Thinking of converting but nervous

[Battlephrog]

 

Trying to decide on jumping ship from a 2011 Suburban that my family if 7 is outgrowing.

 

The apprehension is in the defects that I've been reading on this forum. Several have had issues with less than 10,000 miles. I have 61,000 on the Suburban and have never had an issue.

 

Do any of you folks with more than 10k miles have happy (issue free) stories to tell about this vehicle?

 

Also - having a hard time figuring out what the biggest wheels and tires are that can be run without having to shim the sliding door to prevent rubbing....?

 

Thanks in advance!

[axulsuv]

I've got about 50k on mine and have not had issue 1 ... But it is also a 1500s , bare bones model that i'm slowly outfitting to suit my needs .

Good to see another SC resident on here ...

Glenn

[Battlephrog]

Thanks so much for the reply. Good to see some high mileage success! :)

[NoEffinMini4Me]

Do you want to explain the defects that you speak of.

 

I own a Chevy Silverado with 80,000 miles plagued with defects. Gas gauge broke, Antilock brake computer error, broken manifold bolt, coolant leak, and I just replace both front Hubs. It is now my Plow truck.

I was looking at a new Yukon XL and/or Suburban. The price is not even close to being worth it. The most problem free new vehicle I ever owned was my 1988 Nissan Pathfinder and I treated it like a truck.

I look over the top of a chevy suburban in my NVP 3500 with stock wheels. I can comfortably take 10 adults and two kids with ease. The far back seats in the suburban are only good for small adults or kids.

The Chevy has a smoother ride. But if you compare to a Chevy 3500 series, that is stiff too.

[Battlephrog]

I was referring to noted sliding door issues, tire wear issues, door lock issues, and a few other things a few folks have mentioned.

 

I wasn't cheerleading for the GM SUV's at all. Only saying I've been very pleased with the reliability of [mine] and wanted to hear from others who have an NV since they are relatively new (not even any documented safety tests or crash rating that I can find anywhere).

 

I'm very confident that I'll be switching to one of these soon... Just doing my due diligence. ;)

[jimgoings]

5 months in and we're still very happy with it.  The sliding door issue was a royal pain to get fixed correctly, but once the actual fix was figured out, it's stupid simple.  I'd recommend fixing it yourself if it happens on your purchase. See my other posts for the details on the fix.

 

No other issues at all so far... drives great, family loves it, hauls plenty of cargo.  Eats gas, but no more than the 2001 Dodge RAM 3500 Van that I replaced.

[xavman]

What I did was looked at the costs of buying a Suburban with the options that I wanted.  I then sunk that money into a similarly optioned NVP3500 and then added warranty support.

[woodie]

  We just traded our 2002 Yukon XL with almost 200k for a new 2013 NVP V6. We paid a lot less for this van than a new Suburban and we also purchased the 100k bumper to bumper warranty. We have had the door locking issue, but that's not a big deal to me because I never trust cars with automatic door locks. I never leave my keys inside unless the door or window is open (had too many bad experiences there). It's happened a couple times. Other than that it has run perfectly.

 

    I've had mine for about five months. We have taken a few trips in it already. I have the V6 so my mileage is comparable, maybe better, than my old Yukon XL. We get about 18-19 on the highway if you drive speed limit or just below. If you have a family you will "NEED" running boards to get in and out. Check the specs, the first step is 18" from the ground. That's twice what a normal step in your home is. It runs well, and drives well. I really hate the fact that Nissan deleted the MPG function from the dash computer in 2013. That would be much more useful than my average speed? Why would anyone care what thier average speed was?

  Some issues to consider:

   The cargo area is difficult to load. You may want to install some netting or something for things like groceries. If you have all the seats in there is 0 cargo space, so consider that. There is storage under the seats though. It is very hard to install a dvd player that works for everyone. I installed mine in the Yukon, but am still researching how to make it work in the NV.

   You can not arrane the seats any way you want. I don't know if that is the impression you have, but that is what I thought when I purchased mine. The back is the only row that can have 4 across. I would love to be able to put 4 on the third row and leave the back for storage, but you can't do this. On the second and third rows only a single seat will lock into place on the outside. Nor can you put a single seat against the window, only double seats. However, you can put one seat right in the middle if you were so inclined.

[jimgoings]

 ...   You can not arrane the seats any way you want. I don't know if that is the impression you have, but that is what I thought when I purchased mine. The back is the only row that can have 4 across. I would love to be able to put 4 on the third row and leave the back for storage, but you can't do this. On the second and third rows only a single seat will lock into place on the outside. Nor can you put a single seat against the window, only double seats. However, you can put one seat right in the middle if you were so inclined.

 

Agreed.  I was expecting a lot more flexibility with the seating configuration.  There are some limitations for sure.  That said, it is way more configurable than any other van.

 

We use the "limo" configuration with the 1st and 2nd row in the rear most configuration.  The single seat was removed from the front row to allow lots of room to get into the van from the side door.  The single seat on the second row is set in the forward position (since there is no seat in front of it - leg room is no problem).  The 3rd row has only the passenger side seats in.  The driver side is left out to allow for cargo.  Works great!

[MrOlaf]

Can the 2nd row be moved into "limo" position and still have the 3rd row in place?  I understand there wouldn't be any leg room but is it possible at all or do the seats get so close that you wouldn't be able to lock them into place?

[Decades]

I'm just about at 10k, with only the door lock issue on the sliding door that was fixed quickly with one trip to the dealership.  No other problems, still love the truck.

I've got 285/75R17s on the stock wheels, with a 2" lift, and still have just over an inch on the side door.  If I ever take the lift off, I'd go with 285/70R17's, though I'm pretty sure the 75's would still fit fine.

You can put the 2nd row in the next slot back and still have about 2" of space between the 2nd and 3rd row of seats (the 1st row in the rear position is about 6+ inches away from the 2nd in the normal position.)  You may have trouble getting it back out without taking out the 3rd row first.

I have the driver's side half of the 3rd row removed, with all other seats in the normal spots except the one right behind the driver- it is in the next spot back so my 2 year old isn't kicking my seat.  Also, only the middle seat in the second and third rows have all 3 of the latch system anchors if that matters for car seats for you.  The single seats only have the anchor on the back and the 3rd row seats and window side of the 1st and 2nd row do not have them at all.

[MrOlaf]

I found out that you can't put a rear facing car seat in the seat behind the driver in the first row, only forward facing car seats are allowed according to some nissan documentation.  Right now I am using a configuration of 1st row in limo position, 2nd row removed, 3rd row seats all in place.  The stroller can fit behind the first row although it is a tight squeeze getting it behind the seats with the 1st row in limo position.

[Newneumanns]

We're only at 7k, but have loved the transition from our Yukon denali XL.  Way better price, drives great.  Did a road trip from WI to FL already and it is super comfortable.  We have the lock sliding door issues, however.  Everything else is good.  We typically take out the two seats on the drivers side in the 4th row for storage.