6.2

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
12,374 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.

2012 Nissan Xterra drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2012 Nissan Xterra Owner Comments

problem #6

Dec 222021

Xterra

  • miles

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

Clutch burnt out with 5 min between 1st incidence of barely slipping and total failure leaving me stranded on roadside with little notice and nowhere safe to pull off.

- Charlottesville, VA, USA

problem #5

Oct 142012

Xterra

  • miles
1) Rubber stopper under clutch pedal has failed multiple times, preventing vehicle from starting in various locations, usually parking lots and mostly after dark which presents potential safety concerns. This is a rubber part that allows vehicle to start only when clutch is depressed. I request that several/multiple of these be provided at no cost to keep in glove compartment since the poor quality of part manufacturing will most definitely cause future failure of each in the future. In addition, an explanation and instructions for removing broken part and replacing with new part is difficult for one person since you have to crawl up under the dashboard, locate the part, remove the broken part and correctly replace with a new part. I have purchased 7 pieces which have all broken and been charged approximately $7 each. The first time was the date of purchase and there have been more than 5 additional incidents since. Rubber stopper 46512-9bp1c purchased 9 between 10/14/12 and 4/6/22. Photos of those purchased just in the last couple of years

- Charlottesville, VA, USA

problem #4

Jul 282017

Xterra

  • 47,291 miles
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.

- Kirkland, WA, USA

problem #3

Feb 022014

Xterra

  • 23,633 miles

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

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.

- Burlington, MA, USA

problem #2

Apr 302012

Xterra 6-cyl

  • 1,782 miles
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.

- Moraga, CA, USA

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problem #1

Apr 062013

Xterra 6-cyl

  • 1,540 miles
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.

- College Station, TX, USA

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