2002 Nissan Xterra problems
Owners have filed 214 complaints with NHTSA about the 2002 Nissan Xterra. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 15% of complaints. Next are brakes (13%) and steering (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 214 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 15% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 33 and 12
- Injuries and deaths
- 55 and 48
- Typical mileage
- 82,000 miles 129 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 20 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 15 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 16 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 8 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 18 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 8 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 8 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 14 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 8 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 7 |
| 200k+ miles | 7 |
What the data shows
Of the 129 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 82,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 89,000 miles (17 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 33 complaints mention a crash; 12 complaints mention a fire; 55 injuries reported; 48 deaths reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 96% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 6th most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the Nissan Xterra with enough data (106 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 nissan xterra. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle became unstable and the driver lost control of the vehicle. As a result, the driver crashed into a guard rail causing the vehicle to roll over twice. The air bags failed to deploy. The driver sustained fatal injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000. Updated 02/05/15 updated 9/20/2017
I own a 2002 xterra se-sc the seatbelt on passenger side locks up but doesn't release when driving complained to dealer they can't find anything wrong with it. Can you pass some info to me when avalible. Dp
After shifting into reverse, with one foot on the clutch, and one foot on the brake still, my xterra begins accelerating in reverse though my feet were on the clutch and brake only. My xterra's brakes only stopped my vehicle after shifting into neutral and then turning off the engine.
Unable to control speed and battery keeps dying even though battery and alternator test good. When driving at low speed I cannot accelerate gradually, the car revs really hard and pulls hard when trying to increase speed. Once I drive for about 20 minutes and pickup speed the brakes are loose and hard to come to a stop, and the pedal does not respond when accelerating or reducing speed.