Catrampant
Test Drive
- Location
- 18509
Hoping this site might help me save my beloved 2007 Xterra- My husband bought it new for us but it sat for 3 years after he died in 2015. I got it on the road again in 2019 inspected, etc without too much trouble but now since 2020, the deterioration of random parts is rearing it's ugly head. It only has about 65,000 miles on it and it's such a wonderful beast, having NEVER let us down in the years we had it together. But last fall brakes went completely (as in to the floor)(replaced) and blower motor and resistor thing(?) were replaced and turned out to have a large squirrel's nest within, which i had been chauffeuring around for a year (during which i also had no heat or defrost of course)...then the whole power steering thing had to be replaced by dealer for $1200. I was praying there would be no more problems this year but i went to get a slow leak in rear tire patched, thinking it could be patched. No. The Tire chain i went to said all 4 tires are dry-rotted and need to be replaced even though the tread is great and the Nissan Dealership last fall said nothing about them. I had not told the Tire Shop the car sat so maybe it is true they are rotted but Ive been watching YouTube since 4 am and biting my nails and my tires just dont seem to have appearance of dry rot (or very little). I see a few very small cracks on mine and read differing opinions on whether early rot can be cured with some form of tire conditioner. The Tire Chain guy says No, no such thing, can only replace all. I cant afford 4 tires, even 2 is a stretch so if you all know the lowdown, and/or have ever successfully repaired BF Goodrich with very small areas of tiny cracks, i dont have anyone else to ask (besides another Tire Store Chain) and trust your experiences! Also, same shop, while they had it up on lift, said my fuel pump is leaking above fuel tank and hadnt i smelled gas? No, I'm fairly brain-dead since losing my husband. He was everything to me. They said to drop tank and replace fuel pump is $500+ ($250 for labor, $250 for pump). It's due for inspection this month so i dont know what else will be found but i WANT TO KEEP MY XTERRA. I was looking around this site and others 2 weeks ago when i got the bad news about the repairs, and i swear i saw an NHTSA bulletin or something like it saying my year of Xterra has gas tank and float recalled because the tanks warped and caused inaccurate reading from float...which could lead to running out of gas while driving in traffic without warning. I cannot find this notice ANYWHERE AGAIN! Am i crazy? How could i have imagined such a strange bulletin when i had no idea such a thing would occur?-But i cant find it at NHTSA site or anywhere. My brilliant idea was that maybe if they had to replace the tank at dealership, i could have them also replace fuel pump while it's droppped and it would be cheaper? I know i should get it all fixed for safety but i am still driving it like it is because i have no choice. If anyone can tell me anything about anything (LOL), i would truly appreciate it! Can i buy some stuff at AutoZone that says it repairs rot? Is there really a recall of 2007 Xterra fuel tanks? Can i just get 2 tires or is this a cardinal sin? Should i look for a less reputable place to inspect my car or is it really dangerous to drive with possible fuel leak and possible rotting tires? I dont have the money to buy another car either and with the winter snow in these hills here, i really needed the 4 wheel drive and safety of my X last year. AND if i have to do tires, i will be searching this forum for best ones but would also love to hear. CarTalk guys say Michelin is best. What do Xterra owners say and is Tirerack.com an ok place to try? Sorry to bombard with all this on first post- i am just running out of time before inspection and i cant handle it all. Thank you so much!