2002 Nissan Xterra: sudden loss of power

5 of the 157 complaints about the 2002 Nissan Xterra describe sudden loss of power.

owner complaints: 5
of this car's complaints: 3%
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 6 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Sudden loss of power by model year

2015
1
2012
2
2010
2
2009
2
2008
4
2007
13
2006
21
2005
21
2004
1
2003
1
2002
5
2001
1
2000
9

What owners say

Filed Jul 28, 2011 · Brakes · KY

Purchased in november of 2006 and in may 2008 as I was attempting to stop at a traffic light in the city only doing about 10 MPH. The wheel jerked really funny and there was a noise coming from the brakes. Upon attempting to go my car wouldn't pick up speed and was making a rubbing noise. Limped into garage where they showed me my calipers were locked up. Had both calipers, brakes and rotors replaced. October 2009, driving at 55 MPH, started smelling burnt rubber smell, check engine light came on so I pulled over to have it towed. Thought it was overheating even though gauge did not indicate that. Garage stated I needed a new brake line so had it replaced and on the way home I began smelling that horrible smell again so I decided to take to another garage where they showed me my caliper was locked up just enough to heat the rotor up. Had caliper and brakes replaced. April 2010, just from past experiences I knew what the rubbing noise and loss of power meant. Sure enough driver's side caliper was locked up. Had caliper, brakes and new brake hose put on. July 2011, yet again my caliper is locked up. So as I am typing this its back in for the usual. In almost every instance there were no warning signs of failure until it became extreme. I contacted nissan but they stated its the usual wear and tear. I have never heard of replacing calipers every year under normal driving conditions.

Filed Jan 8, 2009 · Brakes · 55,000 miles · CA

My brakes were losing power with the brake pedal feeling 'mushy' and brake light on. The dealer, maita nissan, advised me that the spare tire, had rubbed a hole in the brake lining going to the rear brake drums. Nissan did not feel that they were responsible, because the spare tire was oversized, compared to the recommended tire size (sears had installed a wrangler p26570s17 to spare tire compartment on 9/21/2004). Per nissan, the recommended tire was p266565,17. Fortunately, the loss of hydraulic fluid and loss of braking fluid did not lead to a crash or injury. As you might imagine, as the owner, I did not authorize sears to install the wrong size tire to my vehicle and am certain that they have no idea that the consequence of this error could lead to rubbing a hole in the braking system 4 years later. I requested that the dealer notify nissan of the incident, and was told that this was not a warranty issue and have no knowledge that other nissan xterra se owners will benefit from my experience (the se series came from the factory with a 17 inch custom tire and rim which is a set-up for this type of error and sentinel event).

Filed Oct 31, 2003 · Engine, Fuel system · 19,000 miles · AK

Engine makes loud "whistling" sound; engine definitely lost power over the last year; will not go over 70-75 MPH; makes loud whining/grinding sound when shifting gears; pulls to the right all the while driving; using an extraordinary amount of gas. (consumer can also be emailed at [email protected])

Filed Sep 5, 2002 · Engine · CO

The owners of this truck live 6500 feet above elevation. The truck will lose power or will not maintain moderate speed. The truck was returned to the dealership and they told him that the truck was too heavy for that size engine to deal with that kind of altitude. Two other dealers in the area also came to the same conclusion. Please describe details.

Filed Mar 13, 2002 · Engine, Visibility · NY

The car suddenly lost power on acceleration up to 60 MPH upon passing another vehicle. After losing power, the car "service engine soon" light came on and stayed on. The engine ran rough with hesitation and could maintain a speed of only 30 MPH. Car was towed to dealer, who diagnosed the problem as a mass airflow sensor malfunction. Dealer re-set e.c.u. And so far, problem has not repeated. Power window problem occurs on driver side, front window. The window goes down at normal speed but comes up very slowly with intermittent stops. First time problem reported to dealer, dealer lubed window track. Problem persisted, so went to another dealer, who ordered a new rubber window casing.