Chevrolet Cruze vs Nissan Sentra: which is more reliable?
The Chevrolet Cruze and the Nissan Sentra are level on the federal record — 77/100 against 74/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Chevrolet Cruze
- 9 model years scored
- 3,958 owner complaints on record
- about 31 complaints per year on the road
- 44 recall campaigns, 31 safety-critical
- best year 2019 (92/100) · worst 2014 (54/100)
Nissan Sentra
- 15 model years scored
- 3,094 owner complaints on record
- about 27 complaints per year on the road
- 46 recall campaigns, 33 safety-critical
- best year 2012 (93/100) · worst 2013 (42/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Cruze against Sentra
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Chevrolet Cruze
- Engine — 1,356 complaints
- Electrical System — 816 complaints
- Power Train — 707 complaints
Nissan Sentra
- Power Train — 1,068 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 476 complaints
- Engine — 424 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Cruze's complaints concentrate in Engine, the Sentra's in Power Train. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Chevrolet Cruze: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.
Nissan Sentra — avoid: 2013.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Chevrolet Cruze prices at about $14,300 and a Nissan Sentra at about $24,100 — the Chevrolet Cruze is roughly $9,800 less, and they return 32.0 against 34.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Chevrolet Cruze or the Nissan Sentra more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Chevrolet Cruze scores 77/100 against the Nissan Sentra's 74/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Chevrolet Cruze and Nissan Sentra years should I avoid?
Chevrolet Cruze: no year scores below 45. Nissan Sentra: 2013. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Chevrolet Cruze and the Nissan Sentra?
The largest complaint group on the Chevrolet Cruze is Engine (1,356 complaints); on the Nissan Sentra it is Power Train (1,068).
Is the Chevrolet Cruze or the Nissan Sentra cheaper to own?
A recent used Chevrolet Cruze prices at about $14,300 and a Nissan Sentra at about $24,100, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.