Problem with my 07 Nissan Xterra Off Road

[07OffRoadXterra]

Hi Everyone - I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this but hoping some car mechanic or expert might have some advice.

I have a 07 Nissan Xterra Off Road (bought brand new April 07) that I have LOVED until about a month ago. It has 15k miles on it. It has been garaged every night since I bought it and I drive it mostly local city driving (minimal highway) It was in my garage unused for a period of 8 days when I had surgery and then I resumed using it. I believe that is when I first started hearing this sound.

Does anyone know the sound when you're sitting at a red light and a car with a loud bass tube pulls up next to you and there's a low vibration/very deep hum sound that hurts your ears? Well, my Xterra is making that exact sound when I'm idling (when I'm stopped or barely moving) It's even more enhanced when I'm in drive and am stopped. It gets louder and softer but is mostly just incredibly annoying and hurts my ears and that of my children.

My first time bringing it in to be looked at they said "I know what the problem is" and proceeded to hook it up to a computer (inside the car) and reset the idle. That brought it back to a normal sound...until I drove away and the first light i stopped at it started making the sound again.

The mechanic at Nissan said "i know what it is" and proceeded to replace the intake collector. That did nothing to fix this problem.

Third time they put it on the lift and checked everything and said they couldnt figure out what it could be.

I now have Nissan corporate involved but I would really love to find out what this could be if anyone has any ideas for me because I really was enjoying this car and now i dread driving it and the headache that I get every time and the fussing of the kids due to the awful low pitch hum/vibration.

Thanks in advance

[fowldarr]

My wife has an 05 Nissan Quest, we had the exact same issue, and there were several trips to the dealer to find the issue. After replacing a bunch of stuff (under warranty thankfully) it turned out to be an exhaust hanger that had broken loose from the frame, and it was causing a low level humming/vibration throughout the entire vehicle, especially at certain RPM ranges while accellerating from stoplights.

[Creek]

where are you located?

[07OffRoadXterra]

where are you located?

Central Massachusetts.

[07OffRoadXterra]

My wife has an 05 Nissan Quest, we had the exact same issue, and there were several trips to the dealer to find the issue. After replacing a bunch of stuff (under warranty thankfully) it turned out to be an exhaust hanger that had broken loose from the frame, and it was causing a low level humming/vibration throughout the entire vehicle, especially at certain RPM ranges while accellerating from stoplights.

OH MY GOD! THank you for this. I will contact the dealer in the morning. I did ask them to thoroughly check the exhaust system but they just "eyed" it i think. I will have them check this!

[fowldarr]

I hope that's what it is man, If not, who knows....

[Creek]

I would also check all of your skid plate bolts - if you have the OR model. A loose one of those can cause the same kind of sound. If you were in CO, i'd tell you to swing by and I'd take a look/listen...but, you're all the way over there (J! E! T! S! ;))

[vengeful]

Try posting this on http://www.TheNewX.com A forum dedicated solely to the second generation Xterra. I'm sure, if there's not someone locally, there's someone that's had a similar issue.

[Creek]

Try posting this on http://www.TheNewX.org A forum dedicated solely to the second generation Xterra. I'm sure, if there's not someone locally, there's someone that's had a similar issue.

FIFY...it's .org, not .com

[07OffRoadXterra]

I hope that's what it is man, If not, who knows....

woman you mean :) woman with 2 little kids actually :)

[07OffRoadXterra]

FIFY...it's .org, not .com

i cant get either to work. one put spyware on my pc the other was a college tuition site...

[MisterTinkle]

Here is the link:

http://www.thenewx.org/

But it seems the site is down at the moment...

[Creek]

yeah, there's been server/host issues over the last month or 3. Supposedly, there's a new host in the works. Until then though, there will be outages. But, it's back up now...

[fowldarr]

Sorry bout that,

[4hilux]

woman you mean :) woman with 2 little kids actually :)

Without photo evidence - you realise this is only a rumour ........;) :)

Found the problem with your Nissan yet??

[07OffRoadXterra]

Without photo evidence - you realise this is only a rumour ........;) :)

Found the problem with your Nissan yet??

the dealer is ignoring me now. nissan called me today and are arranging a nissan rep to come look at the car at the dealer... they said they'd call me in a week or two :eek:

you think i'm going to post a pic on an all-man offroading web site? :) i'll post some of my nissan pics though later.

[4hilux]

[QUOTE=07OffRoadXterra]the dealer is ignoring me now. nissan called me today and are arranging a nissan rep to come look at the car at the dealer... they said they'd call me in a week or two :eek:
QUOTE]

Full negative bonus points for Nissan PR dept...............ya could always ask them if they can point ya in the direction of the nearest Toyota dealer so you can trade it.........

Next time you go to the dealer - have yr kids sit in the most expensive car in the showroom while you're in there..........odds are they will start to be fairly accomadating in a short amount of time.......;)

Quote - "you think i'm going to post a pic on an all-man offroading web site?"

I dunno - its sounding like its not all blokes here..........& the idea has some merit I reckon.............:):);)

[fowldarr]

Funny about the dealer horror story, when were buying the aforementioned quest, I got in a fight with the salesman, because he had lied to me about the price, among other things, he threw his pen at me, and basically told me to get out. My wife had originally found the certified used van online, so Nissan contacted me for comments about my experience. So I told them. The next morning, the guy who OWNS the Nissan dealership was on the phone apologizing for the way I had been treated, and surpise surprise, They actually could sell it for less than I had even been told originally. (I got such a good deal, I'm sure they took a loss)

So you get it fixed yet?

[Big Daddy Chia]

I have that same deep rumble. Oh wait I have a gibson exhaust. n/m

[madizell]

Full negative bonus points for Nissan PR dept

Off Topic: My experience with Nissan dealers is limited to Lamb Nissan in Prescott, AZ. The sales staff was quite pleasant and accommodating, but then I was offering to purchase a Nismo for cash.

The service department and the national corporate support folks, however, are a different story. The service writer at Lamb is so dumb I would not trust her to write the service ticket correctly, much less advise on tech matters. I know they are not technicians, but one can not reasonably interface with customers over matters relating to their vehicles without technical background. For example, when I asked how I was to overcome a constant TPMS warning light, the service writer suggested inflating my tires to AT LEAST 40psi and leave them there. Max inflation pressure cold is 44psi, and for the weight of the vehicle, 32psi is plenty. I didn't even try to explain to her how insane her suggestion was.

National has yet to respond to ANY inquiry I have made regarding the Nismo, and I have made three separate comment/complaints in the past year. Whether no response at all is better than hopelessly useless suggestions is a matter of perspective.

Sorry for the rant, and good luck dealing with your local dealer.

[07OffRoadXterra]

So you get it fixed yet?

No. I'm getting a lot of bologna though but no fix. The dealer hasnt' returned my 3 calls sinec Monday morning ("the service manager had a family emergency today" "is with a customer" "is at lunch" ETC ETC). Today i called corporate again and demanded that they get me a rental to use until they feel like fixing it. She says "oh is the problem getting worse?" i have to explain that it already was worse and that i now hate this car.

why in god's name would they want to lose a customer who's given them more than $165,000 over the years not including service, oil changes, etc? Oh wait, thats peanuts to them, right?

[07OffRoadXterra]

I should add that my dad has purchased approx. 10 new Nissans over the years (lots of loaded Maximas). So if you add up everything my family has given them, we're talking about .5M. and, they could give a s*** less.

[edsd90]

I had a very similar problem with my 07 Frontier, and it couldn't be located with two prior service visits. Then while having my oil changed at a local independent shop, I went under the truck while on the rack and started pounding on everything and found a missing skid plate bolt. This allowed the thin OEM skid plate to set up a harmonic vibration at certain rpm ranges. Put in new bolt - problem solved.

[07OffRoadXterra]

I had a very similar problem with my 07 Frontier, and it couldn't be located with two prior service visits. Then while having my oil changed at a local independent shop, I went under the truck while on the rack and started pounding on everything and found a missing skid plate bolt. This allowed the thin OEM skid plate to set up a harmonic vibration at certain rpm ranges. Put in new bolt - problem solved.

Thanks i've added skid plate/skid plate bolts to my list of things to carefully check. i finally heard from dealer today and they have a nissan tech meeting me at the dealership next week before the holiday. praying for a quick resolution/fix...

[07OffRoadXterra]

Wish me luck tomorrow! My biggest fear is I'll get this guy in the car for the test ride and the sound will miraculously not be there. But, as of this afternoon, it was there and as annoying as ever.

[07OffRoadXterra]

So had the car looked at by the Nissan guy (from corporate)... we went on a test drive together (he was very nice)...and he heard the sound but unfortunately, couldnt figure out what was causing it. he did find that one of my skid plates was bent into my gas tank that he believes was damaged when my car was put on the lift for my oil change... but he took it off and the noise was still there (so he says, i wasnt there), but he fixed that and put it back on. he said my exhaust hangers "looked suspect" but then when he compared them to a new xterra he said they looked exactly the same.

Ultimately, he ended up increasing my RPM by 25 in the computer... so when i'm idling at a stop it rests about 700 and that *SEEMS* to have done the trick. I can still hear the noise but its nowhere near as bad or painful as it was....

So, hopefully i'm done having to go back for a while - until the next oil change.

Now, i can pursue accessorizing the car a bit. I'd like to add some kind of decal or something and i need a bull bar or brush guard...

[madizell]

Changing the idle rpm only alters the at-rest harmonics of the vehicle. It does not eliminate the source of the noise, only the rpm at which the noise is loudest. Auto makers go to lengths to control NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness). Unless yours is a one time deal, Nissan should want to know what is causing the problem, and solve it.

I would suggest that there is something about your vehicle that is causing the noise, and that it can be found. Once you find it and fix it, the idle set won't be that important. Not to mention that you will probably have very slightly increased fuel consumption with the higher idle speed, a "fix" at your expense.

[The BN Guy]

Wanna NOR sticker? That'd be a good accessory!

[07OffRoadXterra]

Changing the idle rpm only alters the at-rest harmonics of the vehicle. It does not eliminate the source of the noise, only the rpm at which the noise is loudest. Auto makers go to lengths to control NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness). Unless yours is a one time deal, Nissan should want to know what is causing the problem, and solve it.

I would suggest that there is something about your vehicle that is causing the noise, and that it can be found. Once you find it and fix it, the idle set won't be that important. Not to mention that you will probably have very slightly increased fuel consumption with the higher idle speed, a "fix" at your expense.

No, i realize the problem hasnt been really fixed. The nissan guy referred to the sound as a resonance, versus vibration btw. Honestly though i asked him if he checked every single skid plate bolt and he acknowldged that he hadn't. How much additional expense could the higher idle cost me? I drive about 8,000 miles a year....

[07OffRoadXterra]

Wanna NOR sticker? That'd be a good accessory!

Whats a NOR sticker?

[madizell]

Hard to say what the extra expense might be. My guess would be negligible. More like a point of perspective. Here you have a relatively new vehicle with an annoying noise, which admittedly it should not have. No one argues that the noise is normal. So, why can't it be remedied? Turning up the idle is not the fix, even if the original idle speed was below stock specs.

Resonance, harmonics, vibration, whatever. A rose by any other name... It doesn't make the noise when the engine is off, and does when it is idling. The engine is the source of the vibration, and some part of the vehicle is resonating to that vibration. Nissan can get as technical as it wants about the terms and descriptives, but the bottom line is that it is not supposed to do that, and they should make a good faith effort to remedy the problem. Unless, of course, they want to claim that whatever the noise is, it is not covered by warranty. Once they make that claim, contact an attorney.

The most likely culprit, assuming the noise is under the vehicle, is the exhaust, including something inside either the cat or the muffler. Second most likely are skid plates. Next most likely would be something that is touching the drive line that should not be. Isolating the sound should not be all that difficult if it makes the sound while parked at idle.

[The BN Guy]

Whats a NOR sticker?

Wanna dees...
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/JeffKyleMc/0318081120.jpg

That's a site that I co-own with a couple of 'Ssaners.

[xterraoffroad]

What ever happened with this, did they find the cause?

[SGV]

My wife has an 05 Nissan Quest, we had the exact same issue, and there were several trips to the dealer to find the issue. After replacing a bunch of stuff (under warranty thankfully) it turned out to be an exhaust hanger that had broken loose from the frame, and it was causing a low level humming/vibration throughout the entire vehicle, especially at certain RPM ranges while accellerating from stoplights.

This happened to me as well. Got rear-ended and the sound started. When I got it back from the shop, it was still there. I thought the transmission was going to blow up. Turns out the accident knocked the exhaust hanger off.

[sami]

My 99 4runner does this too.. bugs the wife, but not me. I put on an OEM hitch, and at idle the tailpipe will sometimes rattle on hitch.. not alot, just enough to cause some harmonic noise..

My new 06 Xterra sounds good.. Got in on Saturday :)