By way of comparison, I get 25-26MPG in my 5-speed manual Frontier with the 2.4L I4 running on E15 gas (which is pretty much all I use in it).
Talk to me about the first-gen Xterra
- Thread starter RooflessVW
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By way of comparison, I get 25-26MPG in my 5-speed manual Frontier with the 2.4L I4 running on E15 gas (which is pretty much all I use in it).
I always liked these (as well as the Troopers) but I only knew one person who had one, co-worker, and they had it for a long time and had a long commute. They were also not an enthusiast or mechanically inclined at all, and I'd say their experience was unremarkable in that I never heard any complaints which is a positive.
I only drove them a few times and thought they rode a bit truck like, which was fine by me.
I only drove them a few times and thought they rode a bit truck like, which was fine by me.
I drove a 2001 Frontier in my young and dumb days for almost 200,000 miles. It handled abuse like no other vehicle I've owned. Maybe an oil change every couple of years, 1 alternator, and one timing belt job... makes me cringe now but a great vehicle aside from fuel mileage and being an interference motor. Really sparked my preference for Nissan.
1st gen xTerra, if you can find one in decent shape, is a great vehicle. They did what the pathfinder should have done. we had a 97 pathfinder and the drivetrain was superb while the vehicle itself was just a wagonized sedan. It didn’t carry loads well, it was a poor tow vehicle, but if you were just driving kids to soccer in it, it was fine. But the exterra was body on frame, more rugged, and had that great drivetrain.
yes, the under hood area looks like the engineers gave up. They have a tendency to develop exhaust manifold cracks. mild lifts are super easy, if they are even necessary - it’s got good clearance and angles.
if you can find a decent copy, they have good bones.
yes, the under hood area looks like the engineers gave up. They have a tendency to develop exhaust manifold cracks. mild lifts are super easy, if they are even necessary - it’s got good clearance and angles.
if you can find a decent copy, they have good bones.
AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
Talked to my friend, one trip out west with a cargo box on the rack averaged 11.3 mpg. Another trip to Florida with the box and factory rack removed got 16.1 mpg. Normal around town was in the 12s. He still loved it. No problems in 200k.
The VG33 was a dog - I had one for a very very brief period between the VQ35 QX4 and the VQ40 Pathfinder. While I’m perfectly fine driving a slightly underpowered car, that VG33 was night and day difference going into the Pathfinder. Even the QX4 felt way more sprightly.
If you’re looking for older vehicles, I’d recommend looking at a 2002-03 QX4 or 02-04 Pathfinder LEs. That QX4 I had was by FAR the most reliable vehicle I had. And it had navigation and adaptive cruise control!
My vote would be VQ40 (SMOD is fixed easily with a radiator off RockAuto) > VQ35 >> VG33
If you’re looking for older vehicles, I’d recommend looking at a 2002-03 QX4 or 02-04 Pathfinder LEs. That QX4 I had was by FAR the most reliable vehicle I had. And it had navigation and adaptive cruise control!
My vote would be VQ40 (SMOD is fixed easily with a radiator off RockAuto) > VQ35 >> VG33
So SMOD - mixing of coolant and ATF was 2nd gen as mentioned - 2005 to 2010 specifically. There was a TSB and class action. It was a QC control issue in production, not a design flaw. If you pro-actively swap the radiator Before you have the problem it is solved. Buying a used one is problematic though because the previous owner can hide it with a flush and moving some hoses. Apparently some year of Honda Pilot had this issue apparently as well, or so I read on the internet. Was no such problem on 1st Gen to my knowledge.
Never owned a first Gen but lots of guys on the active Nissan boards did. The first Gen Xterra was in general underpowered and not well appointed but they all still loved them. However many jumped to the 2nd gen because it was such a improvement in just about every way.
First Gen's were reliable however they did have some problems as mentioned - exhaust manifold, knock sensor, the rats nest under hood. The supercharged version wasn't all that common, so that one is an unknown to me.
I would go ghost around xterranation.org for a while - still a lot of the faithful have there's.
If someone gave me one I would be happy to have it. If I were buying one I would likely try to find a 2nd Gen, preferably 2011 and newer, although my 2008 has been perfect. https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/t...vers-395-000-miles-nissan-xterra-vq40.376175/
Never owned a first Gen but lots of guys on the active Nissan boards did. The first Gen Xterra was in general underpowered and not well appointed but they all still loved them. However many jumped to the 2nd gen because it was such a improvement in just about every way.
First Gen's were reliable however they did have some problems as mentioned - exhaust manifold, knock sensor, the rats nest under hood. The supercharged version wasn't all that common, so that one is an unknown to me.
I would go ghost around xterranation.org for a while - still a lot of the faithful have there's.
If someone gave me one I would be happy to have it. If I were buying one I would likely try to find a 2nd Gen, preferably 2011 and newer, although my 2008 has been perfect. https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/t...vers-395-000-miles-nissan-xterra-vq40.376175/
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AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
Forgot about the knock sensor that's buried under the intake manifold. I got that code and a well placed resistor took care of it. Also the manifold has to come off to change 3 of the injectors and changing spark plugs is horrible. Still love it and had no worries passing it to daughter.