Problems with 2004 Nissan Sentra ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

1) car began to run rough/surging/stalling for no apparent reason. 2) something has entered the engine causing marks on piston top/cylinder bores and damaging the spark plug. 3) brought car to dealer and was told spark plugs and air filter were to blame. i changed spark plugs and air filter. this allowed car to run better but still runs rough/surges/won't idle properly. brought car to local garage and they inspected cylinder bores and found damage to piston and a 2nd piston/spark plug. they informed me that there is a recall for sentra's but that my car was not included. this recall covers screws falling into motor. called the dealer and was told the car needs to be reset because of the air filter was not an original replacement brand filter. when told about damages in motor there was no reply. when asked if there is a recall for my vehicle i was told there wasn't one. called nissan and was told about a recall and that my car is covered but after further review they changed their mind and said that my car was not covered. my car is the same make/model/engine size as the recalled vehicles. i'm trying to get my car included in the recall. *nm

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. *tr

2004 nissan sentra 1.8s: purchased new on 3/13/2004. mileage 2060 - jersey city, nj: service engine soon light came on, brought to dealer, ecm reprogrammed, dealer did not know what caused the light to come on. erratic/rough idling still persists, vehicle shut off once while refueling. mileage, approx. 4725 - jersey city, nj: service engine soon light came on and went off intermittently, dealer refused to repair due to "no hard code is stored." erratic/rough idling persists. vehicle shut off second time while parked. began lemon law proceedings in new jersey. mileage, 5370 - myrtle beach, sc: service engine soon light is on. car is bucking in 1st gear (automatic), "mapp" gas or rotten egg smell (possibly excess sulfur) coming from exhaust. error code p0171/p0174, air flow meter replaced with no further failures. mileage, 5637 - charlotte, nc: service engine soon light is on. vehicle now bucks at high speeds, especially when letting up on the accelerator. after prolonged highway driving, very erratic idle, at times almost reaching 0 rpms while parked. dealer reset ecm, could not detect any failures. arranged to change fuel pump but finally fuel pump was not changed. vehicle driven back to new jersey with same failures as listed above. since charlotte, nc service engine soon light has come on two times, and has gone away just as fast. i do not have much time to keep my only car (and new car) in and out of the dealership, since they refuse to provide a rental. my recommendation: want to stay alive, stay away from nissan cars and trucks. *jb

While driving 35 mph engine stalled. as a result, vehicle lost power.*ak

2004 nissan sentra. born on date of april 2003. bought in oct 2004. currently has 4495 miles. car stalled twice. brought to dealership on 04/02/2004 to check for problem (4331 miles). no failure codes indicated in memory of computer. on april 8th the car was involved in an accident. son has memory loss from stop sign to when car came to rest. he does not have full memory recall. it is coming back but is spotty. he currently recalls talking to a paramedic, a small bumping sensation and dashboard lights coming on (like when the car stalled before). is there any other information about these cars? i know there is a recall for cars built from jan 2000 to march 2003 for cases of stalling. we got this car brand new. only nissan has performed any mntc. oil change. *ak

Check engine light came on right after i purchased car -dealer kept the car for a few months and check engine light problem repaired...came on again and again and again-dealer kept saying they repaired the problem but i needed a new motor 10/2007 -the car stayed at the dealer until 1/2008 that is when i could pay the $5800. cost of a new motor (est was $2400.00) check engine light came on again 6/2008 dealer repaired -sd "needed computer update"-check engine light on again and running ragged again 7/30/08. i want to be reimbursed for the engine replacement and for nissan to buy the car back at trade in value and i will never purchase another nissan. *tr

I was driving down the road after having the car repaired twice already and then bolts fell out of the engine. this caused the car to stall the same as when the catalyst was burned up. the catalyst had been replaced along with the engine. i still have problems to this day with funny smells and rattles.*ak