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Why Nissan trucks roll away and Sentras lose drive power
This group splits cleanly in two. The trucks come first: two recalls filed months apart in 2022 over a transmission parking pawl that may not engage when you shift into Park, allowing a rollaway. The June action named 2020-2022 Frontier and Titan; the September action widened it to 2020-2023 Titan, 2020-2022 Frontier, and the 2023 Z, with repairs assigned by model year. The second pattern is the Sentra: in both 2024 and 2025 cars, the front left-side driveshaft may not be fully seated in the CVT assembly, or may have a loose or missing retaining clip, causing a fluid leak and loss of drive power. The 2025 notice adds a rollaway risk as well.
Warning signs to watch for
- Truck creeps or rolls after you shift into Park and release the brake
- Transmission fluid leaking or puddling under the front of a Sentra
- Sudden loss of drive power — the engine runs but the car will not pull
- Shifter goes to Park but the vehicle does not feel held
- The driveshaft fault can appear without warning while you are driving
Is it safe to keep driving?
No recall in this group tells owners to stop driving or park outside. For the parking pawl recalls on 2020-2023 Titan, 2020-2022 Frontier, and 2023 Z, Nissan does give one standing instruction: apply the parking brake every time you park, since the pawl may not hold the vehicle. The Sentra driveshaft recalls also allow continued driving, but drive power can be lost without warning, and the 2025 notice adds a rollaway risk — so set the parking brake there too and get the free inspection scheduled soon.
What the free repair involves
For the parking pawl recalls, dealers replace the transmission parking pawl pin, and 2020-2022 Frontier vehicles have the Transmission Control Module reprogrammed — the exact repair depends on model and year. For the 2024 and 2025 Sentra, dealers inspect the front left driveshaft and, if necessary, replace the driveshaft and the CVT assembly. Every repair is free of charge; none is delivered over the air.
Severity at a glance
| Severity | Recalls |
|---|---|
| high | 4 |
Models affected most
Every recall in this group
| Date | Recall | Severity |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-26 | Nissan Sentra driveshaft may slip, causing rollaway risk | high |
| 2024-04-29 | Nissan Sentra Front Driveshaft Can Slip, Causing Power Loss | high |
| 2022-09-07 | Nissan Titan and Frontier may roll away in Park | high |
| 2022-06-24 | Nissan Frontier and Titan may roll away in park | high |
Common questions
Why were there two parking pawl recalls just months apart?
The June 2022 recall covered certain 2020-2022 Frontier and Titan vehicles. The September 2022 recall expanded the population to 2020-2023 Titan, 2020-2022 Frontier, and the 2023 Z, and assigned different repairs depending on the model year.
Does using the parking brake actually protect me?
Nissan explicitly advises applying the parking brake every time you park these vehicles until the repair is done. The defect is a parking pawl that may not engage, so the parking brake becomes the thing holding the vehicle.
Will my Sentra need a whole new transmission?
Not automatically. Dealers inspect the front left driveshaft first, and only replace the driveshaft and CVT assembly if necessary. Both the 2024 and 2025 Sentra recalls follow that inspect-then-replace approach, at no cost to you.
A recall applies only to specific vehicles. Check your 17-character VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.