Almost4x4

Hey Guys!

Any reason why I "shouldn't" get an Xterra?

I have an FJ, and before anyone says anything, I know the FJ is fantastic and I do love it, although it does have a few quarks, like poor visibility and no real rear door, ultimately it's overall a good truck and great off road.... But my wife hates it because its manual transmission and the blind spots for her are an issue. Its also a bit of a boat.. at times.

The other thing realistically is that I only get out about twice a month... and my style of driving includes more of the exploration side of things rather than dune "bashing" although that's fun from time to time. So let's just say, Newbie to Intermediate... with some camping into the mix every other weekend.

Before someone says get a new wife and keep the truck... I hear you... but you know how it is.

Looking at other vehicle options for my personal needs, I found the xterra "off-road" model to be fine in my price range. "Off road" because it has the diff lock and better shocks. I've never had to use the diff lock with the FJ, but that could be luck... of maybe because its an FJ :)

The one thing I do know about the Xterra is that the air bags are sensitive. Pull the fuse I guess? Right?

Anyways, I may just keep the FJ... looking at my options and still thinking about it.

Appreciated.
JT

adventure motox;41492 wrote:Hey Guys!

Any reason why I "shouldn't" get an Xterra?

I have an FJ, and before anyone says anything, I know the FJ is fantastic and I do love it, although it does have a few quarks, like poor visibility and no real rear door, ultimately it's overall a good truck and great off road.... But my wife hates it because its manual transmission and the blind spots for her are an issue. Its also a bit of a boat.. at times.

The other thing realistically is that I only get out about twice a month... and my style of driving includes more of the exploration side of things rather than dune "bashing" although that's fun from time to time. So let's just say, Newbie to Intermediate... with some camping into the mix every other weekend.

Before someone says get a new wife and keep the truck... I hear you... but you know how it is.

Looking at other vehicle options for my personal needs, I found the xterra "off-road" model to be fine in my price range. "Off road" because it has the diff lock and better shocks. I've never had to use the diff lock with the FJ, but that could be luck... of maybe because its an FJ :)

The one thing I do know about the Xterra is that the air bags are sensitive. Pull the fuse I guess? Right?

Anyways, I may just keep the FJ... looking at my options and still thinking about it.

Appreciated.
JT

We have a Marshall using a stock Xterra (Rashid Jass) so it seems to me that everything is possible with this car :)

Daggerfall;41493 wrote:We have a Marshall using a stock Xterra (Rashid Jass) so it seems to me that everything is possible with this car :)

Well it's definitely respectable, which is why I'm considering it. Just want to know if there re any "must knows" about the model.

Cheers

Anyone looking to buy an XTerra, I'm looking to sell. DuBizzle link is http://abudhabi.dubizzle.com/motors/use ... offroad-3/
Regards, Cloggy

Just to add to my earlier chat, I've had a wonderful time driving my X-Terra Offroad in the desert. Never had a mechanical issue; the airbags have not gone off unexpectedly. I'll be sorry to part with it as I love the car. Best regards, Carel

Both are great off road vehicles by all means , my only remark would be the rear leaf sprung suspension of the Xterra is less comfortable comparing to the FJ ( on-road & off-road ) .

I have recently bought an x-terra and gone through similar contemplation to choose between FJ and X-terra. They are both great cars and mechanically, have a lot in common such as engine size, BHP, clearance etc. For me, nail in the coffin was x-terra having true 4 doors rather then having 2 full and 2 half doors as if you have two little children in the rear seats, then in a rescue situation it can mean life and death. While researching I didn’t came across any major known issues or recalls except a lot of noise about random air bags deployments during off road trips. I have done 3 x trips so far – 2 x dune bashing and 1 camping trip and car performed a lot better than I anticipated. Did not encounter any issues with airbags but just to be on the safe side, I plan to remove the fuse for airbags on my next drive and reset air bags using the ignition on off trick..

Lastly, it’s nice to have an off road model but think twice if it’s worth paying the difference when you are not going to use that diff lock? Particularly if you are only a weekend warrior and the terrain you use isn’t that tricky or have a second car to rescue you? Suspension can always be replaced afterwards and even if you go for the same Bilstien suspensions which comes with off road model and it will only set you back by $200 and probably few hundred dhs for fitting. I got the basic model same as the one Rashid is using and while exploring tons of US based X-terra forums I am learning that a lot of extras are built into the base models but Nissan have covered them up. One of such finds was this morning that my car have cargo hook rails which supposed to be installed only in higher model but was covered with a piece of plastic! So basically you are getting extras you haven’t paid for.. :)

Good luck with whatever you decide!!

iJanab;41509 wrote:I have recently bought an x-terra and gone through similar contemplation to choose between FJ and X-terra. They are both great cars and mechanically, have a lot in common such as engine size, BHP, clearance etc. For me, nail in the coffin was x-terra having true 4 doors rather then having 2 full and 2 half doors as if you have two little children in the rear seats, then in a rescue situation it can mean life and death. While researching I didn’t came across any major known issues or recalls except a lot of noise about random air bags deployments during off road trips. I have done 3 x trips so far – 2 x dune bashing and 1 camping trip and car performed a lot better than I anticipated. Did not encounter any issues with airbags but just to be on the safe side, I plan to remove the fuse for airbags on my next drive and reset air bags using the ignition on off trick..

Lastly, it’s nice to have an off road model but think twice if it’s worth paying the difference when you are not going to use that diff lock? Particularly if you are only a weekend warrior and the terrain you use isn’t that tricky or have a second car to rescue you? Suspension can always be replaced afterwards and even if you go for the same Bilstien suspensions which comes with off road model and it will only set you back by $200 and probably few hundred dhs for fitting. I got the basic model same as the one Rashid is using and while exploring tons of US based X-terra forums I am learning that a lot of extras are built into the base models but Nissan have covered them up. One of such finds was this morning that my car have cargo hook rails which supposed to be installed only in higher model but was covered with a piece of plastic! So basically you are getting extras you haven’t paid for.. :)

Good luck with whatever you decide!!

Cool,
So you have the non "offroad" model?
The base or the midrange?

Im considering it as the midrange model is significantly cheaper in the "used" market.

Wanted a mid range but settled for the base model as got a very good deal.. If you are not in a rush then Keep searching and I am sure you will find a good deal..

Almost all these discussions have been had many times over!
My suggestion therefore is to use the free 'resource' that this Forum and Club provides you with by simply using the 'search function' to see what others have previously experienced.
The air bag 'issue' for instance is fully covered in a post I made which shows exactly how to remove the airbag fuse.