We had a 99 QX4 for the last 15 years. Great vehicle for my daughter who has been driving it for the last five years.

Three weeks ago, the QX4 was totaled when a driver ran a stop sign and broadsided the QX4. Daughter was not hurt badly, but banged up.

Now she needs a "new" car and she is looking at Xterras between 2000 and 2015 (year models).

Are there any of these years or particular options she should avoid?

The X's from '11 up pretty much had all the bugs worked out and are about as bulletproof as a design can be. Prior to '05 they're a completely different animal with VG33's instead of VQ40's (the '99~'01's could actually be had with the KA24 as well, but those are pretty rare). The early ones are also getting very hard to find parts for. From '05~'10 the main issues were the infamous "intermix" problem and defective timing chains and/or timing cover gaskets. The '05~'10's can all have the timing chain problem, the leaky gaskets were most frequent from '05~'07 and the intermix most frequent on '06~'07. If you're buying a rust belt or salt state vehicle, also make sure to give it a thorough corrosion inspection, especially the frame crossmembers and front strut towers.

Thank you! By "intermix" do you mean coolant and transmission fluids? Or coolant and engine oil?

Niti QX4 wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 20, 2022 8:22 am

Thank you! By "intermix" do you mean coolant and transmission fluids? Or coolant and engine oil?

Coolant and tranny, the heat exchangers fail. It's an infamous problem with early VQ40's on the X, Pathy, and Frontier. Nissan finally got it fully worked out in late '10, so '11-ups aren't affected. The earliest radiators were the most prone, after '07 it can still happen but it's less common.

Thanks!