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2012 Nissan Xterra SUV 4WD

2
Recalls
8
Complaints

Safety Ratings.

NHTSA’s 5-Star Safety Ratings help consumers compare vehicle safety when searching for a car. More stars mean safer cars.

Frontal Crash
Side Crash
Rollover
Overall Front Star Rating

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Front Driver Side
Front Passenger Side
Overall Side Star Rating

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Driver
Passenger
Overall Side Pole Star Rating

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Rollover Star Rating

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Rollover Risk: 25.6%

Complaints
Recalls

8 Complaints

for 2012 NISSAN XTERRA
07/29/2017
Components: POWER TRAIN
Incident Date: 07/28/2017
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5N1AN0NW7CC******
Summary

PREMATURE CLUTCH FAILURE ON MY MANUAL TRANSMISSION. LESS THAN 48000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER AND THE CLUTCH IS GONE. THIS IS FAR TOO LITTLE TRAVEL FOR THE CLUTCH TO BE FAILING AT. DEGRADATION HAS ADVANCED RAPIDLY OVER A MATTER OF WEEKS AND DAYS AND NOW I FEAR HAVING MY FAMILY RIDE IN THE VEHICLE IN CASE THEY BECOMING STRANDED OR NEED TO AVOID A CRASH AND CANNOT DUE TO LOSS OF POWER. GENERAL CONSENSUS IS THAT THE CLUTCH IS TOO SMALL FOR THIS TRUCK. NISSAN CLAIMS THIS IS A WEAR ITEM AND WILL NOT COVER REPLACEMENT UNDER WARRANTY, OR ADMIT THERE IS AN ISSUE AT ALL. NISSAN IS QUICK TO BLAME DRIVER'S FOR 'RIDING THE CLUTCH' AS THE REASON FOR THE FAILURE. THIS IS A COP OUT, PARTICULARLY WHEN ONE CONSIDERS THE NUMBER OF XTERRA OWNER'S EXPERIENCING THIS ISSUE.

09/27/2016
Components: AIR BAGS
Incident Date: 09/13/2006
Crash: No
Fire: No
Summary

I'M FILING A COMPLAINT BEFORE I HAVE AN INCIDENT. I OWN A NISSAN XTERRA. MANY OTHER NISSAN XTERRA OWNERS HAVE HAD SPONTANEOUS SIDE CURTAIN AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT WHEN TRAVELING VERY SLOWLY, GENERALLY ON DIRT ROADS. SOME OF THESE DEPLOYMENTS HAVE CAUSED INJURIES. THE PROBLEM APPEARS TO BE COMMON ON ALL 2ND GENERATION NISSAN XTERRAS (2006-2016). THE FOLLOWING LINKS ARE TO XTERRA FORUM THREADS AND PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS ABOUT RANDOM AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT IN XTERRAS. THERE ARE MANY MORE DOCUMENTED CASES OF THIS ONLINE, THE LINKS BELOW ARE A TASTE. THIS ALSO MAY BE A PROBLEM WITH NISSAN FRONTIERS, WHICH ARE BASICALLY THE TRUCK VARIANT OF THE XTERRA. BASED ON ABOVE TEXT, NO INCIDENT/CRASH OCCURRED...NO INJURIES. CHANGED INJ TO 0. 2/1/2017 PCO HTTP://TINYURL.COM/HSO3ELX HTTP://TINYURL.COM/J7U9E8K HTTP://TINYURL.COM/ZJT6ZMR HTTP://TINYURL.COM/HQGGBTO

09/14/2016
Components: ENGINE
Incident Date: 02/10/2012
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5N1AN0NW9CC******
Summary

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 NISSAN XTERRA. AFTER MOVING THE VEHICLE FROM A PARKING SPOT, THE CONTACT NOTICED OIL LEAKING UNDER THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS, BUT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,500.

03/10/2015
Components: ENGINE
Incident Date: 01/31/2015
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5N1AN0NW1CC******
Summary

VEHICLE'S ENGINE SEIZED WHILE BEING OPERATED AT A LOW RATE OF SPEED. REASON GIVEN BY DEALERSHIP WHEN TOWED IN WAS NO OIL IN THE ENGINE HOWEVER THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHT FOR EITHER OIL OR ENGINE ISSUE DISPLAYED AT ANY TIME LEADING UP TO ENGINE FAILURE. THERE HAD BEEN A PREVIOUS OIL LEAK APPROXIMATELY 10 MONTHS EARLIER WHICH HAD BEEN REPAIRED. THERE HAD BEEN NO INCIDENTS IN THE INTERIM AND NO INDICATION OF ISSUES. THERE WAS A RECALL RELATED TO THE OIL FILTER AND ENGINE BUT ACCORDING TO NISSAN, MY VEHICLE WAS NOT SUBJECT TO THE RECALL. I WAS FORCED TO PAY IN ADVANCE OF WORK BEING STARTED FOR A FULL ENGINE REPLACEMENT DESPITE THE FACT THAT I HAD ONLY 4 MONTHS LEFT ON MY 39 MONTH LEASE. *TR

02/05/2014
Components: POWER TRAIN
Incident Date: 02/02/2014
Crash: No
Fire: No
Summary

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 NISSAN XTERRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE TRAVELING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY LOST ACCELERATION POWER. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS FOUND THAT THE CLUTCH AND FLYWHEEL NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS BEING REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED ABOUT THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 23,633. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

06/17/2013
Components: POWER TRAIN
Incident Date: 04/30/2012
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5N1AN0NW2CC******
Summary

I FIRST NOTICED MY CLUTCH START TO SLIP UPON LEAVING A STOP SIGN. 15 MILES LATER I WAS STRANDED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WITH NO GEARS. MY CLUTCH HAD GONE OUT ON A BRAND NEW XTERRA WITH 1800 MILES ON IT. IT WAS TOWED TO THE CONCORD, CA NISSAN DEALER WHERE I PURCHASED IT. I WAS BADGERED ON ABUSING THE CAR SINCE IT HAD SOME MUD ON THE TIRES AND THEY INSISTED I DID NOT NO HOW TO DRIVE MANUAL. I HAD TO REPLACE THE CLUTCH AND "BLUED" FLYWHEEL SINCE THEY DID NOT COVER IT WITH THE WARRANTY. THEY SAID THIS WAS THE WORST FLYWHEEL THE SHOP HAS SEEN. HERE I AM WITH 22,000 MILES ON THE CAR AND THE CLUTCH IS SEVERELY SLIPPING AGAIN. I WILL BRING MY CAR IN TO NISSAN TOMORROW. I BOUGHT A NISSAN BECAUSE I EXPECTED HIGH RELIABILITY STANDARDS BUT I WAS WRONG. THIS IS THE LAST NISSAN I WILL BUY AND I WILL CERTAINLY PASS ON THE WORD TO MY FRIENDS. THERE HAVE BEEN LOTS OF PEOPLE WITH THE SAME PROBLEMS SO I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE. *TR

05/23/2013
Components: AIR BAGS
Incident Date: 11/30/2012
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5N1AN0NW7CC******
Summary

PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT INTERMITTENTLY GOES ON W/ SEAT OCCUPIED (120LB ADULT), SEAT BELT FASTENED, SEAT IN NORMAL UPRIGHT POSITION - INDICATING THE AIR BAG IS DEACTIVATED. I ASKED THE DEALER I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE (NEW) FROM ABOUT THIS ANOMALY AT THE FIRST SERVICE (2220 MILES/3MOS) ON 2-20-2013 AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO - "READ THE OWNERS MANUAL". WE DID MANY DIFFERENT EXPERIMENTS WITH SEATING POSITION, SEAT BACK ANGLE ON SUBSEQUENT TRIPS, WITH NO POSITIVE RESULTS. THE ONLY EXPERIMENT THAT PROVIDED POSITIVE RESULTS WAS FOR HER TO HOLD OUR 20 LB DOG ON HER LAP - NOT A SATISFACTORY OR PERMANENT SOLUTION. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO ANOTHER DEALER FOR THIS SPECIFIC ISSUE ON 4-22-2013 AND WAS TOLD THEY COULD DO NOTHING, AND THAT I SHOULD CONTACT NISSAN CONSUMER AFFAIRS WHICH I HAVE DONE WITH ZERO HELP OR SATISFACTION AS OF TODAY. AS SOMEONE WHO SPENT SOME 30 YEARS IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS LIKE THIS AND OVERSEEING THE DEVELOPMENT, TESTING AND PRODUCTION OF FIXES FOR AIRCRAFT, THE ENGINEERING REQUIRED TO PROVIDE OWNERS LIKE US WITH A SUITABLE FIX TO THIS PROBLEM WOULD NOT SEEM TO ME TO BE ALL THAT LARGE OR COSTLY. GIVEN THAT THIS REOCCURRING PROBLEM IN AN IMPORTANT SAFTEY SYSTEM ON THIS AND OTHER NISSAN MODELS AS WELL AS MANY IN VEHICLES PRODUCED BY OTHER MANUFACTURERS, I AM CONFIDENT YOUR OFFICES COULD PRODUCE QUICK AND MEANINGFUL RESULTS FOR EVRYONE - OWNERS AND MANUFACTURERS BY APPLYING PRESSURE AND ESTABLISHING A MEANINGFUL CRITERION FOR THE ACTIVATION/DEACTIVATION OF THE PASSENGER SEAT AIR BAG SYSTEM. *TR

04/06/2013
Components: POWER TRAIN,ENGINE
Incident Date: 04/06/2013
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5N1AN0NW2CC******
Summary

VEHICLE WOULD NOT START, BECAUSE OF A BROKEN CLUTCH PEDAL STOPPER. THIS BROKEN PART PREVENTED THE DEPRESSED CLUTCH PEDAL FROM ACTIVATING THE CLUTCH SAFETY SWITCH. THIS IS A SAFETY DEFECT, BECAUSE THIS A 4WD VEHICLE INTENDED FOR OFF-ROAD USE; HAD THIS PART BROKEN "IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE," A SERIOUS SAFETY-RELATED INCIDENT COULD HAVE OCCURRED. ALSO, THIS PART BROKE A JUST 1540 MILES ON A VEHICLE THAT HAS NOT BE ABUSED. VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED TO DEALERSHIP. PART WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. *TR

2 Recalls

for 2012 NISSAN XTERRA
19/12/2011
CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 11V592000
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
IF THERE IS AN ENGINE OIL LEAK, THE ENGINE OIL PRESSURE WOULD DROP AND THE ENGINE COULD SEIZE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Campaign Number: 11V592000
Manufacture: NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Components: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Summary

NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011 INFINITI FX, MODEL YEAR 2012 INFINITI M, MODEL YEAR 2011-2012 NISSAN FRONTIER, MODEL YEAR 2011-2012 NISSAN XTERRA, MODEL YEAR 2011-2012 NISSAN PATHFINDER, AND MODEL YEAR 2012 NISSAN NV VEHICLES. SOME OF THE BOLTS THAT CONNECT THE ENGINE OIL COOLER AND THE ENGINE OIL FILTER TO THE ENGINE IN THESE VEHICLES MAY HAVE BEEN MANUFACTURED TO BELOW SPECIFICATION STRENGTH. AS A RESULT, THE BOLT MAY BREAK AT THE OIL FILTER ATTACHMENT POINT AND CAN CAUSE AN ENGINE OIL LEAK.

Notes

OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV .

20/09/2012
CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 12V462000
SUSPENSION:FRONT:HUB
If the vehicle is driven in this condition, the wheel hub may break, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash.
Campaign Number: 12V462000
Manufacture: Nissan North America, Inc.
Components: SUSPENSION:FRONT:HUB
Summary

Nissan is recalling certain model year 2012 Frontier, Pathfinder, and Xterra two-wheel drive vehicles manufactured from June 19, 2012, through July 12, 2012. These vehicles may have been equipped with front wheel hubs that may not meet the design hardness specifications. A wheel hub that was manufactured below hardness specification may wear prematurely and eventually crack.

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

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