Joined
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262 Posts
A lot to consider beyond just driving.
General Impression- very positive and has caught my attention---seriously. The XD is QUIET!!!! Coming from a 99.5 F250 Powerstroke Supercab LB that I bought in April 2000 and did a few mods on. Will probably end up keeping it for a while. Also a 2nd Gen 2011 Xterra Pro 4x in the stable that the XD will replace. Sad to see the X go, but need to up-size.
Mileage- on flat & level low to mid 20s with cruise @ 65 mph. Looked like 26 was trying to break through the barrier @ 65 mph on cruise. Avg Mileage on 20+ mile loop that included 8% grade back to the "ranch" was 17.8-18.8 as shown on truck's mpg gauge. I need to measure the distance of that grade as it seems to be 3-4 miles long on the return trip. One of the 4 XDs went into regen and mileage dropped from 20ish to 7.5 avg mpg. After regen completed, mileage came up to 20ish on 13 mi drive across down.
Hood bouncing near windshield???!!!-- I swear that's what it was doing. Over bumps and road imperfections swore that massive expanse of hood was vibrating a bit in the center at the base of the windshield. More noticeable on a dark granite colored, probably because of light reflection during a night test drive. On a daytime test with a white one, wasn't quite sure. Do Nissan's hoods do that? YES!! Drove my daughter's Juke on a country road for 30 miles yesterday and the hood did it noticeably--much more obvious than the XD seemed to!! So watch for that hood bouncing a bit on the edge at the base of the windshield. On next test drive will be taking video!
Other than that, nary another squeak or rattle over many miles. A very solid, quiet and comfortable ride.
Power- no rocket ship but does at least as good as my 99.5 Powerstroke with Banks Stinger Plus which brings HP up to at least 350 and near 600 lbft of torque, only the XD has 6 cogs to use that power where the PS has only 4. XD is smooth, too. It should be a strong (but maybe not the strongest) puller.
Braking- Have a Banks Brake on the PS and THAT is probably more important than the power mod I did. Will use the brakes only around town and on the steepest grades. On a recent 12k mile trip to far reaches of AK from the lower 48 never used them on a downgrade. Downshifting the XD on test drives produced satisfactory engine braking in the hills around California Gold Country with no trailer attached. We'll have to see how the lack of exhaust brake turns out. Bet one will come out later. Otherwise, those calipers are HUGE!!
DYI friendly- don't know yet, but for one, seems to be no dipstick to check trans fluid. That's a must do for me and I send samples off for lab testing. Have read that the trans level is overfilled to point of excess fluid coming out the fill port (like a differential?). Don't know if I'm going to like that.
Other issues- noticed a tiny bit of trans "clunking" taking it back up to 6th and D with the +/- rocker switch from 1st after downshifting to a stop. My 2nd Gen Xterra is silky smooth up or down.
Operating/Maintenance costs?- poke around in this forum and talk to your dealer. When it all shakes out, it's likely going to be on par if not marginally more than the gas. As far as my PS goes, it needs 15 qts for an oil change every 5k miles and has otherwise been cheap to keep except for 2 expensive trans issues.
The Cummins needs only 10 qts every (10K from the owner's manual?). That's what I see on page 9-13 of the owner's manual downloaded from Nissan. There's also DEF to consider, possibly higher filter (fuel and oil) costs, special fluids, DIY vs dealer maintenance costs (e.g., tranny) the chance that diesel prices will skyrocket over reg gas again, etc., etc. Also, regen frequency could have substantial impact on mpg. One more thing to consider-- That DPF has a limited life (100k miles maybe?). Am hearing $1500-$3000 to replace? Anybody in the business got a read on that?
Price?- I bet I can get a comparatively equipped 2016 Power Stroke (minus gooseneck) for same or less and that's before actually getting "real serious" with a Ford dealer. That's because I think Ford has more "headroom" and incentives and lower production costs. It's going to depend on what I really want---an XD or a Ford or ???
Other likes- too many to go into detail here, I think. Will answer other impression questions if any. Can say for one, though that the plastic trim on the Xterra would easily mar. That was always a little gripe. The XD trim is not like that at all. Later this week will spend several hours with a Pearl White Pro 4x. If it passes this muster, it could likely have a new owner. Any other testing issues that turn up during this check will be added to the bottom of this thread as it looks like posts can be edited for only a limited period.
Be sure to check out that "hood wobble"!
General Impression- very positive and has caught my attention---seriously. The XD is QUIET!!!! Coming from a 99.5 F250 Powerstroke Supercab LB that I bought in April 2000 and did a few mods on. Will probably end up keeping it for a while. Also a 2nd Gen 2011 Xterra Pro 4x in the stable that the XD will replace. Sad to see the X go, but need to up-size.
Mileage- on flat & level low to mid 20s with cruise @ 65 mph. Looked like 26 was trying to break through the barrier @ 65 mph on cruise. Avg Mileage on 20+ mile loop that included 8% grade back to the "ranch" was 17.8-18.8 as shown on truck's mpg gauge. I need to measure the distance of that grade as it seems to be 3-4 miles long on the return trip. One of the 4 XDs went into regen and mileage dropped from 20ish to 7.5 avg mpg. After regen completed, mileage came up to 20ish on 13 mi drive across down.
Hood bouncing near windshield???!!!-- I swear that's what it was doing. Over bumps and road imperfections swore that massive expanse of hood was vibrating a bit in the center at the base of the windshield. More noticeable on a dark granite colored, probably because of light reflection during a night test drive. On a daytime test with a white one, wasn't quite sure. Do Nissan's hoods do that? YES!! Drove my daughter's Juke on a country road for 30 miles yesterday and the hood did it noticeably--much more obvious than the XD seemed to!! So watch for that hood bouncing a bit on the edge at the base of the windshield. On next test drive will be taking video!
Other than that, nary another squeak or rattle over many miles. A very solid, quiet and comfortable ride.
Power- no rocket ship but does at least as good as my 99.5 Powerstroke with Banks Stinger Plus which brings HP up to at least 350 and near 600 lbft of torque, only the XD has 6 cogs to use that power where the PS has only 4. XD is smooth, too. It should be a strong (but maybe not the strongest) puller.
Braking- Have a Banks Brake on the PS and THAT is probably more important than the power mod I did. Will use the brakes only around town and on the steepest grades. On a recent 12k mile trip to far reaches of AK from the lower 48 never used them on a downgrade. Downshifting the XD on test drives produced satisfactory engine braking in the hills around California Gold Country with no trailer attached. We'll have to see how the lack of exhaust brake turns out. Bet one will come out later. Otherwise, those calipers are HUGE!!
DYI friendly- don't know yet, but for one, seems to be no dipstick to check trans fluid. That's a must do for me and I send samples off for lab testing. Have read that the trans level is overfilled to point of excess fluid coming out the fill port (like a differential?). Don't know if I'm going to like that.
Other issues- noticed a tiny bit of trans "clunking" taking it back up to 6th and D with the +/- rocker switch from 1st after downshifting to a stop. My 2nd Gen Xterra is silky smooth up or down.
Operating/Maintenance costs?- poke around in this forum and talk to your dealer. When it all shakes out, it's likely going to be on par if not marginally more than the gas. As far as my PS goes, it needs 15 qts for an oil change every 5k miles and has otherwise been cheap to keep except for 2 expensive trans issues.
The Cummins needs only 10 qts every (10K from the owner's manual?). That's what I see on page 9-13 of the owner's manual downloaded from Nissan. There's also DEF to consider, possibly higher filter (fuel and oil) costs, special fluids, DIY vs dealer maintenance costs (e.g., tranny) the chance that diesel prices will skyrocket over reg gas again, etc., etc. Also, regen frequency could have substantial impact on mpg. One more thing to consider-- That DPF has a limited life (100k miles maybe?). Am hearing $1500-$3000 to replace? Anybody in the business got a read on that?
Price?- I bet I can get a comparatively equipped 2016 Power Stroke (minus gooseneck) for same or less and that's before actually getting "real serious" with a Ford dealer. That's because I think Ford has more "headroom" and incentives and lower production costs. It's going to depend on what I really want---an XD or a Ford or ???
Other likes- too many to go into detail here, I think. Will answer other impression questions if any. Can say for one, though that the plastic trim on the Xterra would easily mar. That was always a little gripe. The XD trim is not like that at all. Later this week will spend several hours with a Pearl White Pro 4x. If it passes this muster, it could likely have a new owner. Any other testing issues that turn up during this check will be added to the bottom of this thread as it looks like posts can be edited for only a limited period.
Be sure to check out that "hood wobble"!
