2011 Nissan Xterra problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (9) · Engine (5) · Tires (2)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Nissan Xterra model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (2)
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.
Engine And Engine Cooling 2011-12-19 · campaign 11V592000 · 14,718 vehicles
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 ENGI
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.
Fix: 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.
Service bulletins (99)
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 99 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-09-02 · Air Bags“the airbag warning light started flashing. i took the car to valley nissan in longmont, colorado where i was told that they need to replace the airbag diagnosis sensor and the rh side airbag module. valley nissan said that these parts were no longer being produced, so they could not complete this repair. the airbag system is not functioning which …”
2025-07-30 · Electrical System:instrument Panel:speedometer/Odometer“odometer fraud. the contact purchased a 2011 nissan xterra. the contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. the vehicle was a private sale. at the time of purchase, the vehicle's mileage was approximately 129,000, and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mi…”
2024-07-30 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 140,000 mi“the contact owns a 2011 nissan xterra. the contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, an engine oil leak was present. no warning lights were illuminated. the vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the oil connector bolt and o-ring seal needed to be replaced. the local dealer was contacted, but the vehic…”
2024-06-17 · Engine“the vehicle was driving just fine, then about a month later the heat gauge started to fluctuate, i replaced the radiator caps, thermostat...it ran good for another month, started to overheat....i made sure water was in radiator and overflow...about a month went by the gauge started to fluctuate again, now there is water in my oil, meaning a cracked…”
2023-08-27 · Structure:body“hole in exhaust system due to weld failure in support clamp the problem is reoccurring every year over a 3 1/2 year period …”
2023-05-31 · Air Bags“the contact owns a 2011 nissan xterra. the contact received notification of the nhtsa campaign number: 23e012000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the contact stated that an unknown dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not available for the recall repair. the contact stated that the manufactur…”
2023-05-31 · Air Bags“nissan consumer affairs case #48955822 manufacturer recall numberpc948 nhtsa recall number23e-012 recall statusrecall incomplete, remedy not yet available summary the resin emblem on the driver s airbag module cover in affected vehicles may have reduced durability due to potential supplier production process variation. in this condition, over time…”
2023-04-17 · Air Bags“the contact owns a 2011 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 contacted. the contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the manufacturer was made a…”
2020-09-06 · Steering“when turning the steering wheel will lock and engine will shut down…”
2018-03-22 · Air Bags · 115,858 mi“purchased vehicle in march 2018 with the passenger seat airbag alert flashing on the instrument panel. everything i tried would not extinguish it, connecting releasing and reconnecting the passenger seatbelt, turning the passenger side airbag off and on a couple of times. so i decided to check on recalls and found three of the four complaints for t…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.