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What 10 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 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)Transmission & drivetrain (6)Suspension (3)Body & structure (1)Brakes (1)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (1)Parking Brake (1)Speed control (1)

6 of 10 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · clear filters

Mar 7, 2018Transmission & drivetrain

VEHICLE STARTED SHOWING SIGNS OF CLUTCH SLIPPING AT 50,000 MILES: ENGINE WOULD REV UP WHILE CLUTCH PEDAL WAS FULLY OUT, THEN YOU WOULD FEEL IT RE-ENGAGE COMPLETELY AFTER A FEW SECONDS OF WHINING AND SPINNING. I'M A LIFETIME CLUTCH DRIVER (NEARLY 20 YEARS), AND EVERY VEHICLE GOT IN EXCESS OF 150,000 MILES BEFORE NEEDING A NEW CLUTCH. THE SECOND GENERATION XTERRA MANUAL TRANSMISSION CLUTCH IS UTTERLY JUNK. DON'T EVER BUY THIS VEHICLE IN MANUAL, OR ANY NISSAN. AFTER OWNING 3 XTERRAS IN MY TIME I WILL NEVER OWN ANOTHER NISSAN AGAIN. THIS PREMATURE FAIL IS A MANUFACTURING/OEM DEFECT. PLEASE RECALL!!!

NHTSA ODI 11076615

Mar 23, 2017Transmission & drivetrain

BOUGHT MY X-TERRA BRAND NEW AND WAS TOLD IS HAS A BUMPER TO BUMPER 36,000 MILE WARRANTY, AT 22,000 THE CAR WOULD NOT SHIFT INTO GEAR. HAD IT TOWED TO A NISSAN DEALERSHIP THAT IS SAYING THE CLUTCH IS BAD FROM NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR AND NOT COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY. WE'VE READ A LOT OF OTHER REVIEWS OF THIS HAPPENING TO OTHER PEOPLE AS WELL AND WANT TO REPORT IT. BOTH DRIVERS IN OUR HOUSEHOLD ARE EXPERIENCED CLUTCH DRIVER WITH A COMBINED 20+ YEAR EXPERIENCE. I CALLED NISSAN CUSTOMER SERVICE TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE AND THEY CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND JUST "TOOK THEIR WORD FOR IT" NOTHING WAS REALLY INVESTIGATED AT ALL. POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE ON BOTH ENDS. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP WE BOUGHT IT FROM THAT IS 4+ HOURS AWAY FROM OUR CURRENT HOME AND THEY SAID THEY WOULD'VE TAKEN CAR OF IT AND FIXED IT UNDER THE WARRANTY. WE CAN'T HAVE IT TOWED 4+ HOURS AWAY AFTER BEING TAKEN APART. BOTTOM LINE NISSAN HAS SOMETHING GOING ON WITH THEIR CLUTCHES, AND IS BLAMING IT ON THE CONSUMERS AND NOT ABIDING TO THEIR WARRANTY.

NHTSA ODI 10968216

Jun 26, 2016Transmission & drivetrain

MY NISSAN XTERRA 2005 HAS A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM CAUSED BY COOLANT FLUID IN TRANSMISSION. THEY ARE CHARGING ME FOR A REBUILT TRANSMISSION $6,000.00. THIS IS WHAT MY CAR COSTS. IF THEY HAVE TOLD ME BEFORE ABOUT THE PROBLEM I COULD HAVE FIX IT FOR LITTLE MONEY. NOW THEY DON'T ANSWER MY CALLS. SHOULD I THROW MY CAR IN A JUNKER NOW? THIS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM CAUSED BY A DEFECT FROM THE CAR. THEY NEVER SEND ANY LETTERS REGARDING THIS TRANSMISSION PROBLEM.

NHTSA ODI 10876712

Apr 27, 2016Transmission & drivetrain

AFTER 30000 MILES NEEDS A NEW CLUTCH BOUGHT USED AT 24000 MILES IN NOV. 2015. IT IS NOT COVERED UNDER FACTORY WARRANTY. SO THE CONSUMER HAS TO PAY FOR THE WEAR AND TEAR ITEM. IT WENT OUT AFTER PARKING AT HOME LUCKLY. THE 2006 XTERRA HAD CLUTCH PROBLEMS AND SOME OF THE OTHER MODLES PATHFINDER HAD SOME CLUCTCH PROBLEMS.

NHTSA ODI 10861789

Dec 28, 2015Transmission & drivetrain

TRANSMISSION FAILURE DUE TO PAST RADIATOR LEAK, SAME AS COMPLAINT ON FILE

NHTSA ODI 10816488

Jun 28, 2015Transmission & drivetrainSpeed controlElectronic Stability Control (esc)

NISSAN XTERRA 2015 PURCHASED ON 3/14/2015. ODOMETER AT 4200 MILES. VEHICLE HAS LOSS OF POWER FOR APPROXIMATELY 30 SECONDS. VDC DASH INDICATOR TURNS ON. SOMETIMES ACCOMPANIED BY METALLIC GRINDING NOISE AS IF THE ABS SYSTEM HAS TURNED ON. THIS HAS OCCURRED SEVERAL TIMES ALWAYS ON DRY ASPHALT PAVEMENT. USUALLY AFTER A 90 DEGREE TURN. ALTHOUGH HAS ALSO HAPPENED PREVIOUSLY FOR A SECOND OR TWO WHEN MODERATELY ACCELERATING FROM A STOP CONTROL. CHECKED TIRE PRESSURES AND IT IS WITHIN NORMAL LIMITS (I.E. 38-40 PSI) THIS HAS OCCURRED 3 TIMES PRIOR FOR SHORTER INTERVALS. HOWEVER THE PROBLEM IS GETTING WORSE SINCE IT HAS NOW SUBSEQUENTLY OCCURRED TWO TIMES ON 6/28/2015 FOR APPROXIMATELY 30 SECONDS EACH TIME. NOTE, I HAVE VIDEO RECORD OF BOTH OCCURANCES ON 6/28/2015 OF THE DASH PANEL AND ROADWAY SHOWING THE PROBLEM, VDC INDICATOR LIGHT, ACCOMPANYING GRINDING NOISE, AND LACK OF ACCELERATION. THE SECOND TIME THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE PAST 10 MPH AND I HAD TO PULL OVER TO THE SHOULDER TO ALLOW A FOLLOWING VEHICLE TO SAFELY PASS. THE VEHICLE SPEED IN INITIATING THE TURN IS USUALLY AROUND 20 MPH. TOOK VEHICLE PREVIOUSLY TO STOCKTON, CA NISSAN DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT ON 6/23/2015. THEY HAD THE VEHICLE FOR 3 DAYS. SERVICE TECH TEST DROVE VEHICLE AND REPLICATED PROBLEM, BUT ACCORDING TO THE SERVICE REP FOR ONLY A VERY SHORT TIME AND IN A U-TURN. THIS IS INDICATED ON THE SERVICE PAPERWORK. SERVICE REP SAID NO OBD2 CODES WERE RECORDED. SERVICE TECH CALLED NISSAN TECH LINE WHO TOLD HIM THIS IS "NORMAL". IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT SERVICE TECH DID NOT GET NOISE AND LOSS OF POWER TO OCCUR FOR 30 SECONDS SO PROBABLY TOLD NISSAN TECH LINE THAT IS WAS ONLY FOR A SHORT TIME IN A U-TURN.

NHTSA ODI 10730843

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 2015 Nissan Xterra verdict →