2nd Gen Xterra/Frontiers: What have you broken?

[Dmski]

Yea, yea I know we have great rigs and they are reliable. But they can and do break. We hate to admit this but honestly I want to know as much as possible to figure out what spares are necessary to take for short trips and long trips. This is aimed at getting a collection of people stating stuff that was broken so we can hopefully better prepare ourselves and check our rigs to possibly prevent them from happening.

So lets have it. What have you 2nd gen owners broken and how did you do it? What tools did you use to fix it? What do you think could have helped your trail repair?

 

[bigskypylot]

Yea, yea I know we have great rigs and they are reliable. But they can and do break. We hate to admit this but honestly I want to know as much as possible to figure out what spares are necessary to take for short trips and long trips. This is aimed at getting a collection of people stating stuff that was broken so we can hopefully better prepare ourselves and check our rigs to possibly prevent them from happening.

So lets have it. What have you 2nd gen owners broken and how did you do it? What tools did you use to fix it? What do you think could have helped your trail repair?

Had the rear diff go on my M226 just out of warranty. Nissan did a goodwill repair due to them having a track record of trying to catch the issue I was telling them about at several different dealerships. They finally got it to do what they wanted and they had no issue fixing it. I also had my trans go out (non-smod). I've had a few other small things come up but nothing major. Knock-on-wood lol

 

[E.J.]

I cooked my trans after doing the bypass to avoid the smod, updated the radiator when the new one went in. The diff in my M226 hasn't exploded yet but a spider gear tooth did come out with the last fluid change, replacing the e-locker with the stronger updated version asap. After seeing a bud break a tie rod end on his first gen X I tossed a pair of them in my OSK. I had my oil pressure sensor crap out from being dunked in mud (was reading no pressure at the guage) , used the torque android app to monitor things for the rest of the trip.

 

[broncobowsher]

2010 Xterra. 86,000 miles. Special ordered new.
Battery at 6 months. Gas struts on the rear hatch at 5 years. The "Nissan" sticker on the roof air dam sun rotted and I replaced it. The Nissan chrome hamburger badge on the rear hatch is starting to shed some chrome plating. Ine set of tires at 34k (would have been 36k but got a big puncture that moved up my tire purchase a little bit). I did have a rattle where the exhaust would move enough to touch the hitch. Loosened the exhaust tip, moved slightly, retightened and that fixed it. I think I am starting to get the slightest weep from the engine oil cooler (common) as it looks like the dirt is slightly thicker around there but nothing wet nor even close to a drip. One of the strips on the rear cargo floor came loose from stuff sliding around (my fault for not tying it down correctly). Backed into a T-post and snapped off the thumb tab on the gas filler door, whats left snapped back in and am thinking of getting a new(er) one as this one may fall off. Again operator error, not the fault of the vehicle. And a windshield, but those are common replacments on anything I drive. AZ stones are nasty on glass. Only real modification I did to the drivetrain was to remove the check valve axle breather and relocate it up to the frame with some proper rubber tubing (not vinyl aquarium tubing the internet says to use, didn't put a filter stone on the end, didn't locate it inside the tail light housing). If water is past the frame, I'm doing something very wrong.

Daily driver, tow motorcycle, tow boat, long distance driver, sleep in it. Don't abuse it. Keep it maintained under the severe service schedule. Don't fall into the modifications that will hurt reliable operation of the vehicle. It will not be lifted. It will not have a tuner put on the engine to make more power and kill the cat. It will not have an aftermarket cold air kit that screws up the calibration of the MAF with the wrong size bore or questionable filter media. Bone stock they are known for being very reliable. When people ask them to do more then what they were built for, and try to modify them to do more then they were designed for, they can turn into junk. Just like anything else.

 

[Dmski]

Good stuff here guys! E.J. hope you get that e locker update in and good call on the tie rods. I know I bent one set on my first gen xterra but haven't had an issue with the 2nd gens. Not to say that it wont' happen...

 

[Mo4130]

I had a starter go out at about 50k. Other than that, or much.

 

[Airmapper]

Umm, nothing, actually. Knock on wood that I keep that up.

 

[bigskypylot]

When I had my rear differential replaced in 2010, I believe it was replaced with the updated one. Nissan said they weren't in the business of rebuilding differentials and it was cheaper for them(more profitable) to replace the entire thing.

 

[bigskypylot]

I did a preemptive radiator replacement at 80k. Went with the Griffin exact fit, All-Aluminum unit. Love it. I spoke to Benji at Griffin and he said that it's essentially the same design that the GTR uses.

 

[fortel]

All is good so far on my 2012 Frontier.

Not so much with the 2010 Xterra it replaced. Bought the X used with 14,000 miles on it. All seemed well and I was really enjoying the vehicle until it hit the 30,000 mile mark. Got in it one morning and it wouldn't crank. Plenty of juice in the battery to turn it over, fuel pump was sending fuel, but apparently no spark. Had it towed to dealer and after a few days they said they had found a short somewhere in the wiring. Cool, easy fix. Back running smooth as silk...until 8 days later when I went to leave work and same issue, no cranking. Towed to dealer again and after almost a week they replaced the IPDM saying it was now showing bad where as before they said it was OK. Now I'm getting a little leary. Each time there were no issues with cranking leading up to the failure to turn over mode. Sure enough, within 2 weeks it happens again. Towed once more to dealer. New IPDM still good, battery good, etc. They kept it over two weeks trying different things and finally once day it spontaneously cranked for them. Was told to come pick it up and see if it happened again. No dice. Told them they were wanting me to come pick up a vehicle they hadn't fixed which was in a pattern of leaving me stranded...first and third time with me and the vehicle out of town leading our scout troop's campouts. To the general manager of the dealership's credit he said that, even after being in touch with Nissan factory folks, they had no idea what was going on with the X and that he would try to do whatever he could to right the situation. Lemon laws didn't apply here since I bought it used. So they worked an acceptable deal to take the X back and get me in the 2012 Frontier. I'm not nearly as well versed in vehicle mechanics as some of you folks, but it was weird to me that the symptoms were always exactly the same but different repairs created temporary fixes. And in between the thing would run like a champ.

 

[bigskypylot]

All is good so far on my 2012 Frontier.

Not so much with the 2010 Xterra it replaced. Bought the X used with 14,000 miles on it. All seemed well and I was really enjoying the vehicle until it hit the 30,000 mile mark. Got in it one morning and it wouldn't crank. Plenty of juice in the battery to turn it over, fuel pump was sending fuel, but apparently no spark. Had it towed to dealer and after a few days they said they had found a short somewhere in the wiring. Cool, easy fix. Back running smooth as silk...until 8 days later when I went to leave work and same issue, no cranking. Towed to dealer again and after almost a week they replaced the IPDM saying it was now showing bad where as before they said it was OK. Now I'm getting a little leary. Each time there were no issues with cranking leading up to the failure to turn over mode. Sure enough, within 2 weeks it happens again. Towed once more to dealer. New IPDM still good, battery good, etc. They kept it over two weeks trying different things and finally once day it spontaneously cranked for them. Was told to come pick it up and see if it happened again. No dice. Told them they were wanting me to come pick up a vehicle they hadn't fixed which was in a pattern of leaving me stranded...first and third time with me and the vehicle out of town leading our scout troop's campouts. To the general manager of the dealership's credit he said that, even after being in touch with Nissan factory folks, they had no idea what was going on with the X and that he would try to do whatever he could to right the situation. Lemon laws didn't apply here since I bought it used. So they worked an acceptable deal to take the X back and get me in the 2012 Frontier. I'm not nearly as well versed in vehicle mechanics as some of you folks, but it was weird to me that the symptoms were always exactly the same but different repairs created temporary fixes. And in between the thing would run like a champ.

weird! Glad they helped get you back on the road, albeit in a Fronty

 

[proper4wd]

2014 Xterra S, bought new, now at 46k miles.

I've been through two R180 front diffs (first one the carrier broke, second one the pinion sheared).
One C200K rear diff (spider gears broke)
Rear driveshaft CV joint

I resolved my diff issues by swapping in a M226 rear with an ARB, and M205 front with ARB (Pathfinder V8 axles). And regeared to 4.56 in the process.

I use my truck harder than most and can attribute one of the R180 breakages and the C200k breakage to doing something I shouldnt. The sheared pinion was a head scratcher through.

 

[fortel]

weird! Glad they helped get you back on the road, albeit in a Fronty

Yep. I like the Frontier though, had always been a truck guy until the Xterra. The X was better in some things like much better rear seat comfort compared to the back seat in my crew cab Frontier, and it would have been fun to build it up some. But having the Leer shell on the Frontier's bed sure makes it easier when I'm hauling my trail building tools, wet and muddy dogs, etc. More importantly, to date with 47k on the clock, the Frontier actually cranks when I turn the key which is a priority feature to have on a vehicle.

 

[bigskypylot]

Yep. I like the Frontier though, had always been a truck guy until the Xterra. The X was better in some things like much better rear seat comfort compared to the back seat in my crew cab Frontier, and it would have been fun to build it up some. But having the Leer shell on the Frontier's bed sure makes it easier when I'm hauling my trail building tools, wet and muddy dogs, etc. More importantly, to date with 47k on the clock, the Frontier actually cranks when I turn the key which is a priority feature to have on a vehicle.

Nice to hear! Yeah, I love my X but a lot of times find myself wishing i had a pickup. I'll always have my X but may be looking at a SuperDuty or Prospector down the road.

 

[Dmski]

2014 Xterra S, bought new, now at 46k miles.

I've been through two R180 front diffs (first one the carrier broke, second one the pinion sheared).
One C200K rear diff (spider gears broke)
Rear driveshaft CV joint

I resolved my diff issues by swapping in a M226 rear with an ARB, and M205 front with ARB (Pathfinder V8 axles). And regeared to 4.56 in the process.

I use my truck harder than most and can attribute one of the R180 breakages and the C200k breakage to doing something I shouldnt. The sheared pinion was a head scratcher through.

Good lord! You've put your rig through the ringer! What obstacles cause the breakages? This is good info right here. No half shafts though which is impressive (or not impressive since the diff blew first). I'm throwing the lokka in the front to save myself from any spider gears going but my c200k rear is going to be left alone for now.