The V6 Diesel D40 has arrived.

[hunter]

Hey Dave,
I have to agree with all of your points, except for the cruise problem. I have done almost 8000kms now and it has loosened up a bit. The key is still hard to get in. "Careful" driving sees economy down to 8.8ltrs/100kms. Normal combined driving gets 9.4. Overall very happy with the purchase, just need ARB to hurry up with the bullbar!!!

cheers
Jason.

Jason your fuel economy's pretty good, I have clocke 13600km up everything running sweet, 6600km of those k's are towing the van Iam seein figures of around 15.9 - 18lt/100 towing, still pretty happy with that my 3lt patrol was doing around 20lt/100km.

Cheers Lyle

 

[Jase V9X]

G'day Lyle,
I am getting anywhere from 12 to 15 when I tow my Expanda Outback. I used my father-in-laws' 3ltr Patrol to tow it to Alice last year and averaged around 18, so I am happy with the economy.

 

[justdrinkbeer]

I'm getting 10.5l/100km around town, average say 100kg in the back

 

[plod]

Hello all Towed my 2.5+ton caravan to Tweed Heads and varied 15 to 16 litres / 100k. Fitted Old Man Emu suspension before we left as well as ECB bullbar. Susp was much better than original. No problems with the power. I used manual mode at times and when it started to labour a bit it didn't sound to happy but on auto it just does its thing. Most of the time I think I was in 6th gear dropping into 7 on easy going etc. Other than the broken lid lock no other issues.

Mick

 

[hunter]

Hello all Towed my 2.5+ton caravan to Tweed Heads and varied 15 to 16 litres / 100k. Fitted Old Man Emu suspension before we left as well as ECB bullbar. Susp was much better than original. No problems with the power. I used manual mode at times and when it started to labour a bit it didn't sound to happy but on auto it just does its thing. Most of the time I think I was in 6th gear dropping into 7 on easy going etc. Other than the broken lid lock no other issues.

Mick

Mick
They are good figures too I was getting an average of about 16.5/100km from QLD to the NT but on the return trip I seen mostly 17.5 - 18.8/100km but it was pretty windy on the return these figures are from the computer. these are the total.
I did a total of 7385.6 km by the speedo and used a total of 1113.57 lts of diesel 90% of that was towing in 5th gear at 90-95km by gps (it was almost enough to make cry when I hit the NT as the speed limit 130). It should be a tad better if I was to take into account the speedo being out that little bit? any pics of the bar, did you get a polished one or powder coated? one Iam thinking of the ripple black one & how much lift did you get with the Old Man Emu suspension?
Lyle

 

[ekka]

Lid Lock

Finally lid lock is fixed. 10 weeks and 4 trips to dealer.

For those looking for Part No. On the receipt they have
Remote Locking Kit NIK28005XRLKAU

Will be keeping this number handy.
No other problems. Fuel running around 10.2 around town. All short trips.

 

[Bosshog]

Here's an alloy bar for the 550...

Found in CarSales

 

[justdrinkbeer]

Took mine to nissan with a list of niggles. One was the Hard top central locking, i took the part number, told em it was happening to all 550's blah blah, turns out it has to be locked with the key in the first place to work! Don't i feel like a dickhead.

Oh the sports bar plastic trims are bodgy as, and that is normal so they say

 

[chookc]

So how does that work? Mine doesn't unlock / lock remotely even if its if its locked by key first. I had troubles with the lock not unlocking by key... or the catches releasing... After 4 hrs at the dealer they told me the fix was i hadn't unlocked the lock.. What do they think I am an idiot.. they even had 3 service personel come out and calll the next out before they took it out the back and they all tried keys etc...

 

[chookc]

Another question the stock rear suspension seems very soft.. my springs are virtually flat with the work tools in the back..

Once I hook the boat up the rear drops 105 mm.. and I only have about 30mm left of travel to the bump stops on top of the springs...


I don't want to fit heavy duty springs as they will comprimise my everyday driving ride. for that once a month towing the boat.

1. Can air bags be fitted to lift the rear end?
2. I also need to lift the tow ball by at least 150mm to get trailers to sit level behind the 550. Whats the best way to achieve this. Have already turned over the tow hitch but can get another made to suit rated etc..

Will a body or suspension lift help in this regard.
What other options ideas are out there...

 

[Old.Tony]

Chook, I'd be careful with airbags. If you forget that they're inflated and you smack the rear suspension hard, the D40 STXs in the past have had chassis failures. If you manage them properly, they are supposed to be good value.

An alternative (that I am using) is the Ironman LoadPlus Helper springs. They do lift the vehicle back up, but they create noise and every now and again they cause a bump as the suspension travels further and the helper spring hits its travel limit. I am not the biggest fan of these, but it's also possible that I'm not the world's greatest suspension installer and I could have stuffed them up (I had originally installed them upside down).

A body lift won't change your suspension travel, you'd only really consider a body lift if you were fitting larger tyres than could normally fit, or you were looking to improve your approach/departure angles. You do get a little extra ramp-over as well with a body lift, as the side steps hang rather low.

A suspension lift will help the towball height, of course. I use a Hayman Reese weight distribution hitch (also called a "load leveller") and it does allow me significant height adjustment. Hayman Reese sell these as well - or you could just get a ball mount from them (click here to go directly to their ball mount page).

Hope that helps!

 

[ekka]

So how does that work? Mine doesn't unlock / lock remotely even if its if its locked by key first. I had troubles with the lock not unlocking by key... or the catches releasing... After 4 hrs at the dealer they told me the fix was i hadn't unlocked the lock.. What do they think I am an idiot.. they even had 3 service personel come out and calll the next out before they took it out the back and they all tried keys etc...

Hi Chookc
Sounds like your remote actuator has broken the lever which connects it to the lock. Take the 2 pins out of the black cover inside lid under lock, you can then turn the cover to remove it. You can see small lever on plastic ball. This is what was broken on mine. I have left part number on an earlier post.
Good Luck, you may need it.

 

[plod]

Lyle sorry for the late reply I dont have ready access to a computor. Fitted the black ripple bar. Looks very good as I have a white 550. Suspension lift was not much, I'm not sure of the exact amount but had to raise the roller door height about 25mm to get in the carport' I believe it was meant to be about 40mm rear and 20mm front.
The in dash GPS and reversing camera etc on yours, is that a Nissan item or aftermarket? Running around town here in Tweed I am getting about 10.2/ 100 economy. I must say I could not be happier, just love driving it. I will have to get a reversing camera as I am not a fan of the external rear view mirrors and distance.

Mick

 

[Jase V9X]

Hi guys, I saw the update tonight at the Melbourne Motor Show - HEATED SEATS!!! Damn it, I knew I should have waited. LOL......

 

[KraftyPg]

They ain't all their cracked up to be, used have them in a Saab we had briefly back in the 90's, if they worked they usually worked too bloody well and your arse fried but when they didn't work no bugger wanted to fix them. There were however alright as practical jokes when your passenger didn't know about them.

 

[Old.Tony]

If you want heated seats just stock up on cabbages. Not smoking would be a good idea too.

 

[hunter]

Lyle sorry for the late reply I dont have ready access to a computor. Fitted the black ripple bar. Looks very good as I have a white 550. Suspension lift was not much, I'm not sure of the exact amount but had to raise the roller door height about 25mm to get in the carport' I believe it was meant to be about 40mm rear and 20mm front.
The in dash GPS and reversing camera etc on yours, is that a Nissan item or aftermarket? Running around town here in Tweed I am getting about 10.2/ 100 economy. I must say I could not be happier, just love driving it. I will have to get a reversing camera as I am not a fan of the external rear view mirrors and distance.

Mick

Mick
The GPS unit is a ebay one:

GPS Nissan Navara D22 D40 X-Trail Navigation iPod BT HD | eBay

the unit is ok fits good (no gaps) , down side of it is when phone rings need to turn up volume and then turn it back down when call end otherwise if playing music etc.. prior it's to loud, & hard to see the screen when the suns on it.
Lyle

Lyle

 

[justdrinkbeer]

Has anyone had any engine issues with their 550?
Mine has an odd noise when the engine is under load (up hill at about 1700RPM), sounds like a knackered bearing, kinda scratchy sound, and makes a noise when back off the throttle again, most noticeable taking foot off from about 1700 RPM.
Also seem to have lost a little power & using more fuel.
Going in to nissan on monday, first time the head mechanic said it was a normal noise, even though he then said he'd never been in one before.
Also, sorry for the long winded post, I grabbed the hose from Turbo to interccooler (first rubber bit with the wire wrapped around it) today and its loose, can't imagine thats normal, but would someone mind checking theirs before I make a dick of myself?

Rich

 

[bomba]

i have a white stx 550 11500km towing 2200kg most of the time.fuel consumption about
18l/100km.has used about 1l of oil.airbags fitted to help when towing-work ok.nissan dealer and nissan aus not very smart

 

[chookc]

Hey Bomba what air bags did you pu in it and roughly what they cost. Also did you upgrade the springs at the same time? I am looking into this at the moment for towing my boat and just to help out a sagging rear end after only 5000 km's...

Have spoken to thre e different makers so far with three totaly different scenarios so a little confused as what to do or which way to go.

Also have you raised your tow point at all.. I find I need to raise my hitch ball upwards nearly 200 mm to get my boat to sit level.. At the moment the whole rear end drops 85mm when i hook up the boat... Not a very safe option in my books..