2010 Nissan Xterra problems
Owners have filed 58 complaints with NHTSA about the 2010 Nissan Xterra. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 19% of complaints. Next are drivetrain & axles (19%) and electrical system (14%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 58 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 19% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 9 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 90,000 miles 44 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 | 6 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 6 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 2 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 3 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 7 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 6 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 5 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 6 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 44 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 90,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 9 complaints mention a crash; 3 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2010 ranks 10th most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the Nissan Xterra with enough data (23 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 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.
The nissan was in a severe accident and the air bag never deployed. There were 4 people in car when the accident occured. The passenger side air bag did deploy and those two people receved injuries but not life threating. The drivers side where the air bag did not deploy caused significant injuries the driver had major spinal surgery inwhich she had to do rehabilitation to walk again for 8 months. The back seat passenger had to be air lifted to a hospital and 18 months later is still paralyzed and unable to walk.
Tl*the contact owns a 2010 nissan xterra. The contact stated that while driving 50 MPH pulling a small trailer he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the guard rail causing the trailer to roll over. The contact suffered injuries to the back and psychological damage as well. The vehicle started shaking before he lost control. The contact stated that the alignment was abnormal when the vehicle was purchased but he was unaware of the bad wheel alignment.
I started the car to let it warm up. The manual gearshift was in neutral and the emergency brake was engaged. As I got out of the vehicle, it lurched forward and I attempted to get back into the vehicle to apply the brake. It lurched a second time before I was able to get inside. I attempted to get inside the vehicle a second time to apply the brake but was not able to due to the car lurching forward again..
Vehicle parking brake does not hold due to rear axle seal leaking fluid contaminating parking brake shoes. Issue is covered under TSB via NHTSA item number 10033306, but nissan will not cover under warranty despite being a safety issue.
When outside temperature falls below 40 degrees xterra will not start. Vehicle is stationary and not parked in a garage. Battery was replaced 11 months ago trying to fix the same problem. No other major issues with vehicle ever. Vehicle just towed yesterday dealer will not be able to diagnose until monday.