on and addressed in may by costco (who kindly assisted me and filled tires with nitrogen and told me if it happened again to go to Nissan), one week later took to Nissan, again in may to back to Nissan. Again Nissan June 20, 20012; wal-mart June 28, 2012; Nissan, June 29, 2012, Nissan June 30, 2012, (4 times in June), and the light is still periodically coming on. This issue needs to be addressed for my safety, for my neighbor's safety (having to get somewhere to get the warning light off, and since I bought the car in 2008 this has been an ongoing issue. I am requesting assistance from your office on this matter. I need to discuss this problem with someone from your office.

The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Sentra. While driving approximately 50 mph, the contact's vehicle struck a deer. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was repaired for the frame damage. During a second incident, the air bags failed to deploy again and the air bag warning light illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the air bag sensor failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure recurred and the dealer diagnosed that the passenger side seat belt failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was diagnoised a third time for an electrical failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 112,000.