Topic: Checking for SMOD prior to buying a 2006 Xterra Off-Road

[mckenneth]

Good afternoon,

I am new to the forums, I am planning on purchasing a 2006 Xterra 4x4 tomorrow if it passes inspection, the car has 90,000 miles, right around the point where the SMOD malfunction would occur.
Therefore, I wanted to ask a few questions from the professionals here,

EDIT: I already obtained the vehicle history report and attached it to this port, if someone could be so kind to take a look, it seems that this car had no service on the transmission, unlike a lot of similar carfax reports, but this might just mean the work was done at a different service location. Are there any red flags about this car?

• What should I check for in the CarFax report to make sure the previous owner took care of the SMOD issue? (e.x. new radiator, bypass, etc)
• If the issue occurred already, and the fluids were changed, how would I be able to tell from inspection or test drive?
• If the issue has not yet occurred and nothing was done by the owner to prevent it, is it easily fixable (e.x new radiator, fluid flush)?
• Does the SMOD issue occur instantly/quickly or over an extended duration? If the above were true, would there be likely any damage on the car? In other words is it reversable if the transmission CPU hasn't been fried?
• What other things/red flags should I look for during my inspection?

I am getting an Xterra since my last car's transmission failed, so I would really like to prevent this from happening again

Thank you for the prompt replies,

[Toro]

You need an experienced set of eyes to look for this stuff.
   The gimmie is any pink around the radiator cap and reservoir. Also take a 10 mm socket with an extension and pull the trany dip stick.
   Take a close look at the fluid.
Bright red is fresh fluid and burgundy is older fluid. Older, dark fluid with no pink or clumping is a good sign it hasn't had a problem.

[mckenneth]

Thank you Sir,

Am I safe to assume that if the transmission fluid is either bright red or burgundy without pink, and if I take a test drive and feel no vibration or problems (in the 30-40mph range) the Xterra should not have any issues with the transmission?

In that case, if it's a safe buy, I should be able to install an aftermarket cooler and that will prevent these issues from occurring.

My follow up question would be,

If the SMOD issue did occur, but the owner replaced transmission fluid, radiator fluid, and possibly even did a bypass to cover it up, how would I be able to tell?
Please advise me with some specific details, such as what kind of vibration should I be looking for during a test drive, are there any possible signs like corrosion that I would be able to see?

Additionally, I understand there are two different stages of SMOD failure, one is mechanical wear on the transmission caused by poor pubrication from the mixed fluid, second is failure of the transmission CPU.

I'm understanding the mechanical wear will be seen as vibration or poor shifting of gears,
and the CPU failure will result in gears not shifting completely.

Is this correct?


Thanks again,
-D

[mckenneth]

I also have an ECU reader, is there anything I can check for in particular in the OBD?

[SuperSlideStyle]

At 90,000 miles, the vehicle is now out of the dealer warranty zone and they've done everything possible for maintenance.  How well the previous owner maintained it should reflect on the overall condition and appearance of the vehicle.  Buying any used vehicle is a gamble. 

[2013nick]

I used to work for nissan and in my experience just changing the trans and radiator fluid would not stop the cross contamination, if the cross contamination was there it would happen again almost instantly. Put simply if you can check your radiator and there is no trans fluid you should be good. BUT the contamination happens over a long period because it is the result of the lines corroding and bleeding together. This will burn up the motor and transmission and you will be dead in the water.

[Odinson]

Hey all,

Thanks for the replies. This is my room mate Dmitry asking about the SMOD check.

John was extremely helpful over the phone early last weekend, and though we didn't drive away with an Xterra then we are going tonight to check out an '06 Off Road in the dark grey, 88k miles on it for around $10k.

Hopefully we'll have another SCCX member in Burbank soon! We'll keep ya posted and see you no the trails soon.

[Ghost65]

That's awesome Joey...keep us posted.


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[SuperSlideStyle]

Good call.  Sometimes you just have to walk away.  I thnk the OFFROAD models have better gearing in the diffs also, don't they?

[Ghost65]

Good call.  Sometimes you just have to walk away.  I thnk the OFFROAD models have better gearing in the diffs also, don't they?

Correct...3.36 as opposed to 3.13.


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