Problems · by component

2006 Nissan Xterra engine problems

104 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2006 Nissan Xterra cite engine, 13% of all 780 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
104
13% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the engine

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“THE TIMING CHAIN HAS CAUSED MY VEHICLE TO DIE ON ME IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY HIGHWAY I WAS ALMOST HIT BY A FEW CARS. i HAD TO DRIVE MY CAR GOING ONLY 40 MPH ALL THE WAY BECASUE THAT IS ALL IT WOULD DO. IT HAS A VERY LOUD NOISE AND IT IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE ON THE ROAD ANYMORE. I HAVE READ AND NISSAN SHOULD REPLACE THESE BECAUSE ALOT OF PEOPLE HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THEM YES MY CAR IS AVAILABLE FOR IMSPECTION i HAVE REGULAR KEPT MAINTENENCE ON IT NO THERE WERE NO WARNING LAMPS AT ALL JUST LOUD NOISE AND THEN NO COMPRESSION”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 28, 2024EngineODI 11585719
“Engine noise: - Noise coming from time belt support - The timing chain guide wore out fast. - Timing chain guide inner plastic wore out causing chain to rely metal bracket then the metal causing noise and eventually break the the timing chain.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 3, 2023EngineODI 11515117
“My engine self destruct because Nissan used cheap made plastic tensioners that shredded metal into my engine causing it to self destruct. Nissan knew about this problem and continued installing these tensioners from 2005-2015. I could have crashed into anything while driving or someone could have hit me if my engine would’ve died while driving. My safety was not prioritized by Nissan. The warning light was a whining noise coming from the engine while startup and pressing on the gas pedal. So they knew the problem existed but didn’t care.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 4, 2021EngineODI 11442624
“VEHICLE HAS STALLED MULTIPLE TIMES, BOTH IN MOTION AND PARKED. THERE WERE NO WARNING SIGNALS, STRANGE NOISES, OR OTHER INDICATORS TO POINT TO THE ISSUE. ADDITIONALLY, WHEN TRYING TO USE THE OBD PORT TO DIAGNOSE THE ISSUE, THE OBD PORT WILL NOT READ AND ONLY GIVES AN ERROR. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 14, 2020Unknown or other, EngineODI 11324594
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 NISSAN XTERRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND THE VEHICLE OPERATED AS INTENDED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO BE DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE CONTACT REFERENCED THE FAILURE TO NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 10V517000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 200,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 14, 2020EngineODI 11321110
“A LA SEMANA DE MARZO 30 DEL 2019 QUE SAQUE ESTA CAMIONETA DEL DEALER HAPPY'S AUTO, LLC EN HAYS, KS 67601. ESTE PRESENTO UN CALENTAMIENTO DEL MOTOR, TUBE QUE PAGAR PARA QUE LE CAMBIARAN EN TERMOSTATO, PERO SIGUIO EL PROBLEMA SIEMPRE HASTA QUE ME DIJERON LOS DEL MISMO DEALER QUE EL MOTOR YA NO SERVIA. DI 2200 DOLLARS DE PAGO, DIJERON QUE TENIA YO QUE PAGAR OTRO MOTOR MAS EL COSTO 11,072 DOLLARS DE LA CAMIONETA. ES UN ROBO, ME ENTREGARON LA CAMIONETA CON EL ESTEREO MAL, LA REFACCION NO ME LA PUSIERON ABAJO EN SU LUGAR, LO CUAL CAUSO QUE SE ME QUEBRARA UN PLASTICO DE LA CAJUELA TRADERS. AL FINAL LES DIJE QUE NO QUERIA MAS LA CAMIONETA Y ME DIJERON QUE ESTABA BIEN PERO NO ME DEVOLVERIAN MI DINERO, NUNCA ME ENSEARON EL HISTORIAL MECANICO DE LA CAMIONETA. LA CAMIONETA YA TENIA MAS DE 150000 MILLAS. AHORA AUTO CHOICES,LLC ME ESTA COBRANDO POR UNA CAMIONETA QUE NO TENGO PORQUE ELLOS SE LA QUEDARON, QUE ME FALLO SIEMPRE Y CON UN INTERES DEL 20% ANUAL. NECECITO AYUDA POR FAVOR.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 22, 2019Electrical system, EngineODI 11290762

Showing 6 of 104 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 8, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.