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Comments
After purchase and for first year 18/21 mpg combination
Shortly after 16/18 mpg
Check engine light correction 18/20 mpg combination
Three weeks later 15/17 mpg
Rear diff sensor replaced 18/21 mpg combination
Two weeks after 15/17 mpg
MPG after vent control valve and clutch fan replacement 16/19mpg combination
2 weeks later 16mpg combination
Couple months later 14mpg combination
Last couple weeks 13 mpg combination
JIM
Thanks
Yeah, mine came loose yesterday (4/12) while I was going down the road. Mine was the right side, and the cup that carries the tailgate broke off at the base. The tail gate landed on it and dropped open, dog-earring the lower right corner of the gate.
I agree-it's a design flaw. Looks like the measley weld gave way.
Will be headed to the dealer tomorrow to get a fix scheduled. They may try to blame you and me for the breakage, but I say they need a tougher design. They need to make it right and do the body work.
Will keep you posted.
Is it leased from Nissan?
Yes it is leased thru Nissan.
I filed a complaint with NHTSA. Thanks so much for the info!
My dealer (Hudiburg Nissan, OKC) sent photos in to Nissan, and got authorization to replace both sides under warranty, though only the right one failed. And the new units seem to be upgraded with a rubber grommet in the cups.
'Would have cost me $477.00 for the two hinges, "Frontier" lettering, body work, and paint. They handled it quickly and without any hassles.
Good luck.
Thanks!
So, let's now move to very recent events. Last week on Wednesday the truck suddenly died at a traffic light. The thing has been running like a clock. I restarted it, no problem. Thursday, ditto. Friday I called the dealer and made an appointment to bring it in this week. No check engine light, no nothing. Running like a clock, just occasionally dieing while sitting still. Well with two hours of making that appointment, I called the dealer back and said, "Number one, cancel my appointment for next week. Number two, I am TRYING to make it to you as we speak. Do not be surprised if I call you back for a wrecker." Service writer was very nice saying "I'm looking for you. Call me immediately if you need the hook." Well I made it. Truck actually ran good after dieing twice back to back, then no problem. I had to cancel two appointments I had Friday afternoon. Two hours later the dealer calls me at home to say "Sorry, we cannot duplicate the problem. No error codes. We let it run in the bay for 30 minutes. Then we took it out and drove it for 12 miles. It is running beautifully." So I go pick it up. The service writer apologized and said please just try to get it to us IF it acts up again. I leave, drive about 7 miles down the interstate heading home, get to my exit, at the top of the ramp the freaking thing dies. I call the dealer. (Not picking on the dealer! They are a good crew.) Service writer apologizes like crazy, though he did not need to. Asked if I needed a wrecker, I said "Nope. Started right back up. I'm heading to the house." He said to bring it in early Tuesday (tomorrow) and he'd put me in a loaner so they could keep the NISMO until it acted up with them. Today I decided to drive the truck (didn't touch it Sat. or Sun.) as I wanted to go mountain biking and the trails I was going to ride are only about 8 miles from home. Told my wife to keep her phone handy just in case... but I didn't really expect any real issues. I figured it might die once, I'd restart it, and go on my way. WRONG. Here I sit with my wallet $85 lighter because of the tow truck I needed today. Truck totally, TOTALLY died. I mean even the 4 way flashers wouldn't work. NOTHING. And as I sat waiting for the wrecker, occasionally the speedometer and the tach would suddenly start twitching and go below their minimum marks. Windows wouldn't work, stereo was dead, turn the key and there was NO response.
I'm not sitting here bashing Nissan. But I am not happy with Nissan. I figured it up. This is my 15th vehicle in my life. Until this truck I was pretty much a "I bleed blue" Ford man. They ticked me off (Corporate correspondence, not a vehicle issue) so prior to buying the NISMO I decided I was done with Ford. Well, out of 15 vehicles this is the FIRST in which I've EVER had it in the shop 3 times prior to 70,000 miles for anything other than routine maintenance. And more importantly, this is the FIRST time I've ever had a vehicle strand me on the road. FIRST TIME EVER. I am very anal about my vehicle maintenance and routinely expect, and get, at least 125,000 miles (personal use, not work vehicles like the NISMO) out of one before I get the new car itch. Matter of fact, since the NISMO is for work I initially set up my maintenance spread sheet with mileage going out to 250,000 miles. (Not to beat an issue but I've witnessed first hand that an F-150 doesn't even break a sweat as I go for 250,000.) I've got to say, right now I am not feeling very good about my Nissan choice. I'm anxiously awaiting talking to the dealer tomorrow and finding out what the hell is wrong with the truck.... and what is that going to cost me! We are currently in the market to replace my wife's care. (2002 Mercury... 97,000 miles, TROUBLE FREE. She's just tired of it.) For the first time ever I'd told my wife "Pick any brand you want" versus my previous "Pick any brand you want as long as it's manufactured by Ford." Though she has her eyes on a couple of brands I did have her talked into looking at the 2009 Maxima. Now.... I don't think she'll be doing so.
Other than a squeaky suspension, my 05 NISMO was flawless, but I traded it after only 30K miles for an 07 Tundra, which has been flawless through 33K miles.
Meanwhile, yesterday Nissan responded to my email with a totally canned "customer service is important to us" piece of junk.
I should have bought the Toyota.
Now what?? I'm seriously reconsidering going with a NISMO, and wondering if the Chevy is a better option.
I have an '06 SE CC 4x2 6-Speed and at 15,000 Miles it's been fine. Time will tell tho. I think lemons are occasionally made by all brands. I think we own the one lemon Subaru Forester ever made.
I have since turned the truck in (it was a lease). We bought a new Honda Civic - Great Car, spectacular gas mileage (36mpg).
We were really surprised - very sturdy metal. No plastic crap like the ones that broke.
Maybe they weren't genuine Nissan replacement parts.
Now, let me briefly recap my recent experiences.
1) Aug. 12 and 67,993 miles, $500+ repair bill for wheel seal and resulting damaged brake pads.
2) Sept. 2 and 69,548 miles, $541(plus an $85 tow bill) repair bill for some sort of power distribution box.
And now......... drum roll please......... man, you just cannot make this stuff up......
3) Nov. 18th and 75,348 miles the P.O.S. is in the shop again!!!!!!!! About two hours into my day the following warning lights came on, sometimes flashing, sometimes alternating turns and sometimes simply all staying on, "ABS, LOCK, SLIP, VDC OFF." I was working (again, truck is my office) and an hour from home when this crap started. So, I canceled two appointments and turned around to head back home and to the dealer. So........ once again, driving a rental (more $) so I can continue to work while the dealer has my truck. I am absolutely fed up with Nissan. Never, NEVER will I ever again buy a freaking Nissan of any type. This is almost to the point of feeling like a bad dream. EXCEPT I'M PAYING FOR IT!!!!!! I bought my first Nissan since "buy a Toyota or Nissan and it will be trouble free" seems to be the mantra of the automotive world. Well, in all of my vehicle owning life (15 I think, all Ford except for one Chevy and one Jeep) I have never, NEVER had a vehicle with a track record even remotely this bad. This is pathetic. What really sucks is that I'm stuck with the thing for quite a while. It's not like I can go trade it still owing 2 years on it. I am so screwed. I'm actually thinking I looking for something used to drive for work and just let this P.O.S. sit in my driveway. This is nuts. It's to the point that I simply cannot afford to drive a Nissan. Add my payments and my repair bills I could have bought a freaking BMW or something. I hate my NISMO and I hate Nissan. For the first time in my life I have a vehicle in which I have ZERO confidence. Zero.
I have looked, unsuccessfully, and am going to continue looking for some anti-Nissan bumper stickers. Once I find some, I am going to freaking cover the rear of my truck in Nissan bashing stickers.
I've got an even better list of issues for you, I don't have all of them in front of me, but some sound similar to yours.
I have a 2005 NISMO and here's my list. I don't have mileage or dates at my fingertips, but I could get them for you.
First issue I recall was the alternating "ABS, LOCK, SLIP, VDC OFF." Lights. This turned out to be my rear differential sensor. Make sure they fix it right by immediately driving the truck in reverse. If it hops like a freakin' bunny they forgot something.
Next was the vent control valve and the fan clutch. Vent control valve was a grand time the truck literally spit gas back out of the tank at me.
After that was the rear axle seals busting, along with the u-joint going bad. This was the point I lost my temper and sent a letter to Nissan. I got blown off at first, but after the bill hit $1000 and I went nuts at the dealership with my 10 invoices from another dealership. They decided to eat the cost of all of it.
At this point my check engine light is doing the same thing it did when the vent control valve went bad before.
I agree everyone boasted Nissan Toyota is the way to go. Well I'll tell you after owning 4 Toyota's and one Nissan. A Nissan will never be parked in my driveway again.
On another note..... my rental is a 4x4 Dodge Dakota. Man!!!!! Talk about a P.O.S.!!! I may not be happy with Nissan right now but you could not GIVE me a freaking Dakota. Jeez....... I don't like this thing at all. I must say, when my NISMO is running (key word "when") it beats the snot out of this Dakota in any category you care to name. Hopefully tomorrow morning I'll be back in the NISMO. Of course..... prior to leaving the dealership I might as well go ahead and set up another visit in a month for the NEXT breakdown!!!!!!!
I have a squeak which I believe is coming from bushings/mounts between the frame and bed or cab (have not really investigated it, when I get some free time I'll get under the truck and do some detective work), nothing else.
Previous truck was a Toyota Tacoma which had a problem with dash rattles when new that required dash disassembly and replacing some plastic clips, then nothing else required any repairs.
Before that I owned a Nissan Frontier which had a abs sensor fail while I owned it and nothing else.
I could keep going all the way back to my '69 Chevrolet and my second truck which was a '72 Dodge, but what I will say about Toyota reliability compared to Nissan is that they are equal in my experience.
I'm very satisfied and happy with my 2006 NISMO, my wish list is a turbodiesel for better mpg, and that is about it.
____________________________________________________________
Thank you for your recent correspondence to Nissan North America, Inc. and allowing us the opportunity to be of assistance.
We are sorry to hear of the concerns you have regarding the quality and design of your 2006 Nissan Frontier. Nissan is committed to designing and building vehicles that incorporate our customers' needs for styling, performance, quality and safety.
To set your mind at ease, file # ^^^^^^^^ has been created to document your concern. Your comments are appreciated, as they will help us improve our level of service. Your satisfaction with your vehicle is our primary concern.
We apologize for any inconveniences you may have encountered with your vehicle. If you have any further comments or concerns, please feel free to contact our Consumer Affairs department at 1-800-647-7261.
Thank you for allowing me to be of assistance.
Sincerely,
Nissan North America, Inc.
_____________________________________________________
Is that great or what?! Nissan Sucks.
Also to the happy NISMO owner I'd be curious about the mileage on your truck. Mine is at 80K and rimcut1's sounds about the same as mine. Because I loved mine for about the first 30K or so.
That said, dealer feels bad for me even if corporate doesn't give a crap. Only charged me $95 even though they had many hours in it. I was very appreciative of their attitude. So, rolled out at about 10:15, ran by the house to load all of my work crap back into it (30 minutes after unloading all of that crap from the Dodge rental) and hit the road to continue my work day. Loved having my Nismo back under my butt. Now...... 88 miles and about five hours later, cruising down the interstate at about 70mph....... you guessed it............ freaking "Diff Lock" light and the "VDC off" light came back on!!!!! Within a few more miles all the remaining freaking lights came on!!!!! SSDD. Just &%$# me why don't ya.
Yea, called the dealer. The service writer asked me to drive it tomorrow and call him later in the day to give him an update. If it's still doing it drive it through the weekend. SSDD, then back to the shop next week. His reasoning, "after what we did the system may still be resetting itself." I hate to talk junk about the dealer as I've been happy with them, but that reasoning sounds bogus to me. Since the "Diff Lock Position Switch" (per the repair order) is what had the initial fault code, I'd say just replace the %$#& thing.
So, I've been sitting here the last half hour or so reviewing my Frontier electronic service manual. (I bought it after the wheel seal episode.) I've now printed off about 30 pages of "M226 with locking differential" troubleshooting/repair information to read at my leisure. I can already see one big problem though.... most of this junk requires the "Consult-II" diagnostic computer, aka dealerships high dollar toy. I'm hoping to simply order and replace the Diff Lock Position Switch myself rather than fight the aggravation of visiting the dealership yet again.
One humorous bit, as I was turning in the Dodge P.O.S. this morning the guy totaling my bill asked me what Nissan I had. I replied "Frontier." He asked, "which one?" I said "Nismo." He said "Cool! I've been sort of thinking about buying a Frontier. How do you like it?" I deadpanned, "It's a total P.O.S." Then briefly recapped my service history/mileage etc. He looked at me and said, "you know, I've had quite a few guys come through here and tell me that about the Frontier. Maybe I need to think Toyota." I advised him to do so. You know, if Nissan corporate gave a crap I would not trash my truck to people. I would simply figure that I got the one in a million bad one. But since corporate doesn't care.... I don't care. If I can cost them even one sale I am happy.
05nismo6.... I hear ya about the letter. Last go round I did get some response. I hammered them so badly with a couple of emails that some gubberhead tried for five days to run me down. We played phone tag continually. He finally caught me one day, so I proceeded to run though the whole experience. Total and complete waist of my time. They simply wanted to let me vent to a person. I wanted reimbursement for the wheel seal. "Ain't happening." So, we hung up with two end results. On his end, he marked my file "case closed." On my end I simply told myself "Those $#%*&@^ really do not care!"
And the nightmare continues.....
I have my 2005 Frontier SE four wheel for almost three and half years. A few days ago, I found the engine service light was on and I had Nissan dealer at Richardson, Texas checked. The report says the fuel level sensor is bad (code P0463)and needs to be changed. The dealer charged me $101 for inspection and otherl cost is around $600 if the sensor get fixed. I cannot believe the truck has this problem with only 42,000 miles and I drive it mildly...
Any thoughts and suggestion?
Appreciate your responses!
Rear Differential sensor
New Computer
Window motors
Rear axle seal
u joint and drive shaft
vent control valve
Radiator
Fuel level sensor
Yeah Nissan
Aside from this, my '06 SE has been good thus far, but I have only 18,500 Miles on it.
i'm in the market for a compact/midsize PU. been a dedicated Toyota owner for about 15 years, various models, including a 2WD 4 banger taco. noticed sites like edmunds and CR have said nice things about the Fronty so i put it on my list of possibilities.
so, got my eye on an 06 SE, AWD, AT, 18k miles. a similar used taco would go for 4-5 more grand. i'm big on not having to repair a car every few weeks, it's the whole reason i went to imports anyway. to anyone's knowledge, is it just the NIMO's having issues, or are Fronty owners experiencing them across the board? aren't we just talking about suspension differences anyway, with the other mechanicals being the same?
i know there's a couple of head to head comparison threads already, but my question is more specific to the reliability of the Frontier itself....
TIA!
Just my 2cents.
I'd also sit in both, as they have distinctly different sitting positions. Many automotive publications have noted this too. If you're not comfortable behind the wheel, you won't like the truck no matter how well it runs.
The '05s on both brands were their first year of the new design. I'd look only at '06+ models to hedge your bet. Good luck with your choice!
As far as New Gen Frontiers, a large forum shows a bunch of owners have had the fuel sending unit problem. Something like 10 to 12% reported wearing out of the VQ-40 secondary timing chain guides (chains on the camshafts) and some early clutch failures as reported here. I had the fuel sending unit problem, but none of the others yet. Mine is a 6-Speed.