2001 Nissan Xterra

FUEL TANK SENDING UNIT FAILED AT 38,800 MILES (OUT OF WARRANTY). A CRACK FORMS IN THE UNIT AND EVENTUALLY CORROSION SETS IN CAUSING A SHORT IN THE WIRING. WHEN THIS OCCURS, THE TRUCK STALLS AND YOU LOSE MOST OF YOUR STEERING AND BRAKING ABILITY. THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT HAS BEEN REPORTED SINCE THE 1999 NISSAN FRONTIER ACCORDING TO YOUR WEB SITE, SO THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMON ISSUE WITH NISSAN TRUCKS. IT'S TIME FOR AN INVESTIGATION AND RECALL!*AK

I WAS DRIVING MY 2001 XTERRA ON INTERSTATE 495 WHEN THE CAR ABRUPTLY LOST POWER AND STALLED WHILE TRAVELING 65 MPH. AFTER REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO START THE CAR, IT STARTED AFTER 20 MINUTES. I LET THE CAR RUN FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES BEFORE REENTERING THE HIGHWAY. ABOUT TWO MILES DOWN THE ROAD THE CAR SUDDENLY LOST POWER, STALLED AND WOULD NOT RESTART. I HAD THE CAR TOWED AND A BAD FUEL PUMP/FUEL SENDING UNIT WAS DIAGNOSED. THE FUEL INJECTORS WERE DRY, AS IF THE CAR HAD RUN OUT OF GAS, BUT I HAD THREE QUARTERS OF A TANK. IT IS WELL DOCUMENTED ON THE INTERNET ON NISSAN OWNER'S SITES THAT THE NISSAN FRONTIER AND XTERRAS EXPERIENCE PROBLEMS WITH THE FUEL PUMP SENDING UNITS. THE RESULT OF SUCH FAILURES IS NO GAS DELIVERY TO THE ENGINE, AS IF THE VEHICLE HAS RUN OUT OF GAS. THE FAILURE COMES WITHOUT WARNING AND DOES NOT SEEM TO BE RELATED TO MODEL YEAR. IT IS APPARENT THAT SUCH FAILURES IN A GAS DELIVERY SYSTEM IS A MAJOR SAFETY HAZARD. I BELIEVE NISSAN IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BECAUSE IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR THERE WAS A NATIONAL BACKORDER FOR THIS PART. *NLM

MY GAS TANK NEVER SHOWS FULL WHEN IT IS FILLED. WHEN FILL MY XTERRA WITH GAS, IT OVERFLOWS EVERYTIME UNLESS I MANUALLY STOP THE PROCESS BY GUESSING HOW MANY GALLONS I HAVE PUT IN. AT THAT POINT THE GAS SPLASHES OUT AND OVERFLOWS. THEN WHEN I START MY CAR. THE GAS GAUGE ONLY SHOWS 3/4 TANK FULL, NEVER COMPLETELY FILLED. WHEN I FIRST BOUT THIS VEHICLE IN OCTOBER OF 2000, THIS PROBLEM WAS PRESENT BUT THE DEALERSHIP COULD NOT FIX IT. THEN I READ ABOUT THE RECALL 2 YEARS LATER ON THE INTERNET AND DECIDED TO TAKE IT IN AGAIN. THE SECOND TIME, I TOOK MY XTERRA TO A LOCAL NISSAN DEALERSHIP ABOUT THE RECAL ISSUED BY NHTSA IN 2002 BUT THEYSAID MY VEHICLE WAS NOT PART OF RECALL DUE TO VIN. *AK

I WAS ON MY WAY HOME FROM WORK AND ON RT17 WHICH IS VERY BUSY AROUND RUSH HOUR WITH TRACTOR TRAILERS AND PLENTY OF CARS, ALL OF A SUDDEN MY 2001 XTERRA STALLED OUT AT THE STOP LIGHT, THEN WOULD NEVER START AGAIN, IT TOOK 30 MINUTES TO GET THE TRUCK OF THE ROAD BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MUCH TRAFFIC, I HAD IT TOWED TO RADLEY CHEVROLET BECAUSE I CALLED NISSAN, AND THEY ADVISED ME MY WARRANTY RAN OUT AND IT WOULD BE AT LEAST 200.00 BEFORE THEY COULD EVEN LOOK AT IT? ONCE TO THE DEALER WHICH MY WARRANTY JUST RAN OUT, AND THEY SAID THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT, SO I PAID THE TOW BILL AND TOOK MY CAR, NO MORE THAN AN HOUR LATER I WAS BROKE DOWN AGAIN ON THE ROAD, AND HAD TO PAY ANOTHER TOW BILL, COME TO FIND OUT MY FUEL PUMP WAS MALFUNCTIONING AND THAT WAS THE PROBLEM, $500.00 LATER I AM BACK ON THE ROAD, I COULD NOT UNDER STAND ON SUCH A NEW VEHICLE WITH ONLY 37000 MILES THE FUEL PUMP WOULD GO BAD?????????? *NLM

VEHICLE STOPPED RUNNING ON I-287N NEAR MAHWAH, NJ., POST PRESIDENT'S DAY BLIZZARD. CONDITIONS WERE VERY DANGEROUS DUE TO SEMI TRUCK TRAFFIC AND SNOW/ICE PACK IN EMERGENCY LANE WHICH PREVENTED PULLING VEHICLE ALL THE WAY OFF THE HIGHWAY. STRANDED ON SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY FOR SEVERAL HOURS IN BELOW FREEZING COLD UNTIL NJ STATE POLICE SENT TOW TRUCK. TOWED TO NISSAN DEALER, DIAGNOSED FUEL SENDING UNIT FAILURE PART #250604S415. TEN DAYS LATER, PART IS STILL ON BACK ORDER WITH NO IDEA WHEN IT WILL BE AVAILABLE. *JB

REFUELING VEHICLE RESULTS IN SEVERE BACKSPLASH OF FUEL OUT OF THE FILLER TUBE, MOST LIKELY DUE TO INADEQUATE VAPOR SPACE VENTING. REFUELING EVEN AT VERY SLOW RATES RESULTED IN FUEL SPILLAGE. THIS PRESENTS AN EXPOSURE HAZARD AND POSSIBLE FIRE HAZARD. NISSAN CORRECTED THE PROBLEM BY REPLACING THE FUAL TANK ASSEMBLY. THE REPLACEMENT FUEL TANK HAS CORRECTED THE PROBLEM. HOWEVER, THEY DID NOT ISSUE A RECALL EVEN THOUGH OTHER VEHICLES OF THIS TYPE POSSESS THE SAME PROBLEM, IN ADDITION TO THEIR PICKUP TRUCK BASED ON THE SAME CHASIS. THEY APPARENTLY WERE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, AND HAD CODED IT AS A "HARD REFUELING" PROBLEM. IN MY OPINION AS A PROCESS HAZARD SAFETY ENGINEER, THIS PROBLEM SHOULD HAVE RESULTED IN THE ISSUANCE OF A RECALL.