Nissan · 1999–present

Nissan Xterra

The Nissan Xterra is a truck-based compact SUV that was first manufactured and marketed by Nissan from 1999 to 2015 across two generations; the first (1999–2004) sharing a platform and many of its major exterior parts from the front doors forward with the Nissan (D22) Frontier pickup – and the second (2005–2015) sharing the Nissan F-Alpha platform with the Frontier and Pathfinder. It is planned to be reintroduced in 2028. Sporting a name licensed from the XTERRA off-road triathlon race series, the vehicle was positioned by Nissan as functional and reliable outdoor gear, epitomized by its marketing tagline “Everything You Need, Nothing You Don’t.” It was developed in La Jolla, California, by Nissan Design International (NDI)'s (now Nissan Design America) then Director of Design Tom Semple, and became the first Nissan vehicle completely conceived, developed and manufactured in the United States. According to Jerry Hirshberg, president of Nissan Design International (NDI), "the impetus for Xterra designers was to create an affordable, rugged, quality piece of equipment". He later described it as "a garage tool that says, 'treat me rough' – it's designed to look better dirty than clean." While the two Xterra generations differed significantly, both prioritized ruggedness, practicality, and affordability over luxury. Traditional body-on-frame construction and underbody skid plates reflected both its truck heritage and off-road capability. Throughout its lifetime the Xterra used a two-box design with a prominent two-tiered roof enabling second row stadium seating, C-pillar-mounted rear door handles, asymmetrical rear window, and a distinctive tailgate bump-out for an inside mounted first aid kit. For hauling exterior loads a roof rack with a removable forward gear basket was standard equipment. Road & Track described the Xterra as "an honest SUV that doesn't try to be a luxury car alternative, nor tries to hide its truck underpinnings". Jalopnik called it a "knockoff of the Land Rover Discovery". The Washington Post described it as "rugged without bravado". First generation manufacture took place at Nissan's Decherd, Tennessee Plant (engines) and Smyrna Assembly plant (final assembly). Second generation Xterras were manufactured at the company's Canton, Mississippi plant (final assembly). Variants were also manufactured in Brazil and China.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Model years

Generations & variants

Nissan Xterra

1999–2028

Photos

US safety recalls

• 23V067000 2023-02-10 · model years 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

  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.

  Remedy: Dealers will replace the driverÂ’s airbag cover. Owner letters were mailed December 8, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall are PC944, PC945, and PC946.

• 12V462000 2012-09-20 · model years 2012 SUSPENSION:FRONT:HUB

  Nissan is recalling certain model year 2012 Frontier, Pathfinder, and Xterra two-wheel drive vehicles manufactured from June 19, 2012, through July 12, 2012. These vehicles may have been equipped with front wheel hubs that may not meet the design hardness specifications. A wheel hub that was manufactured below…

  Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replaced the left and right side front wheel hub assemblies free of charge. The safety recall began on October 22, 2012. Owners may contact Nissan Customer Service at…

• 11V592000 2011-12-19 · model years 2011, 2012 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

  NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011 INFINITI FX, MODEL YEAR 2012 INFINITI M, MODEL YEAR 2011-2012 NISSAN FRONTIER, MODEL YEAR 2011-2012 NISSAN XTERRA, MODEL YEAR 2011-2012 NISSAN PATHFINDER, AND MODEL YEAR 2012 NISSAN NV VEHICLES. SOME OF THE BOLTS THAT CONNECT THE ENGINE OIL COOLER AND THE ENGINE OIL FILTER…

  Remedy: NISSAN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE CONNECTOR BOLTS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JANUARY 30, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.

• 10V554000 2010-11-11 · model years 2002, 2003, 2004 STEERING:COLUMN

  NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2002-2004 FRONTIER VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM JULY 9, 2001 THROUGH OCTOBER 20, 2004, AND MODEL YEAR 2002-2004, XTERRA VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM JULY 9, 2001, THROUGH JANUARY 6, 2005. OVER TIME CORROSION MAY FORM IN THE LOWER STEERING COLUMN JOINT AND LIMIT MOVEMENT OF THE JOINT.…

  Remedy: THE STEERING COLUMN SHAFT AND JOINT WILL BE REPLACED WITH A SHAFT OF A DIFFERENT DESIGN. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON DECEMBER 13, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.

• 10V517000 2010-10-28 · model years 2005, 2006 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

  NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004-2006 ARMADA, TITAN, INFINITI QX56 AND MODEL YEAR 2005-2006 FRONTIER, PATHFINDER AND XTERRA VEHICLES. THE INTELLIGENT POWER DISTRIBUTION MODULE (IPDM) ASSEMBLY CONTAINS AN ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (ECM) RELAY THAT HAS A DIODE FOR ELECTRICAL CURRENT NOISE REDUCTION. THE ECM RELAY…

  Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE ECM RELAY INSIDE THE IPDM ASSEMBLY. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON DECEMBER 6, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.

• 10V401000 2010-09-10 · model years 2008, 2009, 2010 EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:NAVIGATIONAL SYSTEM(GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM)

  NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN VEHICLES THAT WERE EQUIPPED WITH A GARMIN NUVI MODEL 750 NAVIGATION SYSTEM. THE BATTERIES CONTAINED IN THE AFFECTED GPS UNITS CAN OVERHEAT.

  Remedy: NISSAN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND THE REPAIRS WILL BE PERFORMED BY GARMIN TECHNICIANS BY REPLACING THE BATTERY AND INSERTING A SPACER ON TOP OF THE BATTERY FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 16, 2010.…

• 10V208000 2010-05-14 · model years 2010 SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER ARM

  NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2010 TITAN, ARMADA, QX56, FRONTIER, XTERRA, AND PATHFINDER VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM NOVEMBER 19, 2009 THROUGH MARCH 3, 2010. THE LOWER CONTROL LINK ASSEMBLY HAS TWO CYLINDRICAL COLLARS FORMING THE INBOARD ATTACHMENT POINTS TO THE CHASSIS. DUE TO AN IMPROPER WELDING PROCESS SOME…

  Remedy: NISSAN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND DEALERS WILL REPAIR THE VEHICLES FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 20, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.

• 10V115000 2010-03-24 · model years 2010 STEERING:GEAR BOX:SHAFT SECTOR

  NISSAN HAS NOTIFIED NHTSA OF A DEFECT IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2010 FRONTIER, PATHFINDER, AND XTERRA VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM FEBRUARY 22, 2010 TO MARCH 13, 2010. ON SOME OF THE POTENTIALLY AFFECTED VEHICLES, THE FASTENERS SECURING THE PASSENGER FRONT AIR BAG MODULE, AND ALSO THE FASTENERS SECURING THE STEERING SHAFT…

  Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE STEERING COLUMN AND THE PASSENGER FRONT AIR BAG FASTENERS AND ANY MISSING FASTENERS WILL BE REPLACED AND ALL LOOSE FASTENERS WILL BE RETIGHTENED TO THE PROPER TORQUE SPECIFICATIONS FREE OF…

• 10V075000 2010-03-03 · model years 2006, 2008 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:AUXILLARY TANK

  NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2006 AND MODEL YEAR 2008 FRONTIER, XTERRA AND PATHFINDER VEHICLES. THE MOLDED FUEL TANK SHELLS CAN DEFORM, CAUSING THE FUEL SENDER FLOAT ARM TO CONTACT AN EMBOSSMENT MOLDED INTO THE TANK SHELL CAUSING THE INSTRUMENT PANEL FUEL GAUGE TO SHOW THAT THE VEHICLE HAS APPROXIMATELY ONE…

  Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FUEL LEVEL SENDING UNIT INSIDE THE FUEL TANK WITH A NEW ONE THAT HAS A MODIFIED FLOAT ARM. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE…

NHTSA recalls database (US government, public domain). Recalls apply to US-market vehicles; check the manufacturer for your country.

US EPA fuel-economy records

US EPA test figures (US MPG, US test cycle), fueleconomy.gov ↗, US government public domain.

Sources

• Wikidata / Wikipedia profiles — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/cars/Q1809938CC0 / CC BY-SA 4.0
• Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_XterraCC BY-SA 4.0 · Intro text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1371951216 · retrieved 2026-10-03
• US EPA / DOE FuelEconomy.gov — https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/ws/index.shtmlUS Government public domain
• NHTSA recalls database — https://www.nhtsa.gov/recallsUS Government public domain
• Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.

More from Nissan