Need some purchasing help

[planeinspector]

I currently own a 2015 Ford F250 with a gas engine but don't need a 3/4 ton truck anymore. Been driving a 2018 Frontier as a rental car for the past week while my truck is in the shop getting body restored from an accident. I've really enjoyed the Frontier and I test drove a 2013 Xterra the other day and really liked it and have looked into buying one. One thing I'm concerned about is in my research, I've read about a lot of owners with rear differentials wearing out prematurely (less than 100,000 miles) and end up having to replace the whole axle and differential to the tune of around $2500. As an aircraft mechanic and quality inspector I'm very particular about maintenance on my vehicles and my F250 has been bullet proof with no issues. Is the rear differential issue still a problem in newer (2012 and up) Xterras or has nissan fixed that? Any other issues I should be on the lookout for in my search? I love how peppy the xterra is, and its a much softer (better) ride than my F250, and I like the usable storage. It would suit me well, but I'm trying to avoid buying a problem vehicle. I don't do any towing or heavy offroading, just some deer hunting. Thanks for any input.

 

[Prime]

The C200 rear axle that comes in the automatic X at lower trim levels (non Pro4X) is the one that people have problems for with. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's worthless, because there's a lot of guys here who have them and wheel them hard and have never had an issue. I will say though that it is very underbuilt for the size and power of the truck.

Any manual transmission X and the automatic Pro4X has the M226 rear axle. Which is a Dana 44 that is built specifically for Nissan. It's a much beefier axle (and while I think it's still too small for the truck) it can take pretty much anything you can throw at it. It's the same axle that is in the full size Titan. When you go to the Pro4X you get an electronic locking rear diff.

Long story short, the C200 isn't ideal. But it's far from a lemon axle. The M226 is definitely preferred. And if you want a 226 and an automatic transmission, you need to get a Pro4X.