10 Used Nissan Models You Should Steer Clear Of At All Costs

Nissan, like many other Asian car manufacturers such as Honda and Toyota, has a decent reputation for making reliable cars. The numbers back this impression up, too: J.D. Power's vehicle dependability survey for 2024 reported 199 problems per 100 cars, which is only slightly above the industry average of 190. However, if you're buying a used Nissan, then you're going back much further than the three years that the J.D. Power survey covers.

As with any other carmaker, Nissan hasn't always got it right with every model. For every classic sports car like the 2002 Silvia, there's a headache-inducing clunker like the 2005 Pathfinder to avoid. Then, there are all the problems with Nissan's Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT) to worry about, too. So what's a potential used Nissan buyer to do? Research, research, and research — which is where our list will come in handy.

We've combed through the U.S. NHTSA database, evaluating user complaints, recalls, and NHTSA investigations to identify 10 used Nissan models you should avoid. Nissan has made too many cars for this to be a definitive list, but it will at least help you eliminate the riskiest Nissans available on the used market.

The 2005 Nissan Xterra is one of the three 2005 Nissans blighted by the leaky radiator issue. The second-generation Xterra debuted after the Frontier and Pathfinder, first appearing at the 2004 New York International Auto Show before coming to dealer forecourts the year after. Like its problematic stablemates, the 2005 Xterra utilized the Nissan F-Alpha platform and improved on the previous model with more power (courtesy of the same VQ-series V6 engine), better off-road abilities, and extra room for passengers and cargo.

Unfortunately, all of these improvements — and the positive reviews they garnered — counted for very little once the radiators in these cars started failing. In what must have felt like an unending nightmare for Nissan and its PR team, reports of wrecked transmissions on 2005 Xterras started coming in within a few years and eventually dominated the complaints section on the NHTSA website starting in 2010. As with the Frontier and Pathfinder, a crack in the radiator allowed coolant to mix with transmission fluid, damaging the transmissions over time and resulting in many owners getting stuck with an immobile Xterra.

Unsurprisingly, the 4.0-liter V6 engine proved just as troublesome on the 2005 Xterra, with many owners experiencing severe engine damage due to its faulty timing chain. The timing chain issues weren't as bad as the radiator and transmission faults, but they were consistent enough that Nissan had to settle a class-action lawsuit by offering affected owners free repairs or a voucher for a new car.

The Nissan Pathfinder has been around since 1986, so it's no surprise that a few models over the years fell short of Nissan's usual standards. The 2005 Pathfinder is one of those. Launched alongside the 2005 Frontier at the 2004 Detroit Auto Show, the 2005 Pathfinder shared several of the new features of its pickup stablemate, including the problematic 4.0-liter VQ-series V6 engine that put out 270 horsepower and 291 lb-ft of torque.

If you're guessing that having the same engine meant that the 2005 Pathfinder suffered from the same leaky radiator problem on the Frontier, you'd be right. The majority of the 1,000 complaints the NHTSA has logged involve the engine cooling system and power train, both parts of the car severely affected by the issue prone radiator. Like the Frontier, many Pathfinder owners have had their transmissions fall apart due to coolant and transmission fluid mixing and damaging the transmission. Unsurprisingly, the 2005 Pathfinder is another model that the North Carolina Consumer Council urged owners to avoid, with the recommendation extending to the 2010 model year.

Other common issues with the 2005 Pathfinder include a faulty fuel sender gauge, which prevented the fuel gauge from working correctly. The 2005 Pathfinder also has a suspect engine control module that, when it eventually failed, made the engine easier to stall. Nissan issued a recall for the latter fault in 2010. The V6-equipped 2005 Pathfinder also suffers from the problematic timing chain of its 2005 siblings, adding another point of failure to a problematic vehicle.

The 2013 Nissan Rogue doesn't have quite as many complaints logged on the NHTSA website as other models on our list, but that doesn't tell the whole story. Despite appealing less troublesome at a glance, the 2013 Rogue's transmission issues make it another used Nissan best avoided if you want to avoid the risk of headaches down the line. The car shipped with an updated version of Nissan's infamous Xtronic CVT, including extras such as Adaptive Shift Control and a sport mode toggle. Despite the transmission's poor reputation, contemporary reviewers enjoyed the Rogue's CVT. Unfortunately, many owners had a drastically different experience.

As with many CVT-equipped Nissan vehicles, 2013 Rogue owners have had to deal with a range of transmission-related issues, as shown on the NHTSA database. Some owners reported that their Rogues would lose power and fail to accelerate during long drives or when going uphill. Nissan attributed this to faulty logic in the CVT's fluid temperature protection circuit, which caused the transmission to overheat. The company recommended installing an oil cooler to compensate for the issue but stopped short of a recall or a Voluntary Service Campaign.

All the other CVT-related issues common to Nissans, including destroyed transmissions and damaged transfer cases, are also present and accounted for. Unfortunately, while the 2014 to 2018 Rogues received extended CVT warranties — increasing the odds of buying one with a serviced transmission — Nissan doesn't seem to have done the same for the 2013 model.

Nissan showed off the fifth-generation Nissan Altima at the 2012 New York International Auto Show before launching it in 2013 with a bullish press campaign highlighting its all-new design and features. Between additions and improvements such as a lighter body, a more efficient 2.5-liter engine, and the new and improved Xtronic CVT, the 2013 Altima promised quite a lot, at least for a mid-sized sedan. Reviewers appreciated the changes and generally enjoyed the 2013 Altima, CVT and all.

Like other CVT-equipped 2013 Nissans, the NHTSA website hosts a wide range of transmission complaints related to the 2013 Altima. These include stalling, jerking and shuddering, missing or slipping gears — essentially, the same problems you've likely heard about when anyone talks about Nissan's CVT transmissions. Unlike other models, however, the 2013 Altima's CVT-related woes are only the tip of the iceberg.

Other issues that 2013 Altima owners have encountered range from outright show-stoppers to those that, while not quite as bad, are certainly still unpleasant. These include issues with a faulty brake pedal solenoid that stops the transmission from shifting out of park, the passenger-side airbag detection circuitry failing, and broken key fobs preventing the car from starting or killing power while in motion. Less-hazardous faults include delaminating headlight assemblies, which negatively impact visibility regardless of the bulbs installed. There's also issues with the air conditioner's compressor, which can fail and lead to the air conditioner blowing out stale air.

Nissan's Sentra has been around for a long time, with the first-ever Sentra debuting all the way back in 1982. It's been a staple of Nissan's lineup ever since. While recent Sentras have been well-received and very popular — the 2022 Sentra was Nissan's best-selling sedan — things haven't always been rosy for Nissan's perennial small sedan. Case in point, the 2013 Nissan Sentra.

Overall, 2013 wasn't a great year for Nissan, and the Sentra was no exception. Similarly to many of its stablemates, Nissan introduced the Xtronic CVT for the 2013 model year, bringing with it improved fuel economy compared to previous CVTs. As you may expect, though, the upsides of the new CVT were quickly outweighed by all the recurring problems this particular generation of CVTs had: missing gears, inability to shift, loss of acceleration, and, in some cases, total failure. 

Invariably, the solution was an expensive new transmission. Sadly, even a new transmission doesn't guarantee a trouble-free future, as some complaints the NHTSA received allege consecutive CVT failures, turning 2013 Sentras into a money pit for their owners. Beyond that, it appears that the 2013 Sentra's brakes haven't fared too well, either, and many owners have reported malfunctioning brakes. The most common symptom is excessively long pedal travel linked to a cracked or defective master cylinder. There's also the all-too-common (and recalled) issue with the passenger airbag sensor not detecting an occupant and thus not deploying the airbag in a crash.