"How reliable is the 2002 Nissan Nissan?"

"Based on 20 NHTSA complaints, the 2002 Nissan Nissan has a median complaint mileage of 79500 miles. The most common issue is EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS."

"What are common problems with the 2002 Nissan Nissan?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2002 Nissan Nissan is EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS, accounting for a significant portion of the 20 total complaints filed."

2002 Nissan Nissan: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 20 complaints

Total Complaints

79,500mi

Median Mileage

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

36,700 25th Percentile

79,500 Median Mileage

83,235 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:ROTOR

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

AIR BAGS

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:CALIPER

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DRUM:DRUM

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"AT APPROX. 36,400 MILES ABS WARNING LIGHT WENT ON. II TOOK THE CAR TO A LOCAL DEALER FOR INSPECTION AND THEY SAID IT WAS THE FRONT LEFT ABS SENSOR, $290.00 TO REPAIR, FRONT BRAKE PADS DOWN TO 10% AND ROTORS NEED TO BE RESURFACED. I INQUIRED ABOUT WARRANTY COVERAGE OF THE SENSOR AND THEY SAID NO. I..."

"MY CONCERNS ARE ALSO REFLECTED IN 2 OTHER COMPLAINTS LISTED ON YOUR WEBSITE. MY 2002 NISSAN ALITMA 3.5L SE, STARTED GIVING ME PROBLEMS AT 57,000 MILES. IT STARTED WITH VERY HARD SHIFTING GOING FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEAR. SOMETIMES IT WOULD WORK FINE (ESPECIALLY IF THE VEHICLE WAS WARM) IF THE VEH HAS BE..."

"I HAVE HAD REOCCURING BRAKING PROBLEMS WITH MY 02 NISSAN XTERRA FOR THE PAST YEAR. THE BRAKES DO NOT ADEQUATELY STOP THE VEHICLE AND GRAB/RELEASE WHEN COMING TO A STOP MAKING CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE DIFFICULT AT TIMES. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO THE NISSAN DEALER THREE SEPARATE TIMES FOR SERVICE A..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28