Xterra and Titan repair history comparison

[Mike Up]

Just a quick comparison between my Xterra's repair history with my Titan's repair history.

A side note, while my service guys are expecting a new permanent brake fix for the judder, they really don't know what to expect as for what the TSB will call for and when it be available. The service guys were speculating that it would call for larger rotors and calipers, but they can't verify. They recommended for me to have the brake judder corrected under the current TSB until the new TSB is out. I guess they are really seeing this brake judder problem now. They said most of the problems are on the Armadas.

Here's my comparison.

2000 Xterra SE 4X4 (First model year)

1) Roof wind deflector rubbing on paint. Rubber lip was wearing groove into paint. Fixed by using 3M tape following TSB. No headache in fixing. Repair was simple and quick. Fixed during Oil change service call.

2) Bumper needed adjustment. Left side was not level with right side. No headache in fixing. Repair was simple and quick. Fixed during Oil change service call.

3) Hatch door was leaking, hatch area was flooded. Took a couple times to fix correctly. This was a headache and I wasn’t happy.

4) Rear back of seat bent and carpet came detached. Plastic pins broke and metal badly bent from moderately light cargo. Seat back was replaced. No headache in fixing. Repair was simple and quick. Fixed during Oil change service call.

5) Steering stops need lubrication constantly. Had to lube every other oil change to keep stops from popping at a full turn. No headache in fixing. Repair was simple and quick. Fixed during Oil change service call.

6) Rear seat latches rattle badly. Play in latch made truck sound as if a can was being thrown around. This was a major headache as the rattle was a loud metallic thrashing. This was a bad design as if you folded down rear seats a lot, the thin plastic latch cover wore and allowed a lot of play. After numerous repairs with no correction, wrapping the latch heavily with cloth electrical tape finally took up play between striker and latch. Finally FIXED!

7) Replaced front hubs. ~ 50K Rare hub cracks. Had to repair immediately, no problem, no headache.

8) Front Brakes replaced at 30K & 65K. Rear brakes never needed replacing. Replaced front brakes when they were thin. Fixed during Oil change service call. No headache in fixing. Repair was simple and quick.

9) Had constant brake judder starting around 10K. It was very minor and mirrored my exact brake judder problem in the Titan. Brake judder always returned after each brake job after 6K miles.

10) Various squeaks and rattles that were repaired several times, most were stopped, but some others weren’t cured while new ones came. Not really a rattle trap, but not dead quiet either.

*EDIT* ADDED 11) Fan Switch went out at 68,000 miles. Never fixed, traded it in with the problem.



2004 Titan XE 4X4 with preferred package and OR package (First model year)

1) Radio replaced following TSB. Problem started when brand new. No headache in fixing. Repair was simple and quick. Fixed during Oil change service call.

2) Rear sliding window resealed. No leak problem but stripping was distorted, started when brand new. Was repaired only out of concern. No headache in fixing. Repair was simple and quick. Fixed during Oil change service call.

3) Window switches replaced following TSB. Auto up confusion problem started when brand new. No headache in fixing. Repair was simple and quick. Fixed during Oil change service call.

4) Rear headrest replaced. Problem started when brand new, on back order for 6 months! No headache in fixing. Repair was simple and quick. Fixed during Oil change service call.

5) Brake rotors turned because of judder that started @ 7.5K .Temporary fix following current TSB until new brake TSB is established. No headache in fixing. Repair was simple and quick. Fixed during Oil change service call.

6) Differential fluid changed to Synthetic following TSB. No problem, but changed at 7.5K due to Nissan recommendation to use sythetic. No headache in fixing. Repair was simple and quick. Fixed during Oil change service call.

7) NO RATTLES, NO REPAIRS. Truck is dead quiet.

For both the Xterra and the Titan, all oil changes and repairs were done while dealership provided me with a very nice FREE loaner car.


These are my 2 most reliable vehicles I've ever owned. I've had many, MANY more problems in fewer miles than the Titan with my Plymouth Duster, Dodge Neon, and Chevy Camaro. The repairs on the Nissans have usually been done quickly and correctly the first time. The number of problems I've had on either is far less than with the American name plates. Of course, I'm picky so I want my car as perfect as possible. This requires me to nit-pik everything.

Have a good one.

[tnbowhunter]

Damn, trouble must follow you around.
Following is the repair history for my wifes 2001 Xterra 4X4 and my 2004 Titan K/C 4X4.

2001 Xterra- Problems, none. Number of times in the shop, none. Well, we did have brake pads put on at 50K.
2004 Titan--Problems, radio fade and seat belt recall. Number of times in the shop, none. I might eventually get around to having the radio fixed, the seat belt issue dosen't bother me as no one rides back there. I'll probably get that fixed when and if I take it in for the radio thingie.

[Mike Up]

Originally Posted by tnbowhunter

Damn, trouble must follow you around.
Following is the repair history for my wifes 2001 Xterra 4X4 and my 2004 Titan K/C 4X4.

2001 Xterra- Problems, none. Number of times in the shop, none. Well, we did have brake pads put on at 50K.
2004 Titan--Problems, radio fade and seat belt recall. Number of times in the shop, none. I might eventually get around to having the radio fixed, the seat belt issue dosen't bother me as no one rides back there. I'll probably get that fixed when and if I take it in for the radio thingie.

One thing, YOUR WELCOME. Why? Because my 2000 was the first model year and my TSB and trouble repairs helped you avoid them.

I'm actually quite anal about things so if I have a problem, regardless how slight, I want it taken care of.

The Xterra was really a great truck. The really only major problems were the hatch leak and the seat rattle. The rear seat rattle was a definite cause from the hard plastic covers, that are on the latch D-Rings, wearing from constant use. I was always needing to lower the seats then needing them back for riders so the wear on my truck happened a bit more than others. To me, this falls under rattles although is was a major one. It had nothing to do with mechanical integrity or reliability.

The water leak in the hatch bothered me but it was taken care of.

The seat back may have not even been noticed if the plastic inserts had not been broken off from catching on a legal size, 4 drawer file cabinet. After being able to take the carpet off the backs, I seen the bent metal back of the seat. Again, most probably would had just put a plastic insert back in and not been concerned.

The bumper misalignment was minute, being only off by ~1/2", but I wanted it aligned properly.

Brakes wore IMO to quickly, but that's not really a repair problem as it is a general maintenance concern.

Brake judder was very minor as it was on my Titan. It wasn't a problem, just a concern.

Squeaks and rattles were slightly less in the Xterra than with my other Chrysler, GM, and Ford vehicles. The Titan however is dead quiet!!

The wind deflector TSB was reported on an Xterra forum. I was very thankful as if left unattended, the paint would had been wore to the metal needing to be painted, along with the 3M tape.

Hubs, well I did do some unconcerned driving on rough pavement and off-road paths due to the Xterra's awesome off-road abilities. So that might have been my fault. Don't know for sure.

All in all, nothing ever left me stranded or crippled like my numerous, unreliable AMERICAN "NAMEPLATES" .

As far as problems with the Titan, the real only problems were the radio since I had absolutely no AM reception, the window switch confusion problem, and perhaps even the very, VERY minor brake vibration in the steering wheel. The others troubles sited weren't even problems, just concerns that were delt with using preventive maintenance. Head rest had stitching coming out on the bottom so it was replaced. This wasn't even a repair technically.

Overall I'm pretty impressed with the lack of major problems in these 2 Nissans compared to the new and used American and Foreign made American "NAMEPLATES" that I drove prior.

Have a good one.

[tnbowhunter]

I guess I have been lucky, with my last two Vehicles[Xterra and the Titan] I have owned some dogs over the years though.
I guess the worst one was a 1970 Torino GT, it had the then new 351 Cleveland Engine in it. It was also Motor Trends "Car of the year". It was a smoking piece of dog $hit if ya ask me. I have also owned a few Ford and Dodge trucks that were problematic to say the least.
By the way, don't make the mistake I made the other week. We just happened to be near the Nissan dealership where I purchased my truck and we pulled in and test drove a new 2005 Xterra. Now the wife just has to have one, 265 hp, 5 speed tranny, with VDC and ABLS. I'm going to try and make her wait untill they offer some incentives before we purchase though.
See ya,

[Mike Up]

Originally Posted by tnbowhunter

I guess I have been lucky, with my last two Vehicles[Xterra and the Titan] I have owned some dogs over the years though.
I guess the worst one was a 1970 Torino GT, it had the then new 351 Cleveland Engine in it. It was also Motor Trends "Car of the year". It was a smoking piece of dog $hit if ya ask me. I have also owned a few Ford and Dodge trucks that were problematic to say the least.
By the way, don't make the mistake I made the other week. We just happened to be near the Nissan dealership where I purchased my truck and we pulled in and test drove a new 2005 Xterra. Now the wife just has to have one, 265 hp, 5 speed tranny, with VDC and ABLS. I'm going to try and make her wait untill they offer some incentives before we purchase though.
See ya,

Actually I was going to wait for the 2005 Xterra before I bought the Titan. Although I just loved my 2000 X, I found that an SUV cargo bay is nice for taller things but as far as surface area for smaller things, it's really no better for cargo than a car. I looked around for a hard cargo carrier but $350 wasn't to my liking. Even so, Nissan just took to long to offer the 2005 Xterra and I wasn't willing to wait until first quarter of 2005. I wanted a new vehicle last quarter of 2004.

As far as that goes, the new pathfinder looks very comparible for off-road to the Xterra as it's also based off of the Titan chassis. It doesn't have a rear locking differential or a solid axial as the Titan, Xterra, and Frontier, but I never needed the use of a locker so that wasn't a concern. I really don't see any negatives for the "NEW" Pathfinder compared to the Xterra, except for luxury gear and pricing to fit. The 3rd row seats are also nice.

I actually was secondly considering the new Frontier but it's high cost nixxed that. For a few grand more, I could get the much more capable Titan. Years ago a Frontier loaded just as the Xterra, was about $1200 grand less. Add a topper and the cost mirrored the two. For some reason, they put a premium on the Frontiers cost compared to the Xterra, so the Xterra was the definite bang for the buck.

Since I wanted more cargo room, with the use of all seats, than the SUVs could provide, I wanted a truck. The Frontier's price crippled it so I was then looking at full size. Dodge Ram was the original thought as I saw heavty prices on earlier Titans. The Dodge Ram I wanted could not be found for the price I demanded. The salesman then made an awesome deal on the XE fully loaded Titan. I couldn't pass up. I'm very happy with the truck although it has had some problems. Much less problems than I ever experienced with my other vehicles, other than the Xterra.

BTW, according to Motor Trend and Truck Trend, our Titans are still the fastest "new" trucks from Nissan. I would had thought the Frontier would have been closer but it's slower by over 1/2 second. So in essence to gaining a truck, with truck capabilities, I also gained a torquey muscle car (truck).

Have a good one.

[Gone2]

My 2001 Xterra 4x4 repair history (if I can remember)

Fuel gauge broke (day 1)
Improperly installed body mount, sounded like wheel was falling off.
seat back rattling.
windshield leaked
steering stops always dry
fuel filler burped gas
exhaust manifold cracked, wide spead problem.
3 window motors broke
a/c hose broke ($200)

Spent more time in the shop than all of my other vehicles put together. Got rid of right after 3 years and warranty was gone. Bad thing was is that it often took 2-3 trips to the dealer to get it fixed.

Great off-road vehicle.

[Mike Up]

Originally Posted by Gone2

My 2001 Xterra 4x4 repair history (if I can remember)

Fuel gauge broke (day 1)
Improperly installed body mount, sounded like wheel was falling off.
seat back rattling.
windshield leaked
steering stops always dry
fuel filler burped gas
exhaust manifold cracked, wide spead problem.
3 window motors broke
a/c hose broke ($200)

Spent more time in the shop than all of my other vehicles put together. Got rid of right after 3 years and warranty was gone. Bad thing was is that it often took 2-3 trips to the dealer to get it fixed.

Great off-road vehicle.

I actually loved my Xterra because I felt it was trouble free. Brake judder wasn't a problem as it was just a mild vibration in the steering wheel when braking at fast speeds. So my only 'real' problems were the wind deflector which I chalked up to being a first model flaw and the hatch leak.

Bent seat backs were caused by me obviously, but the metal should had been stronger to take the weight. Hubs were most likely my fault for driving to fast over bad surfaces. Never let the steering stop pop bother me, just considered it a more cheap design that needed manual lubrication at every oil change.

Other things weren't mechanical problems so they really didn't bother me.

Now on my other vehicles I had, were filled with mechanical problems along with severe squeaks and rattles.

Also the week I traded it in, the fan switch went out. Forgot to mention that. The other problems were really just the new car bugs that needed to be ironed out. The actually longevity troubles were hubs and the fan switch.

Sorry you had so much problems with your Xterra. I absolutely loved mine and hated to give it up.

Have a good one.