2005 Nissan Xterra
Complaints about this year name fuel far more often than the model's other years — 34% of them, about 86× the usual rate of 0.4%.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 845 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 24 |
| Involving a crash | 7 |
| Involving a fire | 6 |
| Recalls | 6 |
| EPA combined | 16.5 mpg |
Also unusual this year
- tank — 19% of complaints, 47× usual
- gauge — 24% of complaints, 12× usual
- fuel gauge — 16% of complaints, 39× usual
What owners wrote
FUEL GAUGE ON NISSAN XTERRA 05, CEL LIGHT ON FAIL EMISSION TEST VA, CANNOT TELL HOW MUCH GAS IS IN THE TANK.
THE FUEL GAUGE INACCURATELY DISPLAYS THE AMOUNT OF FUEL PRESENT IN THE FUEL TANK. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THE TECHNICIAN CONCLUDED THAT THE FUEL TANK NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. . THE [VIN] WAS NOTIFIED, BUT NO ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED. THE FAILURE M…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 10E019000 SUSPENSION Fixed free of charge.
- 10V517000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
- 08V690000 AIR BAGS
- 05V458000 TRAILER HITCHES
- 07E046000 EQUIPMENT Fixed free of charge.
- 05E062000 TRAILER HITCHES Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Nissan Xterra was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2005 Nissan Xterra? What happened to yours?
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