I've owned this truck for 5 months. Frankly there's a lot to hate about it. The ride quality couldn't be much worse. The color is horrible. And only one door opens from the inside. And gas mileage is attrocious. BUT I love having a truck with 4WD. The ground clearance is friggin amazing for a stock truck. And I do like the handling, though wish it had some power. But my biggest pet peeve is the wipers. I've replaced the wipers 3 times now. I replaced them a week after owning the truck since they didnt clear my windows. The 2nd set didnt do much better and finally the blade tore off the driver side. Another replacement. It broke the wiper in half in about a week. So it's raining and Im on the way home from work and the blade falls off the wiper arm. I drive home and the blade is still on my hood and twisted. So does anyone know a decent wiper for my truck. Because this is getting pretty sad.
If you are not satisfied with your truck...sell it. Maybe Nissan trucks are not for you. The trucks have some idiosyncracies I'll admit that.
The ride quality is feels stiff if you have come from vehicles with soft suspensions.
For a truck my gas mileage is reasonable. Better than a big V8.
Broken doors? Pull off the door panel, and I will bet that the little plastic clips inside have probably broke. Cheap and easy to fix if you don't mind trying.
I don't know what engine you are running but the 4 bangers and even the 6's aren't powerhouses. If you have the time or money there are buick V6 or chevy or ford V8 swaps. If you have the Z24 or KA24 perhaps the 240 swap may be a way to go. There are also catback exhausts, headers, performance cams, chips, etc... for the trucks available at 4x4parts.com .
It's not the trucks fault if you don't have the proper size of wiper to fit the window. I have had new ones on for 3 yrs and haven't had a problem, besides they don't quite wipe the window on the passenger side near the bottom on the outside edge, just due to the curve of the glass. This doesn't bother me.
Any wiper will work if it's the right size. I think I have 20" on the driver and 19" on the passenger side.
Wow... if you're so displeased with it, just sell the thing. You shouldn't expect a lot of power from it... just mostly torque. I couldn't be happier with my '97 4-cylinder, and its got plenty of torque for it.
It you want a truck with a lot of power, buy a friggin' Lightning or an SRT-10 Ram.
I've owned this truck for 5 months. Frankly there's a lot to hate about it. The ride quality couldn't be much worse. The color is horrible. And only one door opens from the inside. And gas mileage is attrocious. BUT I love having a truck with 4WD. The ground clearance is friggin amazing for a stock truck. And I do like the handling, though wish it had some power. But my biggest pet peeve is the wipers. I've replaced the wipers 3 times now. I replaced them a week after owning the truck since they didnt clear my windows. The 2nd set didnt do much better and finally the blade tore off the driver side. Another replacement. It broke the wiper in half in about a week. So it's raining and Im on the way home from work and the blade falls off the wiper arm. I drive home and the blade is still on my hood and twisted. So does anyone know a decent wiper for my truck. Because this is getting pretty sad.
Wax the windshield. Water will just bead up and roll off.
RAin-X (altho I hate the stuff, some people like it).
I always just used whatever I could get at Salvo or my local shop- Bosch or Tri-X. They always seemed to work fine and last 30K.
The one thing I always love about Nissan is the interval wipers. My 14K hardbody cames stock with them, and you can't even get them on more expensive cars sometimes these days.
Your door problem shoudl be easily fixable.
GAs Mielage, well yeah, it's a truck, and even the 4cyl isn't a superstar at mileage. I got maybe at most 20 mpg on highway.
Ride quality, sure its gonna suck. Not much you can do there. Try replaciing all shocks with a softer one. I went with Bilsteins all the way around, but thats not gonna make it softer.
Handling, I replaced everything with Energy Suspension bushings---outstanding handling then. Spoiled me, as now my PF seems to roll like a boat sometimes.
Color---- only one thign there, repaint. Is it the nice magenta color?
I would try OEM wiper blades and blade arms... Nissans typically have very good wipers. Mine were replaced with aftermarket crap that I put new inserts in - but the next round will be new OEMs from Joe (1-888-216-5328) at www.everythingnissan.com
Heath
__________________ 1997 Nissan XE Truck - 133,000 Miles
1990 Infiniti Q45 - 91,000 Miles
2005 Infiniti G35 Sedan - 34,000 Miles
Hey, don't get me wrong here. I like the damn thing. I have my complaints, but most of them sinply have to do with the fact that it is indeed a truck. That's NOT something I'm used to. I expect the ride quality to be about where it is. The gas mileage troubles me some as I can list off numerous examples of vehichles that are heavier, produce more impressive HP/TQ numbers and yet still manage superior gas mileage. But I do enjoy it quite a bit. It's a nice addition to my collection and certainly has plenty of upsides.
The door thing..... It's winter. It's been fucking cold and I'm not about to care that much until the weather is 50 plus on the weekend.
The color, Teal, with goldish decals. But one doesnt always put color as a high priority when purchasing a used vehicle. Granted, since my last 5 cars have been red, I think that would be worse.
But wipers are key. And no one else is having this issue? I wonder if maybe my wiper arm is bent a bit or something. Because it's not like putting the proper wiper on a car in a correct manner is a difficult task. I'd just like the damn things to stay on when I put them on.
As for power upgrades....... It's a truck. And though I hate to leave a vehicle in relatively stock form my car takes precendence. And I waste plenty of money there. So I've been informed no major mods to the truck.
Anyway, sorry it if the original post came off as overly negative. I actually like the truck. And prefer it over most other trucks, save a few special ones. It just has some downsides like almost every other vehicle on the market.
Try the stock wipers and arms. OEM blades are narrower than the aftermarket replacements by TRICO but the TRICO ones always worked well for me on my hardbody. You can get new arms with blades (TRICO) at any auto parts store for about ten bucks each or get new OEM ones from Nissan (probably cost more). Then again maybe it's how the blades were installed on the wiper arms. It's kind of tricky to get all the little clips in the right place. Buy em as a set and you get past that problem.
-tf
Last edited by truckfan : Apr 3rd, 2005 at 12:24 PM.
Reason: correction
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
But one doesnt always put color as a high priority when purchasing a used vehicle. Granted, since my last 5 cars have been red, I think that would be worse. 
It's a truck. And though I hate to leave a vehicle in relatively stock form my car takes precendence. And I waste plenty of money there. So I've been informed no major mods to the truck. 
Linear Mode
