Lost an ordinary vehicle to hydroplaning/ditch full of water in June. Both my wife and I started searching for a replacement vehicle. She emailed me from her easy chair to mine with photos of cars she liked from Facebook Marketplace; I had searched both Craigslist and Marketplace. Her first choice, unbeknownst to me, was the same as my first choice: a 2006 Solar Yellow Nissan Xterra, located 190 miles from us on the other side of Illinois. Contacted the fellow, and finally arranged to meet four days later at his house. He told me that there were some things wrong with the vehicle, namely: the rear driver's door was not working, the passenger airbag light was constantly blinking, and TPMS light always on. Before we started our drive over, I found this site, and did a little research. Found out about SMOD one half hour before we left; worried the entire drive over to Quincy. The Xterra presented very nicely, with 119,000 miles, and drove great. We were hooked. Bought the car, licensed it in Quincy, drove home. We have never owned a Nissan, never owned an SUV/Truck, had never looked twice at an Xterra. Absolutely love it.
Since July purchase, we have: replaced the original radiator, immediately. Changed fluids in transfer case, front and rear differentials, changed oil twice, replaced small wiper blade on back with longer blade, as per forum recommendations, changed brake and power steering fluids (used the turkey baster method suggested on forum for power steering!), reduced air pressure in tires from the rock hard 44PSI the gentleman had when we bought the car to a more friendly 35PSI, replaced two TPMS sensors. I have used forum advice to make the passenger airbag blinking light disappear, to remove the inside rear door panel from the door so that I could open the door and replace the lock mechanism (the YouTube videos did not much help, as the actual lock was bad on this door), and found the second glovebox quicker than most, apparently. I reduced hood shake by adjusting the rubber bumpers on the hood itself, as another forum post suggested.
I have also learned from the forums:
No posers, please.
Sarcasm not always appreciated.
A beer or two after a successful modification/repair is suggested.
A bigger jack and taller jack stands may be necessary.
Xterras are pretty tough.
Gas mileage is a big topic, though not sure why. (5500 miles since we bought Xterra, 19.35 MPG average so far).
I cannot wait to learn more from the forums. Glad to have this resource.
Since July purchase, we have: replaced the original radiator, immediately. Changed fluids in transfer case, front and rear differentials, changed oil twice, replaced small wiper blade on back with longer blade, as per forum recommendations, changed brake and power steering fluids (used the turkey baster method suggested on forum for power steering!), reduced air pressure in tires from the rock hard 44PSI the gentleman had when we bought the car to a more friendly 35PSI, replaced two TPMS sensors. I have used forum advice to make the passenger airbag blinking light disappear, to remove the inside rear door panel from the door so that I could open the door and replace the lock mechanism (the YouTube videos did not much help, as the actual lock was bad on this door), and found the second glovebox quicker than most, apparently. I reduced hood shake by adjusting the rubber bumpers on the hood itself, as another forum post suggested.
I have also learned from the forums:
No posers, please.
Sarcasm not always appreciated.
A beer or two after a successful modification/repair is suggested.
A bigger jack and taller jack stands may be necessary.
Xterras are pretty tough.
Gas mileage is a big topic, though not sure why. (5500 miles since we bought Xterra, 19.35 MPG average so far).
I cannot wait to learn more from the forums. Glad to have this resource.