CarComplaints.com Notes: While the 2008 has fewer reports of coolant leaking into and killing the transmission than years past, the problem still exists. And for that reason alone, this SUV is not worth your time.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
96,344 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.

2008 Nissan Xterra engine problems

engine problem

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2008 Nissan Xterra Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #23

Sep 292020

Xterra

  • 167,043 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The radiator has taken in fluids from the transmission or? the radiator fluid appears milky and lotion like consistency from the radiator and overflow tank it has been shifting very loud and hard..

- Nampa, ID, USA

problem #22

Jul 102019

Xterra

  • 73,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Xterra. While operating the vehicle, the fuel gauge displayed false readings. The gauge showed that the fuel tank had less fuel than what was actually present. Also, on several occasions, the brake pedal traveled to the floorboard when it was depressed and the vehicle did not immediately stop. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but no failures were found. Later, while driving, the vehicle stalled after depressing the brake pedal. The manufacturer and dealer were not notified. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 73,000.

- Seagoville, TX, USA

problem #21

Jul 182019

Xterra

  • 135,000 miles
Coolant leaking into transmission causing the transmission to fail

- Ashburn, VA, USA

problem #20

Mar 082019

Xterra

  • 185,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving, the vehicle surges and sputters and rpms skyrocket and the vehicle loses power and shuts down. This happens at various speeds on interstate highway, town streets and county roads. The vehicle will also lose power and shut down while idling at a stop sign or traffic light. There is no way to steer or restart when this happens and I have depended on hazard flashers to warn other drivers of disabled vehicle until I can get assistance to get vehicle off of highway. After 20 minutes of being dead, vehicle will sometimes restart and go a few more miles before same thing happens again. After 3 weeks at a dealership and a cost so far of $3,000, the problem has not been pinpointed and fixed. Dealership has contacted Nissan customer service who has two open cases of the same issue with the same model vehicle. I have found numerous other complaints in online forums of the same issue same model and still no fix found for the issue. I have now opened my own case with Nissan North America customer care and am awaiting further investigation from them. Major safety hazard.

- Coeburn, VA, USA

problem #19

Apr 012019

Xterra

  • 180,000 miles
The vehicle keeps stalling and running rough while driving after numerous repairs and several trips to the dealerships the problem continues to persistent. The mechanics seem not to understand the nature of the issue any assistance would be appreciated

- Stone Mountain, GA, USA

problem #18

Mar 282019

Xterra

  • 58,000 miles
Vehicle was in motion (highway driving). I began to hear a whinning sound at any rate of speed.the sound never went away. It became louder during acceleration. I checked any recalls on the Xterra models and found out that it has a faulty timming chain issue. I had the vehicle serviced and indeed, the problem was the timing chain.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #17

Mar 122014

Xterra

  • 180,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Xterra. While driving 70 mph, the vehicle began to lose power and all the warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road where it began to smoke under the hood. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the head gasket failed and the engine needed to be replaced. The contact called royal Nissan at (225) 924-0400 (located at 9325 airline hwy, baton rouge, la 70815) and was informed that the vehicle was out of warranty. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer and was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided case number: 34416631. The approximate failure mileage was 180,000.

- Baton Rouge, LA, USA

problem #16

May 152018

Xterra

  • 78,000 miles
Timing chain noise upon starting engine getting vibrations and noise--similar to speed bumps on roadway-- in vehicle drive train around 40 to 50 mph (transmission?)

- Brewster, OH, USA

problem #15

Dec 202017

Xterra

  • 44,900 miles
Less than 45,000 miles on the vehicle, no engine lights were on and no other issues prior to the incident. Traveling on I75 at about 65mph when the vehicle suddenly and rapidly slows down and almost caused an accident. Got to the side of the road and tried to accelerate, the vehicle would only go about 25-30mph so I had it towed home. I later had it towed to the dealer and paid for a diagnosis, the service tech said an aftermarket mass airflow sensor caused the all the catalytic converters to go bad and they wanted $3,500 to replace the catalytic converters and exhaust manifolds before they would continue diagnosing the vehicle. I called my sae certified mechanic and had it towed to him. He said the mass airflow sensor was the factory sensor that came on the car, and shouldn't have caused a failure in the catalytic converters especially without a check engine light. He said that Nissan has had problems with catalytic converters going bad and causing engine failure, so upon further inspection the engine has damage to the cylinders and valves and will need replaced or at least overhauled. I don't believe I should have to pay for an engine and catalytic converters that could have been replaced with a recall and prevented the entire issue. Nissan has an internal bulletin about the catalytic converter failures and engine damage proving they had prior knowledge of the issues including issues with the timing chains that fail which is another issue with this engine that I haven't come across yet.

- Burlington, KY, USA

problem #14

Aug 152017

Xterra

  • 83,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Xterra. The contact received an unknown manufacturer recall notification. The vehicle was taken to bill robertson Nissan (928 N 28th ave, pasco, wa 99301, (509) 545-3000) where the contact was provided a rental. The contact then received a call from the dealer stating that the parts were not available for the recall repair and he needed to return the rental. Two weeks later, while driving, the transmission failed and the radiator overheated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission and radiator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer stated that the vehicle had to be repaired at a Nissan dealer rather than an independent mechanic. The contact was provided case number: 29163686. The approximate failure mileage was 83,000.

- Kennewick, WA, USA

problem #13

Jan 262017

Xterra

  • 164,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I'm having transmission problems due to the known design flaw in the 2008 Xterra radiators that causes coolant to mix with transmission fluid. Nissan admitted the flaw and yet the NHTSA, who is supposed to help protect us, has concluded that Nissan isn't liable for these problems. What protection does a consumer have besides trying to take a multi-national company to court if the government body who looks into this won't act? please revisit this "radiator intermix" problem!

- Ellwood City, PA, USA

problem #12

Jun 202017

Xterra 6-cyl

  • 1 miles
Purchased a 2008 Nissan Xterra X VIN [xxx] mileage 77107 on June 6, 2015. After owning this vehicle for just over 2 years we had very bad experience my wife was doing her daily errands as she was returning home with our child in the back seat here vehicle began to accelerate and loose acceleration potentially causing her to be accident. When she returned home the vehicle wouldn't even turn over I had it towed to my mechanic and he informed me that this has a defective radiator cooler tank that ruptures and forces coolant into the transmission through the cooler lines and subsequently I was looking at over $3500 dollars in repairs. For a know problem reported Nissan has been aware of. Its very disheartening $3500 in repairs for a know problem it hurts in fact its affected even my surrounding family members, my mother is or was proud owner of Nissan Altima 2015. I just don't understand I don't have problem maintaining a vehicle or spending money for repairs that are standard that comes with owning any vehicle but this is just outrageous. How does start up family...1st family car end up in this position. Is there anything Nissan can do to help me and my family. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Cutlery Bay, FL, USA

problem #11

Mar 052017

Xterra

  • miles
I purchased my 2008 Nissan Xterra about 3 years ago and did not know about all the defects the transmission and radiator had. I am highly disappointed with this Nissan. It left me stalled in the middle of the road just suddenly with no warning. Worst part was that it was in the middle of the night with a party of 5. the conditions were unsafe and had to wait for daylight to be able to be towed. Its is very unfortunate that I can not do anything about this bad vehicle and it will cost me close to 4K to have my vehicle repaired. At this point im just still in debt since I have not finished paying this off and car less. Its very unfortunate that Nissan will not take any responsibility for the horrible and unstable vehicle they created.

- Elk Grove, CA, USA

problem #10

Sep 012016

Xterra

  • miles
The timing chain tensioners in the engine of this car began making a loud whining sound, which is a typical problem with these engines. Nissan was aware of these faulty tensioners back in 2004, when they issues a technical service bulletin. www.nissanproblems.com/trends/timing-chain/

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #9

May 112016

Xterra

  • 60,000 miles
I was told the timing belt tensioners needed to be replaced. It only has 60,800 miles on it. The dealer quoted me $1400. There is a high pitched whine from the engine, most noticeable at low speeds. The vehicle runs ok but I'm afraid if the tensioners fail, so will the timing belt and so will the engine.

- Lexington, KY, USA

problem #8

Jun 052016

Xterra

  • 109,000 miles
Cracked radiator leaked coolant into the transmission cooler destroying the transmission, transmission cooler, and radiator at about 109,000 miles in traffic. Apparently, this is a know issue with 2005-2010 Nissan Xterras, frontiers, and pathfinders. As part of a settlement to a class-action lawsuit, Nissan offered an extended warranty up to 10 years / 100,000 miles, whichever comes first (although an internet search says the average mileage at which this problem occurs is 95,000 miles). Nissan nor its dealership never notified me of the defect or the extended warranty so now I'm trying to decide if I fork out $6100 for the repairs or trade-in the vehicle.

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

problem #7

May 252016

Xterra

  • 159,000 miles
Cracked radiator leaking fluid into transmission. I was driving when I felt a slip I parked the car and with in minutes a creme colored fluid was leaking from underneath the vehicle. Took car to mechanic who told me it was a good thing I took it then because if it would have continued to leak it would have damaged my transmission. I now have to have new radiator put in thermostat put in and engine flushed this does not guarantee I will not have any more problems. Voicing this complaint because there have been so many people with this issue and dealer ships and manufacturers do not do much about it. They take our money but don't care what happens after the fact. I love this vehicle but will never buy a Nissan again very sad.

- Pottstown, PA, USA

problem #6

Mar 252015

Xterra

  • 90,000 miles
Was driving Xterra 4X4 on the street when all of a sudden the vehicle shut itself off. Was able to luckily turn the vehicle back on but when we arrived home the vehicle would no longer start. Had it towed to Nissan who discovered the car has a defective ECM unit. This could have been very very dangerous and I believe many other Nissan Xterra/frontiers/pathfinders have been affected as evident by searching google regarding this issue. Nissan would not repair the vehicle free of charge and wanted 1400 dollars to replace ECM. This day and age an ECM should last much much longer and should not shut down the vehicle nor, impair its ability to drive.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

problem #5

Jan 052013

Xterra 6-cyl

  • 102,975 miles
Car's heater blows cold air when car is idling. Nissan service technician advised that this was caused "by an air pocket" forming in the cooling system? the air pocket has to be removed - which of course costs money. We own two 2008 Xterras. This also happened with our other 2008 Xterra.

- Charles Town, WV, USA

problem #4

Oct 222013

Xterra 6-cyl

  • 77,000 miles
Timing chain.I would like to send out a letter of complaint on my 2008 Xterra. I'm one of the hundreds with the premature wear of the timing chain shoe and tensioners mentioned in your 2009 service bulletin EM09-007; ntb09-128; Nov. 16, 2009. Substandard parts. Your customer service was no customer service.

- Roanoke , VA, USA

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