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Nissan · NHTSA safety record

2012 Nissan Xterra

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 16 safety complaints about the 2012 Nissan Xterra with the US government. Of those, no death is recorded. 2 recall campaigns are open against it, covering the suspension and the engine and its cooling.

The most complained-about system is the power train, named in 6 complaints, 38% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 4,291 miles, the median across the 6 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers April 2013 to June 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

16 complaints on file

16

Complaints

0

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

0

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
POWER TRAIN 6 · 38%
AIR BAGS 4 · 25%
ENGINE 4 · 25%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 · 6%
TIRES 1 · 6%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 · 6%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 16.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2013 at 3.

4 3 2 1
13 14 15 16 17 22 23 24 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2013 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2012 Nissan XTERRA, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SUV 4WD SUV RWD
Overall Not rated Not rated
Frontal crash Not rated Not rated
Frontal, driver Not rated Not rated
Frontal, passenger Not rated Not rated
Side crash Not rated Not rated
Side barrier Not rated Not rated
Side pole Not rated Not rated
Rollover
Chance of rollover 25.6% 24.6%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A rating belongs to a tested body style and drivetrain, not to the model as a whole, which is why more than one is listed. A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

2 on file

SUSPENSION:FRONT:HUB

12V462000 · September 20, 2012

The defect
Nissan is recalling certain model year 2012 Frontier, Pathfinder, and Xterra two-wheel drive vehicles manufactured from June 19, 2012, through July 12, 2012. These vehicles may have been equipped with front wheel hubs that may not meet the design hardness specifications. A wheel hub that was manufactured below hardness specification may wear prematurely and eventually crack.
The risk
If the vehicle is driven in this condition, the wheel hub may break, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash.
The remedy
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replaced the left and right side front wheel hub assemblies free of charge. The safety recall began on October 22, 2012. Owners may contact Nissan Customer Service at 1-800-647-7261.

Nissan North America, Inc. · up to 2,417 vehicles across all model years covered

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

11V592000 · December 19, 2011

The defect
NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011 INFINITI FX, MODEL YEAR 2012 INFINITI M, MODEL YEAR 2011-2012 NISSAN FRONTIER, MODEL YEAR 2011-2012 NISSAN XTERRA, MODEL YEAR 2011-2012 NISSAN PATHFINDER, AND MODEL YEAR 2012 NISSAN NV VEHICLES. SOME OF THE BOLTS THAT CONNECT THE ENGINE OIL COOLER AND THE ENGINE OIL FILTER TO THE ENGINE IN THESE VEHICLES MAY HAVE BEEN MANUFACTURED TO BELOW SPECIFICATION STRENGTH. AS A RESULT, THE BOLT MAY BREAK AT THE OIL FILTER ATTACHMENT POINT AND CAN CAUSE AN ENGINE OIL LEAK.
The risk
IF THERE IS AN ENGINE OIL LEAK, THE ENGINE OIL PRESSURE WOULD DROP AND THE ENGINE COULD SEIZE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
The remedy
NISSAN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE CONNECTOR BOLTS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JANUARY 30, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.

NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC. · up to 14,718 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

TIRES:TREAD/BELT
Was driving on highway with my children when a loud sound filled the cabin as if I had just runover something large. About a minute later we began hearing a thumping sounds and the car was losing momentum, and I suspected we had suffered a blow-out. The right rear passenger tire was shredded. Because no one noticed anything in the roadway, I suspect the tire had suffered a spontaneous blowout and that the sound we had heard was the tire blowing out and the rubber hitting the undercarriage. The tires were: Cooper Discoverer AT3 tires, size 265/75R16. The tires had only 15,098 miles on them and were bought from the Discount Tire located at 5931 Rufe Snow Dr, in Watauga TX 76148, on

NHTSA complaint 11745484, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
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

NHTSA complaint 11567746, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
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.

NHTSA complaint 11567748. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Extreme smell of gas after filling gas tank while out of town. Odor was so strong it required all windows to be down to drive without feeling affected by fumes and I was terrified that someone would fluck a cigarette out of a car somewhere, especially at a stop light, and cause an explosion. Once the gas tank was only half full or less, the odor diminished. Dealership found that this issue had been reported on other vehicles but did not qualify as a recall. Dealership found faulty gasket INSIDE gas tank and required the entire tank be replaced at a cost to me of more than $2000. I can get receipts from Charlottesville Nissan Dealership.

NHTSA complaint 11567759. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Nissan states that they have no repair solution on NHTSA Recall 23E-012 as of the date of this complaint. Nissan states that this is a safety issue. The originally reported issue is allegedly >8 months old without resolution. This safety issue presents a clear and on-going danger and hazard to the vehicle driver. Please escalate.

NHTSA complaint 11544031. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Xterra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23E012000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA complaint 11531322. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Nissan Xterra

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2011 24 2 —
2010 38 4 —

Other 2012 Nissan models

Every Nissan on this site — 205 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst