I have not posted this yet, but have notified Nissan of the serious nature.

First of all, storing the spare tire under the vehicle instead of on the back, is a design flaw in my book Anyhow, I had a flat tire in Baja......months after getting back we experience total brake failure Turns out, atleast on the D44 rear, there is only an inch to spare, and the axle hits the spare under articulation, as well as its extremely easy to get that cheesy, compact econo truck spare tire system off centered, putting the spare AGAINST the diff. And, the real design flaw, the brake line runs on the BACK of the diff, instead of on top. Therefore if the axle hits the spare, so does the brake line.

We replaced the line ourselves, but notified Nissan of the flaw, because I have feeling alot of people are going to experience this problem. AFter I get the spare out of the dirt and on an aftermarket tire carrier, I will probably have to get the line re-routed on top of the diff, or sticks and rocks are going to get it.

One of the things I liked most about the X was that the spare was underneath and not a "back pack" style like, say, a RAV

I think most people move the tire onto the roof (or back) when 4x4'in

I have been under the back of the X more times than I care to admit. I have also had the spare down quite a few times. I have also checked articulation and break line clearences. I am stumped at how you had the axle hit the spare.

Having the spare underneath is the best place packaging-wise, but not so good for off-road use. There's a good chance you can find yourself needing to lower the spare when circumstances and terrain do not allow enough clearance under the tire to do so. Rare, but certainly possible.

That already happened. Not only that, it looks better on the back of the TRUCK. Not in a plastic case, just exposed. Also it wont be beat up on rocks. As far as putting it on the roof. NO WAY! Too much weight, and far too tippy for me on extreme terrain!

Ya know,

I recall reading/watching/hearing a report somewhere that auto manufacturers are reluctant to put the spare on the back bumper because in a rear impact, it will cause more damage spread out over a larger area do to the spare being impacted.

I personaly can't stand the tire on the back look

I don't care for the spare tire hanging off the rear bumper. Personally, it looks like crap and I don't care for the obstructed view. The location of the spare tire presents no interference what so ever with the brake lines or rear axle on my OR.

If I need to raise the truck to get to the spare, I'll buy a $30 high lift jack. In fact, I just may buy one now. :p

There are aftermarket companies that make rear bumpers with a spare tire swing-out. If I want, I know where to get one.

2005 X rear view with the Calmini swing away is not obstructed.

http://community.webshots.com/album/543286645OQiGzT

When the worst possible time to have a flat occurs.
Rain,snow,wind,cold,mud,etc thats when you get a flat. At 46 years old I do not want to get all over the ground to get my spare, when I could just remove it from the swing away carrier. Then remove my HiLift jack from the Yakima load warrior. The tire covers prevent UV damage in the long run and serves a purpose. I also think the HiLift cost more than 30 bucks, unless you buy it used.

So you mis-installed the tire and now it's Nissan's fault?

Far too tippy with the tire on the roof? I watched you inch your truck through the end of Hell's Revenge, and I have to conclude that you think a lot of stuff is 'way too tippy', with or without anything on the roof. Tippy is a state of mind.

I'd just be careful of how you install things back on the vehicle, insuring that it's correct. Blaming Nissan for something like that is a bit of a stretch in my book.

But hey, to each their own, right?

A picture would speak 1000 words in this situation. A picture may help prove your point. Go articulate something and snap a photo of this happening or getting extremely close, post it here. If it is like you said, the picture would help the Nissan engineers to both accept and resolve the design problem you have "found".

These were rub marks on my tire after 6 months of street driving. From the Nissan dealership. No off road. Never removed the tire except to install rear bumper. That's when I noticed the rub marks. Nothing serious but I suppose that if I had bounced the truck more I could have accelerated the wear more.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/538738414/1538747501081554128CnlfWU

http://community.webshots.com/photo/538738414/1538748164081554128cdoMKg

http://community.webshots.com/photo/538738414/1538747889081554128OFwpbE

rear tire carrier on the new gen Xs look great! and it really doesnt seem like it would obstruct much either, as for the whole top, back or bottom for the mounting position for the spares, i would love to have a rear tire carrier. i HATE the system to lower the spare on my 2001 (dont know what its like now on the 05+) but i need a flashlight in the middle of the day to get the stupid rod thing into that little hole and secure it so i can drop the tire, i couldn't even imagine having to do it on the side of the road at night in bad weather. plus offroad i usually always strap it to my roof because i def dont need to crawl around in the mud\water to get the spare if i get a flat, its just much easier to take it off from the roof or the rear if i had a tire carrier

I personally prefer the stowed away tire, plus with it on back, especially with the alot of the 05's having the 5th rim matching the other 4, it would be a theft magnet. Then again I don't do much in the way of offroading... Oh an those pics of the rub marks look very superficial to me.

Those marks are nothing to worry about. Just make sure the tire hoist is cranked tight to keep the tire snug against the underbody if you're worried about it.
Definitely not potentially related to any rubbing against a brake line on the diff though.

I like the look of the tire on the roof, but not the weight or the clearance...the spare under where it supposed to go is best for center of gravity issues, but hard to get at if in mud or water, or on rocks in the way, etc...and the bigger tires won't fit anyway.

A rear bumper purely to carry the spare is a waste, as the rear bumper adds some weight on its own...albeit taking off the tow hitch and bumper mine replaced only added around 10 lb or so....but its the easiest to get at when you need the spare.

I mostly got the rear bumper as armor...my OEM bumper comes down and crumples too easily, etc.

If I don't have cargo...the spare tied down on the floor is the best for center of gravity..not so great to put the muddy bad tire back in though.

I personnaly really like the rear tire look too...and enough people who've been rear ended have found that the aftermarket ones we are using do not smash the tire through the rear hatch glass...as the afore mentioned study referred to regardig OEM swing mounts, like on Liberties, etc.



I just put mine on last week, and no one rear ended me yet...so I'll have to wait...or drive in reverse all the time until another kamakazi jersey deer attacks.

A rear tire carrier is an obvious mod coming, though I want room for 2 Jerry Cans. Can you emagine changing a tire on a boulder filled trail from underneath? About as rediculous as in the swamp I was stuck in, in Baja at Christmas Jacking up the back end to get the darn spare back in off-road, and working around boulders ,floating logs, mud, snow, ect......Good luck getting it straight. Yes, the brake line is in the wrong place. Since I raised the tire back in wrong, I repaired it, a 4.54 part, but it took 2 months to get and I had to have a rubber, temporary line made. Parts ordering for the Gen II is still brutal. And the temporary line pissed off the SLip and VDC lights.

Slip and VDC don't care what material the line is made out of. Unless you clipped the wiring, they'd never know anything had been damaged.

I can guarentee that Nissan won't do anything about it. If you put it back in wrong, then it's your fault, not Nissan's.

Many a manufacturer has put the brake line in the exact same spot on the rear axles, for years and years.

Still a bad place for a line, and a spare. The lights stayed on I think because the rubber line was larger then the metal one. The hose shop did not have that small a line. I assume it caused some sort of pressure balance issue? Light went away when I put the proper line on.

And they put lead in paint, and asbestos in our public schools insulation, for years and years.. Point being just because it's been done like that before, doesn't mean it's been done correctly.

While I agree with you that it's not Nissan's fault that people can install their spare incorrectly, by the very nature of this design it allows people to make this mistake without realizing it. I may have misread his initial post, but I didn't see lawsuit or a complaint about this being outside of the warranty as part of his complaint - I think it's a valid concern that should be addressed as a design that can be improved.

Edit: Spelling

[QUOTE]Originally posted by chrishaynesusa:
[QB]These were rub marks on my tire after 6 months of street driving. From the Nissan dealership. No off road. Never removed the tire except to install rear bumper. That's when I noticed the rub marks. Nothing serious but I suppose that if I had bounced the truck more I could have accelerated the wear more.

Umm that's the side of the tire that's against the frame it doesn't even face the diff. The marks are from being pressed against the frame so the tire doesn't rattle around while you are driving. I don't see any wear on the tire, no rubber shavings. All spares would look like that after six months of dirt accumulating on the tire except for where it contacts the frame. Try again...

I notice I lost another truck Seems to happen when I complain about a Gen II problem. The idea is not to file a lawsuit, or call the Xterra the worse truck ever made. Its just to point out real concerns that could be fixed on future production. Does anyone really want to see a 2010 model still bottoming out non-stop? Nissan may not change spare tires enough to find the brake line issue, but sooner or later many will have made the same mistake, and it could be a safety issue.

Can you emagine my complaints if I had a Jeep or H3

OH GOD!!!! :p

Good point on both counts. I'm sure engineers at Nissan would love to get some feed back on the placement of the brakelines. Note the changes they did for '05. It's like they ripped the complaints right off the forums, and went to work.

As far as the Jeep or H3...hahahahah I think your keyboard would break before you finished.