2003 Nissan Xterra

midsize SUV / 4-door SUV

2003 Nissan Xterra 4-door SUV
2000 Nissan Xterra shown

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Moderate overlap front: original test

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2000-04 models built after September 1999

Tested vehicle: 2000 Nissan Xterra XE 4-door 4wd

The Nissan Xterra was introduced in the 2000 model year. All 2000 and later Xterra models manufactured after September 1999 include structural changes to improve occupant protection in frontal crashes (note: information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on or near the driver door).

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has evaluated the crashworthiness of a 2000 Xterra with the structural changes in a 40 mph frontal offset crash test into a deformable barrier.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Dummy movement was reasonably well controlled. During rebound, the dummy's head hit the B-pillar. There was far too much upward movement of the steering wheel.

Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates the driver's survival space was maintained well except for far too much upward movement of the steering wheel.

The steering wheel moved upward far too much, which contributed to the dummy's head bottoming out the airbag and hitting the steering wheel.

A strong safety cage helped keep the tire from buckling the sill beneath the driver door, maintaining the integrity of the occupant compartment. Crumpled structure in front of the occupant compartment indicates where the crash energy was absorbed.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CF00020
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 11
Left (cm) 10
Center (cm) 13
Right (cm) 9
Brake pedal (cm) 9
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 4
Right (cm) 10
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) 15
Rearward (cm) 2
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 3

Driver injury measures

Test ID CF00020
Head
HIC-15 617
Peak gs at hard contact 96
Neck
Tension (kN) 2.4
Extension bending moment (Nm) 35
Maximum Nij 0.42
Chest maximum compression (mm) 40
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 0.3
Femur force - right (kN) 2.1
Knee displacement - left (mm) 1
Knee displacement - right (mm) 0
Maximum tibia index - left 0.34
Maximum tibia index - right 1.05
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 3.8
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 5.3
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 139
Right 165

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted