# 2000 Nissan Frontier SE - Lemon



## jpetuch (Aug 16, 2005)

I currently own a 2000 Nissan Frontier SE Crew Cab.All I can say is this vehicle is a ticking timebomb and Nissan does not stand by their product.In the last 12 months this is what has gone wrong.Please note that we have maintained this vehicle with regular service and do not go off-roading with it.

1) Latch on pickup door wears out.
2) Exhaust manifold needs to be replace at owners cost.Good ole Nissan issued a service bulletin back in '01 about cracking.Dealer didnt bring it up until warranty expired.Called Nissan - too bad, dealer blew me off.
3) sway bar links - bad
4) wheel bearings - bad
5) Now the ball joints are shot.Cant just replace them. You need the whole assembly X2. Quoted a non-dealer price of 2600.00.Forget it.
6) Torsion bar inserts bad - another 250.00
7) Hard code for Knock Sensor malfunction - bad connection? Cant even try to fix it because its buried so deep under the intake manifold - estimated cost to repair 500-800.00.

All in all this vehicle sucks.I notice alot of service bulletins but few recalls and the jerks at Nissan dont stand by their product.

Just wanted to save anyone the misery of this vehicle if they are interested in buying one used.


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## nwatts12984 (Sep 8, 2005)

*Tuff Luck*

Dude, it sounds like you just had a bad case with Nissan. Look at all the other owners of Nissan Frontiers, they all love them. You know no matter what the product is there is always a bad one in the bunch and you just got that bad one. I know it sucks but the same thing happened to me with my last car from ford. I had a ford escort zx2 and the transmission fell out of it one time and I replaced it and it costed me 1800 dollars, then almost 2 years later, when the warranty was out it fell out again. Then the O2 sensor would go out. The alternator went bad, the clutch was always bad, would never stay in gear, the camber alignment was off, so I was always replacing tires. I know how you feel but all in all Nissan Frontiers are good trucks


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## himilefrontier (Jan 21, 2003)

I was dealer quoted under $500 for a complete set of control arm assemblys for my Frontier ( bushings for some reason were not included) and can't imagine there being $2100 in labor to install them. As far as the endlinks go, the factroy ones do suck. I replaced mine with a set from Energy Suspension that are much beefier and only cost me $18 at the local speed shop.What are torsion bar inserts? I snapped a torsion bar in my 98 and the whole bar was only $85 from Nissan.I have over 220k miles on mine and will say it is the best vehicle I have ever owned ( I bought it new). The original clutch went 205k miles before it neded to be replaced- and it's always been used for pizza delivery.


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## rps180 (Aug 20, 2005)

Service bulletins are not recalls, just bulletins for Nissan technicians to go by in making repairs when they come across certain symptoms. It's to help technicians in making proper diagnosis and repair faster. It is not for the general car buying public. Not all vehicles that are mentioned in the TSB will experience the problem. Recalls are different. These are for major safety issues that a vehicle may have and the manufacturer is required to inform the public about it, and repair at no cost. But, certain recalls are not forever. If you ignore a recall and do not bring in the vehicle for a long time (there is usually a time period that the manufacturer will specify that the recall will be in effect for), the manufacturer/dealer is not obligated to repair the vehicle free of charge.
You don't really need to replace the knock sensor, unless you happen to be living in an area with especially bad gas. The engine will run just fine without replacing the knock sensor.
As for the bushing, definitely get a second opinion. Thats way to high of a quote.
Sway bar links are very cheap to replace. Although I don't see how they will go bad in the first place, unless the vehicle got into an accident.
Front wheel bearings you could replace easily. Rear wheel bearings will require special tools or a hydraulic press.
And I am curious about the torsion bar inserts. How did whomever diagnosis this find the torsion inserts bad? What sort of symptoms did they exhibit? Same for the sway bar links. How?


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## himilefrontier (Jan 21, 2003)

rps180 said:


> Sway bar links are very cheap to replace. Although I don't see how they will go bad in the first place, unless the vehicle got into an accident.


Actually, they used too thin a metal for the discs or washers that the bushings tension against, and they crack around the nut, then the washer eventually breaks the center out and goes away. I have had it happen 2x- 1st time was at 10k miles! I eventually cut them off and examined the remaining washers, and half of them were ready to fail too. It looked like they used some cheap shock washers instead of what they should have used.


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## rps180 (Aug 20, 2005)

hmmm, first time I have heard of that happening. Seen alot of different Frontiers and haven't seen that sort of thing happening. I guess it is a good idea to invest in some aftermarket swaybar link urethane bushing kit. At least those come with more beefier washers. And aren't ridiculously expensive, like some genuine OEM replacement parts.


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## slr_will (Sep 12, 2008)

LOL! Ok its funny because i have replaced everything that you have said here...i lowered the truck and therefore needed new sway bar end links...a total of 18 dollars. New wheel bearings (inner and outer) cost me 50 bucks with a tube of bearing grease. ball joints are fine. I replaced both exhaust manifolds (a total cost of about $500 with new gaskets) at my own discretion because i redid all the exhaust. The only other things i have noticed is my leaf springs are cracked, the A/C doesnt work, the windows rattle because of the dinky plastic clip on the window rail. Oh well...i hate air conditioning, i always have my window all the way down, and i took out the broken leaf on both sides and it lowered the back a tiny bit. I cranked my torsion bars to lower the front and i am not sure what you mean by torsion bar "inserts".All in all I have been very happy with this truck seeing as it was my dads since new. It has almost 190,000 kms and is still going strong. So i have to disagree with what you said about Nissan not standing by their product. I have had nothing but good service from the dealership and even though they charge out the ass to fix things, when those things do get fixed that is it. You dont end up with 5 more unrelated problems cus some idiot didnt put a vaccum line back or somthing.

-Will
2000 Frontier SE V6 CC 2WD


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## mmiller2002 (Sep 29, 2006)

How many miles does your truck have? My 200 SE Crew has 120K miles. A lot of that stuff could just be worn out.

I think that he only shame-on-nissan item would be the exhaust manifiold. 



jpetuch said:


> I currently own a 2000 Nissan Frontier SE Crew Cab.All I can say is this vehicle is a ticking timebomb and Nissan does not stand by their product.In the last 12 months this is what has gone wrong.Please note that we have maintained this vehicle with regular service and do not go off-roading with it.
> 
> 1) Latch on pickup door wears out.
> 2) Exhaust manifold needs to be replace at owners cost.Good ole Nissan issued a service bulletin back in '01 about cracking.Dealer didnt bring it up until warranty expired.Called Nissan - too bad, dealer blew me off.
> ...


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## timstich (Apr 23, 2008)

I have a 2000 Frontier 4X4 with over 150,000 miles that has had only one problem, an internal seal failure that resulted in oil getting into the time belt compartment, causing it to slip (no damage-it just stopped running). So that was just an early belt replacement. Otherwise, it runs like a champ and I don't even baby it.


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## lionshooter (Jan 1, 2009)

I have a 2000 Frontier with 140,000 miles that has had only one problem since I bought it new, corroded electrical connectors from the engine fuse block to the firewall. The clutch I burned up trying to tow a DitchWitch doesn't count because that was due to my own stupidity.


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## Disgruntled owner (Aug 5, 2016)

The 2000 Nissan frontier is definitely a lemon and unlike the guy above I'll give you good reasons - 

ABS module interanl failure no longer linking to scan tool- discontinued 
Seat belt actuator failed- Discontinued - Somewhat easy to find at a scrap yard in South Carolina - I live in Wisconsin
Gas Tank rusted through - 500 bucks online evap system built in, no its not the $250 one, that's for the Xterra and 6 cylinder.

And saving the best for last the companion flange (part #38210-3S517) on the rear differential holding my pinion seal and fluid in the rear differential which is made of aluminum is extremely common to crack and you guessed it - Discontinued. good luck finding this anywhere online and in stock or used in a usable state, I'm praying a machine shop can recreate it other wise I need to get a different differential and driveshaft because Nissan has left me up one nasty creek without a paddle.

Hope this was helpful


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## Roader (Nov 9, 2014)

Look on car-part.com for an entire rear axle assembly. A quick web search on _"companion flange" cracked frontier_ shows only one link—this one—talking about a cracked flange so it's unlikely that a salvage axle will have the same problem.

Depending on the engine/trans/drive, there are quite a few axles in and around WI for $250–$350.


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## Cusser (Apr 16, 2004)

We just returned yesterday from 1700 mile vacation to Colorado in my 2004 Frontier, no issues. Being a 4-cylinder, 5-speed 2WD, and pretty loaded, did have to downshift a few times on mountain passes.

The 1998 Frontier we've had since 2004 now has 210K on it, very reliable.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Disgruntled owner said:


> The 2000 Nissan frontier is definitely a lemon and unlike the guy above I'll give you good reasons -
> 
> ABS module interanl failure no longer linking to scan tool- discontinued
> Seat belt actuator failed- Discontinued - Somewhat easy to find at a scrap yard in South Carolina - I live in Wisconsin
> ...


You might want to see if you can find a place that has a CNC machine. Shouldn't be too hard for them to make a new one if you give them the old part.


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## halvin (Jan 28, 2018)

*cold idle*

Hello I have 2000 Nissan extra cab 3.3 v6 the issue is cold idle is 1500rpm + and the cold idle will not kick down
or lower as truck is warmed up. The truck has been sitting for some time...thanks


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

First, you want to make sure your coolant system is full and that it is reaching proper operating temperature. If it is staying too cool, it will stay in "rich" mode and chances are you have a thermostat that is stuck open and in need of replacement. If that's good, inspect the throttle body and make sure the cable drums and related parts are not seized or stuck. Also, make sure the throttle cable is not too tight; there should be a little slack in the cable. If those are good, you may have a seized wax element, which is mounted in the throttle body and expands/retracts a plunger for the fast idle in relation to temperature. It's part # 16391-31U00 and can be see as part code "16391U" in the part diagram linked below:

https://www.nissanpartsdeal.com/par...rottle-chamber.html?Filter=(1=KC;2=VG33E;5=SE)


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