Hello, my name is matt, I just purchased a brandnew 06 Xterra with the 6-speed manual in it. I drive 50 thousand miles a year between my commute and my job as a copier repairman, using my own vehicle for both duties. I wore out the automatic transmission on my Ford Escape last monday, with only 130 thousand miles on it. It was the only automatic that I've ever driven for this job in the past twenty years I've been doing it. Before that I drove 5-speed ford escorts which worked very well. Anyway, what is the life expectancy for the Xterra, can it take a hard daily work out and stay reliable for me? My daily use consists of a 60 mile commute into the metro, about 80 miles of in-metro driving, and a 60 mile commute home. I decided to go back to a manual transmission being that its far cheaper to replace a clutch plate than to have to rebuild it. The Xterra was one of only a couple makes of suv's that offered a manual, and the dealer had to bring this one up from Iowa because it was the only manual in stock in the midwest. I'd like to know what I can expect mechanically from my Xterra, do's and don't', stuff like that. Will it serve me reliably for the next five years or 250 thousand miles? I am impressed by it though, it's the same size as my escape, but much more solidly built. Any help from long time Xterra owners would be great.

Hello, my name is matt, I just purchased a brandnew 06 Xterra with the 6-speed manual in it. I drive 50 thousand miles a year between my commute and my job as a copier repairman, using my own vehicle for both duties. I wore out the automatic transmission on my Ford Escape last monday, with only 130 thousand miles on it. It was the only automatic that I've ever driven for this job in the past twenty years I've been doing it. Before that I drove 5-speed ford escorts which worked very well. Anyway, what is the life expectancy for the Xterra, can it take a hard daily work out and stay reliable for me? My daily use consists of a 60 mile commute into the metro, about 80 miles of in-metro driving, and a 60 mile commute home. I decided to go back to a manual transmission being that its far cheaper to replace a clutch plate than to have to rebuild it. The Xterra was one of only a couple makes of suv's that offered a manual, and the dealer had to bring this one up from Iowa because it was the only one in stock in the midwest. I'd like to know what I can expect mechanically from my Xterra, do's and don't', stuff like that. Will it serve me reliably for the next five years or 250 thousand miles? I am inpressed by it though, it's the same size as my escape, but much more solidly built. Any help from long time Xterra owners would be great.

Hi Matt.

Thanks for joining. Im sure you'll hook up with alot of similar peeps her on this site.

Oh and P.S. dont let Xterra1982 push you around.

She is our resident female. :) She cleans up around here. -

(Oh shit, am I going to get it...)

Besides that Matt, I really dont know what to tell you to expect.


Uhm, thats it. I think.

C ya!

Boof

*AHEM!*
Ya know Boof, you'd better watch it or the next time you boys need any advice (mechanical or photos!) you'll be S O L. Good thing I like ya... sheesh.. *mutters under her breath*

*coughs*

Besides that, Matt... WELCOME! :) I hope you enjoy our site. I'm sure you'll find it very helpful... I've only just bought my X a couple weeks ago so I don't have any kind of useful information to offer you.. (sorry) But I'm sure someone out there has been using theirs for something similar to what you need it for and can offer some insight.

So c'mon guys, let's help our newest X friend out! :)

please with mine, and ive beat the hell out of it and its still goin better than ever, and welcome to the site!

Aside from the gas consumption I have zero complaints with my 05 s, but I knew the mileage would suck stepping in. I have 6000 miles in 4 months and the truck has always been kick-ass.

Good mileage, comfortable ride,great for trails and camping and towing stuff. By the way BOOFER is just a figment of your imagination :p

In 2005 the Xterra went to a new model year. New engine, new transmission, new front suspension, new steering system, etc...

So I don't think you are going to get any numbers on MTBF for a few years.

I would think with Nissan's history being able to get 200+K out of their cars, I don't think you should expect any less from the new Xterra. Just be sure to keep up with the maintenance and all should be good.

I've driven my new Xterra for a week now, it's got 1700 miles on it, and I have to say it's a very nice vehicle. Having driven Fords all my life though, I feel like a total stanger has come in off the street and taken up resisdence on my driveway. The Nissan is so strange and foreign to me, it looks like it started life as a much longer vehicle, and got smooshed in from both ends. I compare the the two sitting on my driveway, and the Escape has a much more fluid appearance. The Xterra is much more quite inside than my Escape though, 45 more hp, and has a very smooth 6-speed manual. I've forgotten the pleasure of rowing the gears on a smooth manual, the T5 in my Mustang is so harsh compared to the Xterra, even with the Hurst shift system. The transfer case on the Xterra is the same size as the transmission and transfer case together on the Escape, I can see why the tranny on my Escape gave out at a 130k. I've found that the gas mileage is the same, so no problems there. I have the overall feeling of being inside a good strong sturdy vehicle. On the down side, interior storage compartments are few, and the ones it does have are small at best, no seat back storage either. My Escape, which is now my wifes suv, had great seatback storage holders, and a giant center unit storage box/arm rest. Also, the Xterra suffers from terrible "Sail Effect", even the smallest wind coming across the highway, requires constant steering correction. And last of all, considering I just paid 21 grand for a new vehicle, it didn't come with a block heater. Either the Japanese who designed it didn't know what starting a car in 20 below is like, or the southerners down in Tenn. that put the thing together, don't. For those of you reading this that are muttering to yourself "why did he buy the damn thing", well finding SUV's with manual transmissions is very hard to do nowadays. The Xterra fit all my requirements. I'm sure I'll come to love the thing.

If you have clutch problems, you may not get out as cheap as just replacing the clutch plate. My 05 X has a dual mass flywheel (not smooth), which I was told cannot be machined (best practice if doing clutch work) so it has to be replaced. My $700 clutch job turned into $1400 after finding out the flywheel was damaged as well. It may depend on the severity of the clutch wear but I just thought you should know, assuming the 06 is using the same flywheel.

I am not a mechanic by any means so others here may be able to shed some light on this.

Otherwise, you have a great ride!

It's hard to imagine that I wrote that long dissertation on my X when I bought it new. Now I've got over 40k on it and have had it for almost a year now. I have to admit that I love my X, best work vehicle I've ever had, though I'm still not use to how the front end looks.

My stats and mileage would make laugh sorry. I drive 10min to work I 've had my truck a year and a half and I just made 10,000 miles. My nissian dealer sends me letters they are going to cancel my warranty. Because I am suposed to have like 15k or 20k. So my maintance schedule is all messed up.:auslachen2-big:

they cant cancel your warranty cause you dont drive it enough, can they??????????