2008 Nissan XTERRA - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

Based on the safety rating data for the 2008 Nissan Xterra, the overall safety of the vehicle is not rated. However, it received a good rating of 4 for both the front crash on the driver side and passenger side. Additionally, it scored very well with a rating of 5 for both the driver and passenger side in side crash scenarios, which indicates excellent side impact protection. The Xterra also comes equipped with standard electronic stability control, enhancing its safety features.

It is worth noting that this model does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems. In terms of rollover risk, it received a rating of 3, indicating a moderate risk of rollovers. Despite some positive safety features, the 2008 Nissan Xterra has had a relatively high number of complaints, with 118 reported, and has been subject to 8 recalls. These factors should be taken into consideration when evaluating the overall safety and reliability of this vehicle.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

118

Recall Count

8

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2008 Nissan Xterra 4-DR Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2008 Nissan Xterra 4-DR

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2008 Nissan Xterra 4-DR Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2008 Nissan Xterra 4-DR Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2008 Score 2015 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 4 4 Not Rated
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 4 4 Not Rated

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2008 Score 2015 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 5 Not Rated
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 Not Rated
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2008 Score 2015 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated 3 3
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated

Complaints for the 2008 Nissan XTERRA

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"driving and transfer case locked up sending me in to oncoming traffic and guardrail"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2022-01-11

Complaint:
"i have an 08 xterra and when i was driving it one day it felt like it was having a hard time getting up hills and almost felt like it wouldnt downshift. then finally when at a light had to really gas it to get the car going. limped the car to a family members house to let it sit until i figured out what was wrong with it. after research figured the car put itself into limp mode so i disconnected the battery to do a full reset on the computer. was able to get it home 25 miles after reset. we have a spare/commuter car so i was able to let it sit in my garage for a few months while i tried to figure out what was wrong with it when i had time. finally after narrowing it down to things that i had never done before, i decided to take it to nissan. they told me the next day that it was the radiator failure and proceeded to quote me $7000 for the repairs........ouch on a car that was now 11 years old which i had purchased from that dealership brand new. i decided to take it home because it was a big decision to make right away. so here i am with a car that missed the lawsuit as i have an xterra that is 11 years old [!@#$%] near 200000 miles. i did my own maintenance, when replacing my head gasket i noticed i had the no carbon build up on the head, basically looked like a car that had 20000 miles on it. shame on nissan for not doing a recall or notifying owners of this issue. i love my xterra but i'm sure the cost of the fix is roughly what the car is worth. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tt"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2019-03-03

Complaint:
"complete failure of transmission during rush hour. vehicle needs a new transmission and radiator at a cost of $5,500."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2020-05-11

Complaint:
"complete failure of transmission during rush hour. vehicle needs a new transmission and radiator at a cost of $5,500."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2020-05-11

Complaint:
"my car stopped on a highway. the transmission/radiator failed on 5/25/2018. the car has 130,000 miles on it. the failure was sudden and there were no warning signs of a problem."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2020-01-05

Complaint:
"i had reach my destination to work and found that my xterra will not go in reverse. i had no previous warning of this or recall notice from nissan. i have 2 nissan xterra's after i pay for this $4000.00 repair i plan on selling them both as they are not reliable with this transmission defect."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2018-05-11

Complaint:
"my xterra is currently un-driveable due to the fact that the radiator fluid leaked into the transmission, which caused me the blow my transmission while i was merging on to the highway, which almost caused an accident due to an extreme lost of power. after this happened to me, that is when i found out that this is a very common problem with make model and year of my vehicle. nissan has done nothing to help."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2016-06-05

Complaint:
"vehicle was loosing fluid from radiator, no leakage on ground.then the next thing that happened was, it wasn't shifting correctly. i went to a transmission shop and they told me i needed a new transmission i then called around to get a second opinion, went to a different shop, at that shop after i parked the car, it wouldn't even start back up, car has repaired at that location . radiator leaked fluid in my transmission and ruined it!"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2016-01-05

Complaint:
"during a routine oil change at fort lauderdale nissan i was told the radiator somehow cracked was leaking around the vehicle, but no more info was covered or discussed. as it was already in the shop who was to argue this, as i was told i wouldn't be able to drive the vehicle. i had driven the vehicle many mile since my prior service and not once had this vehicle overheated. a month later when i was getting tires i received an inspection at a different shop and their claim was my transmission fluid was very dirty and frothy and it needed changing, so i did this. now, in 2017 after a few odd transmission issues that went unexplainable besides regular service, at 135,000 i have transmission failure and have learned why: due to faulty radiator leakage at one point. i wasn't informed of anything of this nature now i am paying for it. the total failure happened while driving."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2017-01-02

Complaint:
"i purchased my xterra back in october of 2008. it hasn't given me any significant problems until now. i have taken it to the same certified nissan dealer/service center for just about all of the scheduled maintenance and so on. even though this issue was known by nissan, not once in all of my many visits to this service provider, was i warned or notified of this condition or the class action lawsuit that was in progress which has since been closed (october 2016). also, being that my vehicle is just over the lawsuits agreed upon mileage allowed for any compensation from nissan, i wouldn't qualify to receive anything at this point. so now, here i am with a vehicle, that i planned to keep for many more years, either having to basically junk it, or pay upwards of $7000 in repairs (according to the nissan service center) to replace the transmission and radiator. i am between a rock and a hard place. i feel that i should be compensated in some way for this. if i were notified of this problem around the time that it first came to light, i would have at least had the chance to trade the vehicle in, instead of being stuck here with a vehicle that is essentially worthless. not only could they have been considerate enough to notify me as 1 of many purchasers of a nissan vehicle with this issue, but you would think that during service visits they would keep an eye out for an impending issue such as this. after research of this problem, i found that my vehicle was displaying symptoms of this condition arising months ago (ie: the heat not remaining warm when in idol position). also, i just had a oil change 2 weeks prior to having them check this problem out. i do know that this issue was already present then, because i had a couple of instances where it seemed that my transmission was slipping, and not only that, but the engine light was on. *tr"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2017-09-01

Recalls for the 2008 Nissan XTERRA

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"nissan is recalling 242,720 my 2005-2009 pathfinder, frontier and xterra vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in the states of connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, and the district of columbia. in those areas of the country which use heavy concentrations of road salt in the winter, a mixture of snow/water and salt can enter into the front crash zone sensor (czs) housing. if this occurs, the czs may internally rust resulting in a signal interruption. if this happens, the red air bag warning light will illuminate to alert the vehicle operator."
Consequence:
THIS ISSUE COULD RESULT IN THE NON-DEPLOYMENT OF THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER FRONT AIR BAGS IN A CRASH, INCREASING THE RISK OF PERSONAL INJURY.
Remedy:

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FRONT CZS WITH A REDESIGNED SENSOR. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JANUARY 26, 2009. OWNERS IN THE OTHER STATES WILL RECEIVE EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERAGE FOR THE SENSOR TO 10 YEARS. THESE OWNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED OF THE WARRANTY EXTENSION BY MAIL AND WILL RECEIVE A STICKER TO PLACE IN THEIR WARRANTY BOOKLET EXPLAINING THE EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERAGE. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.

Component(s) Involved: AIR BAGS > FRONTAL
Date of incident: 2008-12-29

Recall:
"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."
Consequence:
A detached emblem can become a projectile during air bag deployment, increasing the risk of injury to vehicle occupants.
Remedy:

Dealers will replace the driver’s airbag cover. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed April 7, 2023. Second letters will be mailed once the remedy is available, anticipated December 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall are PC944, PC945, and PC946.

Component(s) Involved: AIR BAGS > FRONTAL
Date of incident: 2023-02-10

NISSAN Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

NISSAN ranks 5 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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