Top Safety Pick

2018 Nissan Sentra

small car / 4-door sedan

Award applies only to vehicles with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Headlights (varies by trim/option)
Optional system	Superior

Seat belts & child restraints

LATCH ease of use

Other available safety features

Optional blind spot detection

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2015-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2015 Nissan Sentra SV 4-door

The Nissan Sentra was redesigned for the 2013 model year. Beginning with 2015 models, the front-end structure as well as the A-pillar and door sill were modified to improve occupant protection in small overlap frontal crashes. Also, the side curtain airbags were lengthened.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

The driver's space was maintained well, and risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID	CEN1505
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	12
Footrest (cm)	8
Left toepan (cm)	2
Brake pedal (cm)	3
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	3
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column	0
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	3
Upper dash (cm)	7
Lower instrument panel (cm)	9

Driver injury measures

Test ID	CEN1505
Head
HIC-15	131
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.3
Extension bending moment (Nm)	11
Maximum Nij	0.23
Chest maximum compression (mm)	24
Femur (kN)
Left	1.0
Right	0.1
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	0
Right	2
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.66
Right	0.53
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	1.5
Right	0.5
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	38
Right	40

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2013-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Nissan Sentra SV 4-door

The Nissan Sentra was redesigned for the 2013 model year. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Nissan.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID	VTF1210
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	8
Left (cm)	10
Center (cm)	9
Right (cm)	9
Brake pedal (cm)	10
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	4
Right (cm)	2
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	2
Rearward (cm)	0
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	3

Driver injury measures

Test ID	VTF1210
Head
HIC-15	127
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.1
Extension bending moment (Nm)	18
Maximum Nij	0.23
Chest maximum compression (mm)	25
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	0.6
Femur force - right (kN)	1.1
Knee displacement - left (mm)	0
Knee displacement - right (mm)	10
Maximum tibia index - left	0.44
Maximum tibia index - right	0.37
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	1.5
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	1.7
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	73
Right	52

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2013-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Nissan Sentra FE/SV 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Nissan Sentra was redesigned for the 2013 model year.

Driver injury measures
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side curtain airbag.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID	CES1304
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-7.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID	CES1304
Head HIC-15	251
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.9
Compression (kN)	0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	32
Lateral force (kN)	1.3
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	35
Average deflection (mm)	33
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	2.98
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.49
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	3.7
Acetabulum force (kN)	2.1
Combined force (kN)	5.8
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	1.0
L-M moment (Nm)	181
A-P moment (Nm)	43

Passenger injury measures

Test ID	CES1304
Head HIC-15	123
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.5
Compression (kN)	0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	31
Lateral force (kN)	1.6
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	26
Average deflection (mm)	18
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.69
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.30
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.1
Acetabulum force (kN)	2.5
Combined force (kN)	3.3
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	1.1
L-M moment (Nm)	122
A-P moment (Nm)	30

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2013-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Nissan Sentra S 4-door

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	2,826 lbs
Peak force	14,893 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	5.27

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seats

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Geometry
Seat type	Manual cloth seats
Backset (mm)	18
Distance below top of head (mm)	48
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	12.7
Head contact time (ms)	54
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	0
Max neck tension (N)	399

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Headlights

Ratings are given for 2 different headlight variations available on this vehicle.

Trim level(s)

SR trim
SR Midnight trim
SR Turbo trim
SR Turbo Midnight trim
SL trim
Nismo trim

Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
Low-beam headlight type	LED projector
High-beam headlight type	Halogen reflector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	No
Overall rating

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the left side of the road and inadequate on the right side. On curves, visibility was fair on the sharp left and both right curves and inadequate on the gradual left curve.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and fair on the left side. On curves, visibility was good on the gradual right and gradual left curves and fair on the sharp right and sharp left curves.

Technical measurements for this test

Trim level(s)	SR trim SR Midnight trim SR Turbo trim SR Turbo Midnight trim SL trim Nismo trim
Low-beam headlight type	LED projector
High-beam headlight type	Halogen reflector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	No
Overall rating Applies to 2018-19 models

LOW BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)	Amount glare exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge	72.6 m	None
Straightaway left edge	56.8 m	None
250m radius right curve, right edge	61.9 m	None
250m radius left curve, left edge	53.3 m	None
150m radius right curve, right edge	49.7 m	None
150m radius left curve, left edge	45.0 m	None

HIGH BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge	157.3 m
Straightaway left edge	135.2 m
250m radius right curve, right edge	80.1 m
250m radius left curve, left edge	76.3 m
150m radius right curve, right edge	61.8 m
150m radius left curve, left edge	59.8 m

Trim level(s)

S trim
SV trim
S midnight trim

Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
Low-beam headlight type	Halogen reflector
High-beam headlight type	Halogen reflector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	No
Overall rating

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was inadequate on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was inadequate in all 4 tests.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was inadequate on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was inadequate in all 4 tests.

Technical measurements for this test

Trim level(s)	S trim SV trim S midnight trim
Low-beam headlight type	Halogen reflector
High-beam headlight type	Halogen reflector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	No
Overall rating Applies to 2016-19 models

LOW BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)	Amount glare exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge	46.4 m	None
Straightaway left edge	29.0 m	None
250m radius right curve, right edge	36.3 m	None
250m radius left curve, left edge	33.1 m	None
150m radius right curve, right edge	33.1 m	None
150m radius left curve, left edge	30.7 m	None

HIGH BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge	126.7 m
Straightaway left edge	107.3 m
250m radius right curve, right edge	56.4 m
250m radius left curve, left edge	58.4 m
150m radius right curve, right edge	43.8 m
150m radius left curve, left edge	46.7 m

About the headlight evaluation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

Optional Forward Emergency Braking

Package name

Optional S with CVT, SV, SR, or SL Trims

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2018-19 models

Superior

with optional equipment

This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
In the 25 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 10 mph.

About the original front crash prevention test

Child seat anchors

Rating applies to 2018-19 models

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim	SV
Seat type	cloth

This vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.

It has 1 additional seating position with a tether anchor only.

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim	SV
Seat type	cloth

G	Good
A	Acceptable
M	Marginal
P	Poor
	Seating positions that rely on borrowed lower anchors or have only a tether anchor available are not rated.
thether anchor symbol	Tether anchor
lower anchor symbol	Lower anchors
shared lower achors symbol	Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s)
	No hardware available

Details by seating position

1
1	Tether anchor
	easy-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	not too deep in seat
	not too much force needed to attach
	easy to maneuver around anchors
2
2	Tether anchor
	easy-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	none available
3
3	Tether anchor
	easy-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	not too deep in seat
	not too much force needed to attach
	easy to maneuver around anchors

Technical measurements for this test

Seat position 21

Lower anchor A
Open access rated	No
Depth (cm)	0-2
Force (lbs)	18
Clearance angle (degrees)	78
Lower anchor B
Open access rated	No
Depth (cm)	0-2
Force (lbs)	21
Clearance angle (degrees)	76
Tether anchor
Location	Rear deck
Confusing hardware present	No
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	No
Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH	Not measured

Seat position 22

Lower anchor A
No lower latch for this seat position
Lower anchor B
No lower latch for this seat position
Tether anchor
Location	Rear deck
Confusing hardware present	No
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	No
Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH	Not measured

Seat position 23

Lower anchor A
Open access rated	No
Depth (cm)	0-2
Force (lbs)	20
Clearance angle (degrees)	83
Lower anchor B
Open access rated	No
Depth (cm)	0-2
Force (lbs)	16
Clearance angle (degrees)	76
Tether anchor
Location	Rear deck
Confusing hardware present	No
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	No
Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH	Not measured

About the child seat anchor evaluation