howdy everybody....been a few days since i was last on...i'm moving from little rock to pope afb in nc and have been traveling across the country and haven't had much time for the net....anyhow, i've noticed a squeaking sound coming from the driver's side front wheel/shock...not really sure what is causing it, but i only hear it at slow speeds like going thru a parking lot ...just wondering if anyone has had a similar problem or knows what it is....thanks-

john

Could it be related to this? http://www.nissanhelp.com/Ownership/Bulletins/Nissan/2006/NTB06-037.htm

Does it occur over bumps? When turning? Constant?

i've only heard it going over bumps....mostly at slow speeds....i don't think it could be the brakes....i've only got 6000 miles on it and it's a 6 spd so i don't do a lot of hard breaking.....thank for the link though

-john

update...had the x in for an oil change today so i had them look at the squeak i was hearing....turns out it was the hood latch- it wasn't aligned properly so the hood was actually moving a little everytime i hit a bump...they realigned it and put new bushings on it...squeak is gone...just a head's up if anyone else hears squeak from the front end while driving- check the latch, it could be your problem....the mechanic also said that 1st generation x's have a similar problem with the front bumper mounts that causes a similar sound

-john

cool. Glad it was something simple!! Thanks for the update.

yet another update....had the x home for 2 days and the squeak came back...i did a little searching on some other forums and found this info courtesy of xterraownersgroup.com. apparently this is a pretty common problem on 05's- it sounds like a suspension problem, just like i originally posted, but it is actually the hood latch/hood squeaking. after the dealer tries to fix it, it comes back in a few days....the way to fix it is to use a couple extra bushings or furniture felt pads from home depot/lowes....here's a link to the page that i found...has a pretty good write up for anyone else with this problem...and from the way it sounds, if you have an 05, and you haven't heard this yet.....you will sometime soon.

http://www.xterraownersclub.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=78;t=000700;p=2#000 015

-john

excellent! That's good old ingenuity!!

i did the repair this afternoon...cost me about 5 bucks to get what i needed from home depot...i drove the x over the worst roads i could find, that i was getting the squeak on all week (i'm home in nj visiting my parents) and i've been squeak free all evening. it seems to have taken care of the problem...at least it'll save me from playing a cat and mouse game with the dealer every time i hear a noise coming from the hood

-john

Where in NJ?

my parents live in hillsborough....about 20 mins north of princeton....it's where i grew up...i'm on a week of leave and haven't been back here in a while so i wanted to take a trip up to visit

-john

I grew up in the Ewing/Lawrenceville area... TJ's neck o' the woods.

nice....i travel through there all the time....i waited my whole life to get out of jersey and now that i am gone all the time the first place i want to go when i get time off is back home....funny how that works....of course, it may also have a little to do with the fact that the girlfriend also lives up here

-john

Haha, my wife, Kim, and I both grew up in NJ, but I dragged her out of the money-pit by luring her to Florida. (Now in Upstate/Western NY)

I do love NJ, it's just to expensive to live there.

i love it too....and you're right, it is a money pit....i can't beleive the difference in prices on property between up here and other parts of the country...i'm renting an entire house in nc for about half of what it would cost me to rent a one bedroom apt up here....it's out of control

-john

Yeah, I pay $350 less on my mortgage for a 3bed 1.5bath house in the suburbs here than my friend pays in rent on a 2bed 1bath apt in west trenton.

I just purchased a used 2000 XE and drove it for the first time today I was dissapointed to hear a squeek very similar to your description such as when I drive slowly over bumps.

I can't believe the first day on this forum would possibly provide a solution to this problem

Thanks for the link too

fyi- when i was at the dealer to have mine looked at, they told me that first gen x's have a similar problem,and it's the front bumper that is loose, so you may want to check into that. the problem that i described i have only heard of on 2nd gen x's

-john

In fact I thought it might be something in the suspension