Brake Hoses, Lines/piping, And Fittings Problems of Nissan Xterra

Had to brake hard on the express way, brake pedal went to the floor, avoided an accident. The cause of the brake failure is a hole in the hard brake line on the front passenger side by the heat exhaust shield.

See all problems of the 2002 Nissan Xterra 🔎.

1. Front right lower a-frame (swing arm) fractured and released ball joint resulting in car collapsing onto the tire. Failure appears to be caused by metal fatigue due to rough edges of broken areas. Ball joint is in good shape and still grips a piece of the a-frame. There was no accident due to the fact the vehicle was being operated at a very low speed at the time of the incident. Had it happened at a high rate of speed would likely have caused a rollover crash with fatalities possible. Vehicle has not yet been repaired, all parts will be retained when it is. 2. Left rear anti sway bar mounting clamp failed due to metal fatigue just days prior to this resulting in the anti sway bar bar pummeling the steel brake line until it sprang a leak. This resulted in a total loss of brakes. I replaced the broken clamp and brake line. Again no crash occurred due to low speed operation. I have the parts and pieces in my possession. 3. Prior to this by a few weeks the left front free wheeling hub disintegrated while the car was being driven. I replaced the hub but have some pieces. I have no theory about what caused this failure, but it could have caused a loss of control and subsequent accident. We live in the foothills of the sierra nevadas and many roads are perched along steep rocky slopes. A loss of control caused by any of these incidents could have proved fatal. This car has only 90206 miles on it and has been driven gently. I have since discovered on a user forum for Xterra fans that the rear sway bar has been a well known problem with them for quite a while with the result that they recommend removing the sway bar altogether and beefing up the rear shocks. This suggests that the Xterras should be recalled on the rear sway bar issue.

See all problems of the 2004 Nissan Xterra 🔎.

On the passenger side of the vehicle, there are tow brake lines that originate from the abs unit that carry brake fluid to the brake system. Near the wheel well, one can see that the brake lines are wrapped with heat shielding and are touching the heat shield that cover the exhaust manifold. Over the use of the vehicle the health build up from the exhaust manifold heat up the heat shield and thus burns the heat shielding on the brake lines. Plus with the vibration caused by the driving of the vehicle, allows the metal brake line to puncture, thus creating a hole in the brake line where brake fluid can exit. This results in a loss of the braking system on the vehicle. The heat shield that is around the brake line in this area does not protect the brake line from heat stress and the vibration that takes place with the use of the vehicle.

See all problems of the 2000 Nissan Xterra 🔎.