Problems · NHTSA complaints

2014 Nissan Xterra problems

Owners filed 10 complaints about the 2014 Nissan Xterra with NHTSA between Jul 2014 and Jul 2026. The most-cited component is air bags (3).

Complaints
10
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Air bags3
  2. Suspension3
  3. Tires1
  4. Exterior lighting1
  5. Power train1
  6. Seats1
  7. Steering1
  8. Electronic stability control (esc)1
  9. Service brakes1
  10. Engine1
  11. Other / unknown1

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

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 8, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20141
20151
20161
20172
20182
20191
20200
20210
20221
20230
20240
20250
20261

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Air bags

3 reports
“The side curtain airbags on my 2014 Nissan Xterra deployed unexpectedly, without any collision or impact. Nissan's Dispute Resolution Programs team is currently investigating (Incident #56613207). I was currently driving and luckily was able to pull over without any further issues but it could've been much worse if there was heavier traffic on the road. The vehicle was taken to a Nissan dealership for inspection following the unexpected deployment. Nissan's Technical Specialist attempted to download the Event Data Recorder (EDR) data during that visit but encountered an error and was unable to retrieve it. es. Nissan's Incident Investigation Specialist and a Technical Specialist have been involved through Nissan's Dispute Resolution Programs (Incident #56613207). No there were never any warnings or any dash lights to give warning. It was an immediate and unexpected airbag deployment.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 2, 2026Air bagsODI 11747910

Suspension

3 reports
“LEFT REAR LEAF SPRING BROKE 12/7/2017 REPLACE RIGHT REAR LEAF SPRING BROKE 4/25/2019 - WILL BE REPLACED IN MAY 2019”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 25, 2019SuspensionODI 11203821

Tires

1 report
“The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Xterra equipped with Cooper Tires, Tire Line: Discoverer A/T3, Tire Size: P265/70/R16, DOT Number: Not Provided. The contact stated that the rear passenger’s side tire had exposed wires. In addition, the tire was bulging on the sidewall. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21T002000 (Tires) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The tire was a replacement tire. The tire failure mileage was 19,700 and the vehicle failure mileage was 98,454.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 15, 2022TiresODI 11452153

Exterior lighting

1 report
“PASSENGER AIRBAG SENSOR INTERMITTENTLY STUCK ON HEADLAMPS NOT TURNING OFF WHEN ON 'AUTO' SETTING”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 12, 2018Exterior lighting, Air bagsODI 11128848

Power train

1 report
“MY VEHICLE WILL RANDOMLY BUCK AND LOSE DRIVE POWER. MOSTLY NOTICED AT SLOW SPEEDS, BUT ALSO DOES IT ON THE HIGHWAY AS WELL. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM IS EXACTLY LIKE PEOPLE REPORTED IN THE 2014 CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINST NISSAN FOR SEVERAL OF THE 2014 NISSAN MODELS (SPECIFICALLY, THE PATHFINDER) IT IS CONCERNING THAT THE TRANSMISSION WILL COMPLETELY GO CAUSING A MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 11, 2017Power trainODI 11053826

Seats

1 report
“THE DRIVERS SEAT WASN'T LOCKING INTO PLACE FULLY. IT WOULD CLICK AND THEN IF YOU MAKE STOPS WHEN DRIVING IT SLIDES AND CLICKS AGAIN. THE DEALERSHIP SAID THE SEAT WAS LOOSE AND SAID IT WAS FIXED, A WEEK LATER IT STARTED DOING THE EXACT SAME THING. NO LOCKING FULLY UNTIL YOU CAME TO A STOP WHILE DRIVING THEN IT SLIDES FORWARD AND CLICKS AGAIN. I TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THIS TIME WAS TOLD "IT'S NORMAL, ALL OUR VEHICLES DO IT" NO OTHER SEAT IN MY XTERRA, OR ANY OTHER NISSAN I'VE BEEN IN HAVE DONE THIS...”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 24, 2016SeatsODI 10851502
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 8, 2026

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