Hello fellow Xterra owners. Today I purchased a Nissan Xterra. It is a 2004 XE 2WD Auto, has just over 30K miles on it, certified w/100k warranty. I paid roughly 15K$ from Nissan dealership.
Hopefully it will be a much more reliable vehicle than my last car:usuck:a Isuzu Rodeo that I had owned for only just over a year before the timing idler broke and destroyed the engine, losing over 5k$ on that purchase. Needless to say that will be the last Isuzu I will ever own. PLEASE someone give me hope on my decission to go with the Xterra, my other option was a Jeep Liberty.


Please bear with me as some of you may think some of the questions I need answered may be common sense questions, as this vehicle is very new to me.

The engine type is a 3.3L V6 (model# says VG33DE). Ive done some research on this engine, does the DE mean its a DOHC engine or is it a SOHC engine? I saw somewhere that it was a DOHC but you can't rely on everyones answers on some places on net, which is why I would ask here as there are obviously many Xterra owners here that know there stuff.

What quircks or problems should I be watching for with this year and model?

Dealing with the timing belt issue of the Rodeo makes me much more concious of the timing belt. Does this engine use a timing belt or timing chain, and when should I have that maintained, 100k or sooner?

What type of oil would you recomend to be used with this engine, regular or sythetic?

I may eventually need to tow with this vehicle as I may want to do some contracting work. What type of tow package is available for this X as it seems the spare tire is where the tow may need to be?

Any other operation tips or maintanance recomendations that anyone would have for my new Xterra would be greatly appreciated.


Thank you,
new Xterra owner.

Wow! Ok first off... Welcome to CX!:hi:

Let me peruse your questions and see what I can answer. hahaha

Quirks/Problems: Driver's side power window may give you grief. Think it has something to do with the motor/servo whatever. Weak steering linkage if you plan on wheeling it so a $30 IA brace could solve that. Hot chicks don't come with it. You have to provide those yourself :mocking:

Timing belt maintenance is schedule to be done around 105K.

Tow package is not a problem and can handle quite a load. I can show you pictures of my hitch on a 2004 with a 2" body lift.

And good decision on taking the X over the jeep puberty!

Post some pictures man and let's see what ya' got!

Welcome to the club.

The V6 comes as VG33E or VG33ER. Non super charged or super charged. It does have a timing belt. It calls out to be changed at 105k. Unfortunately, as in your Rodeo, the Xterra V6 is an interference fit engine so if you snap the timing belt or tensioner you're gunna end up with the same set of bent valves.

About two years ago I had a friend with a Rodeo and the idler snapped. It did bend all the valves in the head (4 cyl) but didn't damage the pistons. I had the head redone and put it all back together myself and she ran great. Sorry you weren't so fortunate.

I ran Mobil 1 synthetic in my '02 X from 10k right on up to 100k when I traded it in. No issues at all with the engine ever. I did change the timing belt at 75k and it looked just looked just fine. I think it would have made the 105k no problem.

welcome to the club....

since it is a auto you could look into getting a tranny cooler if you plan on towing alot of weight.... i use synthetic oil in mine...... glad to answer any other ?'s you might have..... and also post some pics of your new ride..... LOL

Wow you guys replied to my post fast. Thanks for the support and answers to some of my questions. I am excited and happy to be a new member to ClubX.

Here are some pics of my new Xterra. :excellent:

One thing myself and the others neglected to say that you may want to consider, is removing your rear sway-bar. On the 1st. gens the sway will actually damage the passenger side shock if the axle gets much movement. I removed mine months ago and you really can't tell a difference and I've pulled a utility trailer with landscape equipment many times with it. Search the threads for others comments and photos about the damage it will do. You might want to get under your X and just look at the rear shock and see if you can see any noticeable rub or denting.

Oh and the tow/hitch assembly will fit around the spare tire and mounts parallel to the frame rails so it doesn't interfere with your spare at all. If you go to my thread of my body lift you will see a pic of mine.

Welcome again and glad we could help!

Wow you guys replied to my post fast. Thanks for the support and answers to some of my questions. I am excited and happy to be a new member to ClubX.

Here are some pics of my new Xterra. :excellent:
Honestly check the fluids, if it looks kinda iffy, I'd get all the fluids changed asap, so u know exactly when they were changed,

The dealership let me use the car for a full day before I actually purchased it.

I did check all fluids before I purchased it, the X was sold to me as a certified vehicle from a Nissan dealership(126 point inspection). When I checked the oil I had never seen cleaner oil in any car than this one(the oil is actually almost clear on dip stick), so i know it is fresh oil. They also have a sticker on the windsheild stating mileage for next oil change. Also with the purchase of the X they offered me 36 months of free oil changes, which I did not pass up. I just hope they will allow to use synthetic oil for these changes, if not I will pay the cost difference for synthetic.

And , WOW, I did take a look at that rear sway bar. You are very right Drake, that sway bar is probably no more than a 1/4 inch from the passenger rear shock. Thanks much for that info. Does removing the rear sway bar cause any differences in manuverabilty or drivabilty of this vehicle, or what may it affect in these terms? You would think Nissan would have designed this rear sway bar a little better allowing for more clearance than that. You would think that this would be a recall issue. BTW i could not find the thread regarding the shock damage, do you know where it is or who posted it?

90% of my driving will involve city driving, but there is a place I like to take my family fishing in the mountains on a dirt road, but have never gone past a certain point without walking due to having to cross the river to go much further. Our other car is a '04 Honda Odyssey which we have drivin fishing b4, but have not wanted to cross the river with it. I will be taking the X up there in the next week or two, weather permitting, to see how the X will do crossing it.

Thanks for all the great pointers everyone. :wink-big:

Here is the link that James is working on. He's compiling a catalog of photos of shock damage from the swaybar. There's only a few on this thread but you will get the idea.

http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2529&highlight=damage+pics

I've had mine off for a while now and even right after I took it off, I hardly noticed a difference in the handling. I've pulled trailers with it off and I haven't had any control issues.

you really shouldnt notice a diffrence....... i have had mine off for a while.....

The engine type is a 3.3L V6 (model# says VG33DE). Ive done some research on this engine, does the DE mean its a DOHC engine or is it a SOHC engine? I saw somewhere that it was a DOHC but you can't rely on everyones answers on some places on net, which is why I would ask here as there are obviously many Xterra owners here that know there stuff.

Technically it is a DOHC engine as it has two cams, but really it is SOHC with two cams (one for each head).

Technically it is a DOHC engine as it has two cams, but really it is SOHC with two cams (one for each head).

Technically it isn't a DOHC at all. DOHC engines utilize seperate camshafts for the intake and the exhaust.

SOHC engines utilize one camshaft for both the intake and the exhaust.

The VG33E engine is an SOHC engine, despite it having two cams.