# 1998 frontier



## low_clazz (Sep 2, 2005)

im about to purchase a 98 frontier king cab. its got 150,000 miles on it and is in pretty good shape. ive got a few question though.

are these trucks reliable? how many miles can i expect to get out of it?

also, this trucks gauages are alittle screwed. the gas gauge only works when the needle reaches half full then your empty when the needle reaches a quarter tank. the speedomter will say 70 when your actually doing 40. the owner claims he was told this was a defect in the 1998 and that you have to replace it with 1999 gauge cluster. he said this is what the delaership told him. he's a buddy of mine and a fellow custom truck club memeber so i would not think he's lying. maybe misinformed. 


everything works perfect on it except that. any opinions?


thanks!


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## himilefrontier (Jan 21, 2003)

I have 220k on my 98 4 cyl 5 speed and have few complaints. My fuel gauge is having trouble, but it only started in the last month, I attribute it to a bad sending unit. No big deal when you consider it is a mostly original truck, and I am the original owner. It all depends on how well it is maintained, and while some who know me consider me excessive in this regard, it pays off.


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## bobkk (Aug 3, 2005)

*99 Frontier*



himilefrontier said:


> I have 220k on my 98 4 cyl 5 speed and have few complaints. My fuel gauge is having trouble, but it only started in the last month, I attribute it to a bad sending unit. No big deal when you consider it is a mostly original truck, and I am the original owner. It all depends on how well it is maintained, and while some who know me consider me excessive in this regard, it pays off.


I have a 99 Frontier 4/4 LOADED. This my 4th new one and my last Nissan. The air bag light came on. Dealer said they might fix it for 1 thousand dollars if not 6 hundered more. Only 32 k miles on it. Talked to factory man. No help from them. Talked my daughter into buying 2 new Nissans. Mistake? BOB K


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## MrMorphine (Jul 15, 2005)

bobkk said:


> I have a 99 Frontier 4/4 LOADED. This my 4th new one and my last Nissan. The air bag light came on. Dealer said they might fix it for 1 thousand dollars if not 6 hundered more. Only 32 k miles on it. Talked to factory man. No help from them. Talked my daughter into buying 2 new Nissans. Mistake? BOB K


a nissan is never a mistake. get a chilton's book and a code reader and fix it yourself. dont buy gaijin.


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## himilefrontier (Jan 21, 2003)

Have you tried resetting it? First, make sure the bulb for the airbag light on the dash and the passenger's side airbag on /off light is not burnt out, or else it will come back on. Turn the ignition to the on-but-not-running postiton and blink the doem light switch on the driver's side door post 7-10 times. It will now be in diagnostic mode. Now, turn the ignition off then start the truck. I believe this is the right procedure, but it may just be start the truck after it goes into diagnostic mode.My family has owned Nissans dating back to the Datsun days of 1973 ( 620 pickup, 610, 5 Sentras-one with 315k,1980 510, an Altima, Maxima and 2 Frontiers) and plenty of my friends have owned them too( 3 Altimas, A Maxima, J30, Hardbody pickup-one with 320k on it and a Pathfinder). Rarely have they proven to be anything but excellent cars with great reliability. Even good vehicles do occaisionally have probelms, but few Nissans have constant problems.


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## 05 NISMO 4X4 (Jun 4, 2005)

If you only have 32K miles on your truck, it's covered under warranty! Unless the defect is the result of neglegence or misuse, it should be covered. Have you tried a different dealership? I'd keep climbing the corporate chain, or contact a local consumer advocate group and get them involved. Some News Stations also have consumer investigative teams that love to expose companies who rip off consumers, and if this dealership is refusing to cover a warranty repair (especially a safety related one) without cause, they sound like the perfect candidate for News 8 Expose!


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## bobkk (Aug 3, 2005)

*Air Bag Light*

Door trick didn't help. What gets me the Nissan comp said to pull dash and look for open wire. Then to start replacing parts till it's fixed. Have to pay for new parts even if the old ones are good. The air bag light is flashing. i've had the truck six years. warranty is five years. Replacing parts until it's fixed is what they did years ago before computers. Bob


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## dnanorton (Dec 8, 2004)

I have a 98 king cab 2.4 4cyl 4x4. it has 108,000 on it and I have noticed recently the gas guage wont read full all the way and it is a little slow. I use the trip odo reading anyway so I know when it is time to fill up again and how my milage is doing. 21 average. I was actually thinking of selling because I want a crew cab with a cyl. I need more room now that I have a wife and kid on the way, plus I pull the boat with it. It will pull OK, but it works really hard to do it and I can't use 5th at all with the boat back there. 

At 103,00 miles I burned 2 exhast valves and lost compression on #2 cylinder. I had to pull the head, and send it to get machined. obviously a new head gasket and hoses and belts all went on during the rebuild. I atribute this to pulling the boat.

somethng has been squealing in the running gear since the day I bought it. It was a regular monthly trip to the dealer for the first 3 years to let them work on it while it was under warranty. They replaced all sorts of things from brakes to rotors to wheel bearings etc... Its still squeals while I drive and nobody knows from where.

The brake rotors and drums warped and were replaced somewhere along the way. I think that was before I even bought the boat.

The drive shaft carrier bearing went out twice since new. I hear this is common.

The headliner is falling down about (mile marker 100,000)and I will be replacing that shortly. 

The passenger side window rattles like the guides are worn out. I might take the door apart, or not.

If your not pulling heavy loads these truck should last into the 200,000 miles range with minor maintenance.


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## ioannes (May 20, 2005)

*98 fronty*

I have a '98 King cab 2.4l 4x4 with 147,000 on it, and I am the second owner. In the past year that I have owned mine I have put 20K miles on it with only typical repairs. I replaced the radiator, as well as the other cooling system components for good measure... The fuel filter, clutch kit, had an incident with my air bag light, but cleared that... The windows rattle unless rolled up fully, the head liner is sagging a little in the middle, the drivetrain is "clunky" at times... Full tuneup at 133,000 prompted by mis firing -the dealer wanted to decarbonize the engine for $1100, but I replaced a broken distributor cap with the tuneup and fixed that for less than $20... Just had an A/C hose replaced through a recall, so my air is cooler than ever, but my compressor is beginning to wine a bit... 

The only current problems I am having is my clutch wines in the morning cause i need to reseal the oil pan ( this looks to be a fun job ), and it is idling around 1200RPM and throwing an EGR blockage code, but no blockage... still don't know whats going on there! 

I only get about 20 MPG with the truck, but with gas being so high, I have slowed down to 50MPH and I think I am getting about 23MPG now -crazy I know, but I am a tight ass. I am happy with my Frontier, and plan to keep it until it dies...


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## himilefrontier (Jan 21, 2003)

Here's my complete list of problems and approximate mileage:
Airbag light:100,000 miles
Battery 100,000 miles
clutch:205,000 miles
A/C compressor clutch, cycling switch: 125,000 miles
Headliner 195,000 miles
swaybar end links: 12,000 miles
snapped torsion bar: 145,000 miles
alternator: 175,000 miles
water pump: 190,000 miles
Harmonic balancer ( killed by front seal leak): 218,000 miles
Front seal-death- 150,000 miles
brake rotors: 200,000 miles
cap and rotor: every 40,000 miles ( or it doesn't run in the rain)

paint peeling: 210,000 miles ( 6 years)
fan clutch: 171,000 miles ( replaced for $10 with a junkyard 240sx piece)

It has rattles in the doors now from the rubber latch covers wearing off and the window seals are drying out, and a few more unfixed problems like the IAC valve I have learned to live with, but all in all it has probably cost me less than $1500 in repairs to fix every single problem it has had in 224,000 miles.It has not been to a dealer of "professional" mechanic since it was out of warranty either.


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## gatorgar55 (Jan 16, 2005)

Can't say about the 98 but my 97 has 402,000 with hardly a problem. It should be a good truck but it does sound like it has alot of wierd problems with it.


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