- Vehicles
- 12,500
- Built between
- Jan 2005 – Sep 2005
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 21 November 2005
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between January 2005 and September 2005. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2005 Nissan XterraBuilt January 2005 to September 2005
What the defect is
On certain sport utility vehicles equipped with a nissan accessory tow hitch, inadequate quality of some welded joints in the hitch assembly may result in separation of the hitch from the vehicle when being used to tow.
What could happen
This could result in the trailer separating from the vehicle and cause a crash without warning.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE TOW HITCHES. ON OCTOBER 17, 2005, OWNERS WERE SENT AN INTERIM LETTER ADVISING THEM NOT TO USE THE TOW HITCH UNTIL IT CAN BE REPAIRED. ANOTHER LETTER WAS SENT OUT ON NOVEMBER 21, 2005, NOTIFYING THEM TO BRING THEIR VEHICLES IN FOR REPAIR.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtJanuary 2005 to September 2005
- Recall reported to NHTSA5 October 2005
- Owners notified21 November 2005
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 5 October 2005.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Manufacturer contact
Owners may contact nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
- Recall initiated by
- MFR
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Customers may contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236; (TTY:1-800-424-9153); or go to http://www.safercar.gov.
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.