1995 Nissan Hardbody Pickup

Faults:

At 120K it developed a short somewhere in the turn signal system. I traced the problem to a small wire that got pinched under a bracket on the side of the engine compartment.

Burned out the clutch at about 150K miles. Changed it myself, even though I've never done that before. I just followed the instructions in the Chilton manual. It was pretty easy, but took a whole day.

Check Engine light came on at about 100K and I ignored it. Finally had to get a smog test and they failed the truck because of the check engine light. I took it to a local mechanic who told me it would be $250 to fix what he thought was the problem (something with the speedometer, which was wierd because the speedometer worked fine), and he wasn't sure it would turn the check light off. So I took apart the dashboard (which is fairly easy) and found the tiny little light bulb that illuminates the "check engine" light. Let's just say that little light will never again be a problem. Voila! Passed inspection...

At 140K, sometimes on rainy days when you first start it it will hesitate a LOT! But after 5 minutes it's fine.

Now at 162K it has developed a shimmy in the steering wheel. I think it might be the tie rod ends.

General Comments:

Truck is a work truck and gets abused pretty bad. 162,000 hard-earned miles. So the above issues were not unreasonable. It is a very solid, peppy little truck with a lot of heart. I have kept changing the oil every 3K miles and although some various systems are starting to have problems, the little 4-cylinder engine acts like it has another 150,000 miles yet to go.

Overall a real good truck.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 30th June, 2004

5th Jul 2004, 08:40

Please do not just remove the MIL bulb...that's check engine light bulb. Replace the O2 sensors, they tend to last about 60,000 miles...100,000kms, depending on how clean your local gas is. It is cheap, truck will run better, the air will be cleaner...thanks...oh I have 220, kms on a 97 4 cyl and the sensors only non wear item to bother, and really it's a wear item as well, works it a tough environment.

20th May 2009, 17:21

My 95 hardbody regular cab is as reliable as a truck can get. Mine has about 160K miles, and it's never needed a single repair. This winter it sat in the snow for about three months. When the snow melted, I turned the key and it fired up with no problem. I bought the truck because I had a buddy who owned an older Nissan truck which he beat the crap out of, and it ran like a top. They are just super-reliable. I had minor problems with the speedometer and odometer, but who cares, I know how fast I'm going, and I know how far I went!

1995 Nissan Hardbody Pickup XE 2.4L

Summary:

I still like my truck and still drive almost daily!

Faults:

Door lock on passenger side broke.

Visor mounts broke.

Fan only works on high.

Alternator went out.

Clutch or bearing makes a squeal when cold.

General Comments:

Overall a good truck, but it seems some parts made of plastic just did not hold up, such as door lock mechanism, the sun visor mounts.

4WD works great! never been stuck yet!

Good clearance off road!

Hauled firewood, pulled pop up camper, moved furniture.

Truck still has original clutch, bearing and pressure plate (120,000)

No major mechanical expenses.

Does not smoke or leak (except around the oil plug)

Truck was really hard on tires, even after several different alignments. Tires on the front would wear out on the inside even after alignment. I finally took it to a shop and told him the trouble, and he fixed the problem, but I think he had to set it outside of the specs.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th February, 2004

8th Mar 2004, 06:16

Personally, I have owned a 1995 Nissan XE and couldn't have been happier. Back when I bought it in 1996 (March 1st). Since then I replaced the Clutch/Pressure Plate at 80,000 miles. I have replaced the tires 3 times. Getting all new Dunlap GT Qualifiers each time.

8 years later as my truck approached 150,000 miles with only changing oil, fuel filter 4 times, air filter approx. 8 times, and the engine belts.

Truck was driven daily.

The sad part is, This truck would have given me another 150,000 miles no problem. I hit a deer and the truck was destroyed.

I must say Nissan has me hooked. I bought the truck back with a destroyed title just to have a low mileage engine for my next Nissan. I am so impressed with the quality I would recommend this truck to anyone.

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