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What 10 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 Nissan Xterra

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (10)Airbags (3)Suspension (3)Brakes (1)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (1)Engine (1)Lights (1)Seats (1)Steering (1)Tires (1)Transmission & drivetrain (1)

Newest first · 10 complaints

Jul 2, 2026Airbags

The side curtain airbags on my 2014 Nissan Xterra deployed unexpectedly, without any collision or impact. Nissan's Dispute Resolution Programs team is currently investigating (Incident #56613207). I was currently driving and luckily was able to pull over without any further issues but it could've been much worse if there was heavier traffic on the road. The vehicle was taken to a Nissan dealership for inspection following the unexpected deployment. Nissan's Technical Specialist attempted to download the Event Data Recorder (EDR) data during that visit but encountered an error and was unable to retrieve it. es. Nissan's Incident Investigation Specialist and a Technical Specialist have been involved through Nissan's Dispute Resolution Programs (Incident #56613207). No there were never any warnings or any dash lights to give warning. It was an immediate and unexpected airbag deployment.

NHTSA ODI 11747910

Feb 15, 2022Tires

The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Xterra equipped with Cooper Tires, Tire Line: Discoverer A/T3, Tire Size: P265/70/R16, DOT Number: Not Provided. The contact stated that the rear passenger’s side tire had exposed wires. In addition, the tire was bulging on the sidewall. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21T002000 (Tires) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The tire was a replacement tire. The tire failure mileage was 19,700 and the vehicle failure mileage was 98,454.

NHTSA ODI 11452153

Apr 25, 2019Suspension

LEFT REAR LEAF SPRING BROKE 12/7/2017 REPLACE RIGHT REAR LEAF SPRING BROKE 4/25/2019 - WILL BE REPLACED IN MAY 2019

NHTSA ODI 11203821

Sep 12, 2018LightsAirbags

PASSENGER AIRBAG SENSOR INTERMITTENTLY STUCK ON HEADLAMPS NOT TURNING OFF WHEN ON 'AUTO' SETTING

NHTSA ODI 11128848

Sep 10, 2018Suspension

MY TRUCK HAS A SUSPENSION ISSUE FOR SQUEAKY NOISES COMING FROM THE FRONT WHEEL. THERE WAS A RECALL ON THEM BUT MY VIN NUMBER ISN'T INCLUDED. THE TRUCK IS SITTING DOWN AT THE LOCAL NISSAN DEALER NOW TO HAVE BOTH FIXED. HOW CAN THIS STUFF THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY RECALLED AND NOW APPLIES TO MY TRUCK BE EXCLUDED FROM RECALL REPAIRS THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM ALSO HAD 4 BAD SENSORS. IT IS THERE NOW TO BE FIXED. AGAIN MY VIN NUMBER WAS EXCLUDED FOR EXACTLY WHAT THE RECALL IS FOR.

NHTSA ODI 11128438

Dec 11, 2017Transmission & drivetrain

MY VEHICLE WILL RANDOMLY BUCK AND LOSE DRIVE POWER. MOSTLY NOTICED AT SLOW SPEEDS, BUT ALSO DOES IT ON THE HIGHWAY AS WELL. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM IS EXACTLY LIKE PEOPLE REPORTED IN THE 2014 CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINST NISSAN FOR SEVERAL OF THE 2014 NISSAN MODELS (SPECIFICALLY, THE PATHFINDER) IT IS CONCERNING THAT THE TRANSMISSION WILL COMPLETELY GO CAUSING A MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN.

NHTSA ODI 11053826

Jul 12, 2017Airbags

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 NISSAN XTERRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE RECEIVED AN UNKNOWN NISSAN MANUFACTURER SAFETY CAMPAIGN NOTICE IN REFERENCE TO THE AIR BAGS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE LOCAL DEALER (DENNY MENHOLT BILLINGS NISSAN 2100 KING AVE W, BILLINGS, MT 59012) WHERE THE VEHICLE WAS SERVICED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG WARNING SENSOR REMAINED ILLUMINATED AFTER THE REPAIR. A WEEK LATER, THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE SENSOR WAS NOT REPLACED DUE TO THE COST OF THE PART. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED OR MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 82,000.

NHTSA ODI 11004882

Mar 24, 2016Seats

THE DRIVERS SEAT WASN'T LOCKING INTO PLACE FULLY. IT WOULD CLICK AND THEN IF YOU MAKE STOPS WHEN DRIVING IT SLIDES AND CLICKS AGAIN. THE DEALERSHIP SAID THE SEAT WAS LOOSE AND SAID IT WAS FIXED, A WEEK LATER IT STARTED DOING THE EXACT SAME THING. NO LOCKING FULLY UNTIL YOU CAME TO A STOP WHILE DRIVING THEN IT SLIDES FORWARD AND CLICKS AGAIN. I TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THIS TIME WAS TOLD "IT'S NORMAL, ALL OUR VEHICLES DO IT" NO OTHER SEAT IN MY XTERRA, OR ANY OTHER NISSAN I'VE BEEN IN HAVE DONE THIS...

NHTSA ODI 10851502

Aug 31, 2015SteeringSuspension

THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP HAS LOOKED AT MY XTERRA AND FOUND THAT A NUT WELDED TO THE FRAME FROM THE INSIDE HAS BROKEN FREE OF THE FRAME. THIS IS CAUSING MY SUSPENSION NOISE/ISSUE. THE PROBLEM I AM HAVING IS NISSAN DOES NOT WANT TO FIX MY PROBLEM. THE DEALERSHIP IS WAITING ON NISSAN TO GIVE THE GO AHEAD TO SCHEDULE REPAIRS BUT THEY/I CAN'T GET NISSAN TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE REPAIRS. THE NOISE IS GETTING WORSE AND I AM AFRAID IT WILL LEAD TO A SAFETY ISSUE IF NOT HANDLED SOON. THE LAST I HAVE HEARD WAS ON AUGUST 13TH THE DEALERSHIP WAS WAITING TO HEAR BACK FROM NISSAN BUT SEVERAL CALLS TO NISSAN HAS TURNED UP NOTHING I CAN'T EVEN TALK TO A SUPERVISOR OR ANYTHING.

NHTSA ODI 10760287

Jul 28, 2014Electronic Stability Control (esc)BrakesEngine

WHEN ACCELERATING IN A STRAIGHT LINE, VEHICLE STARTS TO BUCK, ABS LIGHT GOES ON, ENGINE SHUTS OFF. SPEED WAS ~ 30MPH. MILEAGE IS 147. *JS

NHTSA ODI 10616710

Working with the data? Download all 10 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 28, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2014 Nissan Xterra verdict →