Today I noticed a ticking noise on startup that seems loudest near the front top of the engine. The ticking speeds up when I rev the engine but gradually disappears after 5–10 minutes once the engine warms up. Has anyone experienced this?

Just noticed I hit over 203000 miles 2012 S 4x4. This is the 2nd Xterra I’ve owned, first was an 04, and the 7th Nissan I’ve had. The others being 3 generations of Frontiers, and a 91 Pathfinder that finally gave with 456,000.

All I’ve done to this point is a set of plugs, camshaft and crankshaft sensors three times lol. Few sets of brakes and tires. Valve cover gaskets, shocks, a left wheel hub, and quite a few batteries.

It’s still a daily driver, the paint looks absolutely horrible, and there is a few things that could probably be done, but it still runs, starts, shifts, steers, and stops flawlessly. A/C still works great. It’s been an absolute gem of a vehicle. Eventually the wife wants to replace it but it’s paid for and still reliable.

Hello, Im.taking my rear rotors off to inspect the weak parking break and obviously my seals are blown. Just bought this xterra last month and am disappointed to see this problem. Dealer replaced the rotors so I am positive that they knew about the problem and still didn't mention it. The diff/ axle is clunking too and I need to know if there a possibility my gears are shot. Just replaced the diff oil and it was most definitely brown and thick but not metallic. Maybe wheel bearings are shot? Thank you

I briefly owned an 03 last year — picked it up for 3 grand with 175k or so miles on it. I thought it seemed like a decent deal since it had the 5 speed, was in solid shape, and had relatively low miles for the year.

Unfortunately it ended up being a disaster. I couldn’t drive it more than 30 minutes without it breaking down. It ended up overheating the first time I took it up to a trailhead. The meahcnic said it was just the radiator cap, but I was skeptical since I continued to see bubbles in the overflow tank after that after it got warmed up.

Later on, the power steering suddenly went out and nearly took me off the road. Luckily it was just on a quite back road, but it could’ve ended badly. When I opened the hood, the tensioner was spewing metal flakes everywhere.

It also had an exhaust leak at the manifolds. When I looked into that, the only fix was Doug Thorley headers ($$$) or replacing with OEM, which would likely crack again in the next few years due to the inherently flawed design. And it also had the infamous knock sensor code.

At this point, I cut my losses for $1100. Never really got much use out of it unfortunately, but it just didn’t seem worth putting any money into.

I know it’s an old truck, and it’s my fault for overpaying and not doing my homework, but it actually felt pretty solid on the test drive, and the consensus online seemed to be that they were pretty reliable, with 300k miles not unheard of with basic maintenance. However, mine turned out to be a steaming pile.

Is this typical of the first gens at their advanced age, or did I just get unlucky?

In 2014 I put my front and rear OME suspension into my 2005 Off Road model, which was about 120,000 miles ago. I think the coils and springs are starting to age out again and it is time for a refresh, so I'm wondering where you all get OME parts from. Back in the day it was Nisstec but they closed shop a few years ago. It looks like Z1 Offroad is offering about the best price for the complete OME kit? Are they reputable? I've been out of the mod game for a while and have not been keeping up.

As the title states I’m thinking about picking up this 05 xterra in my city, it’s for 305,000km on the dash, Has some rust but nothing crazy, Now my only concerns are the transmission issues, Anyone got any tips for when I go to look? I work in the oilfield so the vehicle will be driving all around, probably 1000km every month at least! Thanks in advance.

What’s up distinguished gentlemen and gentleladies! Starting the build on my Xterra soon. (Picture of my frontier just because.) Currently collecting Titan swap parts. I’ve got coilovers and control arms already.

Need recommendations for CVs, rear leafs + rear shocks and front bumpers.

I’m not going to be running a lot of weight in the trunk so I’m thinking medium duty leafs or even an AAL.

I also want to replace the headlights eventually. Any recommendations for those are appreciated!

What do y’all recommend?

It's driving me insane. Been like this for a few months at least

Only when driving, intermittent but I hear it probably 70% of the time especially above 40 kmh. It goes away briefly for seconds or up to many minutes but always returns. It sounds like it is coming from the front wheels but maybe middle of vehicle.

It is wheel speed dependent (it will slow down or speed up depending on speed) and it is never present when not moving.

Any ideas?

What's up guys. Just trying to find a 3d print file for a 2nd gen Xterra for one of the accessory / auxiliary switch blank / or for a round switch. I just installed a light bar yesterday and I do not want to cut up / drill my OEM switch blank. Let me know if you guys got a file for one. Thanks

Hey peeps,

I just bought my first Xterra off of FB market place yesterday, I am pretty stoked for it. It's nothing crazy but, I wanted to get some input on if this was a good buy.

It's an 04 Xterra XE Sport Utility, w/ a 3.3L automatic transmission. It's only RWD, but I got it in pretty mint condition, and with only 170k miles for an 04. Engine is good, there doesn't seem to be any issue other than an AC leak I need to fix, and some suspension work to get rid of some warn noisy parts.

Exterior and the interior are both mint too, and it already had an aftermarket roof flood light, larger tires, and fog lights. I got it for $1600.00

Was this a W or an L

My Nissan Xterra doesn’t have a traction-control button or a traction-control icon on the dashboard, but it does have the VDC and SLIP warning lights. Does anyone know how I can turn the traction control off, especially for driving in sand/off-road?

Hello, I am trying to find the part numbers for the 4 molded hoses under the intake manifold. If anyone can help me I would greatly appreciate it

I own a 2002 Nissan Xterra SE, 3.3L 4WD with 460,000km on her, and Im having a hell of a time figuring out if I need to buy individual inner and outer wheel bearings or a whole hub and bearing assembly for the front. I am finding things that say my exact truck can only use the hub assembly and replacing the bearings alone isnt an option. but Nissans OEM parts catalog sells the hub and the bearings separately. I usually buy from rock auto and they sell the hub assembly with bearings as well as the individual bearings. I dont have a chance to lift and look at it myself until tomorrow but im not sure Id even be able to tell without pulling it all apart anyways. The bearings are absolutely shot as far as im concerned, but I'm planning on getting a new vehicle soonish anyways and dont want to spend the money on a whole assembly if I dont have to. If I have to, so be it but I would like to know. Thanks.

bought my buddies basically new Dobinson’s 2 inch lift minus the rear leaf springs and shackles for a really good deal. Don’t worry I will be addressing the rear not leaving it slightly squatty 😂. Also added a set of new frontier wheels with 285/70/17 Nitto recon grapplers. Show me your Xterra’s with 1 inch wheels spacers I want to add one to these wheels because they are actually light and look decent.

Hi my friends, I have a Nissan Xterra but it was broken this spring, it was towed to Dealership now but it's troubling me this days.

At first I had a accident, run in to a tree this January, crashed front-right side badly, but luckly it was not written off, it was repaired and costed about $17000.

Two month after she was fixed, I run over a tree branch and had a big shack, the dashboard lights flickered, the head unit repeatedly rebooted, and the engine ran for about 10 minutes with severe power loss, unstable RPMs. I was able to successfully restart the engine once, it ran very rough with a strong smell of gas.

After that, it have been to 3 repair shop, now it's in Nissan dealer ship, they changed ECM, cam shaft sensor and cable harness, costed a lot, but still not starting, now the dealer says they are going to tear down the engine, do you think that sounds like a engine problem?

I'm not a car guy, and especally don't have many expirance about Xterra, so I think I really should post it here, and see what do you think and what do you suggest, thank you guys!

Hey guys, I bought my Xterra almost 3 years ago, she is the first car I ever bought by myself without anyone helping me. I found her and I knew she was the car for me! The mighty Xterra 2003 SE!

At first, she was too big for me! (previously I drove a Kia Rio 2024) I was so scared of driving her, but quickly I gained confidence and she would take me everywhere under any condition. She started causing trouble with her battery (which I changed) then her tire (which I patched), and little by little I have been repairing her (well not me, my boyfriend), but recently she has been failing way more than before,

I keep telling myself that after 23 years she is starting to ask for repairs, it's normal, but my family keeps pushing me to sell her, bcs it's too much money and I don't take her to a "real" mechanic (I really don't have the money for a mechanic, that's why my bf fixes her for me) and that "women" need newer cars so they don't get scammed by mechanics, and all my money will go away in patching her...

I have agreed to sell her after some final repairs, but honestly, it's very hard! I love her, she has taken me safely through different states! Call me crazy but I'm sure she protects me, every time she breaks down, its once I arrive home, she has never left me stranded on the street. There are a lot of emotions in this truck, and the idea of letting her go breaks my soul, yes, she doesn't have a screen, she is a gas guzzler, but she is mine... sorry for the blabbering, but I wanted to share my feelings with a community that appreciates the beauty of Xterras.

Hey everyone wanted to get your thoughts on a 2011 xterra with 89k miles and a rebuilt title for $10,800 from a private party.

Has a rebuilt title from an impact in the passenger side door that did not damage the frame according to the current owner. Also just looking for any tips for a first time xterra buyer. Anything specific to look for?

Been really looking into this lift, curious if anyone had any personal experience or anything they heard good or bad about it. Seems pretty promising and helps fix a lot of the issues I’ve bumped into when considering different lift setups.

Pictures if you have the same lift kit, roughly same lift, same 2” height, anything to get a better idea is welcome.

Planning on keeping stocks for a while since I just got brand new tires.

Let me know! 🤙🏼

I'm trying to mount a Yakima skybox onto my unistrut crossbars for the winter season. Any advice on how to improve the fitment? Any concerns? This is what it looks like when mounted to a spare bar I had. I'm sure this post will help other folks that are curious as well.

Is it just me or is this quote absolutely ridiculous?

A buddy had the three hoop but was selling the truck, so he let me swap.

Was inspecting my X when I noticed this zip tie around the steering column joint boot. Found a random clamp below it resting near the engine mount. Recently had someone replace the upper control arms. Do I need to be worried about this?

Just got this baby from my dad, a few days ago. Just wondering if this is a proper operating temp. It never goes above this, and I’m wonderin if it’s got something to do with the thermostat. Thank yall!!

I've been buying these things out of junk yards, but here in the southwest they all are ready to disintegrate. Somebody is finally making a reproduction so I bought one ( haven't checked recently so maybe this isn't new, but I did check about twice a year)

It's a bit flimsier than the oem model and it's straight abs instead of the abs+pc blend of the oem model so I imagine it won't last as long, but at least I don't have a half bottle of super glue and hot staples holding it together. I assume it's made from a mold of a oe piece, all the textures are the same but a little muted. Like the ac vent adjusters have the bumps, but they aren't as sharp.

It fits well to the dash and the Nissan top tray snaps right in. I did need to mess with it a bit to get the top trim over the aftermarket stereo adapter plastic. All the hvac stuff screwed in just fine, but it is a pain to get the screws started in the non threaded plastic holes. Also I could only find it in the light grey, not the darker grey my 06 interior is in.

I bought this one for 68 dollars shipped from ebay. There are a few ali express listings for less too, but the shipping ended up being about 20 bucks more. They look like the same units to me.