Hey guys, my wife's Xterra had some weird starting issues this morning and I haven't had much luck searching for similar reports. It's a 2008 SE with about 27k.

Here's what happened...

Start 1: Turn the ignition, won't fire.

Start 2: Turn the ignition, won't fire.

Start 3: It starts, but the dash shows it in 4wd, which it wasn't and hasn't been for about 3 weeks. The wheel diagram display is blank.

At this point I'm confused and decide to try a few more times waiting a few minutes between attempts.

Start 4: It starts but all of the gauges are flatlined. I put it in gear (reverse) and the gauges all come to life. No longer shows 4wd and the tire display is back.

Start 5: It starts and the gauges don't register for a good 15 seconds.

It was running fine yesterday and we really haven't had any mecanical issues since we bought it new. Its her daily driver. This is our 2nd X and I have not seen this before.

My first thought was the alternator since the electrical components worked before ignition and the battey dosplay was fine. My second thought is the ecu. I will get it to the dealer this week but I try to be prepared before I go in. Any thoughts or similar issues?

Wow, day 3 and not a sinlge reply.

For those that encounter a similar issue, it turned out to be a bad battery core. Supposedly it can cause the dash to do funky things.

Anyhow, back to the Z forums. This was a waste of time.

Maybe its the starter?

Try hitting it a few time with a hammer.
Had to do that to my Saturn the other day actually to get it running.