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Nissan Frontier Desert Runner
I just recently bought a 2000 Nissan Frontier DR
SE V-6 and wanted to share experiences with owners
of the same vehicle. I have thoroughly enjoyed my
vehicle. I chose it after driving the GMC Sonoma,
Ford Ranger and Toyota PreRunner. It seemed to
offer the best balance of smooth power and ride and
well as exhibiting good truck handling
characteristics.
The only drawback (nothing is perfect) that I have
to say about the vehicle is a slight dash rattle
that has developed in the past week. I plan to
take it in to the dealership this week after
talking to my saleman about it. Any of you
experience the same thing?
After running 3-4 tanks of gas through, I am
getting about 18.5 mpg driving in the city. Not
bad since it lists at 19 highway.
Look forward to hearing your responses DR owners.
SE V-6 and wanted to share experiences with owners
of the same vehicle. I have thoroughly enjoyed my
vehicle. I chose it after driving the GMC Sonoma,
Ford Ranger and Toyota PreRunner. It seemed to
offer the best balance of smooth power and ride and
well as exhibiting good truck handling
characteristics.
The only drawback (nothing is perfect) that I have
to say about the vehicle is a slight dash rattle
that has developed in the past week. I plan to
take it in to the dealership this week after
talking to my saleman about it. Any of you
experience the same thing?
After running 3-4 tanks of gas through, I am
getting about 18.5 mpg driving in the city. Not
bad since it lists at 19 highway.
Look forward to hearing your responses DR owners.
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This discussion has been closed.
Comments
air flap behind the cab. Other than that I think I made a excellent choice in buying my desert runner (bought 2/00- SE model w/all options except sunroof/woofer, now has 6500 miles on it). I am so glad I did not get a Toyota PreRunner if only for the fact that I do not see myself coming and going all the time, I think that this truck is pretty unique in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Just hit 675 miles. Did a roadtrip to Phoenix and the truck is very smooth. Seems to handle well also - some idiot stopped short from about 35mph and I had to evade. I did not expect the truck to respond so quickly. I didnt have time to even check the lane next to me.
I traded in a 2.0 Sentra SE with $2100 worth of KYB AGX adjustable struts, Eibach springs and 205/40ZR17" rollers - I could take a hard corner at 60mph. My point is I have a good feel for what handles and this DR suprised me.
Question: Stated is the DR has the 4WD suspension. Is that to say it has the same shocks and torsion bars but is 500lbs lighter up front?
It is stiff. The ride quality is as bumpy as my Sentra without actually worrying about the bumps.
I cant see the 4WD being this taught.
On the road at 80mph its pretty quiet and just easy to drive. I dont miss FWD a bit - no more fighting the wheel with 150hp feeding back into it. The AC is ice cold and quiet enough and doesnt sap the engine (3.3) like the 2.0 did. The pedals (auto tranny) like the Sentra seem to need to be further toward the firewall, minor complaint.
The 3.3 is smooth at speed but at idle seems rough, especially for not having timing chains like the 2.0. The shifter (AT) seems too tight and has sloppy play in it. Has the exact same headliner material as the Sentra that resembles worn, pilly looking cotton. Nissan could have illuminated the window controls (Sentra was) and the cruise controls. And for the cost, for God's sake put in a darn CD player. On the same note is the absence of a gas filler door release - Just why? For the $$$ driving lights would have been nice. Other than scrutinizing these minor annoyances, everything else seems top notch.
Cant wait to hit 1K mi. and drop the hammer on the 3.3 (I follow the break-in per the manual except for the 55mph limit). It feels like its going to be powerful. I think a K&N drop in filter might be worthwile. The Jim Wolf (a fomaous Nissan tuner) intake and K&N cone filter I put on my Sentra was amazing.
I floorjacked the rear diff and sure enough I have limited slip (both wheels turn foreward when one is rotated foreward), thats gonna be a must cruising the California sand dunes. Lastly has anyone fitted a prerunner style light bar up front with decent lights? Any suggestions towards brands?
Regards,
Doug Heinsdorf
dheinsdo@crane.apscc.k12.az.us
I test drove all of the competition before I settled on the Nissan; what sold me was after I stepped out of the truck and was shutting the door. No shoving or clunking, just a smooth and solid motion and that was it. While driving, the near silence in the cabin and the impeccable fit and finish and attention to detail were clearly evident. The ride seemed as though it belonged to a car, not a truck, although the power department left a little something to be desired.
In conclusion, the overall effect of the truck is positive one and shows how Nissan is willing to take risks in an otherwise lame segment of the truck market. They have my vote (and my money)!
My type of DR with the sunroof seems very rare because I haven't seen one in all the places I have visited. Good luck and thanks for any info.
David
Options line up as such:
Power Package
Deluxe Package
Under rail Bedliner
Floor mats
Price? $18,890. My dealer matched carsdirect.com's price without so much as a whimper since they are the delivery dealer for cd.com for my region.
I had to order mine because I wanted the 5 speed in Salsa. I am in NC and according to my dealer there were only 2 with the 5 speed from Pennsylvania to Florida with close to what I wanted, but not my color. ETA? 100-120 days I'm told by my dealer, but from other posts I've read from these Nissan forums I think it will be a little sooner than that. The only thing I hate about the wait is that I have to deal with seeing other 2001's on the road before I get mine.
The only accessory I will get for mine will be a Pace-Edwards Roll Top Tonneau Cover for the bed. For anyone wanting a tonneau cover they are worth a look. Sometime later down the road I may swap out the stock ring and pinion in the axle (4.64:1) for the set out of the supercharged model (4.36:1) to get an increase in gas mileage if it doesn't get a little better than the EPA numbers. I do not think I will have to do that though, seeing that the Crewcab 4x4 had the same highway numbers as the Kingcab 4x2 DR, but the CC 4x4 is much heavier.
If you do order one, make sure you get an under the rail bedliner so that camper shell can be padded to keep your paint nice. I see many more over the rail liners than under on the Nissan lots. Good luck, I don't think you will be disappointed.
Did you need to place a deposit to order the truck? I saw an extended cab with the color that we wanted. It had all the options that we wanted except the sunroof(which we don't really need) but it was 4x4 which I don't really need. This may sound crazy but, sometimes I think that the dealership got this truck to teast me into getting it. I know my son would love it. The dealer know what type and color of truck I want from past dicussions.
I need the truck really bad now because my altima has bit the dust with transmission problems. I was hoping to keep it but, I think I will trade it in on the truck.
What other changes are you going to do to your truck? I like the 5-speed option too. But they are very few. Also why is every truck have the over the rail bedliner...This one dealer close to me has 21 2001 frontiers and everyone has this type of bedliner...
Good luck. I know the feeling of seeing other trucks on the road and wishing you had yours. Because I am doing the same thing..
David
If you do not need a 4x4, it is a waste to pay for it. Your truck will be lugging around quite a few hundred extra pounds every day of it's life, and your gas mileage will suffer accordingly. Adding 4wd increases the number of components that have to be maintained and inspected regularly and has a direct effect on the number of problems a vehicle can develop. And let's be honest, it's about $2000 more, that speaks for itself. With the limited slip differential that comes standard on the SE-V6 you should not have a problem getting around even in light snow or mud. It's definitely not for real 4 wheeling but then you would buy a 4x4 for that.
Other small additions I will make will be a K&N air filter and Bosch Platinum +4 spark plugs, to help slightly in engine performance. When the first set of tires wears out, I will replace them (255/65R16) with the same size as the 4x4s get (265/70R16), but hopefully that will not be for quite a long time. The door speakers will probably get replaced within a year, but I will definitely keep the head unit with that 6 disc changer. Rubber floor mats and the Nissan seat covers are high on my list of additions, since my job gets me pretty dirty and I would hate to ruin the interior.
The last purchase for the truck is the Nissan service manual. If you like to do your own work on your vehicles, then it is definitely worth the money. I have not seen the price for the new manual, but generally they can range from $80-110 from the prices I have found on other Nissans. While it is getting harder and harder to work on new vehicles, there are still plenty of things shadetree mechanics can do when fixing their own vehicles, and the best place to start is with the book written by the builder.
I have no idea why under the rail liners are hard to find, either everyone buys them up or Nissan thinks that people do not want them. Get your dealer swap it out if you find one that suits your needs but doesn't have it. There is only $2 or $3 difference between the over raid and under rail bedliner. Generally they invoice for right at $150
Here in south georgia I don't need the 4x4 because all my miles will be highway except for the rare dirt road. I want to save the $2000 additional charge so it will be 4x2 no doubt.
I will do the same type of shadetree repairing too.
Thanks for all the info. See you on the road.
David
Have fun.
It would be pretty cool if they were close to what I need. I think I could do just about any color as long as the options I want could be there. I have been hitting the Autotrader web site trying to find my truck. I thought I found one in Texas which was red. If you get a chance to take a picture when you get your truck. My son and me would love to see it. Send it to my email address if it shows up.
I would like to keep in touch about our trucks because it helps when someone else has close to the same truck. As soon as I get mine and have the changes made I can send you a picture.
Take care.
Who was your dealer? Do you think they did you right?
David
I had to wait until 2001 to come up with the cash.
When I looked at the 2001 model, I was immediately turned off by the fender flares. How do I clean around those fake rivets; worse yet, how do I wax it?
I also was repulsed by the tailgate. Those large chrome letters spelling "FRONTIER" are going to be hard to clean and easy to damage.
Does anyone know if the lettering can be removed without damaging the paint?
Can the fender flares be replaced?
These two items are the only reason I decided not to buy.
I do not know how those flares are attached to the fenders. The easiest solution is possibly to replace the 4x4 fender flares with slightly smaller flares from the 4cyl. 4x2s, since they have the same fenders but no "rivets", only small dimples. Size-wise the '98-00 frontier flares would fit just fine in the rear but I'm assuming that the sheetmetal underneath those flares is drilled, and you would be left with holes. The front fenders are different than the '98-00 fenders and cannot easily be changed out for the old ones due to the different hoodline and new headlight assemblies.
I would like the lettering better if they kept the same design as the older model. I think I want to get a set of the chrome letters for the doors since the only badge that says Frontier is on the tailgate.
About your idea about badging on the doors: Do we need any badging at all? Anyone can tell at a glance that it's a Frontier; and who needs to know which engine or options I paid for?
I've seen a GMC pickup with a tailgate badge that says "Truck". Perhaps GM was afraid I would mistake it for a motorcycle.
If you want good pricing, go to carsdirect.com to compare MSRP versus average selling price. Carsdirect seems to be pretty close to edmunds' TMV pricing, and I don't think you will be able to do any better when they first arrive, since Nissan is banking on them and only plans for S/C models to make up 10% of their total Frontier sales.
Well guess what I have seen my first Desert Runner with the supercharger. It is the color I wanted but it doesn't have a sunroof. The color was Just Blue. Here is a breakdown of prices.
Base 21,049
Floor Mats
Over the rail bedliner
No other options.
Total price $21,947
A couple of other things. The seats were black cloth with the SC lettering in red. Just AM/FM CD player. This was a very cool truck. If I get my funds in time this may be just the truck for me.
I can always get my sunroof put in if I really need it. Thanks for all the info. I am hoping that they don't ask too much over list price for this truck.
David
Thanks for the info about the seats, I didn't know the cloth seats were embroidered like the leather seats.
Even with all the advertising I do not believe that the dealer will adamantly try to get more than MSRP on the truck, seeing that it is available for less elsewhere (i.e. carsdirect). If they get list then they are really happy, but don't let them go crazy.
I am only going to get the truck that I really want to get. I have talked so much about different trucks. My son has told me that I am driving him crazy with changes so many times. I hope I am not driving you crazy. I have the basic idea of what I need. The only thing about the SC that I don't look forward to doing is getting tires. This may decide what I need to do. I don't need the extra power or cost of insurance if you know what I mean. While I wait for the check I go crazy looking at every Frontier out there looking forward to the day I can say I got it.
Take care and lite a fire under the factory and dealer to get your truck together.
David
I am, however, wondering why you believe tires will be an issue. I have not seen the truck so I am not aware of what tires are OE on that truck, but I would not think they would wear much faster with the SC 3.3 than on the standard 3.3. It's not like they managed to coax 50% more torque out of the engine at the bottom of the power curve, where you would have to worry about chirping the tires with a light foot. From what I understand 0-60 times did not drop much, but the SC engine gained a lot of life where the regular 3.3 left off. My suggestion is to drive an XE or SE, then drive the SC. If you think it is really that more powerful off the line then maybe you should take the tires into consideration. It has been so long since I drove a Desert Runner (June) that I will not even recognize the feel when I get mine. This juror is still out.
I am very light on the tires so I shouldn't have a problem. I was just thinking about replacement costs. I will be putting close to 1200 miles a week on the truck. So I think that I will be buying them sooner than most people. I have drove the SE around town and on the expressway. It had decent power enough for me. I really thought I would have already been in the truck by now. So I wouldn't have to think about the SC. But now that it is here and I have gotten a couple of quotes.
I am almost back to the drawing board.
Example: 4x2 SC 5-speed my price $21,598, Supercharged Value PKG, mats, under rail bedliner.
Example: 4x4 SC 5-speed my price $23,835, Supercharged Value PKG, mats, under rail bedliner.
As an added convenience, they will deliver the truck to me. They quoted the my price to me.
The tires are Firestone Firehawks...May replace sooner than later.
Talk to you later. By the way if you see Desertrunner24 on this board that's me too. Split myself in two..hahaha just kidding...
David
I never though about a tour of the factory, that would be kind of sweet. I think I would need a VIN for that though, and I have not gotten that yet from my dealer. Maybe a cool trip over Christmas vacation? Hmmm....
I'm not sure on the price for that SC, it's MSRP, but if that truck is the one, go for it. Who will deliver? That is really cool. My dealer is about 50 miles away from here, and I have to drive there to get it.
I just got my first SC DR in the other day, it is red with all of the packages, SC Value, leather sunroof, etc. it has an MSRP of about $23,400, I'll put a link here later this week after I post in on my website, looks really good, and lots of fun to drive.
later
locksmith:
There doesn't seem to be anyone with a 2000 DR that is active on this topic. I'm still awaiting my 2001 5spd DR, and the other guy hasn't decided what he wanted yet. From what I've heard, the DR can average 20mpg if you are light on the gas with an auto, with 23 being about the maximum highway mileage I've heard. I know that the 4x2 crew cabs average about 18, so this makes sense.
cncman:
Pictures would be nice, but can we get any informal 0-60 times? Hehe. Just wondering since it should be the fastest Frontier ever made, and I have heard that the supercharger does not make a real difference in the Crew cabs. For the price it sounds like it's been ruined with an automatic. Let us know.
David
Pocahontas,
Edmunds.com/Roving Host
David
I'm buying a fibreglass tonneau, should be installed in a week and a half. I'll report mileage change (hopefully!).
I like the truck, wish it had heated side mirrors like the Maxima I traded in for it.
Dan
How do you like that color? I have not seen one in person yet, but it looks really bright in the brochure and in a picture of the demo model they had at the Chicago auto show. I think you are right that 20.8K sounds a little high, but you are not waiting forever and a day to get yours. Still no word on mine. Let us know how that gas mileage works out. With you putting that many highway miles on it I can get a pretty good idea of what I am going to get. Congratulations!
David
So far I am lucky in my town that no other trucks look like mine. So far I haven't seen any other DR SE. I will be going to Atlanta in a week so I am sure I will see a few more.
Do you know if I put on a brush guard will I need to do anything to the truck? like turning torsion bars up.
David
I'm itching for my truck so bad it isn't funny. It's all I can do to keep myself from calling up the dealer and making a fuss. It now seems the clutch on my current truck is going south and I really do not want to put any more money into it than I have to (it's 21 years old).
It really depends on how heavy that brush guard is, but I do not really think you will have to change the truck one bit. I do not know if the torsion bars are identical to the ones on the 4x4's, if they are then there is definitely nothing to fret about. You may want to put an extra 1 or 2 psi in your front tires though, since the recommendations do not take into account any extra weight IN FRONT of the front wheels.
I went and looked up those WAAG Brush Guards. Nice, but too much money to get one myself. I am not going to take mine anywhere that I would like to have one either. I am thinking of checking out prices on a fiberglass top instead of a roll top tonneau cover. If a nice one is not too much more money I may get that instead. I have a shell for my current truck and although I do not drive around with it on it does come in mighty handy when I do need it.
Drive Happy.
Truck is so great. I will have the brushguard installed this sat. and the ARE shell installed in January. You will love the 6 CD changer. Everyday I love this truck. Best value for my money.
David
carpeted haedliner = $109.00
Front sliding window = $60.00
Installation (tape,clamps,hooking up 3rd brake light) = $55.00
This is what I am paying for the shell.
The brushguard is WAAG $425 installed and tail light guards are $189.
I ordered the waterproof seats covers because my son added his touch to the seats the other day. Our truck will be finish soon and I can sit back and just drive it. I am so glad I got this truck.
David
I'm still waiting for my 5spd DR to come in, ordered it on Sept. 29th, SE with power and deluxe. My dealer told me 100-120 days for a factory order, a little longer than what you were told. I posted nearly the same question as you on a forum at FreshAlloy.com (a Nissan enthusiast site) and found someone else that had also ordered a Frontier and his will be in the second week of January. He ordered his at the end of August. Doing the math, it sounds like 4 and a 1/2 months from order to delivery, so settle in for a little while longer. I've heard that new orders will take 6-8 months. I'm not expecting mine until the middle of February now. You may want to give your dealer a call and see if they can rustle up on in current inventories. When I ordered mine there were no units available that were even close to what I wanted, hence the order. I am actually calling my dealer tomorrow to do just that, because my current vehicle is biting the dust.
gaxterra:
Well it looks like Edmunds' messing up their forums lost one of my posts as well. In it I highly recommended those seat covers, I have them already (even without the truck). They seem really durable (although only time will tell if they were worth the $120 or so I shelled out for them). I also said to make sure that the shell installers use foam tape with only single side adhesive. Otherwise you will really not have a fun time if you ever need to take that shell off, I've seen it done like that and it is not pretty. My truck has a foam tape with a thin plastic on one side and adhesive on the other, maybe 3/16" thick. And by the price I think I will stick to plan A and get that Pace-Edwards roll top, it's half the price. For the few times that I use the shell on my truck now I do not think it will be worth it, although the look sure would be nice.
aquaholic:
Congrats on your new truck. I did like the 2000 body style with all the chrome, and would have gotten one had my finances been in order while they were still widely available. I wish that Nissan had kept the chrome theme on the 2001's. Either way I am sure it will prove to be a very reliable truck that you can enjoy for a long time.
Everyone have a safe and happy holiday!