What breaks most · 2000 to 2015 model years
Nissan Xterra problems by year
Owners have filed 2,903 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Nissan Xterra across model years 2000 to 2015. Three years stand out: 2005 for powertrain and transmission complaints, 2006 for powertrain and transmission complaints and 2007 for powertrain and transmission complaints. The quietest years are 2013, 2012 and 2011.
- Years to check closely: 2005, 2006, 2007
- Fewest complaints: 2013, 2012, 2011
- Complaints on file
- 29032000 to 2015, all trims
- Worst year
- 2005822 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 10930 fires · 100 injuries · 4 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 82kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 58Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 207 | 24 | 5 | Fuel system (49) | |
| 147 | 15 | 5 | Visibility (43) | |
| 147 | 17 | 6 | Engine and cooling (24) | |
| 69 | 15 | 3 | Steering (11) | |
| 72 | 8 | 3 | Steering (15) | |
| 822 | 7 | 6 | Powertrain and transmission (404) | |
| 738 | 10 | 5 | Powertrain and transmission (254) | |
| 521 | 3 | 2 | Powertrain and transmission (218) | |
| 102 | 6 | 8 | Powertrain and transmission (40) | |
| 15 | 0 | 5 | Air bags (5) | |
| 24 | 3 | 6 | Powertrain and transmission (8) | |
| 14 | 0 | 2 | Air bags (5) | |
| 8 | 0 | 2 | Powertrain and transmission (4) | |
| 3 | 1 | 0 | Engine (2) | |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | Suspension (3) | |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | Powertrain and transmission (6) |
What fails on the 2005 Nissan Xterra
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 49% |
404 | 0 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 29% |
242 | 1 | Shop fuel system parts for the 2005 Nissan Xterra |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 20% |
166 | 0 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 2005 Nissan Xterra |
| EngineEngine gaskets and seals | 13% |
108 | 0 | Shop engine parts for the 2005 Nissan Xterra |
| Fuel System, Other | 6% |
48 | 0 | — |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 5% |
37 | 0 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2005 Nissan Xterra |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 4% |
29 | 0 | Shop fuel system parts for the 2005 Nissan Xterra |
| Unknown or other | 3% |
21 | 0 | — |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
My 2005 nissan xterra trans just died on 5/10/2018. I was driving over the whitestone bridge queensbound on my way to work when it just stopped. My mechanic told me today, 5/18/2018, that the fan went inside the trans and would cost thousands to fix. Apparantly this is a common problem. I'm so angry.
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2006 nissan xterra se. Consumer writes in regard to transmission safety recall and reimbursement for replacement of part. *as *js
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I was driving down a busy city street when the transmission stopped shifting. The speed of the car decreased and left me right in the middle of the street. I than had it towed to a nissan dealership and said it has been cross contaminated with the radiator and will be a $4,800.00 fix.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 30, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Nissan Xterra years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2005, 2006, 2007 carry the most filings on the Nissan Xterra. The 2005 alone has 822 complaints, led by powertrain and transmission.
What is the most common Nissan Xterra problem?
On the 2005 model year, the most-reported component is powertrain and transmission with 404 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Nissan Xterra problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Nissan Xterra complaints that include mileage is about 82,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.