Just traded my 2002 Xterra SE SC for a 2003 Xterra SE SC and have noticed there is a (1) one inch difference in the ground clearance. The 2003 is lower. I have also checked other 2003 SE on the lot and have noticed they're all higer than my SE SC is this normal or is this a defect?

Whereare you measuring from/to?

Differential to ground, bumper?

At the dealership I measured from the rear tire fender weld 35 1/8" and the Skid plate for the gas tank 10 1/8".
I just measured from the differential 8 3/4", Front axle Right side 9 1/4", Skid plate Gas Tank 10 5/8", Torsion bar 11 3/4", Front Tire Weld 33 1/2", Rear tire fender weld 34".

Why did you trade a 02 for an 03?

Tire pressure?

The 265/65-17 on the SE-SC is also "slightly" shorter than the 265/70-16 on the XE and SE.

I traded my 2002 because my 36000-mile warranty had expired and if I was going to have to pay $1400.00 to extend the warranty why not check into the cost difference for the newer model. The 2003 fully loaded SE SC with leather and Gaurds had $1500 cash back and with the 1.9% financing and the 100,000 extended warranty my monthly payments were only an extra $40 a month. I think I did all-right.

The tires are P265/65R17 and the tire preasure is fine. I just can't figure out why this 2003 does not have the minimum ground clearance of 9.9" as specified in the specs. I am suppose to measure from the differential as it is the lowest point right??

The specs probably give the max ground clearance on the tallest set of tires available for the Xterra and not the shorter ones.

Also did you measure the 2002 and the 2003 on the same day? Was it colder out the day you measured the 03 than other times you measured?

Was your '02 Xterra a 4x2...the reason I'm asking, because I think the 4x2 Xterra's have more ground clearance than the 4x4 Xterra's...I also traded my '02 X 4x2 for my current '03 X 4x4 and my '02 seemed like it did have more ground clearance...

My 2002 was a 4x4 SE SC Just like the 2003. I noticed the height difference when I parked the old Xterra beside the new Xterra to transfer my Cargo Organizer over. The taillights seemed higher on the 2002 that was when I started measuring. I had the dealer pull out the spec's and the minimum ground clearance is suppose to be 9.9" with the ability to add ~2" by adjusting the torsion bar. The dealer recommended not to adjust the torsion bar because it may cause wheel alignment problems in the future. Is it possible I have 16” rims vs the 17” rims and how do I confirm this?

Measure them with a tape measure.

Mine (15") also have the size stamped into the metal, I would assume yours do as well.

Maybe you need to get your T bars cranked or maybe somehow you have saggy leafs?

Saggy leafs on a brand new Xterra?

I don't know about the differences between the 2003 and 2002 but the Pre-02's are a lot lower than the post redesign. And I don't think it's saggy suspension. I mean a 01 and 02 are only a year apart but ALL 01s are lower, not just a few. They can't all have saggy suspension and sag at exactly the same time (especially considering the fact that not all vehicles within a model year are built at the same time).

Yeah the AAL is an option, and then you just have to crank up the torsion a bit and perhaps get it realigned. But the X's springs are already stiff enough that most of my friends complain about its uncomfortableness. Don't know how much worse it'll be once it receives few more leaves.

Thanks everyone for your help. I have another question does anyone know what “running ground clearance” is? I went back to the dealer to check minimum ground clearance on all the Xterras on the Nissan dealers lot and found the range to be from 8 15/16” to 9 5/16” mine is right at 9”. The specs indicate there should have 9.9 running ground clearance. Maybe there is a difference between ground clearance and running ground clearance.