# T minus 5 1/2 hours



## VideoDude (Nov 11, 2005)

Just wanted to take a moment to say hi and introduce myself. I’m about to join the Xtrail club in about 5 1/2 hours. I’m very excited to be a member but sad to say goodbye to my 1994 Acura Integra. It’s served me well and will be greatly missed 

There were a few tense moments yesterday when the dealer informed me there was a problem. I ordered (and they happened to have on the lot) a black SE AWD with the Adventure package. I also ordered the Roof Rack Cross Bark Kit (and floor/bed mats.) Everything was moving forward until they tried installing the Roof Rack on the Hyper Roof Rail. Guess what…the current kit won’t fit on the Adventure package. I was very disappointed and told the dealer I would be in later that afternoon to figure out a solution. The time between the phone call and my arrival at the dealer, Nissan Canada had approved an OEM Roof Rack Cross Bar Kit for the Adventure package. It’s slated to go into production in January. So…things seem to be back on track for this afternoon.

Looking forward to joining in the discussions, modding my Xtrail and reading about everyones' experiences.

Mike


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## Rockford (Jan 28, 2005)

VideoDude said:


> ...I also ordered the Roof Rack Cross Bark Kit (and floor/bed mats.)...


Do you mean the all-weather floor mats? If so, have you seen them yet? We ordered those sight unseen a few months ago when we got our '05. When we acutually got them though, ugh! They sucked complete ass. I took them back. I hope they've got better ones for '06 and would be curious to hear if that's the case - cause I just might p/u a set. If not I think, you might be disappointed in them.


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## Canada's Far East (Jun 15, 2005)

*Welcome*

Welcome, Mike:

You've been "browsing" for awhile already - 52 minutes & 20 seconds - and that's a good thing. Lots of very helpful info. on this site.

Was at my dealer yesterday for the 12k service and was looking at a Black '06 with the AV pkg. Nice looking machine - I'm sure that you'll enjoy it.

The AWD will undoubtedly get used this Winter in your area.

Just curious, you mentioned picking it up today, 11 Nov. Is that not a holiday in your area ?? Everything is closed here for the remembrance day holiday...

Cheers & good luck with the X-T = Roger


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## Rockford (Jan 28, 2005)

Canada's Far East said:


> Just curious, you mentioned picking it up today, 11 Nov. Is that not a holiday in your area ?? Everything is closed here for the remembrance day holiday...


No, it's not a stat holiday here and that's crying shame. We all get a day to celebrate queen Victoria's effing b-day but the veterans get no repect. Tragic. 
Sometimes I wonder if we shouldn't change our Thanksgiving to be Nov. 11th. Veterans are something we should all be thankful for.


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## boatek (May 13, 2005)

Rockford said:


> No, it's not a stat holiday here and that's crying shame. We all get a day to celebrate queen Victoria's effing b-day but the veterans get no repect. Tragic.
> Sometimes I wonder if we shouldn't change our Thanksgiving to be Nov. 11th. Veterans are something we should all be thankful for.


Here, Here... couldn't agree more!


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## VideoDude (Nov 11, 2005)

Rockford said:


> No, it's not a stat holiday here and that's crying shame. We all get a day to celebrate queen Victoria's effing b-day but the veterans get no repect. Tragic.
> Sometimes I wonder if we shouldn't change our Thanksgiving to be Nov. 11th. Veterans are something we should all be thankful for.


I second that!

My Xtrail is now one day old. She looks great sitting in my driveway…I checked on her in the middle of the night.

The floor mats I purchased were the higher quality rubber type and not the ‘foam’ type the dealer warned me about. They might end up selling me the proto type roof cross bar…I’ll have to wait and see. The dealer also showed me a photo of the new official Nissan side rails. They look pretty nice. I asked them to check if Nissan was also coming out with a matching brush bar since I intend on putting both on and I want them to match.

So far I love pretty much everything about the vehicle. It drives smoothly and quite the change from sitting way down low in my Integra. I love the monster sunroof! Wow…the hyper roof rail spotlights are wicked bright. It’s gonna take a bit to get use to the centre console cluster. A few questions to Nissan however…why put an armrest in the vehicle if you can rest your arm on it. There’s an auto window up…how about an auto sunroof close. The heated seat switch should be electronic and not a toggle. This way it doesn’t come back on the next time you start the vehicle.

Over all I’m extremely pleased with my decision. This is my first ‘new’ car and my first Nissan. I’m looking forward to what I hope is a great relationship.

Mike


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## Canada's Far East (Jun 15, 2005)

*Side Rails*

Hey Mike:

Happy for you - no reason why you and the X-T should not have a great relationship...

The Service Manager at my Nissan Dealer has a complaint about the X-Ts here - - says nothing ever goes wrong with them and his mechanics never get a chance to work on them, other than regular maintenance :thumbup: 
I feel real sorry for him and his mechanics :loser: 

In your last post you wrote *"The dealer also showed me a photo of the new official Nissan side rails. They look pretty nice".....*got any more info on them, like price, availability ??

Thanks = Roger


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## VideoDude (Nov 11, 2005)

Canada's Far East said:


> Hey Mike:
> 
> Happy for you - no reason why you and the X-T should not have a great relationship...
> 
> ...


Just got back from the dealer. Unfortunately the photos of the Nissan side rails are not public at this moment. The price is $450 plus installation. They should be available 'soon'.

Mike


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## Canada's Far East (Jun 15, 2005)

*Side Rails*

Thanks MIke - price seems "reasonable".

Suspect that if they have the right brackets (which they should have) then it should be a fairly easy DIY.

I'll check with my local dealer re availability.

Cheers = Roger


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## Canada's Far East (Jun 15, 2005)

*Side Rails - on order*



VideoDude said:


> Just got back from the dealer. Unfortunately the photos of the Nissan side rails are not public at this moment. The price is $450 plus installation. They should be available 'soon'.
> 
> Mike


Was at my dealer today and saw the pic of the side rails - - while this is not the pic - it's very much a "look alike" :



My dealer has 4 sets on order - due to arrive next week....

The price will be very close to what Mike mentioned.


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## Canada's Far East (Jun 15, 2005)

*Santa is gonna come early*

My dealer received the side steps and I went for a look yesterday. Very nice :thumbup: 

They're made by Iron Cross Auto Inc. and are a quality product. They looked to be about 3" in diameter and the steps appear "slip-proof".

The parts manager and I haggled price for a while and finally came to an agreement. The "deal-maker" was the installation price - he agreed to do the install for $50 :thumbup: At that price, his thinking was that the install would take about 1 hour (or so).

I have an appointment for Tuesday morning.

He also told me that they were going to put a set on an X-T that day and it would be in the showroom today, so I could have a look.

So off to the showroom this morning, camera in hand.

Here are some pics of the side steps installed:







I stood on one of the steps and jumped up & down and the whole vehicle moved. I had one of the salespersons join me on the other step and repeat the process. I can safely say that these things are "strong" :thumbup: 

Speaking of steps:



The step appears to be of a non-slip type of material and the raised nobs will only aid with traction.

There are several mounting points for each bracket, some of which are thru the floor pan/boards. The steel in the brackets is quite substantial, as can be seen in the following pics:





The step rail mounts to the brackets with the large bolts seen in the picture, thru the center of the step rail - which makes for easy removal, if desired (in the winter ?) (leaving the brackets in place).

I think there's also one other mounting point for the rails to the bracket, but it was hard to see / operate the camera from the showroom floor to the undercarriage of the vehicle.

With regard to the installation, the actual time turned out to be 2+ hours. Given that they've done one now, the next install (mine) may go quicker.

One of the other advantages that I see in these side steps, is as an assist when washing the vehicle. Standing on the step I can actually reach more than half way across the roof from either side.

Thought I'd share this info. as other members may be interested in obtaining them and up to now they've been somewhat of an unknown - at least to me.

Cheers and early Season's Greetings to all = Roger


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## TjC (Jun 11, 2005)

if ya dont mind me askin...how much where they? they look sweet
i might have to go to my dealer to see if they can get ahold of a set lol


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## Canada's Far East (Jun 15, 2005)

*Pricing of Side Steps*



TjC said:


> if ya dont mind me askin...how much where they? they look sweet
> i might have to go to my dealer to see if they can get ahold of a set lol


No problem.

You need to know that Nissan Dealers seem to be left to their own discretion when it come to pricing on accessories. So what my dealer charges may be different from another.

Initially, my parts Manager suggested that the retail price would be around $475 (that was before he received them and the invoice) but he felt he could do a little better than that.

After he received them (and the invoice) the retail price went up to $499 - - these are Canadian prices that I'm quoting.

He and I "haggled" a little and he gave them to me for $400 + $50 for the install - - total price was $450 Cdn. + TAXES, of course.

I felt that the price was quite good and am happy with the deal.

Hope this helps = Roger


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## TjC (Jun 11, 2005)

wow that was a pretty good deal 

now i gotta go see if my dealer well hook me up too lol


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## Ripasso (Aug 15, 2005)

*step height*

The steps look great.

What is the distance between the bottom or underside of the pipes and the ground?

Thanks,


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

Hi Roger,

These steps look cool indeed and very similar to what I have now, but these seem to be pushed out a little further than mine from the door sill edge, which make stepping on them even easier.

Be prepared to do a LOT of polishing and stock-up on the stainless steel polish 

Am not sure about your climate there, but if neglegted and not polished regularly they will eventually rust (yes, even stainless steel can get rust spots)

I polish the steps and nudge twice a month.


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## VideoDude (Nov 11, 2005)

Canada's Far East said:


> No problem.
> 
> You need to know that Nissan Dealers seem to be left to their own discretion when it come to pricing on accessories. So what my dealer charges may be different from another.
> 
> ...



Nice job...I think I'm gonna print this page and when I have my pennies saved...see if I can do the same!

I would love to see some pics of your side rails installed.

Mike


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## Canada's Far East (Jun 15, 2005)

*Answer - Comment*

Hey guys:

I actually tried to have them installed today, but no such luck :thumbdwn: 

Ripasso: 
"What is the distance between the bottom or underside of the pipes and the ground"?

Not sure at this moment - will take a tape measure with me tomorrow and get the info from the one in the showroom (while awaiting my install). I'll post the answer tomorrow evening.

Jalal:
"but these seem to be pushed out a little further than mine from the door sill edge, which make stepping on them even easier".

There was indeed "toe room" when I stood on the step. Also (looking back at the first picture of the brackets) there MAY be some inward / outward adjustment. Will know more after tomorrow....

"Am not sure about your climate there, but if neglected and not polished regularly they will eventually rust".

It's for that reason that I may remove them in the winter - leaving just the brackets in place. 

Mike:
"I would love to see some pics of your side rails installed".

I could do that, but not sure you'd see anything different from the ones in the pics already posted.

I'll try to get some better pics of the installations points (am trying to get the Parts manager to let me in the "shop" to take some pics during the process) we'll see. If successful, I'll post some more pics - I'm actually interested in the "thru the floor pan / boards" part of the install.

Cheers to all.


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## Canada's Far East (Jun 15, 2005)

*Side Steps - Installed / Removed*

Well, the side steps were installed on Tuesday past  

That same day, 'ol man Winter arrived in my neck of the woods and dumped 15+ cms. of snow :thumbdwn: which quickly turned to slush on the roads due to the lay-down of salt :loser: not good for the nice, new, shinny stainless steels side steps :thumbdwn: 

So, I removed them on Wednesday - Sorry Mike, no time for pictures.

I left all the brackets in place and removing the rails/steps took less than 3 minutes - only 4 bolts.

I had planned to take them off for the Winter but thought I'd have had a few more weeks before that happened....

Guess I'll have to put them in my Christmas stocking  

Ripasso - the ground clearance is approximately 9.5 "

Cheers & Season's Greetings to all.


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## TjC (Jun 11, 2005)

so i went to my dealer and asked for these step bars

they have never herd of it before?
there is no chance of me gettin this for my X (from my dealer that is)
im kinda bummed about it
:thumbdwn:


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## Canada's Far East (Jun 15, 2005)

*Availability*



TjC said:


> so i went to my dealer and asked for these step bars
> 
> they have never herd of it before?
> there is no chance of me gettin this for my X (from my dealer that is)
> ...


I think they're fairly new to the North American market - they may not have been released in your location as yet.

In case it might help, the part numbers from the box are :

51-990 (which I tihnk is the Mfg. #) and

99998-XTLSR ( which is the Nissan number that was on the box ).

Cheers = Roger


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## VideoDude (Nov 11, 2005)

VideoDude said:


> Guess what…the current kit won’t fit on the Adventure package. I was very disappointed and told the dealer I would be in later that afternoon to figure out a solution. The time between the phone call and my arrival at the dealer, Nissan Canada had approved an OEM Roof Rack Cross Bar Kit for the Adventure package. It’s slated to go into production in January.Mike


I’m very excited because by the end of today, I will have the only official roof rack on an Xtrail with the Adventure Pack (Hyper Roof Rails.) The dealer took delivery this week of the ‘demo’ model used to get OEM approval. The roof rack is still slated to go into production in January with availability sometime after that. So until then…if you see a black Xtrail Adventure anywhere in North America with roof racks…wave…cause it’s me :crazy: 

In case I don't post again until after the 25th, I want to wish everyone and their families a Merry Christmas.

Mike


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