2010 Nissan Xterra problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (8) · Power Train (6) · Service Brakes (4)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Nissan Xterra model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
26 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (6)
Air Bags:frontal 2023-02-10 · campaign 23V067000 · 404,690 vehicles
Defect: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2008-2011 Titan, Frontier, Xterra, Pathfinder, Armada, and 2008-2009 Quest vehicles. The resin emblem on the driver's air bag cover may develop cracks and detach during air bag deployment.
Risk: A detached emblem can become a projectile during air bag deployment, increasing the risk of injury to vehicle occupants.
Fix: Dealers will replace the drivers airbag cover. Owner letters were mailed December 8, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall are PC944, PC945, and PC946.
Equipment:electrical:navigational System(Global Positioning System) 2010-09-10 · campaign 10V401000 · 7,948 vehicles
Defect: NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN VEHICLES THAT WERE EQUIPPED WITH A GARMIN NUVI MODEL 750 NAVIGATION SYSTEM. THE BATTERIES CONTAINED IN THE AFFECTED GPS UNITS CAN OVERHEAT.
Risk: OVERHEATED BATTERIES COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.
Fix: NISSAN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND THE REPAIRS WILL BE PERFORMED BY GARMIN TECHNICIANS BY REPLACING THE BATTERY AND INSERTING A SPACER ON TOP OF THE BATTERY FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 16, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT GARMIN DIRECTLY AT 1-866-957-1981 OR NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
Equipment 2010-09-03 · campaign 10E043000 · 294 vehicles
Defect: MARATHON IS RECALLING CERTAIN SEAT COVERS, BRAND SUPERHIDES WITH PART NUMBERS 593, 594, 578, 960, 228, 228-09, 267-08, 333, 625, AND 630, SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE SEAT COVERS ARE MADE OF HEAVIER THREAD AND ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH SEATS CONTAINING SIDE AIRBAGS. THE HEAVIER SEAT COVER COULD INTERFERE WITH FULL DEPLOYMENT OF THE AIRBAG IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH.
Risk: AN IMPROPERLY DEPLOYED AIRBAG COULD RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY.
Fix: MARATHON WILL NOTIFY OWNERS OF RECORD AND REPLACE THE SEAT COVER FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT MARATHON AT 1-800-735-2769.
Suspension:front:control Arm:lower Arm 2010-05-20 · campaign 10E019000 · 1,873 vehicles
Defect: NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN FRONT AND REAR LOWER LINKS, P/NOS. 54501ZQ00A, 54500ZQ00A, 551A1ZQ00A, 551A0ZQ00A , 54501EA00A, 54500EA00A, 551A1EA500, 551A0EA500, 54501ZR00A, AND 54500ZR00A, SOLD BETWEEN NOVEMBER 25, 2009 AND MAY 14, 2010 AS REPLACEMENT PARTS FOR MODEL YEAR 2004 THROUGH 2010 TITAN, ARMADA, AND QX56, AND MODEL YEARS 2005 THROUGH 2010 FRONTIER, XTERRA, AND PATHFINDER VEHICLES. THE LOWER CONTROL LINK ASSEMBLY HAS TWO CYLINDRICAL COLLARS FORMING THE INBOARD ATTACHMENT POINTS TO THE CH
Risk: IF THE COLLAR WELD SEPARATES, THE VEHICLE HANDLING WILL DETERIORATE, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
Fix: NISSAN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE ANY AFFECTED LOWER LINK FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 12, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
Suspension:front:control Arm:lower Arm 2010-05-14 · campaign 10V208000 · 41,649 vehicles
Defect: NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2010 TITAN, ARMADA, QX56, FRONTIER, XTERRA, AND PATHFINDER VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM NOVEMBER 19, 2009 THROUGH MARCH 3, 2010. THE LOWER CONTROL LINK ASSEMBLY HAS TWO CYLINDRICAL COLLARS FORMING THE INBOARD ATTACHMENT POINTS TO THE CHASSIS. DUE TO AN IMPROPER WELDING PROCESS SOME COLLARS MAY CONTAIN WELDS THAT DO NOT MEET STRENGTH SPECIFICATIONS.
Risk: IF THE COLLAR WELD SEPARATES, THE VEHICLE HANDLING WILL DETERIORATE, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
Fix: NISSAN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND DEALERS WILL REPAIR THE VEHICLES FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 20, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
Air Bags:frontal:sensor/Control Module-Inactive 2010-03-24 · campaign 10V115000 · 4,038 vehicles
Defect: NISSAN HAS NOTIFIED NHTSA OF A DEFECT IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2010 FRONTIER, PATHFINDER, AND XTERRA VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM FEBRUARY 22, 2010 TO MARCH 13, 2010. ON SOME OF THE POTENTIALLY AFFECTED VEHICLES, THE FASTENERS SECURING THE PASSENGER FRONT AIR BAG MODULE, AND ALSO THE FASTENERS SECURING THE STEERING SHAFT POSITIONING BRACKET MAY NOT HAVE BEEN TIGHTENED TO THE PROPER TORQUE SPECIFICATION.
Risk: IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH, THE PASSENGER FRONT AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT TRAJECTORY MIGHT BE AFFECTED. THE FASTENERS COULD POSSIBLY COME OUT OF THE STEERING COLUMN POSITIONING BRACKET INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Fix: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE STEERING COLUMN AND THE PASSENGER FRONT AIR BAG FASTENERS AND ANY MISSING FASTENERS WILL BE REPLACED AND ALL LOOSE FASTENERS WILL BE RETIGHTENED TO THE PROPER TORQUE SPECIFICATIONS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 19, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
Service bulletins (96)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure:body 2026-04-13 · NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certification label and vin plate replacement service information because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “certification label” or “vin plate/label” may be needed. hint: certification label = fmvss (federal motor vehicle safety standards) label. these items may be availabl
Structure:body 2026-04-13 · NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certification label and vin plate replacement service information because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “certification label” or “vin plate/label” may be needed. hint: certification label = fmvss (federal motor vehicle safety standards) label. these items may be availabl
Air Bags 2024-07-08 · NTB23-081C · Service Campaign
voluntary safety recall campaign 2005-2013 frontier, pathfinder, and xterra; driver air bag cover campaign id #: pc945 and pc948 applied vehicles: 2005-2013 frontier (d40) 2005-2012 pathfinder (r51) 2005-2013 xterra (n50) check service comm or dealer business systems (dbs) national service history t
Electrical System 2024-05-21 · NTB13-107G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
vehicle key not detected / authenticated, engine will not start this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
Electrical System 2024-05-21 · NTB13-027D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
can communication – network diagnostic flow chart this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
Electrical System 2024-05-21 · NTB10-066C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
can communication codes – diagnostic tips and guidelines this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
Showing the 6 most recent of 96 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2024-11-14 · Air Bags · 💥 crash“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 ha…”
2024-09-12 · Air Bags“after getting the air bag control module reprogrammed per the recall, i was on a dirt road and the rollover airbags deployed when they shouldn’t have. the dealership i got the recall done at is claiming the airbag system registered “rollover conditions”. when i asked what the conditions were they told me they were unable to provide them. i am conce…”
2023-03-21 · Air Bags“the contact owns a 2010 nissan xterra. the contact stated that he received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 23v067000 (air bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the local dealer was contacted. the contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the manufact…”
2022-06-17 · Engine“my air bag quit working. the light started going off. i took it to nissan and they said i had to pay to have the light turned off before they would fix the recall. i could not afford to pay to have the light turned off. the line connecting to my transmission and radiator has failed. transmission fluid is leaking into my radiator and coolant is lea…”
2022-06-11 · Power Train“no warning lamps had my vehicle repeatedly looked at was told that my vehicle had no transmission warninfsigns was told by mechanic to replace the radiator i replaced the radiator and then the vehicle stopped running now i have transmission fluid mixed with my radiator fluid and the vehicle doesn't run at all i repeatedly took it back to the shop t…”
2021-10-13 · Power Train“this is a compliant for the well known radiator issue. ours ruptured and ruined the transmission costing us about $6k in repairs. …”
2021-08-12 · Tires · 5,000 mi“the contact owns a 2010 nissan xterra equipped with interco tires, tire line: ltb-02 sst ltb, tire size: 31/11.5/16lt. the contact stated that the while her son was driving approximately 65 mph, a loud noise suddenly occurred. after stopping and inspecting the vehicle, the driver discovered that the front driver’s side tire had experienced tread se…”
2021-07-26 · Air Bags“the passenger side airbag sensor broke , sensor that detects a person in the seat and engages the airbag, took it to dealer to fix and was told nissan no longer supports that part and should go to a junk yard and pull a a seat cushion and install it myself.…”
2020-11-21 · Air Bags · 80,000 mi“the airbag light came on and steadily flashes. i live in a coastal area with high humidity and am concerned that this is a corrosion issue in the sensor…”
2020-08-30 · Power Train · 180,000 mi“at a little over 180,000 miles need a new rear differential. read on an xterra forum the spthider gears were not heat treated properly by the manufacturer which causes rear differentials to fail.the vehicle was never driven off road or towed anything. it should not have failed.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.