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as far as repeated problems, i cant speak to that because i dont know.
:-(
http://money.cnn.com/2004/10/14/pf/autos/apeal/index.htm
the problems, while legitimate, are very small in number compared to the non-problematic vehicles.
Bought a Sequoia instead and we are very pleased so far. I would definitely consider the Armada in a few years, just not now.
I believe that survey is based on initial appeal, layout and design... Of which I have to agree the Armada wins hands down...
In overall quality and mechanical problems it did not fare as well...You can look up the vehicle on the JD Power site and it will give the overall results.
If you are considering a large SUV, certainly give it a try. The later builds have largely taken care of some of the earlier problems, including the vibrating roof.
But, in addition to test drives, do your homework
before you make a decision. I spent months on research before I went for it.
81 Trekker
I hope my controller issues are just a fluke. I have 7600 miles and no other issues. Anyone else had similar experiences?
(Fortunately they provided me with a rental Murano - the Murano is also great vehicle)
The Armada leather looks/feels/smells like the cheapo leather in my wife's old Jeep Cherokee...the one that had such a smell it made her puke when she drove it when she was pregnant with our eldest son. Such luxury.
I drove an LE the other day and the front seat was already showing lines that will be sure to be cracks in a couple of years, and the leather was nowhere near as comfortable as the cloth in our '04 Quest (which we absolutely love).
I need the captains chairs because I have four kids and the middle row will be occupied by car seats (no flip 'n fold). The kids need to be able to access the rear from between second row captains chairs.
Any good news for '05? Or is Nissan going to have to continue to throw cash at people to buy what should be the top model in its class (that $2K rebate just about pays for the crappy leather)?
Nay
Hope this will answer where questions.
Dave
Anybody care to guess what the dealerships will be asking? I can't imagine that they will be wanting MSRP's like they did when the 04's came out at the end of 2003.
I guess it could be an unbalanced wheel, but the truck only has 1000 miles.
Thanks!
You say that your steering wheel shakes badly when you hit a bump? In primarily offroad communities, e.g. modified Jeeps, we refer to this as "death wobble". It is a harmonic oscillation of the front end and does not necessarily represent a design defect (although it might).
Let me explain. All mechanical systems have a frequency at which they vibrate (think of striking a tuning fork). This is why any car or truck has various dampeners, including a steering dampener, also known as a steering stabilizer.
This wobble can be caused by any number of things - it is not necessarily a suspension issue and certainly not necessarily a suspension defect - do not let somebody whose job is to mount tires tell you that you have a suspension defect as they are way out of their league. This isn't to put anybody down, but those kind of generalizations are misleading and usually inaccurate.
Typically a suspension issue will show up as a worn component, such as a bushing, or when something is loose or bent. The most typical cause is very simple: out of spec front end alignment. This is the situation that normally shows up when hitting a bump. Out of round tires can also be a problem, but wobble over bumps suggests there is more to it as the out of round situation requires speed to surface.
It is important to realize that the Armada has 33" tires. These are very big tires, and tires of this size that are low quality will not last. To compare, the Sequoia and Expedition have 31" tires, and compared to 33" tires there is an enormous difference in impact to the rest of the vehicle, even with 18" rims (the larger diameter increases leverage). Yea, they look good, but don't think that Toyota and Ford and others aren't staying smaller for a reason, because those rigs would look a lot better without the undersized tires.
Your first order of business is to get a set of tires that is truly designed for a 6,000 lb. plus gross vehicle weight. The BFGoodrich All Terrain ko is a good choice. You need tires with much stiffer sidewalls, but don't fear as your handling will improve without sacricing ride quality. Replacing OEM crap with good tires is the best investment you can make in any new vehicle. Don't expect them to be cheap. Good tires in these sizes are going to run you the better part of $200 each.
The second thing you need to do is get a front end alignment if you didn't already. The third thing if necessary will be to take it to a shop that specializes in 4x4's. Talk to a mechanic that understands trucks as work vehicles and not as a commuter car - your dealer will not be able to provide this service in most cases. Simply replacing the factory steering dampener may do wonders.
The factory shocks may also be insufficient and shocks do wear out quickly on heavy vehicles. Improper valving or excessive wear will cause the wobbling you describe. Good shocks make a world of difference, and in case you didn't notice Nissan advertises that the offroad package has Rancho shocks. Given that Rancho shocks are merely decent offroad shocks, this tells me two things: 1) the standard shocks aren't worth a damn, and 2)Nissan knows it. If you want to go after Nissan, try to get the Rancho shocks under warranty.
Still, the first order of business is to buy tires that can handle the basic abuse of supporting 3 tons of rig, because unless you got the Offroad package, your tires were designed purely for the test drive and nothing else. I think discount tire has a satisfaction warranty and will let you drive the tires - just get this in writing.
You can hound Nissan all day long, but you are never going to get anything for the first set of worn out tires.
Nay
I think my dealer finally found the problem. There was a small leak from the windshield wiper reservoir that caused some corrosion on a portion of the wireling harness. This corrosion was causing the controller to do all sorts of strange things.
The wiring harness was replaced, as was the washer reservoir, and it seems to work ok now. The Nissan engineers told them to look under the wiper reservoir.
Did they find your problem?
I would like to comment on large tires:
Increasing tire size on vehicles appears to be a meaningless fad that does not do much for the customer. To begin with, you pay much more for larger size replacement tires, particularly for 18 inch or larger size. Secondly, it much more difficult to properly balance large tires, because they are heavy, have tall sidewalls (on trucks and SUVs) and they mostly require large weights to balance. I have had horrible experience with tire stores being unable to balance the tires properly. And this with 15 and 16 inch car tires! So my advice is to avoid optional large tires on any vehicle if you can. Large tires also increase the turning radius of the vehicle, which can be a nuisance.
Nissan aught to get together with Michelin and have them supply the Cross Terrains. I saw a 275/65/17. A lower size tire but a much better overall quality tire. The load ratings are about the same or even better then the OEM Conti-Crap. The delimma here is that a new rim may have to be used.
Since Renault has a big stake in Nissan, you can surmize that some of the quality issues that they are encountering are indirectly from the French auto company.
On a sad note my wife ran into a pole in my truck and damaged the lt side bumper and part of the grill... She is still alive and kicking but it was a close call, needless to say she will NEVER drive my truck without adult supervision
Steve, Host
-no split 3rd row
-front of passenger seat doesn't tip up
-aux is weak and can't be selected on steering wheel or rear controls.
-headliner is weak and bounces
-auto headlights are too sensitive, constantly turning on and off.
and there's more but I don't want to sound too winey:)
When they said 13 city and 19 highway, well, they lied cuz I only get like average of 10 miles to a gallon. 10 miles are in combination of both city and highway but mostly highway miles. I complained to the dealer and they said that all SUVs get 10 miles to a gallon on the average. I am so disappointed on the gas mileage. I now regret getting this truck, I'm spending $250 more per month on gas. Maybe it's just my truck only that has poor gas mileage, can any of you Armada owners tell me your story on gas mileage?
1. Rear clicking sound when you take off. It does it every time after you sit a bit. The Nissan service write said they couldn't hear it. Now all of a sudden it is a bulletin.
2. Sound from under the hoood. Sounds like a helicopter. I took a copy of a post saying it might be the purge valve as a poster on here had done. They said they couldn't hear it (3 times in) and they didn't know what a purge valve was. Now it is a bulletin!
3. Roof booming. Took in 3 times for this also. Said there was no noise and if it couldn't be duplicated, they can't fix it. It never made it into the shop.
4. Brakes. As I posted a couple of months ago, I finally got new rotors after already being turned once (brakes were also worn out) and had to wait on other parts for 3 weeks as the bulletin had been added to. Well, I have 2,500 miles now since I had got the new rotors and brakes and the rotors are shaking upon braking again.
5. Front end alignment bulletin. I was over by about 500 miles on the front end alignment warranty so they wanted to charge me. I took it to Sears and all 4 wheels were off. All tires are ruined and have been rotated 3 times (at 13,000 miles at the time) I figured since there was a bulletin out on this they would just fix it. They reminded me that the bulletins will not outlive the warranty so this could be the kiss of death for a brake warranty or other wearable types of items. I don't know if they lied to me or just don't know what they are taking about.
Now at least this gives me ammunition. I will take it to a different dealership this time. (same owners though) Hopefully they will not ignore me. If they do I will talk to the service manager and the dealership manager. Their service is horrible. I envy you guys with no problems. Hard to believe though that some don't have any problems that are made on the same assembly line. As far as the brakes go, I think I see why some don't have it. Mine is mainly city driving. My friends is mainly highway. He has 18,500 miles on his and never had the rotors turned. I have about 15,750 and all but 2000 have been stop and start city driving. Still they should hold up better than they have. The problem is in all of the vehicles or there would not be a bulletin out on it. The brakes are just bad, thats all. It is across the board. The other things, who knows why it hits some and some it doesn't. Again, at least it should help me to get mine fixed. Thanks for all of the posts here. It has really helped. I was ready to sue but don't want the grief. I will keep trying. If I exhaust all avenues, I will have to do something.
Of cuz, if would be nice to have 56mpg like Toyota, but then it would look and drive like cr$#. Just IMHO. 8-)