My Xterra called "Rhino"
- Thread starter Jasonazx
- Start date
Scott Brady
Founder
Oh man! More, More :lurk:
The BN Guy
Expedition Leader
Welcome fellow Nissan! Nice looking X and sweet pic.
Scott Brady
Founder
More, More, More 
Scott Brady
Founder
Shahram,
I am curious of the problems you experienced, as I am in the process of looking for a replacement for my aging Trooper and the X is a serious consideration (an 05 Off-Road). In my evaluation, there are few other new vehicles that combine the functionality, capability and reliability of the 05 Xterra.
Oh, and your old girl looks pretty cool. I really like the full length rack! Sweet
I am curious of the problems you experienced, as I am in the process of looking for a replacement for my aging Trooper and the X is a serious consideration (an 05 Off-Road). In my evaluation, there are few other new vehicles that combine the functionality, capability and reliability of the 05 Xterra.
Oh, and your old girl looks pretty cool. I really like the full length rack! Sweet
The BN Guy
Expedition Leader
Scott,
If you need some input on problems and their solutions concerning Xterra's and Pathfinders, I'm a moderator over on a Nissan board. www.nissanoffroad.net Visit and look around. I may have a Fronty but I don't recall any major problems with Xterra's that couldn't be fixed by most handy people.
Patrick
If you need some input on problems and their solutions concerning Xterra's and Pathfinders, I'm a moderator over on a Nissan board. www.nissanoffroad.net Visit and look around. I may have a Fronty but I don't recall any major problems with Xterra's that couldn't be fixed by most handy people.
Patrick
Scott Brady
Founder
Patrick,
Thank you for the links. I am really trying to evaluate the best options right now. I am even considering a hybrid SUV (like the Highlander), not so much for the lower fuel cost, as the lower fuel consumption. I am feeling a little guilty with 3 SUV's in the driveway, and none of them get better than 17 mpg It is one of those "just because you can, doesn't mean you should kind of things..."
Thank you for the links. I am really trying to evaluate the best options right now. I am even considering a hybrid SUV (like the Highlander), not so much for the lower fuel cost, as the lower fuel consumption. I am feeling a little guilty with 3 SUV's in the driveway, and none of them get better than 17 mpg
It is one of those "just because you can, doesn't mean you should kind of things..." 
shahram
Adventurer
expeditionswest said:
Well, I'm biased, but I loved my Xterra. I know lots and lots of people that have really reliable, buildable, capable Xterras. Mine happened to be a lemon.
I experienced a lot of problems, from faulty fuel sending device to "unexplained fire and smoke" coming from underneath the undercarriage. Are these problems that could have been addressed and fixed? Probably.
Let's see...in the course of 18 months of ownership of my Xterra, it was at the dealership a collective of 32 days. The A/C rarely worked and was at the dealership a total of 8 times before they finally threw their hands in the air and gave up. There were wiring issues galore, a tranny that sprayed fluid in an intermittent but nonetheless spectacular fashion, which promptly caught fire and melted a wiring harness which completely disabled the vehicle. There were numerous other things that went wrong, and I believe all could have been fixed, but the truck was still under warranty and Nissan was giving up, saying "We can fix these problems, but you'll have to pay for them."
The biggest problem was not the low level of workmanship in the assembly of my Xterra, it was the way in which Nissan handled my problems. Of course, I was forced by Nissan policy to go to a certified Nissan dealership for repairs. At four of the dealerships near my home and work, I was treated like the forty-something female real estate agent that doesn't know anything about her vehicle. They would pull out all manner of weird story to explain what was wrong and what was done. From mistakes in information to outright lies about why my Xterra refused to run correctly resulted in me calling Nissan Corporation to file a formal complaint. They promptly sent out a "specialist inspector" to figure what the problem was. We spent some time getting to the bottom of numerous suspension and A/C issues which plagued the vehicle. They fixed it. The problems subsided for almost three weeks. When they returned, the dealership said that the last technician who worked on the vehicle apparently had accidentally screwed something up bad. They told me the repair would be $650.00 plus rental car fee at $25.00 per day for three days. When I reminded them that the vehicle was under warranty, they said the warranty didn't cover "human error", even when the error was theirs. I paid, then I made a call to the Better Business Bureau.
A month later, the Bureau arranged a meeting between me, a Nissan rep, and an arbitrator. The Nissan guy told it like it was, that he reviewed the paperwork and would concur that I was lied to and overcharged in cases where a simple warranty repair would have sufficed. He did contend, though that most of my problems were as a result of my hard four-wheeling, and brought up my membership to a four-wheeling club. The arbitrator protested, saying that the Xterra is marketed as an "extreme" four-wheeler, and should be able to withstand extreme four-wheeling. I never wheeled the X that hard, I always babied her, and an inspection of the undercarriage by the arbitrator supported that. A week later, the arbitrator decided that Nissan needed to repurchase my Xterra and give me my money back, including any repairs I had paid for, minus a usage fee of 25%. I received approximately $9k, and promptly bought a '96 Land Cruiser for cash.
Do I hate Xterras? No, of course not. But my assumption that a brand new Nissan would be more reliable than a ten year old Toyota flagship resulted in a lot of headache and lost money for me. I do believe that Nissan doesn't have the level of quality control that it had in the days of the Hard Body pickup. I also believe that the level of quality control in the Smyrna TN plant which makes the Xterra is hit-and-miss. Statistics have shown that Nissan has quite a few warranty issues they need to contend with each year.
That said, I like the '05 Xterra. The 6-speed tranny, increase in power and efficiency, and the optional rear locker are great additions to the platform, but I do not believe Nissan North America's plants have the level of workmanship and QC that Toyota North America has, an assertion with which I am sure you will agree.
Although I can honestly say I will probably never buy a new Nissan product, I have seen some very reliable Xterras, and I still consider it a tried and true four wheeler.
Scott Brady
Founder
shahram said:
:smileeek: Unbelievable!
shahram said:
I do agree. I have spent time in Toyota plants and worked with Toyota on a few component project. Their quality is exceptional, process control, efficiency, line stop authorization, Kaizen, lean manufacturing, etc.
Toyota is more concerned about the quality of an automotive system (like the brakes for example), than an individual part (like a caliper piston). GM and others push tolerances down to the individual suppliers instead of ensuring the system works as a whole and can tolerate a degree of variance from an individual part.
It is not a coincidence that 90% of expedition travelers are using Toyota vehicles...
In fact, the 75 series Land Cruiser is the only vehicle ever documented to travel the entire African continent without a single failure (North to South and back again).
The BN Guy
Expedition Leader
Brent's and Carltons are quite nice. Then again they used the Calmini kit. Fairly easy to do as well.