I wanted more up-to-date car reliability information that included actual repair rates. So in late 2005 I started getting people together to make this possible. TrueDelta now reports absolute repair rates that make the differences between cars much clearer. Results are updated four times a year, so it's possible to track cars closely as they age.

So far 100 Xterra owners have signed up to participate. Not enough to include the Xterra in the main survey, but close for some model years. With more participants, we could provide reliability stats for all model years.

Participants simply report repairs the month after they occur on a one-page survey. When there are no repairs, they simply report an approximate odometer reading four times a year, at the end of each quarter.

To encourage participation, participants receive full access to all results, not just those for the Xterra, free of charge.

For the details, and to sign up to help out:

Car reliability research

Now 114 owners signed up, and the 2005 is only three short of getting started.

Help get your year included:

Car reliability research

Now 129 owners, and the 2005 is only a single vehicle short. The 2000 is only five from the minimum.

I just signed up with my 2005, so that should put it over the top, right?

The email I got back included this statement:

"The 2005 Xterra is not yet included in the Car Reliability Survey. If you know others with this car, please encourage them to join. When it is included you'll automatically start receiving emails with links to the survey."

Maybe it wont be included until after some months of data are collected after hitting the target? I didn't spend much time reading the fine print etc...

The 2005 has been added to the survey. Could have results starting in August, depending on the actual level of participation.

Other years close.

Not yet signed up? Details here:

Car reliability research

148 Xterra owners now signed up. The 2000 is now only five owners short of the minimum needed to add it to the survey.

Also 3/4 of the way with the 2002 and 2007.

The 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2007 are now all 4-6 owners away from getting started.

To help get your year included:


Car reliability research

184 owners now signed up, and looking forward to initial results for the 2005 in November.

It looks like we'll start having stats for the Xterra with the February update. Looking forward to eventually having full results for all years--just a matter of getting enough owners involved.

Car reliability research

241 Xterra owners now signed up, and we'll have an initial result for the 2005 later this month.

We now have a reliability stat for the 2005 Xterra. With a reported repair frequency of 174 repair trips per 100 vehicles per year, it's worse than average.

Thank you, once again, to everyone who has been helping. We'll have further updates in May and August. With more participants, we could provide more precise information and cover all model years.

To see how competitors compare, and to sign up to help provide this information:

Nissan Xterra reliability ratings and comparisons

We have an updated reliability stat for the 2005 Xterra that includes owner experiences through March 31, 2011. With a reported repair frequency of 147 repair trips per 100 vehicles per year, it remains worse than average.

Xterras and Pathfinders of this vintage seem prone to cooling system failures that can lead to automatic transmission failures.

We'll have further updates in August and November. With more participants, we could provide more precise information and cover all model years.

To see how competitors compare, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Nissan Xterra reliability ratings and comparisons

We have updated our reliability stats for the Xterra to include owner experiences through June 30, 2011.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2006: 124

2005: 183

Both are wore than average. Xterras and Pathfinders of this vintage (Frontiers as well?) seem prone to cooling system failures that can lead to automatic transmission failures.

Thank you, once again, to everyone who has been helping. We'll have further updates in November and February. With more participants, we could provide more precise information and cover all model years.

To see how competitors compare, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Nissan Xterra reliability ratings and comparisons

We have updated our reliability stats for the Xterra (on our redesigned site) to include owner experiences through December 31, 2011.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2007: 35, better than average

2006: 76, about average

2005: 111, about average

2002: 49, better than average

2000: 114, about average

Small sample sizes in all cases, so these stats are not precise.

Thank you, once again, to everyone who has been helping. We'll have further updates in May and August. With more participants, we could provide more precise information and cover all model years.

To see how competitors compare, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Nissan Xterra reliability ratings and comparisons

Is it possible that the lack of people adding data, resulting in the small sample size, in itself is an indication of reliability? That is, I don't think most people would add anything unless it was negative. It's just like someone researching the X for a purchase and find our website. From here, since this is where you can go to find solutions/suggestions for problems, this researcher may come away with a skewed perspective that the trucks have a lot of problems whereas in reality, it's only the people with problems that are posting.

My point being, since there is such a small sample size it indicates that the trucks, overall, are very reliable?

Let's look at 2002 with only 49 respondents. Out of the thousands of '02's out there, we're trying to predict reliability on only 49 samples? This is like trying to predict the health of a field of corn by only looking at a couple of unhealthy stalks. While the truth is, the field, overall, is extremely healthy. So while it may give us some insight, it's hardly a representative sample.

So, come on guys and gals! Add your input! Even if you have had NO repairs since you got your truck, that is beneficial to the stats too!

We have updated our reliability stats for the Xterra to include owner experiences through June 30, 2012.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2010: no repairs reported, 13 SUVs

2008: 75, worse than average

2007: 47, about average

2006: 58, about average

2005: 78, about average

2002: 116, worse than average

2000: 67, better than average

Very small sample sizes in all cases, while probably explains much of the variation from year to year. We'd like to provide much more precise stats in future updates--just need more owners involved to do this.

To see how competitors compare, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Nissan Xterra reliability ratings and comparisons

We have updated our reliability stats for the Xterra to include owner experiences through September 30, 2012.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2010: no repairs reported, 13 SUVs

2008: 65, about average

2007: 39, better than average

2006: 71, about average

2005: 68, about average

2002: 71, better than average

2000: 93, about average

Very small sample sizes in nearly all cases, while probably explains much of the variation from year to year.

We'll have further updates in February and May. With more owners involved, we could provide much more precise information and cover all model years.

To see how competitors compare, and to sign up to help:

Nissan Xterra reliability ratings and comparisons

I'm a d bag spammer

We've updated our reliability stats for the Xterra to include owner experiences through March 31, 2013.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2010 Xterra: 25, low, small sample size
2008 Xterra: 40, low, very small sample size
2007 Xterra: 44, low, very small sample size
2006 Xterra: 90, high, very small sample size
2005 Xterra: 76, moderate, small sample size
2002 Xterra: 40, low, very small sample size
2000 Xterra: 99, moderate, very small sample size

We'll have further updates in August and in November. To see how competitors compare, and to sign up to help (much appreciated):

Nissan Xterra reliability ratings and comparisons

We've updated our reliability stats for the Xterra to include owner experiences through June 30, 2013. (Another source is about 14 months behind.)

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2010 Xterra: 27, low, very small sample size
2008 Xterra: 53, moderate, very small sample size
2007 Xterra: 32, low, very small sample size
2006 Xterra: 96, high, very small sample size
2005 Xterra: 81, moderate, small sample size
2002 Xterra: 47, low, very small sample size
2000 Xterra: 108, moderate, very small sample size

We'll have further updates in November and February.

To view competitors' scores and descriptions of reported repairs, and to sign up to help:

Nissan Xterra reliability ratings and comparisons

We've updated our reliability stats for the Xterra to include owner experiences through September 30, 2013.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2010 Xterra: 39, low, very small sample size
2008 Xterra: 45, low, very small sample size
2007 Xterra: 38, low, very small sample size
2006 Xterra: 108, high, very small sample size
2005 Xterra: 121, high, small sample size
2000 Xterra: 76, low, very small sample size

We'll have further updates in February and in May. The more owners participate, the more comprehensive and precise these will be.

To see how competitors compare, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Nissan Xterra reliability ratings and comparisons

the only repair I have had to do with my 06 Xterra is the replacement of the sending unit from the gas tank. Which was under warranty. I am on my 2nd battery, but that is normal. The truck sits out in the cold and heat cause the garage is full of newer vehicles.

We've updated our reliability stats for the Xterra to include owner experiences through December 31, 2013.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2010 Xterra: 28, low, very small sample size
2008 Xterra: 53, moderate, very small sample size
2007 Xterra: 13, low, very small sample size
2006 Xterra: 119, high, very small sample size
2005 Xterra: 115, high, small sample size
2000 Xterra: 100, moderate, very small sample size

We'll have further updates in May and in August. The more owners participate, the more comprehensive and precise these will be.

To see the repairs behind these stats, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Nissan Xterra reliability ratings and comparisons

Our reliability stats for the Xterra now include owner experiences through March 31, 2014, making them nearly a year ahead of other sources.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2010 Xterra: 13, low, very small sample size
2008 Xterra: 46, low, very small sample size
2007 Xterra: 16, low, very small sample size
2006 Xterra: 102, high, very small sample size
2005 Xterra: 88, moderate, small sample size
2000 Xterra: 88, moderate, very small sample size

Thank you, once again, everyone who has been helping. Next update in August.

For a deeper dive, including the stats for other cars and repair descriptions, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Nissan Xterra reliability ratings and comparisons

We've updated our reliability stats for the Xterra to include owner experiences through June 30, 2014 (making them about 14 months ahead of some others).

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2010 Xterra: 25, low, very small sample size
2008 Xterra: 36, low, very small sample size
2006 Xterra: 48, low, very small sample size
2005 Xterra: 77, moderate, very small sample size
2002 Xterra: 59, low, very small sample size
2000 Xterra: 108, moderate, very small sample size

Next updates in November and in February. The more owners participate, the more comprehensive and precise these will be.

For repair descriptions, the stats of other cars, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Nissan Xterra reliability ratings and comparisons

We've updated our reliability stats for the Xterra to include owner experiences through September 30, 2014.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2010 Xterra: 13, low, very small sample size
2008 Xterra: 32, low, very small sample size
2006 Xterra: 56, low, very small sample size
2005 Xterra: 81, moderate, very small sample size
2002 Xterra: 44, low, very small sample size
2000 Xterra: 99, moderate, very small sample size

Additional participants always helpful. (I'd love to get rid of the sample size disclaimers and cover all model years.

To view the repairs behind these numbers, check the stats for other cars, and sign up to help improve this information (next update in February):

Nissan Xterra reliability ratings and comparisons