2013 - 2015 Pro-x4, Pros And Cons?

art_rex

Test Drive
Hello XN! I'm shopping for an old school body-on-frame 4x4 for light off-roading. And I'm seriously considering a late model Xterra. Like most, this vehicle will get used 75% on road (in a region with nasty winters), and 25% off road, weekends from spring to fall. I'm not looking to conquer the Rubicon or anything - hydro line roads, that sort of thing.

I figure a stock Pro-X4 will fulfill my needs. Maybe a small lift and larger tires.

I prefer to keep to more recent vehicles - but a 2020 isn't in the budget. So I wondered, in the 2013 to 2015 range, is there anything for or against any of those years? Or one that stands out?

Thank you.
 

TerryD

Total Tease
Supporting Member
Location
Covington, Va
Those are arguably the best years for the Xterra. SMOD and timing chain guide issues were all dealt with and they are good to go.

The Pro4X gets you lower gears and a locker plus what fancy stuff they put on these things. I don't think you'd be disappointed with the Xterra.

We have lots of knowledge folks here and as for lift options, there are different ways to go depending on what you want to do with the X.

Glad to have you considering an X and best of luck in your search.
 

art_rex

Test Drive
Hey thanks for the reply. Had to look up "SMOD" - I had read about pre-2011 rad issues, but hadn't come across the SMOD description yet - now I know what it looks like. Thanks. I once had "CMOD" in an F150 from a blown head gasket. (C = chocolate!)
 

TerryD

Total Tease
Supporting Member
Location
Covington, Va
Hey thanks for the reply. Had to look up "SMOD" - I had read about pre-2011 rad issues, but hadn't come across the SMOD description yet - now I know what it looks like. Thanks. I once had "CMOD" in an F150 from a blown head gasket. (C = chocolate!)
Yeah, SMOD is just the community terminology for the radiator failures.

Keep in mind that you might find an earlier 2nd gen that someone has alway dealt with the timing chain guides and SMOD for a reasonable price. The Offroad and Pro4X are the same package but make sure it's an actual Offroad. Some of them came without the roof lights and I've seen lots of S and SE models touted as the Offroad. An Offroad WILL have the rear locker and M226 rear differential.
 

XterraRising

Bumpers Installed
Location
Utah
Sounds like you are looking for all the same reasons I did. I finally bought a 2015 Pro-4X after hemming and hawing for a couple of years, trying to decide if I wanted a new Titan, Frontier, or Xterra. Nissan put together a pretty good package with the late model Xterra. You’ll be able to get a Pro-4X for a decent price if you shop around. When I set out to start pricing what it would take to build my old Cherokee up to what I bought with my Xterra, it didn’t make much sense to throw all my money after a 20 year old Jeep with 225K on the odometer when I knew I needed to buy a newer SUV anyway. And my philosophy is when I’m buying used, I buy the most expensive options they came with since it’s already costing me a lot less going used.
 

hybrid90

Test Drive
If you're gonna go.. go all out! My 2014 Pro-4x is the bestest I've ever own. Get one and never look back. Perfect truck for camping or overlanding. Did I mention it's the bestest??
 
Pretty happy, personally, with my 2015 Pro4X manual Transmission... ONly gripe is that Im gonna have to change the clutch soon after only 50,000 miles, but I blame my wife for this since she had no idea how to drive stick so I had to teach her... Took her a while, but she's mainly okay now...
 
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