Owner-reported complaints naming the engine system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2001 Nissan Xterra submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 17 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
THE XTERRA STARTED MISSING AND HESITATING (ENGINE) EVENTUALLY DYING AND NOT RESTARTING. THE MISSING AND HESITATION OCCURRED WHILE UNDERWAY ON A BUSY 4 LANE DIVIDED HIGHWAY, BUT THANKFULLY MADE IT HOME BEFORE DYING AND NOT RESTARTING. MISSING AND HESITATION OCCURRED WHILE TRAVELING STRAIGHT ON AND WHILE STOPPED AT RED LIGHTS.
WHILE DRIVING, ENGINE GOES TO IDLE MODE AND CAN'T ACCELERATE. I HAVE TO SHIFT TO NEUTRAL AND BACK TO DRIVE TO AGAIN DRIVE NORMALLY, THEN PROBLEM HAPPENS AGAIN AND HAVE TO DO THE SAME CONTINUOUSLY EVERY FEW MILES WHILE DRIVING.
AFTER THE CAR WARMS UP IT WILL STALL WHILE DRIVING AND WHEN COMING TO A STOP TO IDLE.SOMETIMES IT WILL NOT START IMMEDIATELY AFTER STALLING. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD AND COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. WE HAVE ALSO HAD MULTIPLE PROBLEMS WITH THE ALIGNMENT DUE TO THE WHEEL BEARINGS. *TR
EXHAUST MANIFOLD CRACKS CAUSING EXHAUST GASES/HEAT INTO ENGINE BAY AND CABIN. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 NISSAN XTERRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH, THERE WAS A FLUTTERING SOUND. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE MECHANIC STATED THAT THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD WAS FRACTURED AND WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 95,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 NISSAN XTERRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT ANY WARNINGS. THE VEHICLE ENGINE FAILED TO RESTART AND AS A RESULT, THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S HOME. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED WHO OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE BUT DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN ANY RECALLS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 182,000.
I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF A 2001 NISSAN XTERRA XE V6 3.3L ENGINE. ALL MAINTENANCE DONE AT MOSSY NISSAN IS SAN DIEGO. I AM NOW HAVING TO REPLACE THE HEAD GASKET AFTER 89000MI. NISSAN DOES NOT OFFER ANY WARRANTY FOR THE FAILURE OF THE ENGINE GASKET. THIS IS PROBLEMATIC AND NEEDS TO BE CORRECTED. *TR
BOTH RIGHT AND LEFT EXHAUST MANIFOLDS CRACKED, CAUSING EXHAUST FUMES TO ENTER THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. THE CRACKS WERE PRESENT FOR SOME TIME. THESE FAILURES ON THIS VEHICLE ARE VERY COMMON AND IN MY OPINION VERY DANGEROUS. *TR
THE THERMOSTAT AND FAN CLUTCH IN THE COOLING SYSTEM OF THE VEHICLE HAS FAILED 3 TIMES IN THE YEARS I HAVE OWNED MY NISSAN. THE ENGINE WILL RISE IN TEMPERATURE AND BECAUSE OF THE FAN CLUTCH AND THERMOSTAT FAILURE, THE ENGINE TEMPERATURE RISES TO UNSAFE LEVELS. *TR
2001 NISSAN XTERRA CURRENTLY HAS 77, 123 MILES. EXPERIENCING POWER WINDOW FAILURE AND CRANKSHAFT PULLEY FAILURE. 1. AUG 06 WINDOW FAILED TO COMPLETELY CLOSE, HAD TO ADJUST WITH HAND TO CLOSE. I THOUGHT WINDOW WAS OFF TRACK SO I HAD DEALER SERVICE WINDOW, DEALER APPLIED LUBRICATION. WINDOW IS STILL FAILING TO COMPLETELY CLOSE WITHOUT ASSISTANCE. 2.HEARD NOISE IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER FOR SERVICE, DEALER REPLACED POWER STEERING TENSIONER PULLEY NOISE CONTINUED TO EXIST. I HAD A REPUTABLE MECHANIC LOOK AT VEHICLE AND NOTICED THAT THE CRANKSHAFT PULLEY HAD MULTIPLE STRESS FRACTURES AND DENTS. VEHICLE SCHEDULED TO BE SERVICED AGAIN TO REPLACE CRANKSHAFT PULLEY. *JB
BOTH REAR WINDOW REGULATORS FAILED IN THE CONSUMER'S 2001 NISSAN XTERRA. *TS THE BLOWER MOTOR ONLY BLOWS ON HIGH. THE DEALER FOUND THAT THE BLOWER MOTOR RESISTOR SHORTED OUT. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED WHILE DRIVING. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE THERMOSTAT HAD TO BE REPLACED. *NM
SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED BRAND NEW FROM NISSAN, HOT AIR FROM THE ENGINE CONSTANTLY POURS THROUGH THE VENTILATION SYSTEM AND INTO THE CABIN AREA, EVEN WHEN THE AIR IS TURNED OFF. *JB
(1) NORMAL VEHICLE OPERATION, NO SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES LED TO FAILURE. (2) THE RIGHT CYLINDER BANK EXHAUST MANIFOLD FAILED WHICH ALLOWED EXHAUST GASES TO BE PRESENT UNDER THE HOOD AND DRAWN INTO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT BY THE HEAT AND AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM OF THE VEHICLE. (3) THE RIGHT CYLINDER BANK EXHAUST MANIFOLD WAS REPLACED. THE OLD PART IS UNAVAILABLE DUE TO THIS REPAIR BEING COVERED BY A VEHICLE SERVICE CONTRACT AND THE OLD PART WAS RETAINED BY THE DEALER PERFORMING THE REPAIR. *JB
PASSENGAR EXHUAST MANIFOLD CRACKED. BEING REPLACED UNDER EXTENDED WARRANTY BUT AS FAR AS I CAN TELL THIS SEEMS TO HAPPEN ON 10-25% OF XTERRA'S AND HAS NOT BEEN ADDRESSED BY NISSAN. CAN POSSIBLY LEAD TO EXHAUST ENTERING THE CABIN IF NOT DETECTED. THIS IS A VARIANT OF THE ENGINE THAT WAS USED IN OLDER PATHFINDER MODELS THAT SUFFERED FROM THIS PROBLEM. NISSAN IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND AT A MINIMUM ADVISE THE PUBLIC ON IT SO THAT THEY ARE AWARE OF POSSIBLE EXHAUST ENTERING THE CABIN.
EXHAUST MANIFOLD BOLTS BREAK ON NISSANS VG33E ENGINE, CAUSING DANGERIOUS EXHAUST GAS TO LEAK IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT WHERE IT COULD BE SUCKED INTO IN CABIN AIR INTAKE AT FRONT OF WINDSHIELD I HAD 3 BROKE ON THE PASSENGER SIDE MANIFOLD. *AK
AFTER SEVERAL VISITS TO NISSAN FOR NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS AND PROBLEMS THE 36,000 MILE WARRANTY HAD EXPIRED IN THE MIDDLE OF FIXING THEM. THERE HAS BEEN A NOISE THAT THEY CLAIMED FIRST WAS THE KNOCK SENSOR, THEY REPLACED THAT, AND NOW THEY BELIEVE IT IS THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD HOWEVER IF IT IS JUST THE GASKETS THEY WANT $400.00 TO REPLACE OR IF IT IS CRACKED WHICH THEY CAN'T TELL ME FOR SURE IT'S COVERED UNDER THE 60,000 WARRANTY. THE MOST UPSETTING THING IS THIS PROBLEM EXISTED BEFORE WARRANTY EXPIRATION AND THEY STILL HAVE NOT FIXED IT. *NLM
WHEN CONSUMER DRIVES UP A HILL ENGINE WILL STALL. CONSUMER HAS CALLED DEALER, AND DEALER HAS NOT CALLED BACK YET.*AK TRANSMISSION FAILED. THE SPEEDOMETER GOES BACK AND FORTH. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON DUE TO CANISTER LEAK, DEALER REPLACED CANISTER AND VALVE ASSEMBLY. *YH
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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