XTerra Upgrade

I've kept my 2008 Nissan XTerra Off Road pretty much stock. It's as capable off-road as I'll ever need so I've never been tempted by the long list of dirt toys like those from ShrockWorks (though I'd be lying if I said a winch bumper hasn't tempted me; there's been many a time I would have liked to have one).

I also got my truck with pretty much every factory installed option. The Rockford Fosgate head unit, amp, speakers, and sub, while not perfect, is good enough that I was never tempted to upgrade anything. iPod integration is so cumbersome as to be pointless without a passenger to do it, but at least it's there (and addressing that would require a new head unit).

The one thing that has bugged me though is the lack of a factory installed nav unit. I'm quite happy with my little Garmin Nuvi 260w, but I'm not found of the ugly window mount and the power cord with constantly gets tangled and obscures the head unit. I am also paranoid about leaving it in the cradle while I leave the truck; it's a tempting smash-and-grab item.

Now you see me.

Now you don't.

While researching new nav head units I discovered that Nissan offers a dealer installed GPS housing. It's nothing very fancy, just a flip-up clam shell holder for a Garmin 7xx series. The nice part is that it's (obviously) a lot cheaper than something like this. And given my disinclination to mess with the rest of the system, it was a no-brainer. Finding the old style model (for the 2005-2008 dash) proved quite difficult though. I finally found one at mynismo.com.

Installation took about 1 hour, though it would take significantly less if you already know your way under the dash. The wiring harness included a tap for the head unit's power wire, which was nice, but the tap itself is very fragile and dropping it into the bowels of the dash is a real possibility.

My old Nuvi doesn't work with the cradle so I needed to pick up a new Nuvi 765T. Haven't had much of a chance to play with it yet, but I applaud Garmin for not changing the UI too much simply to give the appearance of improvement.

The only real problem in the install was that when I disconnected the battery, the VDC system "resets" (i.e. is disabled). The reset procedure is to simply drive straight for a while over 10 m.p.h., but so far that hasn't worked. I have to give Nissan an F on that one, a vehicle like this desperately needs stability control, and making the reset procedure require driving seems an odd choice.

Stop!

Not so powerful right now. Most misinterpreted vanity plate ever. Those who do get it however, love it, I've caught people taking pictures.

Yesterday, on my way home from my daily lunch run at Pack Monadnock I was driving through the idyllic center of my home town enjoying the fact that the rains have finally stopped. The idyll is shattered as a woman drives directly into my path from a side street. I slam on the brakes, thinking, "Surely, she is not running that stop sign. Surely she will see me and stop. Surely if she doesn't I will be able to stop in time." Alas I see her facing straight ahead, never apparently bothering, as we were all taught as children, to "look both ways". Her head never turns as she crosses into my lane. Fortunately I was able to scrub off most of my speed, with another 10' it probably would have only been a close call. Unfortunately I don't have that extra 10' and, as her head never turns, I hit her car in the right front quarter.

It would be worse if I was driving an FJ. Think mushroom cloud.

The impact is fairly minor, though I see the other car's airbag deploy. After a quick second to assess that I am intact (I only notice much later that I slammed my shin into the dash leaving a decent bruise) I jump out. By the standards of our town a "large" crowd was already milling about waiting for the children's Circus Camp performance to start. The other driver was already out of her car and being attended to. She was was none the worse for wear, excepting some minor abrasions on her arm from the airbag.

Subframe is toast, but hopefully the damage is all cosmetic.

Local mechanic and volunteer fire fighter Luke is soon on the scene and handles everything quite professionally. The police arrive later, take statements, and as far as I can tell, fail to cite the other driver for failing to stop. While that is that's their call, I can't help but think about all the little kids who ride their bikes around the center of town or the motorcyclists that come through. What would have happened to them in my place? Alternatively, if I was a semi, or one of the many driver who flaunt or local 30 mph speed limit, the other driver might not have walked away from this. I suppose I am just having a tough time getting my head around the fact that one would pull out from a side street onto the main drag through town and never bother to look. Eventually you are going to kill someone else, yourself, or both.

I was able to lash the bumper back together and as no fluids were leaking, I was able to drive the half mile to home. Then ensued a lot of time on hold with Geico. 90 minutes later a town truck came to pick up the XTerra, though not after making several calls to me in an attempt to find my house. Eventually I just went out on the street and flagged him down. Three letters for you guys: GPS. And welcome to 2009.

Now I wait till Monday to see if the damage is repairable or if the frame is bent and the truck is a total. I can't believe that it can't be fixed, but we've all heard the stories of folks in a minor fender bender whose seemingly pristine cars are declared wrecks due to some subtle damage not visible to the eye. I certainly hope that it can be fixed, I am quite found of the Exterra (or as S2 calls it, the "Etc.").