2003 Nissan Xterra problems
Owners have filed 97 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Nissan Xterra. Fuel system is the most reported problem area, at 16% of complaints. Next are brakes (12%) and engine (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 97 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Fuel system 17% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 26 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 15 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 57,000 miles 69 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 | 19 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 8 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 8 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 7 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 7 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 7 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 6 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 69 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 57,000 miles. For fuel system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 78,000 miles (11 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 26 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 15 injuries 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 2003 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the Nissan Xterra with enough data (44 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 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.
While driving on the highway at 55 MPH the consumer loss control of the vehicle and flipped over three times. Witnesses to the accident stated the rear right tire blewout. General grabber aw p265/70r16. Brakes and steering were inoperable prior to tire blow out. The vehicle was totaled.
Driver side airbag failure in a front end collision at speeds of 30-40 MPH. Drivers airbag did not deploy while the empty passengers did. Complete brake failure resulting in a three car accident. 2003 nissan xterra 3,700 miles.
I own a 2003 nissan xterra 4wd. It has 55,000 miles and only been serviced at nissan dealership. I noticed a sweet smell coming from the engine when the car was warm so when I took in for oil change asked them to check it out. Told me the heads were warped and needed to be ground down, new gasket, belts and sparkplugs d/t the head leaking. This is the second head gasket problem I've had with a nissan I've owned. The other one was under warranty and was told it was a freak thing.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 nissan xterra. After the vehicle was filled with fuel, it would not restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated there was a crack in the fuel sending unit. The vehicle was repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The failure mileage was 180,000.