2012 Nissan Xterra Air bags Problems
- Complaints
- 4about this part
- Share
- 25%of 16 total for the year
- Median mileage
- —not reported
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 4 complaints about the air bags of the 2012 Nissan Xterra, 25% of the 16 complaints for this model year.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“I'm filing a complaint before I have an incident. I own a Nissan Xterra. Many other Nissan Xterra owners have had spontaneous side curtain air bag deployment when traveling very slowly, generally on dirt roads. Some of these deployments have caused injuries. The problem appears to be common on all 2nd generation Nissan xterras (2006-2016). The following links are to Xterra forum threads and professional publications about random airbag deployment in xterras. There are many more documented cases of this online, the links below are a taste. …”
NHTSA complaint #10909867, filed 2016-09“Passenger side air bag warning light intermittently goes on w/ seat occupied (120lb adult), seat belt fastened, seat in normal upright position - indicating the air bag is deactivated. I asked the dealer I purchased the vehicle (new) from about this anomaly at the first service (2220 miles/3mos) on 2-20-2013 and was told there was nothing they could do - read the owners manual . We did many different experiments with seating position, seat back angle on subsequent trips, with no positive results. …”
NHTSA complaint #10513350, filed 2013-05“The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Xterra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23E012000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.”
NHTSA complaint #11522099, filed 2023-05“The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Xterra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23E012000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.”
NHTSA complaint #11531322, filed 2023-07Related service bulletins
- 11007001Jul 8, 2024VOLUNTARY SAFETY RECALL CAMPAIGN 2005-2013 FRONTIER, PATHFINDER, AND XTERRA; DRIVER AIR BAG COVER CAMPAIGN ID #: PC945 and PC948 APPLIED VEHICLES: 2005-2013 Frontier (D40)…
- 10129119Jan 5, 2018Air Bag Control Unit Reprogram Voluntary Service Campaign UPDATE January 5, 2018 The announcement from October 6, 2017 has been revised: - Dealers may now use revised TSB…
- 10117404Aug 15, 2017Air Bag Control Unit Reprogram Voluntary Service Campaign Temporary suspension of this campaign on all affected 2004-2006 model year vehicles. Nissan is aware of reprogramming…
- 10119206Jun 23, 2017Air Bag Control Unit Reprogram Voluntary Service Campaign ***** Campaign Summary***** Nissan is committed to customer satisfaction. Nissan is conducting a Voluntary Service…
- 10119202Jun 22, 2017VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN 2012-2014 TITAN, FRONTIER, AND XTERRA; AIR BAG DIAGNOSIS SENSOR UNIT INTRODUCTION Nissan is conducting a voluntary service campaign on certain specific…
- 10192562Apr 21, 2015SERVICE INFORMATION The applied vehicles are equipped with automatic door locks that lock all doors when the vehicle speed reaches 15 MPH. There is no instruction in the Owner?s…
- 10192513Jan 16, 2015SERVICE INFORMATION Changes or modifications to the front seat assembly trim materials may affect the proper operation of the Front Seat-Mounted Side-Impact Supplemental Air Bags…
- 10192506Jan 8, 2015IF YOU CONFIRM: Squeal/Squeak noise from the front brakes: While moving forward or reverse, with very light brake application (pedal pressure), after the vehicle has been…
- 10192305Jan 27, 2014SERVICE INFORMATION Information necessary to service the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) safely is included in the "RESTRAINTS" section of the Electronic Service Manual (ESM)…
- 10042847Jan 9, 2012Nissan: information regarding the front door internals side satellite sensor and pre existing side air bag satellite sensor in pillars in some vehicles.
Air bags: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 3 | 30% |
| 2012 | 4 | 25% |
| 2011 | 9 | 38% |
| 2010 | 11 | 29% |
| 2009 | 6 | 32% |
| 2008 | 23 | 19% |
| 2007 | 26 | 5% |
| 2006 | 20 | 3% |
| 2005 | 19 | 2% |
| 2004 | 4 | 5% |
| 2003 | 10 | 14% |
| 2002 | 19 | 12% |
| 2001 | 8 | 5% |
| 2000 | 15 | 7% |
Other parts of the 2012 Nissan Xterra
6 complaintsEngine
4 complaintsFuel system
1 complaintsOther or unknown
1 complaintsTires
1 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2012 Nissan Xterra
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Nov 1, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology