Today we are going to take a look at a problem that may prove to be dangerous. If you identify any handling or grip problems on your Nissan Xterra , it is necessary that you drive cautiously and take care of it quickly. Our team has written and published this content to help you resolve them. First, we’ll quickly check out the main components that ensure effective road handling, then we’ll check out why your Nissan Xterra doesn’t hold the road any more, and finally we’ll check out how to resolve your grip problems.

problem-road-handling-nissan-xterra

What are the main components that ensure good road holding and handling on a Nissan Xterra?

We commence this content page by quickly explaining the most important components that will guarantee good road holding for your Nissan Xterra. It’s necessary to know that a vehicle’s grip is a science in itself. It will as a result be based upon many elements, we will show you below the most important ones that can be affected:

  • Shock absorbers: The most important components of your road handling, they permanently guarantee the contact between the wheels and the road. They absorb all shocks and holes on the road.
  • Tyres: They are the ones that will guarantee the grip of your Nissan Xterra on the road, the softer they are, the more grip you have, but the faster they get broken, the harder they are, the less grip you have, but the more resistant they are. Temperature influences their wear. Their size will as well play on grip, the wider they are the more contact with the ground will be significant.
  • The center of gravity: The higher your car is going to be, the more it will lean in the corners and consequently lose handling, that’s why low profile sports vehicles grip better than very high 4×4’s
  • Wheel Alignment: This adjustment allows you to manage the vertical angle of your car’s wheels, it is consequently important for the grip of your motor vehicle and the wear of your tires. This adjustment is very particular and must be done by specialists.

.
There are many other components to consider such as wheelbase, ground clearance, chassis rigidity, weight and aerodynamics…

Why is my Nissan Xterra having problems with my car’s handling or grip?

We will now proceed to the component that interests you the most, why my Nissan Xterra has handling problems? As we mentioned above, there are quite a lot of components to consider for your car to have a good grip, however there are few that can evolve over time, most of them are intrinsic to the construction of the car, we will see right away those that can disturb your handling and road, and, why:

  • As we outlined above, the rubber of the tyres has a crucial role in the good road holding of your motor vehicle, if your tyres are dead, you may have problems of road holding on wet road at first and when you reach the “cord” even on dry road.
  • Dead shock absorbers: If your shock absorbers are dead, your motor vehicle will no longer be able to absorb the irregularities of the road effectively and it will often “float”, which will end result in a bad distribution of the masses on the vehicle and shift the centre of gravity of the vehicle. You risk slipping in the bends.
  • The risk with a misalignment is that your ground contact area is reduced because of a too open or too closed wheel angle, you will have grip problems.
  • A steering problem: Last but not least, the last important component for good road handling is that all the components of your steering must be in good condition. The most classic case is that your stabilizer bar or the silent blocks of your steering triangles are dead. The consequence will be a delay in your changes of direction.

How do you resolve the handling problems?

We now proceed to the different solutions to correct your road holding problems on your Nissan Xterra .

  • Tyres: Nothing could be less complicated, just change your tyres, remember to verify them cautiously and change them when you get to the visual indicator in the grooves of your tyres. It is generally necessary to count between 100 and 200 euros for a pair of tires.
  • Shock absorbers: Ditto, dead shock absorbers have to be changed, if you want to know when to change the shock absorbers of a Nissan Xterra, please have a check out our content page on this topic. The price can vary quite a lot, but you will have to count at least 400€
  • Wheel alignment: You will have to go to your garage to have it corrected, it will cost you less than 100€?
  • Steering: If you have problems with the handling on Nissan Xterra because of your steering, there might be several components concerned, in this case you will have to produce a complete check-up of these components, the best is to call a professional.

If you want more tutorials on the Nissan Xterra, go to our Nissan Xterra category.