Nissan Safety Shield
Put yourself out there with confidence. Elevate your peace of mind. Protect your cargo, especially the precious kind. The Nissan Safety Shield is our comprehensive approach to safety. It includes rigorous crash testing, over 50 standard safety features on every vehicle, available advanced safety technologies, and child-safety programs like Snug Kids®. In Xterra, an Advanced Airbag System and available side-impact and roof-mounted curtain supplemental airbags for side-impact and rollover protection are just a few of the examples of our safety philosophy in action.

Nissan Advanced Airbag System (AABS)
Nissan’s Advanced Airbag System (AABS)* includes dual-stage supplemental front airbags with seat belt sensors and an occupant-classification sensor. The inflation rate of these dual-stage airbags adjusts depending on crash severity and seat belt usage. If the front-passenger’s seat is empty, a sensor will deactivate the airbag.

* Airbags are only a supplemental restraint system; always wear your seat belt. Even with the occupant-classification sensor, rear-facing child restraints should not be placed in the front-passenger’s seat. Also, in addition to any other requirement of applicable law, all children 12 and under should ride in the rear seat properly secured in child restraints, booster seats, or seat belts according to their size. Airbags will only inflate in certain accidents; see your owner’s manual for more details. Inflated airbags shown for illustration purposes only. Actual airbags deflate after deployment.

Roof-Mounted Curtain and Side-Impact Supplemental Airbags
Available roof-mounted curtain side-impact supplemental airbags provide head protection for the front-and rear-seat (outboard) occupants. Available driver and front-passenger side-impact supplemental airbags: Built into the front seats, not the door, so they’re still in the right place if you change your seat position.

Seat Belts
In the Xterra, the front seat belts are equipped with pre-tensioners that automatically help tighten the belt when the airbag deploys. There is also a load limiter that gives a little if your body puts too much force on the belt. Xterra also features 3-point ALR/ELR seat belts in the outboard passenger positions, which allows you to install a child restraint without the use of a locking clip.

Active Front Head Restraints
Active front head restraints actually move up and forward in the event of a rear-end collision, helping reduce whiplash-style injuries to you and your front passenger.

Child Safety
Child-safety rear door locks help prevent children from accidentally opening the rear doors. The LATCH System (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) lets you secure a LATCH-compatible child restraint without using the seat belts.

The first ever in the automotive industry, our Snug Kids® Child Safety Seat Fit Guide provides a list of car seats that best fit the rear seats of Nissan vehicles and, most important, gives tips on correct installation. A child restraint that's properly installed is one of the most effective ways to help keep a child riding in your vehicle safe. We hope our guide makes this critical task an easier one, so please ask for it at your Nissan Dealership.

Pipe-style steel side-door guard beams
Constructed like a thick-walled hollow pipe for extra strength, these help protect passengers in a side impact.

Zone Body construction with crumple zones
This helps to absorb crash energy before it reaches the passenger zone. In addition, structural creases allow the hood to buckle at predetermined points to help protect the passenger zone.

Pillar/roof reinforcements
These are made of high strength steel and help Xterra surpass U.S Government Roof Crush Resistance Standards.

Anti-theft System
Xterra's Anti-theft System flashes the headlights and sounds the horn if there's any attempt to open the doors or hood without a key, or remove key cylinders. Using the keyfob, you can also push the panic button to sound the alarm for 20 seconds.