CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2005-2007 Xterra appears to have a widespread defect where coolant leaks into the transmission, causing transmission failure around 90,000 miles. Repair costs are typically upwards of $3,500.
The same defect exists in the Pathfinder & Frontier as well. And according to the New York Times & a class action lawsuit, the defect actually extends through 2010 model year. More info here.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
88,419 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Xterra. While driving at various speeds, the TPMS light illuminated constantly and the wheels felt loose. The contact mentioned that the fuel gauge malfunctioned and failed to display the correct fuel level. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the light was reset, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was repaired according to NHTSA campaign number: 10V075000 (fuel system); however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 91,000.
I was on my way back from the mall when I heard my fan/belt start to squeal. Not thinking anything of it I kept on driving next thing I know I'm pressing harder on my gas peddle just to go faster. My rpms where going to high and I was only going 65. I was on the high when this happen so I didn't notice till I had to go up a bridge and that's when I really notice my engine struggling to get power, it sounded like it was doing a lot when it really wasn't. I knew I had to go to the mechanic to get it looked at they told me it was a lose bolt. Next thing I'm driving home and my car was doing the same thing again but this time it wasn't going into gear in drive, so I tried 3 gear still nothing so I went to 2 and it stuck. I parked it on a side street in ocean city and called trip a and had it towed to Nissan of atlantic city to see what was wrong. Couple days later they called and told me my radiator fluid leaked into my transmission and messed all the gears up. After hearing that I looked up that problem on Xterras apparently this is a pretty common occurrence on them. I was not notified of such problems by the dealer and apparently Nissan want reimburse me so I'm out 7,500 because my Nissan is sitting in my back yard.
These vehicles seem to have a safety flaw. When depressing the brake pedal the amount of travel is such that it is a common occurrence to depress the gas pedal at the same time causing the car to lurch forward. I have had two different Nissan dealers (henderson, Nevada and boise, Idaho) inspect my vehicle and was told in both cases there is nothing that can be done...its the way the automobile was manufactured. During my last dealer inspection in boise, Idaho the mechanic brought a new 2015 model into the garage and put the two cars side by side. The difference in brake pedal travel was approximately 1/8 of an inch, so the problem has evidently never been addressed by the manufacturer. Today, my vehicle lurched forward when braking because the gas pedal was depressed while braking. It is paramount that one's foot is centered on the brake pedal; if your foot is off to the right side just a little, the gas pedal will be depressed while braking causing an unsafe situation. I have had many very close calls because of this issue.
The gas gauge has been an issue not reading properly and in fact the gauge may also show the steady amber light indicating there is no gas in the tank, when it is a full tank of gas. The steering column was found metal shavings from the Nissan dealer. I had complained about the shaft having trouble. I was informed that it was a plastic pin that broke and there will be no effect on the steering. So I had brought it back after 4 years of dealing with loose steering wheel. Invoice 284857 from the valley hi Nissan tag [xxx] was repaired 03 April 2015. I feel this should have been a recall since I found there are many complaints from midas mechanic. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
- Victorville, CA, USA
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The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Xterra. The contact stated that the fuel gauge was not giving a proper reading level and that the vehicle stalled from low fuel more than once. The contact was not included in NHTSA campaign id number: 10V075000 (fuel system, gasoline). The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign id number: 10V517000 (engine and engine cooling) and was waiting for the part to become available and schedule the recall repair. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
1. engine light on - remains on, need to reset - at 77000+ miles fuel gauge is off chart when full tank is filled up fuel gauge is unreliable, need to use the speedometer to gauge gas tank VIN# is not on the recall list under fuel tank recall campaign 10V075000 VIN# id for recall=engine only=campaign# 10V517000; total recall listed = 5 for 2006 Xterra models 2. tire pressure light is on continuously=TPMS = not on recall list/campaign, can this be added"? all tires are have correct recommended psi; yet light is on continuously, reset works only temporarily TPMS - as of Oct 2014; at 75000 miles need dealer to fix all recalls, can this be done?" plse advise asap. Bought the car used/pre-owned.... thank you for your attention & time.
The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Xterra. The contact stated that the service engine warning lamp illuminated. Also, the contact mentioned that the fuel gauge was not reading properly and was providing an incorrect which caused the vehicle to run out of fuel with no warning. The contact was not included in NHTSA campaign id number: 10V517000 (engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for further inspection, diagnosis and repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
When it turned cold Jan/Feb 2105 our daughter told us the heat was not working. But she knew we did not have the money to repair so we did not worry about it. We own a 2000 Chevy truck & the heat has not worked for years & we just live with it.so we never thought about the radiator/coolant being the problem. Then something major happened-our daughter was driving home from auburn al to our home in opelika al & she called us saying the car would not go over 25-30 mph. We were out of town, it was 10 pm at night so we told her to keep driving and get home to a safe place (her life was more important than stopping on the side of the road--a young lady all by herself) she got home, parked it & when we returned home we took it to a local repair shop that we trust. He called us the next day & said I have devastating news. He told us about the service report put out on Nissan Xterras in regard to the major, well known to Nissan problem of when the coolant/radiator cracks because of a faulty when in manufacturing radiator is put in it is a known by Nissan bad one. It cracks & leaks into the transmission in which the coolant mixes with the transmission fluid & creates a toxic hell stew that destroys the transmission. He said your car is worth $5,000 but the cost to repair is $7,000. I called Nissan they told me I had to take it to a Nissan dealer for their diagnosis and the diagnosis is the same. My husband is very, very sick and we have huge medical, pharmacy, hospital bills and I have had breast cancer with chemo that has caused an autoimmune disorder (almost lost my left eye) and our 15 year-old daughter goes to children's hospital in birmingham al for rheumatoid arthritis. We thought we were buying a very dependable car for $14,000 only 3 1/2 years ago and now it is 4500 pounds of junk metal. If Nissan had told us about the problem, we could have been proactive.
I purchased this vehicle used and found out that the fuel gauge does not work. Even after completely filling the fuel tank up the gauge shows "E", empty. It will, on occasion, show 1/4 tank when the fuel level is low. Due to this my vehicle has run out of gas on several occasions while driving at various speeds in various locations and often I have my child in the car with me. I have had to be pushed out of traffic on busy streets due to the vehicle being out of gas and me not being able to know I am running low on gas. It is very scary and quite dangerous. I have spoken with Nissan on several occasions, as there are recalls on this year vehicle for this same exact issue, but they state to me that my vehicle does not fall into the recall. I am told that the recall is for the same year vehicle but not all models. I can not afford to pay to have the vehicle fixed and am stuck with the issue. I am very unhappy with both the seller of the vehicle and the Nissan corporation.
Check engine light on, took car to local shop to read codes, showed fuel sensor issue. Gas gauge is all over the place. It shows full when empty, empty when full, and some in between. This appears to be a common issue, my VIN # shows no recalls or none that are covered over 72K miles?? what a disappointment in Nissan! would hate to run out of gas in -29 degrees with the kids and freeze trying to get home but I guess that is not a safety issue and "not worth mentioning".
Upon turning a corner after coming to a complete stop at a stop sign in my neighborhood, I went to accelerate and match the speed of oncoming traffic. The gear failed to shift appropriately (transmission) and giving the car gas simply revved the engine. Luckily the approaching car responded well and slowed to avoid a rear collision while I eased off the pedal and then gently accelerated again to my local mechanic. Upon his examination of my 2006 Xterra, he determined that the transmission fluid and coolant were mixing and destroying both my radiator and transmission. A quick search on the internet revealed that this dangerous problem is common among Nissan owners! when I purchased the vehicle from smithtown Nissan in 2010 and subsequently, there was absolutely no notification or recall regarding this dangerous hazard. This is unacceptable and life-threatening. There settlement of a class action lawsuit is insufficient (a $2500 - $3K) co-pay to replace the transmission and potentially have the same defect again! my wife and kids rely on my car every day and I feel fortunate that I did not wait any longer to have the car examined, but I am extremely disturbed by Nissan's negligence.
Vehicle fuel gauge does not function properly. When tested with a diagnostic reader the code P0463 came up indicating a fuel level sensor malfunction. That meant at least a $600 repair from the Nissan dealer for what apparently is a common malfunction due to a defective fuel pump module assembly. From what I have read concerning this subject it is a common occurrence for this make and model of Nissan, yet the company dismisses any complaint as invalid. There was a recall for previous generations of pathfinder vehicles for the exact same problem.
Car ran out of gas on highway in traffic, gas gauge still indicated 1/4 full. Believe this is a serious safety problem. Contacted dealer and they know of this problem( bad gas tank/sender, but I was never notified that my car could have been affected.
After I filled up with gas and put in a full tank I noticed that my gas guage is stuck at a quarter of a tank. After turning my car on and off it still says a quarter of a tank. After doing research on this it appears to be the fuel sending unit and I am past the 72 month warranty on this. The dealership quoted me 450-550 to fix this.
The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Xterra. The contact stated the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a float arm inside the fuel tank. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 10V075000 (fuel system, gasoline). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 95,000.
Engine cut off, rough idled, would not respond to acceleration. Attempted to re-start, rough idled, check engine light flickering, required towing. At repair shop, no problem, bad gas was the diagnosis. Repeated. Would not start. Required towing. Tow operator tried a few resets, oxygen sensors, nothing. Towed home. Next day, started fine.
Check engine light came on so I took it to an autozone to have the code read. PO463, fuel sending unit. Did some research, called Nissan corporate to inform them of the issue and see if I was eligible for extended warranty (wasn't covered). Nissan corporate informed me that I was eligible for ECM relay replacement at no cost at a dealership, so I took the car to a dealership that quoted me lowest on the fuel sensor repair. They asked if I had other issues and I told them that my engine sometimes sounded like an rc car. They offered to look into it, called this afternoon after completing work on sensor and ECM relay to inform me that my timing chains were shot and in need of immediate replacement. Did some more research and found this is a frequent issue in Nissan cars, decided to file a report.
The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Xterra. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 60 mph, the check engine light illuminated and the fuel gauge displayed empty however the fuel tank was full. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where the mechanic was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 81,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Boyton Beach, FL, USA