How many miles will a 2002 Nissan Sentra last?
Half of the 209 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2002 Nissan Sentra that list mileage came after 70,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 146,000 miles. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 304 complaints on this model year; each mileage is the odometer when an owner reported a safety problem, not how long the vehicle lasted.
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See what the paid report includes →Of the 209 complaints on the 2002 Nissan Sentra that list mileage, the middle half came between 29,000 and 113,000 miles; 63 (30%) came after 100,000 miles, 17 (8%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
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How many miles will a 2002 Sentra last?
The 209 mileages owners gave run from 1 to 190,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 29,000 miles, half at or under 71,000, three quarters at or under 112,034 and nine in ten at or under 146,500; 63 (30%) came after 100,000 miles, 17 (8%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2002 Sentra wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 1 mile |
| 25th percentile | 29,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 71,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 112,034 miles |
| 90th percentile | 146,500 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 190,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 63 (30%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 17 (8%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
Every model year together: Half of the 3,135 NHTSA owner complaints on the Nissan Sentra that list mileage came after 61,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Nissan Sentra last? →
Common problems with the 2002 Sentra
NHTSA's file holds 304 owner complaints on the 2002 Nissan Sentra. Owners named engine cooling most often: 127 complaints, and half of the 94 that list a mileage came after 71,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 127 | 94 | 72,000 |
| Electrical System | 54 | 43 | 79,300 |
| Air Bags | 30 | 14 | 60,000 |
| Engine | 27 | 25 | 120,000 |
| Power Train | 20 | 15 | 28,000 |
Of the 304 complaints, 19 report a crash, 6 report a fire and 13 report an injury (22 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2002 Sentra a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2002 is a good or a bad Sentra: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2002 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 304 complaints, the 2002 ranks 4th of the 40 Nissan Sentra model years from 1987 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2013 (638). The fewest: the 2023 and 2026 (20 each).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 Sentra | 36 | 0 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1988 Sentra | 37 | 1 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1989 Sentra | 40 | 0 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1990 Sentra | 39 | 1 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1991 Sentra | 63 | 5 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1992 Sentra | 62 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1993 Sentra | 58 | 7 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1994 Sentra | 99 | 5 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1995 Sentra | 117 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1996 Sentra | 141 | 14 | 63,000 |
| 1997 Sentra | 108 | 24 | 100,000 |
| 1998 Sentra | 58 | 18 | 102,000 |
| 1999 Sentra | 59 | 13 | 72,900 |
| 2000 Sentra | 171 | 69 | 57,110 |
| 2001 Sentra | 236 | 121 | 61,000 |
| 2002 (this page) | 304 | 209 | 71,000 |
| 2003 Sentra | 180 | 137 | 69,023 |
| 2004 Sentra | 197 | 149 | 77,000 |
| 2005 Sentra | 170 | 125 | 76,200 |
| 2006 Sentra | 116 | 88 | 77,665 |
| 2007 Sentra | 154 | 119 | 60,000 |
| 2008 Sentra | 167 | 124 | 67,000 |
| 2009 Sentra | 55 | 48 | 56,000 |
| 2010 Sentra | 144 | 105 | 69,316 |
| 2011 Sentra | 142 | 116 | 70,000 |
| 2012 Sentra | 180 | 128 | 64,000 |
| 2013 Sentra | 638 | 494 | 61,000 |
| 2014 Sentra | 381 | 253 | 67,000 |
| 2015 Sentra | 352 | 211 | 55,000 |
| 2016 Sentra | 270 | 146 | 60,000 |
| 2017 Sentra | 231 | 104 | 44,000 |
| 2018 Sentra | 185 | 96 | 40,000 |
| 2019 Sentra | 223 | 90 | 34,000 |
| 2020 Sentra | 208 | 57 | 28,879 |
| 2021 Sentra | 133 | 22 | 23,000 |
| 2022 Sentra | 81 | 11 | 36,000 |
| 2023 Sentra | 20 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2024 Sentra | 41 | 5 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2025 Sentra | 32 | 4 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2026 Sentra | 20 | 1 | Under 10 mileages |
The linked 2015–2022 pages show NHTSA's September 15, 2026 collection, so their counts can differ from this table's.
Every Sentra year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Nissan Sentra years to avoid →
2002 Nissan Sentra recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 14 recall campaigns that name the 2002 Nissan Sentra (10 vehicle campaigns and 4 equipment or tire campaigns that name this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 22E066000 | Aug 9, 2022 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 20V747000 | Dec 1, 2020 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 20V008000 | Jan 9, 2020 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 15V287000 | May 15, 2015 | AIR BAGS |
| 09E025000 | May 11, 2009 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2002 Sentra lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2002 Sentra.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 95 of the 304 complaints on the 2002 Nissan Sentra give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: SENTRA. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: SENTRA.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2002 Nissan Sentra questions
How many miles will a 2002 Nissan Sentra last?
Half of the 209 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2002 Nissan Sentra that list mileage came after 70,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 146,000 miles. Of the 209 complaints on the 2002 Nissan Sentra that list mileage, the middle half came between 29,000 and 113,000 miles; 63 (30%) came after 100,000 miles, 17 (8%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 2002 Sentra that never had one.
What are the most common 2002 Nissan Sentra problems?
NHTSA's file holds 304 owner complaints on the 2002 Nissan Sentra. Owners named engine cooling most often: 127 complaints, and half of the 94 that list a mileage came after 71,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 304 complaints, 19 report a crash, 6 report a fire and 13 report an injury (22 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2002 Nissan Sentra a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2002 is a good or a bad Sentra: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2002 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 304 complaints, the 2002 ranks 4th of the 40 Nissan Sentra model years from 1987 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2013 (638). The fewest: the 2023 and 2026 (20 each).
How many recalls does the 2002 Nissan Sentra have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 14 recall campaigns that name the 2002 Nissan Sentra (10 vehicle campaigns and 4 equipment or tire campaigns that name this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2002 Nissan Sentra before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2002 Nissan Sentra.