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I usually order it online to be picked up at a local store. Since O'Reilly's bought out Checkers I've been ordering online with them.
Come to think about it even the cheapest of shoes would work ok since these are rear drums we are talking about. Most of the braking power comes from the front.
I was driving my 91 Nissan p/u, parked it and turned it off. turned the key to wind up the windows and the car was literally dead. After about 20 minutes all power came back on and I was able to drive it home no problem. After turning off the engine again the same thing happened.
When I turn the key there is nothing. No dash lights, no fuel pump noise etc. When I open the door the dome light doesn't come on. When I close the door, the dash clock comes on, but goes off when I open the door. The funny thing is the headlights work and are full strength. The battery is less than one year old.
Any help would be appreciated.
I am assuming you know that if you are looking for a mid size pickup, the domestics have pretty much thrown in the towel. Both the Ranger and Dakota have been discontinued, the Chevy Colorado is ancient and it's upcoming replacement looks the Chavy Equinox, in other words, a girlie truck.
I drove a 2011 Tacoma Crew Cab and was very impressed with its ride & drive, but they are expensive and low on selection, colors ,etc. Keep in mind I was looking last August , so Toyota inventories were really down due to the earthquake in Japan.
After driving the Tacoma, that woke me up to driving the Frontier , so I took home a Frontier for an overnight evaluation. I ended up buying the Frontier, the $3500 rebate on the 2011's , the good trade in allowance, and the really good dealership personnel sealed the deal. They were willing to deal .
The Nissan Frontier has been assembled in Smyrna , Tennessee since the 1980's. The Nissan Titan is also assembled there, indeed , the Frontier shares many parts with the Titan, including the fully boxed frame , axle and brake assemblies.
I am too long here, so I will shorten up Pros & Cons:
Pros:
1. A real working, no nonsense truck......but civilized enough to be the 2nd car....
2. A torquey, quiet 6 cylinder that is composed at all times. The 5 SP auto delivers smooth shifts, whether lightly loaded or hauling a trailer. There is an O/D lockout switch for towing. A very quiet drivetrain .
3. Nimble handling, corners very well, a good ride ! I am not kidding about this. Excellent brakes, speed sensitive rack and pinion steering has a nice feel at all speeds.
4. Excellent seats and driving position. Nice steering wheel with audio controls, cruise control well placed on the wheel. Bluetooth controls on the wheel.
5. Flexible interior in the crew cab. The rear seat is 60/40, both sides flip up and stay to reveal 2 storage compartments with cargo netting on top. There is some storage behind the seat back for flat items like jumper cables , etc. The storage compartments are removable if desired for transporting something really heavy in the back. The passenger front seat folds down flat to make a "work desk" for the driver.
Cons:
1. Gas mileage is about the same as a full size 6 cylinder truck. I am getting about 19 mpg in a mix of city/highway driving. I have gotten about 21 mpg on the highway at posted legal speeds. The reason? This Frontier weighs about 4,200 lbs, close to a full size weight. I drive smoothly and anticipate stops, etc. A hot rodder would get less. It uses regular gas.
2. No trip computer on the midline SV model. I figure out my gas mileage religiously , but I just think the trip computer should be included at the midline price point. You have to step up to a top line trim , and the price goes up by at least $2000 (a guess, maybe more). I guess you could rephrase this by stating the Frontier has inflexible option packages.
3. The turning radius is not tight enough. I know this might be an advantage if you are backing up a trailer, but in a tight parking area, I have been forced to back up and turn again more than once. I now anticipate these situations.
2. The interior is a little stark, but hey, this a truck. I now think this is a good thing, as my son is in Boy Scouts and we go camping monthly. The interior is easy to clean .
Sorry for being long winded, I will just say this: The Tacoma wins in rear seat comfort and interior appointments, but for a real truck personality, the Nissan Frontier shines. It does nothing poorly, and is actually fun to drive. And the entry price is lower.
Finally, it is garage able easily and easier to park it. The garage issue was why I passes on a full size truck. I have to believe this Frontier is more fun to drive than a full size truck, but it is big enough to get 5 people inside without squeezing .
Steelydan's review is right on, although I would like to see a locking gas cap and a seperate switch to control the dash lights. Now the trip odometer reset button has 2 functions, push to reset the odometer and rotate to set dash lights bright or dim.
We recently returned from a 1000 mile trip where we used 22.1 gallons for the first 487 miles or 22mpg. This was at posted limits using cruise where possible. City driving is 15mpg on a good week and 14 on a bad week.
The Frontier handles well, is comfortable and has a smaller gas tank than Ford. My wife agreeing to trade in that 30 plus mpg sedan for a pickup, well, I never saw that coming and we are glad we bought it.
Actually, while we are nitpicking here, the whole dash lighting could be a little bit brighter.......I find the orange lighting to be adequate, but not really bright...the gauges themselves are very informative and easy to read...
I agree also on the gas tank......330-350 miles is about the max range you can expect.
Sorry about your present Ford auto transmission troubles, but , while you may not like something else about the Nissan Frontier, the tranny won't be one of them. I stand behind that statement.
babbs3, don't just take my word , on this very Edmunds site, just look up "Nissan Frontier" test drive/reviews........................read it for yourself ! The transmission is not a problem in the Frontier, period.
I also read reviews in the following sites: USA Today autos , MSN Autos, and a couple of Nissan owners sites: ClubFrontier.org and NissanFrontier.org.....
Take care, babbs......
Regarding the oil consumption, the 1 qt every 1k miles still falls inside of the parameters of normal even today and is not completely unheard of (though I suspect increasingly rare). This is likely because the only sure fix is a complete tear-down and rebuild of the engine, and the cost of adding oil would be far less than the cost of repairing the engine while the vehicle is still under warranty. If you are using pure synthetic oil, it is possible that the engine still hasn't properly broken in since the piston rings still haven't seated correctly. You might ask a Nissan dealer for info on this. Good luck!
I know the 4 cylinder gets somewhat better gas mileage, but your noise issue is probably related to the 4 cylinder working too hard, trying to move a 4,000 lb truck around and running the A/C at the same time. But hey, it's a truck , right ?
views1. berlin.us@verizon.net
Battery has tested good.
All fuses are intact.
Belt is on tight.
Charges fine when idle but will not continue to charge when driven.
Any Suggestions
I went to the Nissan dealer to replace some burnt out instrument cluster bulbs and they are listed at $20 each. This place also sells Volvo parts and the guy said wait a sec, and pulled some Volvo bulbs. They look exactly the same so I bought four and they fit perfectly. The price, $4 per bulb. Couldn't thank the guy enough for saving me $60!
I've spent hours inside the dash. I don't want to have to disassemble large wire clusters... But if I must - was hoping somebody else had seen this ??????
Blowing fuses without the motor running is very odd. Is this a new radio install?
I've not been able to pinpoint it, even using mechanic's stethoscope. Not related to belts -- still there with belts removed.
A well regarded local shop spent two days & many man-hours on it, removing & cleaning throttle body & replacing gasket, cleaning PCV, cleaning EGR, pinching & disconnecting vacuum lines, replacing oil filter with Bosch filter, and maybe some other things. No improvement.
I have no driveability issues. No codes are set. Short term fuel trim is good (< +/- 5%). I have Bluetooth OBD II unit & Torque Pro program on phone that I can use.
I'd unnecessarily replaced the PCV 10k miles ago due to fuel trim issue -- that turned out to be shorted wire from O2 sensor. Distributor replaced @ 6k miles ago, due to failing coil.
I'm wondering about the swirl plates, but I think they're closer to the head than where I'm hearing the sound.
I'll try to record the sound & post it.
Anyone have hints on where to concentrate my efforts?
This is my 1st post. Let me know if I've omitted something.
An IR cam on the engine after it's been running for a few minutes might tell if there's a lot of frinction on a bad bearing in the area. keep us posted - sounds vexing....
Spongy PCV hose that was sold to me by Napa 6,000 miles ago. I'd specifically requested PCV hose.
En route to local auto parts store I found Long Term Fuel trim ~12%. Kurt & Robin at O'Reilly Auto Parts came out to my car to listen & poke around at idle. Plenty of brainstorming. Found noise would disappear when plugging line from air filter to valve cover. Figured PCV valve might be stuck wide open, & if so could cause excessive crankcase pressure or vacuum. When I accessed PCV valve (removed tire, splash shield, battery negative cable, oil filter) I found the very soft PCV hose. I replaced it with the old, very hard hose I'd removed 6k miles ago, then put stuff back together. When I cranked it to circulate oil into new filter, I could tell it was better. Next morning driving it noise was gone, Long Term Fuel trim went back to 0% (& Short Term Fuel Trim still cycling normally ~ +/- 0% - 5%.)
I'd read every post in this forum, and lots, lots more. Nothing really seemed to hit the spot. Since finding the problem, I went back & read more about failed PCV hose. It's not uncommon, but I've still not read a description including my sound.
Thank you for your help. I'll keep the IR camera idea in my quiver. Boy am I glad to be done with this.
vikingcove
I recently acquired my recently deceased grandfather's '99 Frontier. It's in good shape, but the service records are spotty at best.
The good:
Newish tires (2011 purchased) with good tread
Oil changes recorded every 5,000-6,000 miles
Truck saw light duty (light stop and go, 40-50mph roads)
115,000 miles total, with pristine body/paint/wheels/lights/glass
The bad:
"Service Engine Soon" light indicates a bad knock sensor
A/C squeals horrendously at anything much above idle engine speed (my granddad previously told me that the mechanic said it was not, in fact, a belt, but was the clutch in the compressor)
Both license plate lights are out, and I've never changed these before
I don't know what other major and minor service intervals should be taken into account with this truck. Any comments, thoughts, advice, or input is welcome. I drive this truck almost exclusively on the highway at about 70mph and am averaging 27mpg, which is on target for EPA, so I don't believe the engine is running poorly. If the A/C is off, it is quiet and smooth at idle and at speed.
Thanks!
TheGrad
Sorry about your Grandfather . I know he would be pleased to know that you are trying to get his former truck shipshape !
My suggestions:
1. License plate bulbs are easy to replace yourself. If you can acquire the owners manual for your Nissan (very doable), it will describe how to replace them. Bulbs available at any auto parts store. Take the old one with you .
2. It's what you did not mention that bothers me a little . I have questions about the maintanence on your 99 Nissan.
a) when was the radiator/coolant system flushed and refilled ? If you don't know, I would say at 115K, time to do it !
b) your manual transmission has 80-90W gear oil in it, once again, if you don't know when the MT was ever serviced, do it.
c) inspect all belts and hoses for wear, fraying, bulging hoses, etc. Put a cardboard box on the driveway under the engine overnight and see if you have any fluid leaks.
d) I would refer to a mechanic for the knock sensor, at 115K, not surprising .
e) Your AC compressor will need to be replaced, I would not try to "rebuild it" in any way. I agree that the clutch has probably seized, when you replace the AC compressor , replace the glazed over belt that runs the AC compressor.
Sounds like your dear Grandfather did not abuse this truck, it just needs some TLC at almost 15 yrs, starting with vital fluids !
Good luck,
Brooks Davis
I will definitely do the coolant and brake fluid. I've had to replace a master cylinder in my old Accord before, I don't want to on the Frontier.
It doesn't have any leaks (I've checked that much).
The odd part about the A/C is that it actually does blow nice and cold, but every time it cycles on, it makes the squealing noise if running in gear, at highway speed. At idle, it usually stays quiet. I know I'm on borrowed time with that one.
Thankfully, my main vehicle is my Sonata I've had for four years (a 2009 model) that's in top shape, so for now it's my daily driver.
Thanks for the input; keep it coming!
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Currently own: 2017 BMW M4, 2011 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X Used to own: 2008 VW R32, 1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport, 1987 BMW 325IS