I am looking for a cheap small suv for a spare car for when we have a car in the shop. Wife's car is down and she had to borrow my mother's Yukon to go into town this week and I need to get something for her so she doesn't have to borrow a vehicle in the future.
I have been looking at an 04 Nissan xterra local to me with the V6 and auto  trans. Thing has 96k on the clock. Anyone have experience with these and if so are they worth looking into or are they junk?

Older Nissans generally speaking are reliable and if maintained can expect 200k or more out of it.

However, being that age and millage could have anything wrong with it.

Look carefully for leaks, check all fluids, no warning lights, and overall condition.

Recommend inspection by a tech BEFORE purchase.

I had a Nissan Maxima with over 300k on it, similar engine. Gave to a relative, still going.

Pass. Gen 1’s drop head gaskets at 100k. Add to the the weak steering racks, leaking valve cover gaskets, and overall squirrelly steering I was almost glad when mine popped a head gasket.

Gen 2’s weren’t much better with the noisy valve trains and chewing through timing guides. Timing set was a $2k fix for me and I got my moneys worth until the oil pump grenaded, which is also common.

Not that a VG never popped a head gasket, but I don't recall that ever being common.  When I was an "all makes/models" mechanic, I worked on them all the time.  My spare/shooting car(SUV) is an old 2nd gen Pathfinder with the 3.3(same engine) and that just rolled 260k.

The only common issues I recall from that engine were valve cover leaks, distributors, and knock sensors.  Timing belts needed every 100k or so.

The front ends were the same as a frontier of the same era if I'm not mistaken.  Not great, but plenty reliable.

OP, if the price is right, have it looked over, if it's good, and you get it, do the timing belt and get another easy 100,000 or more miles out of it.

I've been in the Nissan scene a long time and never heard of a VG popping a head gasket that wasn't siverely abused. You must be thinking of the Toyota 3.0 V6 which is so bad if ruined the reputation of V6 engines in small trucks for a long, long time.

I've also never heard of a timing guide issue on a VG because there are no timing guides. There is a tensioner roller, 2 cam sprockets and the crank sprocket. The KA4cyl  has timing guide wear eventually.

Power steering pump is weak if you have oversized tires and off-road. Has a lighter feel than the ones in the pathfinder of 95 and older.

OP, do a timing belt, plugs and wires and run it. The VG33 is a great engine, very reliable but not overly powerful. I currently have one with long tubes in my 86.5 Hardbody. I've spent a lot of time getting to know the VG30 and VG33 as I built mine.

These things like NGK. Use NGK plugs and wires for best results.

I beat the living crap out of a 2002 Supercharged SE with a manual trans. Full width Dana 44 swapped for the last several years.

Broke down one time that wasn’t my fault, alternator went out leaving Snowshoe Mountain in the pitch dark. Made it to some tiny town that had a NAPA and slept in the back seat.

Had nearly 300k on it when I (foolishly) sold it.

Attached File

I didn’t abuse my 04 VG for the 20k I put on it, neither did the retired dude I bought it from.

Also, you missed the “Gen 2” that started the second paragraph. Those had VQ40’s, which were absolutely notorious for chewing up the chain guides and squealing like stuck pigs on startup. My ‘11 went straight to the shop for a timing set within a week of buying it, because I too have owned a Nissan in one form or another for probably 25 years.

Never again.

You missed where the OP wasn't asking about a Gen 2 and started taking about things he will not have to deal with with the 04 he is asking about.

Comprehension hard? I covered that in the first paragraph by stating the issues I had with mine.

Neighbor had a 1st gen that he put well over 200k.

The only real issue he had wasn’t Nissan’s fault…….he had bicycles on a roof rack and then took it into a drive thru.

Roof rack ripped clean off!

It apparently is very difficult as you failed it right off going on some tangent that nobody cares about.


To avoid confusion for the OP I clarified you failed basic literature and to disregard most of what you had said.


Your problems with the 4.0 and the VG engines seems to be very unique in my run with Nissan trucks dating back to the 1980s. An over simplification would be to say the entire drivetrain tends to be very solid and the outstanding issue up to ~2019 is the strawberry milkshake of death that only affects the 4.0 with the slushbox. Nissan seems to have fixed the issue around 2013 or so. No outstanding issues with any VG powered Nissan truck. Just use NGK for plugs and wires, do the tbelt and it'll go pretty well forever. My Nissan truck is 37 years old, I've had it since highschool, it is VG powered and every issues I've had was either my fault or age related except maybe the oil pressure sender that died over a decade ago on my way to town one day. VG33 is a better VG30 with the major differences being the heads and cylinder wall thickness as well as the larger exhaust studs fixing the broken stud issue found on early VG engines in the 1980s like my truck.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I found out later last night he already sold the xterra. Oh well.
On the flipside I am now going to start looking for a used Titan pro 4x. I've heard good things about them. The Titans are more $$$ but sound like you get more for the price. Plus living in the woods the 4x4 capability is a nice peice of mind.