Nissan Armada

aggiedog

junk_food

It's hard to tell if that is a good deal or not as Carmax may or may not be listing all options. If that is all the listed options on the truck, it doesn't sound that great. Equally equipped Armada's on carsdirect are selling at 37,562 (again I don't know if the options I chose are correct).

bowke28

"Equally equipped Armada's on carsdirect are selling at 37,562"

dude...the $47070 MSRP has EVERY option. there are no huge incentives, so i can promise you that your carsdirect price IS NOT equally equipped.

whambino

Has anyone had trouble also with brake pulsating. Woodfield Nissan cut my rotors once already at 3000 miles, now at 7700 miles it is pulsating so much that if you hit the brake hard you really have to hang on to the steering wheel. They want to cut them again and put new pads on-I know that there is a TSB out there somewhere about this. We argued with the dealership in the show room for about 45 minutes. Finally the dealership manager checked a TSB and said he would talk to his parts rep. The dealership said that they didn't have a factory rep at first and that I should call Nissan and complain. I do not think I'm getting the true story here. I also told the dealer that at 25000 to 30000 miles I didn't want to pay for new rotors myself when it needs a brake job - since my rotors will have been cut twice already. This is my first Nissan and right now I think it will be my last-I should have known better and stuck with Toyota-with bad brakes this suv is a danger to my family and all drivers around us. The dealer said it would take 10 days for parts and wanted us to drive it the way it was, my wife refused and demanded the service manager take the Armada for a ride. We were given a loaner-it was that bad.

rshe

In regards to Toyota, they have the same problem on the Sequoia and 4Runner with warping rotors. But I do agree that Toyota kills Nissan on overall quality.. Now, if they could only put out a stylish vehicle with some of the options that are on the Armada.

Go onto the Sequoia threads and you will see almost identical complaints.. In order to keep weight down, most manufacturers are using undersized rotors for the size of these behemoths. My 4 Runner had the same problem until I bought oversized, slotted, Cadmium plated rotors and they have been trouble free ever since. I will try and find the same for my Armada if the problem pops up.

aggiedog

I believe $2000 under invoice is a good deal no matter what options you have on don't have. Second, below are the two LE's they have that have all options. You do the math. And for what it's worth, they currently have 18 in stock and all of them at similar discounts. And their price is better than you think because the $650 destination charge is included. "Price does not include tax, title, tags, and document processing fees." This quote is from their website.

********************************************

2004 Nissan Armada LE 4WD 4D Sport Utility
Stock Number: 2404790
Exterior Color: Deep Water Blue
Interior Color: Steel/Titanium
  
No Haggle Price: $40,658*
Destination Charges, Dealer Prep: $0
MSRP: $47,070
Factory Invoice: $42,568
Savings From MSRP: $6,412

********************************************

2004 Nissan Armada LE 4WD 4D Sport Utility
Stock Number: 2404567
Exterior Color: Sedona
Interior Color: Graphite/Titanium
   
No Haggle Price: $40,658*
Destination Charges, Dealer Prep: $0
MSRP: $47,070
Factory Invoice: $42,568
Savings From MSRP: $6,412
***********************************************

scott174

Hello,

Your Dealer is an idiot. I would call Nissan, complain about the Rotors, and the way you had to twist there arm. Calling 1 800 NISSAN will get you new Rotors, and if its that bad they will expedite the ordering process. My friend did just that, and had the Rotors in three days.

galvang

My Armada had the same thing. Rotors that are warped. The dealer wants to repair accodrding to the TSB. The rotors are to be turned and the brake pads replaced.

The rotors being turned is something that I am against. They aught to replace the rotors with new ones as turning the rotors at this time early will loose the life of rotor in the long run. I am little upset at Nissan for this vehicle. If they do not repair the vehicle in a timely manner then I have no choice but to pursue with the lemon law proceedings.

tloke1

"The rotors being turned is something that I am against."

I totally agree, that is being chintzy on Nissan's part, there is NO reason for you to not get new rotors. Turned rotors will always have problems down the road, always. I would demand new ones. If they won't do that then if it were me I'd find a nice long mountain hill and head down it riding the brakes all the way so that the rotors would warp so bad they would have no choice but to replace them.

btill1

My Armada has 12k miles on it, I will be bringing it in for oil change and tire rotation tomorrow, I have had no major problems except for sunroof rattle which will hopefully be fixed tomorrow. One other thing I noticed over the weekend is that my #5 CD is not lit up and will not play or eject the CD that is in that slot, will have them look at it tomorrow. Regarding rotors my wife has an Lexus RX330 with 20k miles the rotors went on that and Lexus replaced them with no questions or hesitations, I was told it is a common problem with the RX 330, so it is not only with the Armada. I am very pleased with my Armada in all, I have even got 16 mpg on my last two fill-ups mostly highway driving.

sub9904

Having rotors turned will not always create problems down the road. Anytime you get a brake job the rotors are turned by the shop. Unless of course the rotors cannot be turned anymore i.e. there isn't enough material left. The problem with the Armada brakes is it would appear Nissan didn't use a heavy duty brake system which is causing to much heat to build up there by warping them. Still waiting for the 05 and hope the kinks are worked out.

galvang

"Unless of course the rotors cannot be turned anymore"

That's the whole point. Once you turn the rotors early in its life more than likely you have to replace them early later down the road. Also, once the shop turns them, material is removed ,therefore less heat disapation will take place with the rotors.

Agree, Nissan needs to beef up its brakes. Hoping that the TSB does that.

sub9904

You can turn rotors a lot depending on how much they take off each time. My Suburban has 140k miles with the orginal front rotors and they've been turned close to have a dozen times. But then again GM didn't put whimpy rotors and pads on it either to cause so much heat to build up. Now my drums were a different story. They warped and could not be turned. But then again I was towing 7500lbs plus with limited trailer brakes (unknown to me at the time). Anyways, it just reinforces the opinion that the materials Nissan used were not the best or at least under gunned.

ddburns

LE AWD - build date April 2004

My wife's daily driver

2,600 miles in....The good news:
No squeaks, vibrations, resonance, or radio malfunctions. 17MPG highway @ 70MPH. Really like to vehicle overall.

The bad news:
Front rotors warped and transfer case is leaking fluid (Never been off road). First service visit to the dealer tomorrow.

Prior postings on the subject are helpful in preparing for my discussion with the service manager tomorrow. Thanks to all. I will update following resolution.

04redtahoe

http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0406/29/c01-197497.htm

Looks like the Armada and Titan and Quest scored last in their categories in the 2004 JD power survey. They are bringing in 200 engineers from Japan to look into the problems with these 3 vehicles.

btill1

This is a new one I believe, I brought my Armada in today for oil change and tire rotation also for a rattle in the sunroof. One technician looked at it and could not hear any rattles from the sunroof but did add foam to the rear center console. I told them that I wanted to go for a ride with one of the tech's so they could hear the rattle, I went with one of he senior tech's and he heard it and told me there is a TSB out for this issue, he then told me the fix was to tear out the headliner and glue the struts that support the roof. I am not overly concerned with the rattle I am more concerned with having them rip my headliner out. Has anyone else heard of this issue? I also complained about my CD player but it was my error and it is working fine.

llajumpvid

What area is your rattle coming from? I have one that seems to come from the sunroof rear corner over the passenger seat. If I push up slightly on the shade it goes away but it sounds the same if the shade is open or shut? It's driving me nuts.

btill1

My rattle only happens when it is open and it seems that it is coming from right in the middle of the sunroof. I am going to wait on this I can live with it as I don't use the sunroof that often and it only happens when I go over a very rough section of road. When I first took delivery of the car I had a rattle when the roof was closed and that was an adjustment at the dealer that corrected that problem.

llajumpvid

I may have suggested this before but there is a plastic channel that runs along the back of the sunroof and sits just above the headliner. On mine when I hit a rough spot the thing bangs up and down. I've been meaning to put a thin piece of foam tape (some stuff the tech left behind the last time they tried to fix all the rattles)under it.

My irritating rattle sounds like something scratching across the headliner fabric.

Several people have had the TSB done and the headliner came back in good shape. I like you are a little worried about the headliner going back together and would like for them to practice on a few first. I believe mine is developing the resonance but I only drive 16 miles round trip and most of the road is fairly smooth so I don't get a lot of discomfort yet....On a few of my non-work routes I've noticed a flutter. I will be going in for a oil change next month and want to find out if my dealer has done the TSB and if so if they would Dynamat the roof for me (or let me do it while they have it tore apart), however the service manager has yet to return a call.

whambino

Woodfield Nissan replaced my rotors and did the other work that the tsb authorized. Time will tell, right now the brakes feel great. I'll update in 3 or 4000 miles. Hopefully Nissan got it right this time. We love the Armada, but if we can't safely stop it, we are a danger to all we would come into contact with.

jack daniels

What dealership? The best offer I have negotiated thus far is $38300 + TTL for a 4x2 LE with Tech package and want to buy one but am looking for a little better price, especially since sales continue to fall way below projections.

btill1

When it rains it pours, after finding out that I may have the resonance issue by way of a rattling in my sunroof. I was out last night and my drivers side window would not go back up all the way. The window would go down no problem and then go back up until about 1 inch from being fully closed.
I tried it this morning and it finally closed but the motor seemed to be struggling is this the same problem other people have been having?

aggiedog

Carmax in Baltimore/Washington DC

www.carmax.com

warrant_ero

I thought Toyota fixed the brake rotor problems on their sequoia's. If nissan is smart they will fix this as soon as possible.

warrant_ero

I believe that Nissan got finally caught trying to cut too many corners and try to save a few bucks per vehicle. Hopefully they will correct all these issues and use higher quality parts to regain their reputation. I will wait and see if Nissan corrects these problems with the 2005 model. The majority of the reviews that i have read have commented on the interior quality being not quite up to par on a 35k vehicle. I recently test drove an Aramda SE 4X4 and really liked it. That big v-8 really impressed me.

norbn

Yup, went by the dealer today and they had plenty to chose from. Word is out on Armada problems. I hope, hope, hope that Nissan fixes these for 05. If not I'm looking elsewhere. But I really like the Armada. Just waiting to pull the trigger.

berisimus

I am relatively naive about motor vehicles in general and maintenance/repairs in specific. I would like to become up to speed if I ever have the rotor/brake/resonance problems. Someone on this board (I don't recall) posted the website for the Nissan TSB's on the Armada. When I went to the site I could not log in without registering and, if I understand correctly, signing up for an on line subscription. Is there a simple, cheap way to get available Armada TSB's, especially those relating to the above problems. I am a newbie in this area (but not to this Board) and would appreciate a bit of help. Thanks!

qman

I think you will get all the information that you will need at this site for free- www.infinitihelp.com. It has both Nissan and infiniti TSB reports. Good luck

warrant_ero

I just looked at the website and it does contain all applicable TSB's for the Armada.

alcarnut

I saw your post. If you want to see what others have reported to the feds, go here: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov

This site lists the problems as posted by consumers like yourself and there is quite a bit of activity relating to the Armada and Titan.

berisimus

Thank you, warrant_ero, alcarnut and qman. It's all there for the reading!

offroadnarmada

my window has been doing the same thing. if you take a look, your window will probobly be in front of the weather strip. when you roll it up, it sounds like the motor is about to burn out from so much effort. waco nissan has put it back "on track" three times now, and replaced all 4 window regulators. now instead of getting stuck, it's just making a hell of a lot of noise going up and down, not to mention the ticking sound coming from the rolled up window. needless to say, mine is back in the shop ;-)

the sad part is, they will keep paying for my rental even if it takes 7 additional trips.

robert

can anyone tell me how to determine the build date of an Armada or Q56 (I'm assuming Nissan/Infiniti uses same system, but if not would like info on both)? Is it listed in VIN or is there a door or underhood sticker? thanks

scott174

The Armada build date is the last FIVE digits of the Vin number. So if the last 5 are 10000, you have the ten thousandth vehicle. The "7" in front of those 5 digits is what they started the Armadas at.
My Armada is 136-- and I'm pursuing the Lemon Law. My friends is 104-- and he is beggining to have major problems as well. His has been in the shop for the last TWO WEEKS.
Hope this helps. It would be nice if everyone would post there build dates, with the problems they are having. Good luck!!

robert

but is there a way to tell what month (and year) the truck was actually built?

daveman

I looked at the site you provided. I found a place that had 19 compliants registered for the 2004 Armada. Of those 19, 8 of them were repeats of other complaints on the same site, so it looks like there are about 11 unique formal complaints.

I searched for the 2004 Dodge Durango at the same site and found 27 complaints that appeared to be unique.

Did I miss something? Were there more Armada complaints somewhere else on the site? I am sure there have been more Durango's sold than Armada's, but it certainly did not seem so bad for the Armada.

bowke28

many of the complainers on here are trolls and nissan-haters. some dont have armadas, and even others have never even driven one. i would even guess that a few others arent even old enough to drive one even if they had the opportunity.

scott...

dude...learn what you are talking about before you make a fool of yourself. the last 5 digits are the SERIAL #.

the build date is on the label inside the driver door frame.

tidester

Actually, the 10^th digit of the VIN is supposed to give the build date (year) though manufacturers may opt to use the model year instead. The codes are as follows:

1994=R
1995=S
1996=T
1997=V
1998=W
1999=X
2000=Y
2001=1
2002=2
2003=3
2004=4
2005=5
2006=6

tidester, host

bowke28

but that only gives the year...

if you all would read my post, it says where to fing the build date.

it reads as MM/YY on the label plate on the driver door jamb.

tidester

but that only gives the year...

Didn't I say that? Is there an echo here? :-)

if you all would read my post, it says where to fing the build date.

Lighten up! We know where to find it and we know what you said but a query was made about VIN numbers. It is more constructive to add to the information base than to deride other Town Hall members.

Have a great 4^th!

tidester, host

bowke28

but i didnt hear (read) anything about VIN #s.

scott174

You can see the build date on the door sticker. It will show the month/year. The actual date of build can be determined from looking around the radiator/grill area for a white paper sticker that has the "general" build date. So for instance, mine was built in November, and I have a paper sticker saying 11/23/04 which means mine was built around Wednesday of that week. Hope this helps.

scott174

I happened to be referring to the 12TH digit(7). Which happens to be the starting consecutive number for the Armadas.

llajumpvid

You can also tear apart the inside. Seems like every piece of the dash and console have a date of manufacture sticker on them also.

bowke28

the dash pieces have THEIR OWN build date, since most are built before the car is assembled.

the consecutive #'s (last 6) are only the # of the vehicle. (#00001, #00002, etc...) they have nothing to do with the build date.

tloke1

Given the VIN number, any dealer should be able to print out for the owner a "Build Sheet". This not only has the exact build date (mm/dd/yy) but a lot of other useful information including a list of every single option and feature included on the vehicle. On some vehicles, similar sheets used to be found buried somewhere in the vehicle, like under or behind the back seat. Bit the one the dealer can access is much more detailed, usually several pages long.

soldaustin

Thanks for the tip. All this time, I was upset with the way my portable MP3 CD player worked on my Bose radio. I would plug into the aux port to play my mp3s and I had barely any volume. When you went down the road forget it. I can't believe switching from the line out to the ear plug did the trick. Not only do I have loud volume, I had to turn it down as soon as I plugged it in.(blow you out!) It works great just like I had intended. I guess it was stupid on my part to not even try but I just didn't think about it. I mean, line out is line out. Anyway, thanks again for the posters on here for the great advice and tips.

sub9904

It'd be nice if you could reframe from using "dude". By chance was Fast Times at Ridgemont High or Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure one of you favorite movies?

warrant_ero

From all the problems everyone is having, I bet nissan is wishing now that they tested the armada for a while before they actually started selling it to the public. All this warranty work and the problems reported by the press and on the internet must be costing them a pretty penny, no doubt one of the driving factors on why they brought over 200 engineers to see if they correct the situation. I don't think nissan wants a recall on these vehicles, so hopefully they can correct the situation and get on with business.

ceric

Hi, guys,
Got from web. See if it is useful.

Your VIN consists of 17 characters, here's an example:

1N6ED27Y9YC387317

Deciphering it is pretty easy, as only a few characters change besides the sequence number (all those that don't are marked with an asterisk*)

1 is Country of Origin (1=US)*
N is Nissan*
6 is for vehicle type (6=Truck)*
E is engine code (E=VG33E, D=KA34DE, M=VG33ER)
D is vehicle line (D=Frontier/Xterra)*
2 is model change*
7 is body type (1=Regular, 6=King, 7=Crew, 9=Crew Long Bed)
Y is for suspension/drive type (Y=4WD, S=I4 RC/KC 2WD, T= V6 CC/King 2WD, X=Long Bed 2WD)
9 is a check digit as defined by Nissan, haven't figured this one out yet.
Y is model year (W=1998, X=1999, Y=2000, 1=2001, 2=2002)
C is assembly plant (C=Smyrna, TN)*
387317 is the six digit sequence number