How Many Miles Can a Nissan Xterra Last? Are They Reliable?

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Nissan Xterra front

Recently I’ve bought the Nissan Xterra, which was heavily used, and wondered what is the life span of this car. Which made me do some research and look into how many miles can a Nissan Xterra Last.   

So, how many miles can a Nissan Xterra last? Of course, it all depends on the maintenance, but on average this car can safely last up to 200,000 miles without the major mechanical issues. And most users after getting rid of these problems, expect to squeeze another 150,000 out of it.  

It’s a sturdy car that can take a lot of milages and showing little to no signs of stopping. But still, it’s important to know which year produced to the worst cars, which year they made the best car, and why it was eventually discontinued.

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Are Nissan Xterras reliable?  

As it was designed to be an affordable off-road option at expense of luxury and comfort. This car can really prove itself in the right hands.

Nissan Xterra interior

This means that Nissan produced a reliable SUV that can be driven for many years to come. The engine is not perfect but still gives the reliability and proves to the high milage this car can easily climb into.   

So, how many miles is too much for a Nissan Xterra? Most people that share their experience with the car have driven around 200 000 and 280 000 miles and still see no end, so it’s difficult to say exactly when the car dies. But the 300 000 mark could be a good point to start searching for a replacement.  

And the worst complaints about Nissan Xterra are no dealbreakers but definitely something that persists in almost every model and important to keep in mind:   

  • Leaking radiators 
    Can cause a lot of damage to the transmission resulting in its failure. This problem might occur around 100 000 miles and mostly in 2005 Nissan Xterra. 

  • Engine Power 
    Another problem and complaint from owners of newer models of Nissan Xterra is the sudden loss of power. Some people experience it on freeways and others say that they can’t get to start the car at all.  

Other minor complaints state that the car is often difficult to drive and steer with clumsy and uncomfortable handling. The suspension being harder makes it a little tougher on the bumpy road. Some point out that it has uncomfortable seats, but from what I gather it could be a complaint about never model. It can also feel cheaply made as a state before.  

Also worthy of note is that some other problems in the car come from electronics. Users say that the car out of nowhere starts to accelerate and die on the driver. Making the car immobile.  

Nissan Xterra rear

Other minor complaints that are preventable and vary from model to model are cold air being vented when the engine is idle and hygiene concerns regard smell coming from the engine.

Despite all of these concerns about the Nissan Xterra reliability, is it worth it? And I think the answer is yes. There isn’t a car that doesn’t break. And it’s often best to stay with the one that lasts the most and Nissan Xterra is just the car like that. The engine pushing 200 000 miles and more, with good maintenance this car could be yours for a long time.  

Older models still hold up as the most comfortable ones, them being a spacious easily fitting family of people and providing good cover in camping situations.

With high mileage vehicles, I would always suggest investing in a budget friendly vehicle code scanner. Older vehicles typically throw up a few fault codes, so with a scanner at least you know what these are and can search for the codes online. The great thing about these scanners is that you can reset most dashboard warning lights, and you may get lucky and the lights might not return. A great scanner that we have used in our workshop is the Foxwell NT301 OBD2 scanner. Its not the cheapest but definitely worth having if you have an older car and want to fault find yourself rather than paying for expensive auto shop diagnostics.

Nissan Xterra years to avoid  

Luckily the car doesn’t have many black stains on its sleight. Whichever year you would look at either 2010 Nissan Xterra problems or 2004 Nissan Xterra problems are all the same transmission oriented.  

But the 2005 Nissan Xterra easily takes the cake because coming out of the factory this car already had a transmission defect that usually costs an average $3,500 to repair and occur around 90 000 miles.   

People who experienced this say that it causes the car to suddenly jerk while driving, shiver while accelerating, the overall failure of transmission, and not letting switch to lower gears. The common solution is the replacement of transmission and radiator.  

The best Nissan Xterra model years

You don’t need to look far to get a good and lasting Nissan Xterra. As almost every model except mentioned above is trustworthy and long-lasting. You can trust older 2002 Nissan Xterra reliability and enjoy the long-lasting car with proven experience.

Nissan Xterra front

Or you can get probably the best Nissan Xterra that came out in 2009. As well as anything after that, as the car was reshaped to more modern standards. Also, important to keep in mind that the 2009 Nissan Xterra problems still range from leaking coolant and noises from the engine.   

Or you can trust the 2012 Nissan Xterra reliability as these models have minor complaints like squeaky suspension, radio malfunction, and not working iPod jack. But most importantly transmission issues for the newer model with manual shift mostly go away.  

Why Nissan Xterra discontinued?  

The last model from Nissan Xterra came out in 2015. It had interface upgrades including a USB connect for iPod and other mobile apps. But that wasn’t enough to save the model as the sales declines or did not meet expectations. Also, it had poor fuel economy consuming a gallon per 15 miles in the city and 20 miles on the highway. As well as necessary safety and emission upgrades were among the reasons this car was discontinued.   

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Nissan Xterra reliable? By now you are probably aware of how much this car can be reliable in the right hands. With good maintenance, it can drive for many thousands of miles before any real issues. With some minor problems, this car can prove itself to the driver.  

Does Nissan Xterra have a lot of problems? I’d say it doesn’t have a lot of problems, but it has a couple of bigger issues for certain models. Mainly transmission and loss of power. Although, it has minor issues, nothing that could be a red flag.   

 


More information

Check out our other Nissan reliability guides: