# Love my Titan but some quality disappointments



## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

Have 3 weeks now on my Titan Crew Cab LE. Only options were mud flaps and carpets - just what I wanted. I'm a Ford truck man for many years and had just finished test driving the new 2004's. On a whim from some bits of positive press I heard about the new Nissan, I passed a dealer on the way home and decided to pull in and check them out.

Very impressed with the looks and many of the features. The Ford wins in some of the interior areas (I liked some of the materials/design choices as well as HMI control implementations), the Titan uses a bit too much chrome in the front end but other than that I gave the nod to Nissan for the overall looks/exterior design. What won me over was the driving experience - they both on paper have similar engines (300 vs 305 hp) but the Nissan blew the Ford away. Punched the Titan on an on-ramp and it effortlessly revved to 6K rpm. It felt much faster/responsive than the Ford and the ride was a bit better (though the 2004 F-150 is very close). I had to have this engine/truck.

A couple of hiccups buying from Nissan rather than my usual Ford dealer (expected some of this but I was spoiled by Ford), but closed on a deal I could live with (barely - ouch on payments for a $35K truck!). That said, I am disappointed with the quality so far - much below what I expected from a Nissan. It's been in the shop twice in 3 weeks. Here's the list:
- Loose antenna base - loud rattling when moved
- Trip odometer button stuck/not functioning
- 1 tailgate light out
- Left headlight out of alignment
- Sqeaky left door
- Truck bed floor rail extenders are loose and bang the cab/tail gate on stopping/accellerating
- Power seat entry/exit memory function has failed to return 8 times in 3 weeks
- Brakes feel too soft
- High frequency vibration in steering wheel felt between 28mph to 35mph during acceleration or deceleration

The last 4 items have not been fixed. The response from dealer service department on:
- the rail extenders is that in heat/cold they will expand or shrink and will slide - normal event
- can't reproduce power driver seat failing to return so can't do anything
- tested 2 other Titans on lot and brakes are the same so this is normal operation
- tested 2 other Titans and the vibration is there on those as well. Did not see any suspension/component installation faults so this is a normal operation

So 1 - sub-par initial quality experience for me. And 2- has anyone else observed any of the above 4 items on their Titan's? I can understand their rules on reproducing an error before they can work on it, so I'll wait on the driver seat issue. However, the other 3 I feel may be design flaws that I think should be addressed. Should I escalate?

Don't get me wrong - I still really like this truck, but it has been tarnished by a few initial poor quality items.

Cheers,
dagger


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## black_knight (Sep 3, 2003)

not many of us here have titan's but what you are going through is to be expected on a first year run. specially as soon off the line as yours is. And every car company experiences it. My friend bought one of the new 2003 Accords as soon as they came out and he's had various rattles, and small componentry not working as good as it should and it's a HONDA! The same happened to ford when they came out with that new 6.0 powerstroke... it was plagued with problems big time. Don't worry... some of those things are just things that weren't checked very closely (headlights out of adjustment, etc) I wouldn't worry to bad. Just think of it this way. if it was a domestic car.. the first year hiccups are usually: transmission failure, suspensions coming apart, engines catching on fire... etc. Nissan i'm sure concentrated on the powertrain and structural components that some of the details probably got overlooked... that's what happens when you come out with aroung 10 cars in only 3 years (inc. infiniti). I know my next truck will be a titan but definitely after they work the bugs out!

Later,


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## jadcock (Nov 22, 2002)

I would absolutely elevate those issues to your regional zone office. You paid good money for that vehicle and you deserve to have a quality vehicle in your garage every night -- one that doesn't rattle or vibrate or squeak. Once again, there's a mentality here that if something like this fails on a domestic, it's poor quality and engineering. But on a Nissan, we'll forgive them and give them a few model years to get the bugs out. Puleeze... :fluffy: 

We've had many first year run vehicles in our lifetime (which have all been domestics by the way) and they've given incredible service. I wouldn't expect more or less from a Japanese brand. Everybody makes mistakes -- anomolies from the factory (like the mis-aimed headlight) can be forgiven with a quick readjustment at the dealership. Excuses like, "oh, those rails banging around are normal" are unsat, and I'd absolutely kick it up a notch if you can't get satisfaction from your dealership.


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## Blank (Aug 21, 2003)

that really sux about your truck man... though the comment on a 1st model year vehicle is spot on... sometimes little niggling details were not worked out... same as on my 02 spec v... its the price i pay to be the first...


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

I know there is a risk with first year vehicles - I didn't want to do this, but they got so many things right that I was seduced. Still, their advertising literature talks up the amount of planning and testing and redesigning and compairing they did, and I believe them. Unlike Toyota and their Tacoma full size introduction - it took them a couple of retries to get competitive. The Titan is very competitive day one.

Nissan is obviously putting a lot of effort and pressure on their dealers about quality of purchase and servicing of their vehicles. I get letters, cards and questionaires and the salesmen and service reps all want me to answer Nissan's Q's with nothing but excellent or call them first. I'm going to take them up on this one.

Still hoping for other Titan owners to chime in to see if some of these are common or they are unique to my vehicle.

Thanks,
dagger


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## andrewclark (Mar 24, 2004)

*1 Week old and still good, but keeping my eyes and ears open.*

Haven't had any of these issue yet. Never had a Ford truck to compare brake feel though. I traded in an Altima which had very precise feeling brakes but didn't think much about difference between it and the Titan because I thought it was apples to oranges. We do have a carolla though that has mooshy breaks since day one and my Titan feels great compared to it.

So far I'm loving everything about it.


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## farmer-dave (Mar 28, 2004)

*Cool Truck*

I owned only one Ford truck, and it was the biggest lemon vehicle I ever owned. I guess I should have been suspicious when the headlight knob came off in my hand as I drove out of the dealership! At 60,000 miles Ford said bring it in, and they'd fix everything that was wrong, paint, mechanical, interior, etc. They had it two weeks. One week later, the driver's power window quit, and the antilock brakes failed. I got rid of it!

No such problems with my Titan LE so far. I bought the 2WD model loaded with everything except the navigation package (even satellite radio, very cool). My only complaint is the touchy throttle, something I knew before I purchased. When leaving a stop, it's too easy to lay a patch of rubber right in front of that cop on the other side of the intersection! Nissan should modify the throttle map on the drive-by-wire throttle, and retrofit all Titans.

Aside from that, I got a good buy ($2,000 under sticker) on what my father in law calls "the nicest truck I've ever ridden in". I get favorable comments on it everywhere I go.


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## 1997XETruck (Mar 11, 2003)

You'll be surprised at how many of these issues get addressed as Nissan discovers that they're a trend. Reading through the TSBs on the D21 truck, and Q45s - they addressed everything, right down to some marks on the sunroof shade on the Q, and the search time with the radio in "seek" mode. Just make sure they know about the issues so that they get put on the list of things that need to be addressed.

Heath


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## aaronford (Mar 23, 2003)

Hey, sorry about the 1st year issues, but take comfort in the fact that I am green with envy. Later


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## Speedysam11 (Mar 31, 2004)

dagger said:


> Have 3 weeks now on my Titan Crew Cab LE. Only options were mud flaps and carpets - just what I wanted. I'm a Ford truck man for many years and had just finished test driving the new 2004's. On a whim from some bits of positive press I heard about the new Nissan, I passed a dealer on the way home and decided to pull in and check them out.
> 
> Very impressed with the looks and many of the features. The Ford wins in some of the interior areas (I liked some of the materials/design choices as well as HMI control implementations), the Titan uses a bit too much chrome in the front end but other than that I gave the nod to Nissan for the overall looks/exterior design. What won me over was the driving experience - they both on paper have similar engines (300 vs 305 hp) but the Nissan blew the Ford away. Punched the Titan on an on-ramp and it effortlessly revved to 6K rpm. It felt much faster/responsive than the Ford and the ride was a bit better (though the 2004 F-150 is very close). I had to have this engine/truck.
> 
> ...





Hey Dagger,

You got off pretty good I think. I have sooooooooooo many problems with my new Titan Crew LE 2x4. Here is the List.

1. Sunroof was really noisy: Dealer adjusted the alignment, problem went away
2. Stereo: Intermitently making a LOOOOOOUD BUSSING noise, even with the stereo turned off: After 2 weeks of attempts and hearing aids: isolated the problem to be with the clarion amp under the seat.
3. Passenger seat rattling: Found the guides for the head rest were not installed properly
4. Power seat entry/exit memory function has failed: NO SOLUTION. VERY INTERMITTENT.
5. Rattling in the Dash: No solution yet. Still have to take the truck back in for the repair
6. Bed liner Pealing: No solution yet. Still have to take the truck back in for the repair
7. The Rockford Fosgate Stereo: The high pitch sound you get from the tweaters disapear when you drive off. But when you come to a stop, they reappear. This only happens whith the FM Radio mode. I had the radio replaced and still the problem is still there.
8. Rear Leaf springs Squeek: Dealr lubbed the springs: Still Squeek.
9. Everytime I go up/down driveways, press on the gas/brake, Loud "Clunk" sound from the rear of the truck: Dealer can't figure it out.
10 Brakes do feel soft too: Gotten used to it
11. the brake dust really sucks: Have to cleen the rims everyday: Very anoying :showpics: 

Even with all these problem, belive it or not, I still LOVE the damn thing. I just wish I didn't have to experience the faults tho... making $650 payments a month would go more with ease if I didn't have to go back to the dealer every other day trying to find solutions to these problems.


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## black_knight (Sep 3, 2003)

man even those problems sound small compared to the ones I had in my 2001 Silverado... check these out and you'll appreciate your 1st year nissan, and remember my silverado was 3rd year run.

I bought the truck new with 14 miles on it,

2k miles - Compressor started making horrible whining noise above 2k rpms. Dealer said that this was normal... gas mileage dropped by 2mpg in summer months.

3k miles - Cab of truck making a creaking noise everytime I come to a stop... Dealer said resulted from my toneau cover not going to fix it.

5k miles - Compressor getting louder, Cab creaking getting louder, loud rattling noise coming from under truck at speeds above 50 mph. Dealer says all is normal along with rattle in instrument panel.

7k miles - Knocking noise and looseness in steering column. Gas mileage really suffering driving at 75 mph unbearable because of compressor. Different dealer Replaces the steering box after a bolt sheared and finally replaces compressor after deciding it was defective and "lubed" the cab body mounts after I took off the tonneau cover and showed them the creaking was still there, creaking goes away temporarily.

10k miles - Transmission starts clunking randomly and has a very firm 1-2nd shift. Stereo quits working, Creaking returns. Dealer says transmission is normal and can't duplicate clunking. Replaces stereo and replaces cab body mounts.

15k miles - transmission still shifts rough and left door starts whistling at highway speed. Truck goes in the shop because radiator hose explodes and I walk out to go to class and there is a big puddle of antifreeze under the truck. Also engine starts vibrating the truck while idling enough to shake the seats and give me a back massage. Dealer says tranny is normal and they hear the clunking this time. Don't know what it is. Idling is a characteristic of the engine.

19k miles - tranny getting real bad... They finally discover that some sliding pin in a U joint or something jammed and wore out the u-joint not allowing it to absorb drivetrain stress causing the clunking and jolting. Dealer Services the rear-end and reprograms the transmission. Cab Creaking returns shortly after.

21k miles - Truck goes back into the shop and they replace cab safety cables which are almost worn through. And to replace driver side seatbelt which quit retracting.

and this was all in little over 14 months!! The idling problem never got fixed and that's what really lead me to get rid of it... that and the fear of the transmission falling out anyday and the fact that their first response to everything was IT'S NORMAL! So consider yourself lucky titan owners! LOL 

By the way my boss's husband just bought a Titan 5.6SE 4x4 King Cab yesterday after comparing all the trucks out there and taking each one home for a night! I'll let you know how his experience goes!

Later, sorry for the long post!


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## 1997XETruck (Mar 11, 2003)

Sounds like my 1990 Mercury Cougar. Clunking differential, leaking valve covers, leaking t-stat housing, 2 bad transmissions, oil consumption (1qt every 1800 miles), sagging door, bad sunroof gasket, irregular idle - all normal at 58,000 miles and three years old.

All "normal" according to the service manual and the factory... 

I can't imagine buying American again now that there's a full size Nissan truck available.

Heath


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

Heath - It's good to hear Nissan addresses most if not all issues. My assumption is that every line item on the service work order is received by Nissan and thus the issues are logged. That said, when they address these issues, is it only the next year model or are current models updated? I hope the answer is current vehicles get an update!

black-night - thanks, I'm feeling a little better about my Titan now. Funny, and no offense meant to Chevy lovers, but I even used that as a comment to the Nissan service department that if I wanted a new truck with a list of problems like this I would have bought a Chevy (they all chucked at that one).

Speedy - really sorry to hear about all your problems. And to others - some may be due to it being a "new" model, but others are common features that should be working correctly day one on any vehicle they produce - new or old model line. So you have an entry/exit power issue also - this should indicate an implementation bug and not just a single instance and thus we should expect a fix in the future. On #9 - since you have the LE you also have the bed rail extenders (rubber strips on rails on the bottom of bed) - the banging noise sounds similar to mine and those extenders slide back and forth hitting the cab/tail gate. My dealer said they all do it - I just installed a piece of rubber gas line hose in the track at the end of each rail => no more noise! And on #10 the brakes do feel a little softer than I'm used to so this may be just the way they are designed. I also agree with #11 - the brake dust is excessive - I hope it stops soon. Might be worth flagging it as a "problem" just to get it logged with Nissan?

One other new question to fellow Titan owners with Rockford-Fosgate audio system - until I used a CD, I didn't think the subwoofer was working. Is this similar operation to your audio/subwoofer performance?

That said, I still get shits&giggles driving it especially when I need to accelerate quickly. Lots of looks from people and comments. Just wish I could give an unreservered recommendation to this truck.

I'm going to escalate the 29-35mph vibration issue and the power seat entry/exit issue to Nissan Customer Relations on Friday.

Cheers,
dagger


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## 1997XETruck (Mar 11, 2003)

dagger said:


> Heath - It's good to hear Nissan addresses most if not all issues. My assumption is that every line item on the service work order is received by Nissan and thus the issues are logged. That said, when they address these issues, is it only the next year model or are current models updated? I hope the answer is current vehicles get an update!...
> 
> I also agree with #11 - the brake dust is excessive - I hope it stops soon. Might be worth flagging it as a "problem" just to get it logged with Nissan?


I'm not sure how they get the feedback. My guess is that they monitor the requests that the techs. call in for additional recommendations on how to fix things. I know that many TSBs were released on the Q45 and D21 trucks, and they typically were designed to address complaints for current owners - so if you ask about it, they'll fix it. Recalls only apply to safety or serious driveline issues.

As far as brake dust, I like brake dust! For the most part there's a scale that looks something like this:

dusty <-----------------------------------------> low dust
soft friction material <---------------------------> hard friction material
quiet <----------------------------------------> noisy
short stopping distance <------------------------> longer stopping distance
shorter replacement cycle <---------------------> longer replacement cycle

Of course the factory balances these as much as possible, but you'll tend to find dusty, shorter life pads on new models - with the factory making revisions to address customer complaints - _ and after the stopping distance numbers have been well documented in the magazines._

The 1990 Q45 came with OEM parts that made the assumption that the tires and brake pads would be replaced every 15000 miles - mirroring the premium (and much lower mileage) market in Japan. Everything performed wonderfully, but owners freaked out at $1000 in brake and tire maintenence. Later they hardened the pads up, and discontinued the special Michelin tires that were designed for the car. Longer stopping distances, but most customers seem happy.

Heath


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## jadcock (Nov 22, 2002)

black_knight said:


> and this was all in little over 14 months!! The idling problem never got fixed and that's what really lead me to get rid of it... that and the fear of the transmission falling out anyday and the fact that their first response to everything was IT'S NORMAL! So consider yourself lucky titan owners! LOL!


Damn, sounds like you got a lemon. But more importantly, it sounds like your Chevy dealership sucks, which sounds a lot like how some of the Nissan dealerships are. If your dealership was decent, stuff would have been fixed when it needed to. The first response of everything being "normal" sounds familiar doesn't it? Anyone say "Nissan"?  In fact, your experience sounds very similar to some of those here with new Titans. The problems aren't the same, but problems that don't get fixed and called normal are still problems that can be resolved and aren't. Remember, half of your experience with a particular brand and/or marque (if you buy it new) is dealership service.

I don't know how the Chevy dealership is here in town -- we've never had to take any of the Silverados in for service. The only "service" that's done is regular oil changes. And these are government trucks which do 50% of their driving off the beaten path. In fact, one of the '01s is in the body shop right now, undoing a wrong that I inflicted on it a few weeks ago. I was driving on a trail I know well, and there's a sharp crest on the trail. Our '01 is an extended cab long bed (4x4), so you can high center pretty easily -- and you do on this crest. You just have to have some speed so slide the thing over it. That transmission skid plate gets a workout. One day the other week, I didn't have the thing lined up perfectly and eased the right side of the bed of the truck along side a pine tree. Doh!


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## jadcock (Nov 22, 2002)

dagger said:


> I'm going to escalate the 29-35mph vibration issue and the power seat entry/exit issue to Nissan Customer Relations on Friday.


That's what I would do. Like I said in my previous post, no matter what brand of vehicle you buy, much of your opinion about that marque is going to be based on dealership experiences, and yours don't sound much different from others. Elevate the issue to your local zone office (or other proper channels) and see if it doesn't get fixed then.


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## andrewclark (Mar 24, 2004)

*You hit the nail on the head. The right dealer is the key.*

JADCOCK said it right. I've had plenty of cars with few problems and some with many problems and my happiness in either case all boiled dealership experience.

Of course the V8 Endurance sure feels like happiness but I'm talking about how problems are handled. 



jadcock said:


> That's what I would do. Like I said in my previous post, no matter what brand of vehicle you buy, much of your opinion about that marque is going to be based on dealership experiences, and yours don't sound much different from others. Elevate the issue to your local zone office (or other proper channels) and see if it doesn't get fixed then.


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## scotts03le (Jan 29, 2004)

*frequency vibration and seat memory issues*

I hate to say it, but my 03 pathfinder has the same issues. the vibration is a royal pain, and takes away from the great driving experience. It is worse in the cold weather, but between 20 and 40mph can be felt. Glad I am not the only one. I had a ton of trouble with my seats. I have found the memory can only be adjusted when the vehicle is in park! if you set the seats with the gear selector in drive, the memory won't be stored. I am gong to the dealer tomorrow for my 15K service, and hope to have the vibration taken care of.


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

Scott,

Sorry you also have the vibration issue - good luck with its resolution. Please keep us posted on what they diagnose/do if they perform a fix on it.

I called Nissan USA Customer Care this morning. The guy I talked was very good (JP) and even listened to my whole list is serivce problems so far. I made reference to this forum as some of the problems are being seen by other Titan owners. He will discuss with some Nissan tech engineers and then contact the servicing dealership's service manager (who knows I was going to call Nissan). He'll call back next week with the next steps they will want to take.

I'll keep you posted.

On another item which someone else brought up (perhaps on the other Titan LE thread) about their amp not "working" with the radio but the CD sound reproduction is great, I have a similar comment. I hear very little bass when listening to the radio, but when I put in a CD, then there's no doubt I have a subwoofer. I decided to turn up the radio a number of clicks higher than normal, and then I could discern output from the sub - however that indicates to me that the low level signal level is too low for the radio mode versus the CD mode.

Cheers,
dagger


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## black_knight (Sep 3, 2003)

my fosgate system is like that in my frontier... I have to turn the bass almost to max when listening to fm to get slight bass and I have an aftermarket 10 and 900w amp! but playing cd's it all sounds marvelous!

Later,


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## scotts03le (Jan 29, 2004)

The dealer couldn't find anything wrong with my pathy. The tech drove with me and said he believed it was a tire issue. Until I get a check engine light, I am going to have to live with it. I plan on getting the extended warranty at somepoint.... I still love the truck and plan on keeping it many many years!


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

I'm thinking an extended waranttee may be an option worth considering myself.


Some more questions on the brakes. According the to manual for checking brake/power assist functionality, with the vehicle turned off, pump the brakes to release all vacuum reserves and then pedal should be firm and not move. Mine was OK I think, although I thought I could feel a slight drop in pedal after a while but hard to know for certain. Then, with foot still applying pressure to the brakes, turn on engine. You should experience a "slight" drop in the pedal as the power assist kicks in. Well, mine did drop, but to me it was more than slight and if I apply heavy pressure from this starting point I can just about push the pedal to the floor. Anybody else's results in this procedure would be helpful.

dagger


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## jadcock (Nov 22, 2002)

Dagger, it sounds to me like you have air in the system. Usually, when you can put the pedal to the floor, it means you have air in the lines, because air will compress where brake fluid doesn't. It could also be a master cylinder problem. Hard to tell on a new truck. Keep working with your dealer to try to resolve the problem. If you can take the book in with you and show them that your truck isn't acting like the manual says it should, it'll be harder for them to call it "normal".


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## Vetteldy76 (Apr 7, 2004)

*Sorry Dagger!*

Dagger,

I purchased my Deep Water Titan King Cab 4x4 on Feb 23. I absolutely LOVE it. I have owned 2 Chevy S-10s, 1 Chevy Silverado, 1 GMC Sierra and now this Titan. I love it more than all of my previous trucks. I have not found any problems as of yet and have turned about 3,200 miles so far. I think you may have gotten a Friday lemon? I would sure keep on Nissan to make things right. These trucks arent cheap and I believe you should get your moneys worth. Good luck to you. If anything comes up with my truck I will let you know. Please keep us updated on your situation.

Vetteldy76
2004 Nissan Titan King Cab 4x4 Deep Water :fluffy: :fluffy: :fluffy: :fluffy:


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

vetteldy76 - glad to hear you've not found any problems/issues yet (of course I'm a little envious). Still waiting for the call back from Nissan Cust. Relations.

OK, so now even I'm questioning my sanity and am probably nit-picking, but I have a slight viewing warp in the top right hand corner of the windshield and slight rattle in the roof area near the visor/overhead console. I haven't said anything to Nissan about these things - I remember horror stories about breaking the factory seal of the windshield gasket, and it's not in the main viewing area - I only notice when I come to stop lights/signs and look right before turning (but that happens lots of times). I've seen many vehicles with very minor windshield warps so it is fairly common, just didn't happen in my past 3 trucks so maybe I'm due?

I did get a call from a survey company asking if I just purchased a new Titan. I asked how did they know and he said the survey requestor is not given to him but he can give me a good guess as to whom it was (Nissan). He said if I take it I'll get $5 - I said hell ya even without the money. I was a medium length questionaire asking many questions about how I would rank the Titan in various areas and comparisons to other competitor trucks. Gave me opportunity to write down ("in as much detail as possible") and areas it did not meet or exceed my expectations - I filled that section out! I even had the opportunity to offer suggestions on how to improve the Titan - that was fun too and I told them they owe me if they implement my suggestions and I should be compensated with them upgrading my truck .

Maybe this will continue for a year or so until they get tired of me and exchange it for a new Titan!!

dagger


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## aaronford (Mar 23, 2003)

Hey, i wish I had the problems you have.... But then I'd have your Titan, (Insert maniacal laughter here) Still dreamin' 


Soon, soon....


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## Vetteldy76 (Apr 7, 2004)

*Dagger, how's it going?*

Dagger,

Just wondered how you are doing in getting all of the things taken care of with your Titan.

After reading your posts, the only issues I see that are similar to yours are:

FM radio does not sound anywhere near as good as a CD (I usually listen to CD's)

Sometimes when the radio is off I hear a buzzing sound..almost like CD's spinning but I think it might be the subwoofer???

Other than that, havent found anything else. Will keep you posted!
:fluffy: :fluffy: :fluffy:


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

Vetteldy76 - things are moving slowly, but I'm glad to hear your problems are just audio related. Other than the differing output levels between radio and CD, I don't have any noise/hiss in my system. BTW, to all who listen to this Rockford sound system, you must give it a number of hours to "break in". After a good 30+ hours or so, my sound has opened up quite a bit with smoother sounding highs and much more articulated bass.

OK, so I had another failure with my seat entry/exit feature Tuesday, Wednesday and this morning (Thursday). Yesterday it happened as I was leaving work so I stopped off at the dealership with the seat not where it was supposed to be (ie., returned to its previous location which was easily demonstrated as that was the memory 1 setting). Good - the service tech now has seen a failure state. He pulled up the system code reader to check for any error codes and of course didn't see any. He did modify the exit travel distance from a factory 40mm to 80mm to accentuate the travel differences. So, this morning when I got in the truck to go to work - it failed again. This time only moving about 20mm forward. Drove it into the dealership and again no error codes, but again they witnessed the malfunction. I then had them completely disable the entry/exit feature until a they come up with a fix with the factory.

They also got the equipment to test the brakes. The tech did see how far the brakes go down with the vacuum assist bleed/startup test sequence. However, my brakes "passed" by 6mm (less than 1/2 inch) from the factory standard range, and thus they will not do anything. And by the way the right rear door partial open controlling hinge bolt came loose and they had to tighten that.

My next new (so far) issue which I will bring in to them on my next "visit" will be to replace the front windshield. The right hand side edge (about 2" all the way up) is distorted. I'm looking forward to that.

And, the great Nissan cust relations guy I talked to last week who promised a callback by last Friday hasn't called yet. Another disappointment. And just to add a little salt to all my wounds, somehow I got a small dent at the center of the front of my hood - no marks, no scratches? Either someone hit it or something soft hit it. So now I have a very small dent there...............

Aren't you glad you asked?
dagger


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## Vetteldy76 (Apr 7, 2004)

Sorry Dagger!! I feel so badly for you because it is such a cool truck and you seem to have gotten a lemon. I would call Nissan back tomorrow if I were you and just keep houndin the crap out of them. This is not right when you pay this much money for a truck. Keep us posted....we will keep our fingers crossed for you.\


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

Time for another update.

Spoke with my Nissan Cust. Sat. rep. He sees the service records of the vibration issue. He did speak with the service manager at my dealership. His suggestion is to ask for one of the techs to ride with me. If that doesn't work go for a second opinion at a different dealership. Either way, he said that they have the issue on record and I'll be covered is something develops further down the road - so that was nice to hear.

I got a call back from my service dealer that there is a tech bulletin now on the power seat entry/exit feature. There is now a revised wiring solution. I brought it in this morning for the fix. Unfortunately, my harness didn't show any signs of rubbing, so there is doubt it will fix my case, but we will see. I convinced them to let me have a ride with a tech. We drove for a couple of miles and he does acknowledge a vibration at the specified speeds. He will look into other Titans to see if it is a design "flaw" or specific to my vehicle.

They also looked at my windshield and see the optical distortion, but said it is also on the drivers side and other Titans due to the way it curves at the far edges. When I sat in the passenger side (first time!) and looked, sure enough I could see it on the drivers side - so it has to do with the angle one looks through the windshield. Since they said it is in these Titan windshields there is nothing they can do. I agreed that I don't need it replaced if the replacement will exhibit the same distortions at specific angles. I told them this problem was resolved by other manufacturers years ago, so should Nissan.

So, pretty much gone through with my list so far, and only outstanding issue still being looked at is this vibration problem. I think I'll wait 6 months before I go back with anything else as I get a sense they aren't the happiest to see me  . Now I know I have the right to and paid for it, but one still has to balance staying on good terms with someone versus constant hounding (as long as it isn't anything critical at the moment). People will take better care of you if you don't piss them off.....................

ALERT/REQUEST: My fellow Americans, oops, I mean Titan owners. Let me know how the foam seat padding is holding up for those with the power bucket seats for the drivers seat left thigh support (ie., this is outside edge that gets compressed everytime one gets in or out of the seat). These seats come with minimal support here to begin with, but mine seems to be compressing down a bit - and this should not happen at all (my 4 year old truck isn't showing any wear signs in the foam). Just a request to keep an eye open to see if after a couple on months anyone notices any changes. Thanks.

Cheers,
dagger


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## Patti (Apr 19, 2004)

*on the way home from the dealer!!!*

[I purchased my Titan 3 weeks ago and it was in the shop on day 3. On the way home from the dealer the FIRST day I bought it I had a loud grinding noise under my feet. I called the dealer and was told to bring it in. I was informed they found a loose fuel shield, I told them NO this wasn't a rattle it was grinding, Not to worry THat was just a loose fuel shield. As I was leaving the dealer, It made a LOUD grinding noise in the driveway, so I brought it right back. The next day I was told the car was driven and finally made the noise, I was told it happened when they turned on the AC, I said I didnt have the AC on when it made the noises for me, the service manager said it was a faulty ac compressor and repplaced it. AS I was LEAVING the dealer, it did it again! I am leaving again for the dealer in 5 minutes, this is the third time, one more and I file for lemonade... PS the radio fades in and out also, being replaced in 2 weeks.... thanks for letting me VENT..


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

Sorry Patti - hope it gets resolved this time. Pretty frustrating on a new vehicle, but maybe moreso from your servicing dealer. Note that included in your documentation is a booklet on the Lemon(ade) process by state. It shows you the steps you need to follow. Just FYI if you haven't read it already like I have.

Good luck,
dagger


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## Vetteldy76 (Apr 7, 2004)

*Dagger, glad things are being looked at*



dagger said:


> Time for another update.
> 
> Spoke with my Nissan Cust. Sat. rep. He sees the service records of the vibration issue. He did speak with the service manager at my dealership. His suggestion is to ask for one of the techs to ride with me. If that doesn't work go for a second opinion at a different dealership. Either way, he said that they have the issue on record and I'll be covered is something develops further down the road - so that was nice to hear.
> 
> ...



Dagger,

Glad things are moving along. Lets hope thats all there is huh? I will keep you posted on my personal experience with mine in the future. I think this forum is super!


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## jdfarr (Apr 16, 2004)

*Steering Problems*



dagger said:


> Have 3 weeks now on my Titan Crew Cab LE. Only options were mud flaps and carpets - just what I wanted. I'm a Ford truck man for many years and had just finished test driving the new 2004's. On a whim from some bits of positive press I heard about the new Nissan, I passed a dealer on the way home and decided to pull in and check them out.
> 
> Very impressed with the looks and many of the features. The Ford wins in some of the interior areas (I liked some of the materials/design choices as well as HMI control implementations), the Titan uses a bit too much chrome in the front end but other than that I gave the nod to Nissan for the overall looks/exterior design. What won me over was the driving experience - they both on paper have similar engines (300 vs 305 hp) but the Nissan blew the Ford away. Punched the Titan on an on-ramp and it effortlessly revved to 6K rpm. It felt much faster/responsive than the Ford and the ride was a bit better (though the 2004 F-150 is very close). I had to have this engine/truck.
> 
> ...


Dagger,

I have a Titan LE Crew Cab (Dec. 8th) and have been pretty darn happy until a few weeks ago. I am having the same steering vibrations (shimmying) when I apply the brakes mainly between 20 and 40 mph. It has gotten worse in the last week. Taking the truck in next week, hopefully they can repair. 
I traded my 4x4 Expedition to get back to a Japanese built car (had several Nissan/Datsun and a few Fords, and only 1 chevy-POS) - sure hope I didn't make a mistake choosing the Titan over the new F150.
I'll let you know if they fix the problem and what they did.

Cheers, Jeff


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## jadcock (Nov 22, 2002)

jdfarr said:


> I traded my 4x4 Expedition to get back to a Japanese built car (had several Nissan/Datsun and a few Fords, and only 1 chevy-POS) - sure hope I didn't make a mistake choosing the Titan over the new F150.
> I'll let you know if they fix the problem and what they did.


Your Titan isn't a Japanese-built car -- it's made right here in America by the good folks down in Mississippi. I'm sure you didn't make a mistake with the Titan over the F-150, although a surprising number of people are having problems with their first-year Titans, a phenomenon I've never experienced with first-year domestics (two Fords, by the way).


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

Jeff - my vibration at the same mph is not related to brakes. If yours is just developing and occurs when using the brakes only, then one possibility is a warped rotor among others (I'd loosen all the lug nuts and re-torque them to spec). Good luck.


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## Patti (Apr 19, 2004)

*3rd times a charm?*

 So I am frustrated now. I took my titan in for the 3rd time because of the grinding which by the way they fixed the first 2 times, I took the service department manager for quite a nice little ride, FINALLY it made the loud grinding noise. Just the look on his face made me think they are now going to see this is a major problem. He actually said, this sounds serious! I then asked him to just trade it out, I said I have a bad feeling about this truck, please trade it out. Basically I was told too bad so sad. He told the techs it sounded as if i was dragging a trash can under the truck.. The techs put it on the rack, ran it up there until the noise came back, they finally decided it was either a bearing in the driveshaft or the entire driveshaft, so they are replacing them both. You know what really stinks, I still LOVE these darn trucks. Oh one more thing, The stereo in the xe 4x2 6 cd changer, it fades in and out, the service manager told me they all do it, He bought one also and talks to the engineers a few times a week, they are working on a fix, but right now they do not have one, he said a few more months and then a voluntary recall to put in the part


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## Vetteldy76 (Apr 7, 2004)

*Patti's Titan*



Patti said:


> So I am frustrated now. I took my titan in for the 3rd time because of the grinding which by the way they fixed the first 2 times, I took the service department manager for quite a nice little ride, FINALLY it made the loud grinding noise. Just the look on his face made me think they are now going to see this is a major problem. He actually said, this sounds serious! I then asked him to just trade it out, I said I have a bad feeling about this truck, please trade it out. Basically I was told too bad so sad. He told the techs it sounded as if i was dragging a trash can under the truck.. The techs put it on the rack, ran it up there until the noise came back, they finally decided it was either a bearing in the driveshaft or the entire driveshaft, so they are replacing them both. You know what really stinks, I still LOVE these darn trucks. Oh one more thing, The stereo in the xe 4x2 6 cd changer, it fades in and out, the service manager told me they all do it, He bought one also and talks to the engineers a few times a week, they are working on a fix, but right now they do not have one, he said a few more months and then a voluntary recall to put in the part



Patti,

I too have a Titan but so far nothing serious. I have had it since Feb 23. Knock wood. The only thing I have noticed is that when you play CDs it sounds really good but when you turn on the radio it sucks.

Please keep us posted on your grinding noise and what they finally figure out about it. Are they giving you a loaner to drive?


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## Rondretti (Jan 7, 2004)

*Low Frequencies: Radio vs CD*

I'm no audio expert, but I do know that radio broadcasts do not deliver to the stereo system the low and high frequencies that CD's do.



Vetteldy76 said:


> Patti,
> 
> I too have a Titan but so far nothing serious. I have had it since Feb 23. Knock wood. The only thing I have noticed is that when you play CDs it sounds really good but when you turn on the radio it sucks.
> 
> Please keep us posted on your grinding noise and what they finally figure out about it. Are they giving you a loaner to drive?


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## Vetteldy76 (Apr 7, 2004)

*Audio (stereo vs CD) on Titan*



Rondretti said:


> I'm no audio expert, but I do know that radio broadcasts do not deliver to the stereo system the low and high frequencies that CD's do.



Rondretti,

I know that in my last truck which was a Chevy Silverado 2002 you could not tell much difference between a good FM station and a CD but maybe it all has to do with the Amplifier which the Titan has. THe Silverado's audio system was not anywhere near as fancy? It's weird. I dont know anything about audio.....I am just a girl who drives a truck :thumbup:


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## jadcock (Nov 22, 2002)

Vetteldy76 said:


> I know that in my last truck which was a Chevy Silverado 2002 you could not tell much difference between a good FM station and a CD but maybe it all has to do with the Amplifier which the Titan has. THe Silverado's audio system was not anywhere near as fancy? It's weird. I dont know anything about audio.....I am just a girl who drives a truck :thumbup:


It's just a defect that they have to fix. There should be no discernable difference (to the ears) between an FM station with good reception and a CD. In my Cadillac, I can play CDs all day long, and switch to FM radio with no change in the quality of the sound, the volume, etc. Mine's even an external CD player (a trunk-mounted 12-disc changer). It sounds like there's a problem with the interface between the radio and the amplifier (does the Titan use an external amp?). Hopefully, once they fix this problem, they'll issue a recall.


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

I remember reading something a number of years ago that FM broadcasts do not carry the full audio spectrum (20Hz to 20K Hz), but are more like 50 (30?) Hz to 15K Hz - but I could be wrong on this. Every FM broadcaster is not the same and there will be some differences. Now, there's not much above 15K in fundamental tones and a lot of people can't even hear that (generally older people and I suspect a lot more younger people exposed to excessive spl levels and boom box car owners), but a lot of transient sounds are there which helps us determine this is "real" sound. And alot of CD's are compressed and aren't recorded very well, but CD's do have the ability to carry the full audio spectrum plus some.

Now, on the Titan's R-F soundsystem, I believe the low frequency signal level is too low to the amp driving the subwoofer. The Ford Sport Trac I traded in and my wife's 2000 Explorer both have the "audiophile" (ya right) system with subwoofers, and they are engineered better for the subwoofer output (but note the R-F system on the Titan has better quality sound overall). On both I could noticeable hear the sub working while listening to FM whereas on the Titan I need to turn it up much louder before it becomes noticeable. Nissan needs to fix that and the signal fade problem.

Cheers,
dagger


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## Patti (Apr 19, 2004)

*My Stereo*

When my service manager explained the stereo fading in and out to me, he said it was built like a hearing aid, set to block out backround noises. They set it too sensitive he said and they are working on it, a patch so to speak. As far as my Titan goes, they are replacing the driveshaft today and I should get it back tonight or tomorrow. Nissan North America is now involved, funny how that works. I call them, they call my dealer he puts on the blistex and things get done.
Thanks for letting me vent
Patti. ( I still love these trucks) :fluffy:


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

There is a feature in the radio that will vary the loudness based on vehicle speed. It has 3 4 settings: low, medium, high, and off. I have mine on low and I can noticeable hear the volume level changing at around 30mph and 50mph. Even on low it is a bit much, so I can't imagine what medium or high is like! I found this option going through the audio options when I was looking to see if there was subwoofer on/off option. You can turn this off and it that might fix your problem?

Hope the driveshaft is the fix,
dagger


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## Vetteldy76 (Apr 7, 2004)

*Titan stereo fix*



dagger said:


> There is a feature in the radio that will vary the loudness based on vehicle speed. It has 3 4 settings: low, medium, high, and off. I have mine on low and I can noticeable hear the volume level changing at around 30mph and 50mph. Even on low it is a bit much, so I can't imagine what medium or high is like! I found this option going through the audio options when I was looking to see if there was subwoofer on/off option. You can turn this off and it that might fix your problem?
> 
> Hope the driveshaft is the fix,
> dagger



I turned that fade OFF. It drove me crazy....I like the sound constant....not get louder as I speed up. Patti, you might try what Dagger says and what I did and that is to adjust that so you may not get the fade if you do this. :loser:


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## mountainar15 (Apr 23, 2004)

There is some great information on this thread for someone who is looking at a new Titan. 

A question for Dagger and Patti, as well as other Titan owners. I am planning on buying a new truck then end of this month. I currently drive a 00 Chevy Silverado, and that experience alone rules a new Silverado out as an option. Dodge Rams are decent, but mpg and torque from the Hemi rules that one out. I had my eyes set on an 04 F-150, drove 6 or 7 different ones, narrowed the pick down to a couple FX4 packages, and was just waiting until I found the right color and deal. Then I stopped by the Nissan dealer and drove a Titan, just to make sure I had looked into all options. So much for the Ford. I really want a Titan now. I'm working on a black LE crew cab with the off-road package. The dealer says they'll beat the price I had on the F-150 FX4 SuperCrew. 

My question is this: Do either of you (Dagger, especially, since you mentioned you were looking at a new F-150 at one point) have any reservations about buying the Titan insead of an F-150 or your next best option? 

I have read all your posts about quality issues. From what I gather from other sites and magazine articles, the new F-150 has a few of its own as well (as in the electronics loading the engine with so much fuel that it eventually stalls on steep, 4Lo crawling decents -- 4Wheeler Magazine) 

Any advice would be appreciated.


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## bsdds (Apr 23, 2004)

iI am in the same position as mountainar15. Only this will be my first pickup. I am getting rid of a quite reliable yukon denali. I drove this thing and it's a gotta have. I have been burned on the IPO situation before but this has such great reviews! does any one have any info for the 2005 models?
thanks
bob


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

mountainar15 and bob - same thing happened to me. I've had nothing but Ford trucks and really liked the FX4 F-150 until I drove the Titan. That said and with 2 months of ownership under my seat I have to say I'm a bit ambivalent. The number of problems/defficiencies with the Titan can still get to me some days and I question my purchase. But then at a more macro view I still really like this truck's ride, handling, engine performance, looks. I kind of wished I would have not been able to buy a new truck until this fall/next model year (of which I have not seen/heard anything about any differences). Perhaps if I had vetteldy's Titan I might have a different perspective today. Then again if I were to sell my Titan and go buy a F-150, I would enjoy some areas that I think are done better, but would always yearn for the performance and looks of the Titan.

Here's an interesting scenario. I fsomeone just had to have a Titan NOW and gave me cash for mine - what would I buy.......? I actually think I would go with another Titan - same color and options (but with a more thorough testing/evaluation of the vehicle).

OK, I'm hooked,
dagger


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## Patti (Apr 19, 2004)

*Would I Buy Another???*

I still do not have my original to drive, (driveshafts are on backorder)....

However.... Yep In a heartbeat!

Nice truck, comfortable, smooth ride, If mine didnt have a bunk tranny it would be perfect!

Patti :thumbup:


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## jadcock (Nov 22, 2002)

Patti said:


> If {it} didnt have a bunk tranny it would be perfect!


Heh...that's what I've said about many a Ford.


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## black_knight (Sep 3, 2003)

yeah you'll find that these few complaints on here really represent the minority.. I know 3 people that have bought titan's (outside of this message board) and they have not had a single problem with theirs and one guy already has close to 10k on his! and they are all different models (king cab 4x4 offroad, king cab 2wd, crewcab 2wd) so just make sure you drive a few different titans and evaluate them heavily and try to pick some of the newer ones on the lot(last to roll off the line) and you'll probably be fine and quite happy. the new fords are nice but just way to damn porky... no reason a truck with 300 hp should be that slow!

Later,


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## bsdds (Apr 23, 2004)

The dealership has offered me an LE for a blanket 2K off MSRP. Told me that would be the deal however I went(2k off). They intimated a certain trade in allowance on my yukon and missed it by 2k! I will have no trouble selling the denali for more. I am gonna do it.!! Has anyone gotten the extended warranty and How much? They hve said 1150 for a wrap around five year 75K deal. Any suggestions?
thanks
bob


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## 04Xterra (Apr 24, 2004)

Not to say that you're not having problems with your truck, but every major magazine has picked the Titan over any truck in it's class.


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## black_knight (Sep 3, 2003)

I'd work on the warranty a little more... on my frontier I got a 6 year 100,000 mile platinum warranty and gap insurance all through nissan for 1200 on my frontier and they probably still made money on it! the best way to buy a warranty is to keep denying it but seem a little unsure so they will keep trying to persuade you and don't say yes untill they give you the best warranty for around a 1000 bucks!

Later,


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## lalbert (Apr 25, 2004)

*Titan exhaust noise*

I haven't seen anything about the Titan's noisy interior. I am looking at a crewcab 4X4 F150 Lariat & Titan LE. I like the Titan but find it uncomfortably noisy in the cab. I think it is both the exhaust and engine. A salesman said he thought they could put the pipe and muffler from an Armada in because they are pretty much the same and quieter, but at the price it shouldn't be necessary. Any advice, I'm planning to buy very soon.


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## black_knight (Sep 3, 2003)

I've read a few reports saying that the f150 cabin is quieter than the titan. the titan's i've driven are a little louder but it was all exhaust noise (which sounded pretty cool I though) but once i would get up on the highway the engine would settle down and it got pretty quiet. I have noticed a big difference in wind noise if you get it w/o the towing mirrors which stick out like huge brick walls from the doors! oh well it's all up to personal taste. I'd choose a more nimble, faster, more reliable truck with a better warranty than one with a prettier quieter interior that is much slower and is a ford! just my 2 cents :woowoo:

Later,


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

Both the F-150 and Titan were quiet. I'd maybe give the nod to the Ford, and much of that is due to the throaty exhaust sound of the Titan. As black knight mentioned, at highway cruise it gets very quiet. However, b-k I don't think you nor anyone can substantiate the statement that the Titan is a "more reliable truck" - it is Nissan's first year in building this class of truck. Better warranty??? both have 3 years bumper to bumper. I haven't seen slalom comparison tests and I'd like to (anybody have any data?), but irregardless the Titan, to me, had a smoother overall driving experience.

YMMV,
dagger


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## black_knight (Sep 3, 2003)

well I meant that it comes from a more reliable car line... and the titan will probably prove to be more reliable in the long run just like the nissan frontiers are much more reliable than the rangers! I know you've had an extreme case with the titan and I sympathize for ya but then again i'm a little jealous  cuz you still have a titan even though it's got some small bugs (except for the power seat and vibration) I've just heard so many stories of fords dropping trannies and breaking down a weekend after they are bought (which goes more to a build quality standpoint). A friend of the family is on his 3rd expedition and everyone has had nothing but problems (he buys fords just because his sister works in the finance department and gets them a FAT discount!). I bet you'll be hard pressed to find a titan with engine problems or dropping tranny's like you hear with dodges and fords. But that's what I really meant. sorry for rambling! 

Later,


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## FrontierShopper (Feb 24, 2004)

Yeah, I'm not sure about Ford's much anymore either. My dad has a 99' Ford E-250 work van that had the engine replaced at 29,000 miles. Also my girlfriend's dad has a 99' F-150 that had to get the tranny replaced only 2 months after he bought it brand new. Maybe 99' was just a bad year, but I doubt it.


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## jadcock (Nov 22, 2002)

I think on any auto forum, most of what you hear is biased bad anyway because that's where people come to vent their problems. Half to three quarters of what we read here are problems with our Nissan trucks. But just as most people don't have any problems with their Nissans, most people don't have any problems with any other brand, foreign, domestic, extraterrestrial, anything. I mean, face it, if any one brand was so poor that "they're all lemons", nobody would buy them and they'd be out of business! A few here have had bad experiences with Fords and GMs (and some Chryslers). And I'm sure a few here have had nothing but good experiences with them (jadcock raises his hand). The guy in the office next to me, with over 400,000 miles on his '85 Chevy truck with the original engine/tranny (rebuilt tranny once) laughs at me and my "high miles" Nissan truck. My 130k Cadillac Seville still runs high 14 quarter miles, bone stock, just like the day it was new. No engine problems, no tranny problems. I'd buy another one again in a heartbeat. I bet that by the numbers (meaning %satisfied to %dissatisfied), all auto makes are going to be about the same (because again, if one company produced nothing but bad product, it simply wouldn't exist).

I use the example all the time about my brother-in-law's '96 200sx that he got rid of because he couldn't trust it anymore. It kept dieing on him, the speedo kept breaking, the alternator needed replacing often, etc. And it only had 55k miles on it. He's not got a Honda and he's much happier (but we'll see how it lasts).

Again, I stand by my statement that your local dealership has a LOT to do with your experiences with a vehicle. Personally, I'd ask around A LOT before I ever bought a new Nissan because from experiences on this board, most Nissan dealers are borderline criminals. Again, I recognize that most here are naturally reporting problems rather than good things (few come here to brag), but Nissan's dealer reputation (on this board alone) is enough to make me think twice about it.


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## mountainar15 (Apr 23, 2004)

I did some shopping over the weekend. Found an SE Crew Cab Titan with the off-road package, captian's chairs and the utility bed with a sticker price of $34,160. Got the price down to $31,597. Having never worked with a Nissan dealer before or worked a deal on an outfit that had absolutely no incentives or rebates, I don't know if that's a good deal or not. 

What do you guys who've worked with Nissan deals before think?


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## 4THE1 (Apr 27, 2004)

I agree with jadcock's previous post. My family has owned many Ford products and had relatively few problems. I broke the Ford family tradition and have owned 2 Dodge Dakotas without any problems. We should not over-look the fact that there are many more Big 3 vehicles (especially trucks and SUVs) than there are foreign vehicles sold in this country. More quantity usually translates into more opportunity for failure. However, I believe that the percentages of problems still shows the Big 3 has room for improvement.

It is also true that most forums are places for people to vent their problems and hopefully find support. Thus, forums usually represent the minority of buyer experiences.

Dealers definitely play a big role in the satisfaction level of a product. A poor dealer can make even the best vehicle seem like a bad choice when it comes to service.

For me, I bought a Titan and love it. I did a lot of research and test driving of the new F150 and Titan. The F150 is a very nice truck. I think Ford did a real nice job of redesigning the truck, but with all the extra weight the engine and transmission are kind of weak. I have about 600 miles on my new Titan and can tell you that it is so far the best truck I have every owned. I have had absolutly no problems with it or the dealer I purchased it from. Nissan has produced a serious contender for the Big 3 truck arena. Now we will have to see what the Big 3 will do in response.


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## jadcock (Nov 22, 2002)

4THE1 said:


> Nissan has produced a serious contender for the Big 3 truck arena. Now we will have to see what the Big 3 will do in response.


Lower prices! I've seen "$40,000" F-150s "on sale" for 6-8-10 thousand off sticker. I love competition. 

BTW, my boss at work just bought a new F-150 (traded in his old Escape). Crew Cab, 4x4, etc. He's had Fords all his life. The new one is a nice truck. We'll see how it works for him.


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

Unfortunately, I fell in love with the Titan I test drove, not the one I bought  4THE1 - glad to hear (with just a little envy) you're having no problems what so ever. Check your PM - I'd like to ask/discuss a couple of things with you.

OK - when it rains, it poors, right? I'm hesitant to even post this potential problem, but again as I build and document my case for repair or replacement, I need the inputs from the members of this forum. A few posts back, I mentioned this mysterious small dent in the center front edge of my hood (right were it curves down to the grill). No scratches, no smuge marks, nothing to indicate any impact. Last Friday morning again looked at my hood and was talking/showing to some guys at work. Came home, parked in garage, used it for a couple of loads of mulch Saturday morning/afternoon. Now NOTHING has touched my vehicle except for mulch in the bed. Was walking around the front of the truck, looked across the hood line, and now I see 2 more smaller dents on the right (passenger) side!! WTF? Again, absolutely no scratches, scuff marks or even smudge marks which would definitely be there due to the high pollen layer on the truck. This isn't possible!

So, I beginning to form a theory, but I've not heard of this before so I'm sure a few will think I'm insane or even dishonest. We were in an April "heat wave" here in NC last week. Highs in the mid to upper 80's and lots of hot sun. I am wondering if these dents are the result of a manufacturing defect that is becoming visible with the heat causing metal expansion and contraction at night of my hood? Never happened on any other vehicle I've owned (but I do know of people who had hail damage have the opposite happen - after a long hot summer many of the small hail dents disappeared or reduced). I can just imagine the reaction I'll get from the Nissan service department when/if I log this problem. Sooooo, I'd appreciate any and all with Titans mostly in the southern states to give your Titan's hood a good close examination on its top front edge to see if you have any depressions/dents from the heat?

And yes, if I had no probs whatsoever with my Titan I wouldn't be posting half as much. Anyway, this forum has been like therapy for me so far.

I can still say I love the engine in this truck!
dagger


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## black_knight (Sep 3, 2003)

not to call a fellow nissan owner crazy but I think that's a little farfetched. I've gotten many a door dings and so on that have no smudge or scraches but just a little round dent. for all you know you could have been parked at a home depot and along came a shopping cart. It sucks but that's the life of owning a car! To get considerable expansion you really have to heat up the metal (90 degrees won't do it)... and the paint would also show signs of the metal expanding. 

Later,


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

I'd normally be with you black knight with this one, but I'm at a loss here. And, there is no shopping cart that could hit where I'm talking about. I've had my share of door dings and shopping cart dents. Virtually all had some degree of paint residue and/or scratches (ranging from minor surface/wax depth to more deeper ones requiring touch up paint) and/or "smudging" of the dirt/dust layer on the surface of the body panel at the impact point. As well these were all done on the sides of the vehicles where car doors and shopping carts can make contact. There were none of these side affects on my truck. I've been parking my other trucks in the same locations for years now - never had any issues.

Considerable expansion would require higher temps. But don't forget that metal based hoods with dark colored paint store heat. Even though the ambient air temp is only 90*, the surface temp can (and will) be much higher. I've seen many dents in many different vehicles that exhibit no visible signs of paint stress (especially with today's base coat/clear coat urethanes. Now the older laquer based paints would show stress issues like hairline cracks, etc). My wife's 2000 explorer has 3 parking lot dents and one child with a broom dent. All have visible bends/shifts in the metal base but no paint stress artifacts. I'm all prepared for the inevitable results of vehicle ownership - especially a truck's life! But that's with "normal" scenarios, not the unexplained/unexpected.

Again - hoping for some other possible explanations and Titan owner feedback.

Cheers


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## rb42 (Apr 28, 2004)

*Headlight aim*

FYI - for some reason, Xterras frequently have really poorly adjusted headlights from the factory. It's pretty common actually.. not sure if the Titan comes from the same facility or not.. but it's easy enough to correct.

Has anyone seen any used Titans showing up yet? I noticed it only took about 4 months for used 350's to show up in the DFW newspapers.
-=RB


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## jdfarr (Apr 16, 2004)

Dagger, 

You are dead on with your assessment. I took the truck in yesterday and it was fixed within 3 hours. He said they "re-cut" the front rotors. It drives fantastic. 

Take care, Jeff


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

Excellent news Jeff. They do drive fantastic.

Cheers!


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## Werewolfmage (Oct 19, 2002)

1997XETruck said:


> Sounds like my 1990 Mercury Cougar. Clunking differential, leaking valve covers, leaking t-stat housing, 2 bad transmissions, oil consumption (1qt every 1800 miles), sagging door, bad sunroof gasket, irregular idle - all normal at 58,000 miles and three years old.
> 
> All "normal" according to the service manual and the factory...
> 
> ...


 I am debating on If i will get another nissan. I was looking at the 97 hardbody. or a 99 silverado my friend has a 99 and it is pretty Nice. and it doesnt have a rattle or squeak. and IT also has 55k miles. i dont know yet . I still have 2 years of payments left on my truck. Hopefully It will Hold together for another 2 years.


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## ncobb (May 1, 2004)

mountainar15 said:


> I did some shopping over the weekend. Found an SE Crew Cab Titan with the off-road package, captian's chairs and the utility bed with a sticker price of $34,160. Got the price down to $31,597. Having never worked with a Nissan dealer before or worked a deal on an outfit that had absolutely no incentives or rebates, I don't know if that's a good deal or not.
> 
> What do you guys who've worked with Nissan deals before think?


Just for a comparison for you I got a LE Crew Cab Titan 2WD with the big-tow packgae, and bed extender for $29,980.


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

Werewolfmage said:


> I am debating on If i will get another nissan. I was looking at the 97 hardbody. or a 99 silverado my friend has a 99 and it is pretty Nice. and it doesnt have a rattle or squeak. and IT also has 55k miles. i dont know yet . I still have 2 years of payments left on my truck. Hopefully It will Hold together for another 2 years.



Werewolfmage - don't do like a number of did (if you want to hang on to your unpaid current truck) and test drive the Nissan. Wound up costing me almost $1K in early lease braking fees.

Patti -- haven't heard from you and your Titan with driveshaft fix. Did that solve your problem???

Cheers


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## 4THE1 (Apr 27, 2004)

Dagger, I thought I should tell you that I had my first problem with my new Titan  . The Rockford Fosgate radio reception suddenly dropped through the basement. I contacted Nissan and they are getting lots of complaints regarding the signal strength and sound quality of the radio - AM & FM. The rep said that Nissan is working on a TSB or Recall, was not sure which. Also, not sure when either will be issued. Anyone with a problem should call 1-800-Nissan1 (have your VIN). Hope a fix will be comming soon, but I fear it may not be until the new model year. Everything else is great and I love this truck! Hope all your issues get resolved.

By the way you can see more discussion and my post on this at:
http://www.nissanoffroad.net/messageboard/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8776


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## Vetteldy76 (Apr 7, 2004)

*Titan Radio disappointments*

Hello all,

Well as you know the only thing I have found wrong with my Titan is the poor reception from Am Fm. I called Nissan yesterday,. The man I spoke with acted like he had never heard of this complaint. He told me I needed to take it to my dealer to have it checked out....yeah right.....I told him I didnt want to waste my time but I did want to issue the formal complaint to him. He said "how do you know you have the same problem as other people?" I told him we talk on the Nissan Forum and too many of us have the same identical issue. Anyway, it was like talking to a wall but he did give me a confirmation number and did register my complaint. We shall see what happens.

Dagger, anything new with yours? How about the gal who had the tranny problem?


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## black_knight (Sep 3, 2003)

you know I don't think the problem is limited just to the titan's... my 03 Fronty with the Fosgate 6 disc changer sounds really muffled in FM also. I've always been able to tell a huge difference with the fm modulated XM reciever I have in my truck. The difference between CD and FM/Xm is very noticeable... any other non titan owners have this problem?? if so that would suck for nissan... lot of stereos to fix!

Later,


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## 4THE1 (Apr 27, 2004)

Vetteldy76, sounds like your experience with a Nissan customer rep was quite different than mine. I guess the guy must have had a rough day. I wonder how many times they get yelled at through the phone, hum... The guy I spoke with was quite pleasant and even took the time to do a search of their complaint database. This is how I know they have gotten a lot of complaints about the radio. He then put me on hold to speak with someone and came back to tell me that Nissan is aware of the problem and working on a fix - either TSB or Recall. Also, he did tell me to take it to the dealer and I told him that it would be a waste of the dealers time and mine since it is apparent that there is a defect in all of the radios. If they put a new radio in it would likely do the same thing. He seemed to agree. I also told him about the Nissan forums - lot of discussion about the radios.


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

Well, was hoping to post more positive update, but I called Nissan USA again yesterday. Back on the 27th of April I did call my dealer where I bought the Titan (25 miles away versus where I have it serviced at 11 miles away) since the local dealer said they would need my truck 1 to 3 days and after I said great, let me schedule it with a loaner car they then said they don't give out loaners and Nissan doesn't approve it either unless truck is completely disabled! They suggested I try the orig dealer to see if they would give me a loaner vehicle. How about that! I have a 2 month old $35K truck that has a major problem and I have to pay more to get it fixed!?!

I did call the original dealer in Sanford, NC. The service guy there asked about my problems, and I gave him a short list of 5 issues (#1 being the vibration @ 28-35mph). He said they do have 2 loaners but they are currently out and will call me back shortly to schedule my drop off of the truck. I then called NissanUSA to talk to JP who originally took my case - he asked me to update him on the entry/exit fix (didn't work) and vibration work. He wasn't there and another rep took my quick notes and sent JP a message to call me back. Again, all this on April 27.

So, now it's day before yesterday, May 4th, and I haven't heard from JP so I called and he wasn't in again and the woman Nissan rep sent him an email. No call back yesterday as I left work so I called NissanUSA again and told the rep who answered that I have an open case and JP has not responded since the 27th of April, and I would like to escalate to a supervisor level. He pulled up my case, asked for a quick update (I gave him my opinion about So. States Nissan of Apex svc. dept. suggestion that I would have to pay for rental while they check my truck out further), and then submitted the request to his supervisor. He said there is an up to 48 hr turn around for supervisor call back. The clock's now ticking.

There you go - not much good news to report. I wish the only problem I had was the FM radio performance (which I haven't even brought to their attention yet since I want resolution of the other things first). 

Cheers and isn't it fun paying $40+ at the gas pump for a fill up?
dagger


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## Patti (Apr 19, 2004)

*New Driveshaft*

Finally, my Titan purrs, it was the driveshaft or at least I believe it was, it has been 2 weeks and it hasn't made that grinding noise once since they replaced the driveshaft. I am thinking that Nissans bedside manner leaves a bit to be desired. I wasn't given a loaner car while the part was on backorder, I am just a bit disgusted with my dealer. Anyway, I still love Nissan, I just dont like Las Vegas Nissan dealers
I do have one question. Is anyone having any problems with the windows not going up right away. Sometimes I push the button on the drivers side and it takes a few tries before it responds.
I suppose it doesnt matter until the winter, not many people in a las vegas summer with the windows down anyway LOL
Take Care all
Patti :fluffy:


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

Good news Patti - glad the driveshaft fix worked but it is not encouraging to see no loaner car was given. Guess I've been spoiled by Ford all these years 

Just to make sure, on the window problem, do you mean the window doesn't move at all when you pull up on the switch, or that it doesn't come all the way up? The front 2 windows have 2-way switches - push half way and it moves the window until the finger is removed. Push it all the way down and it is automatic return/open.

Cheers!


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## Vetteldy76 (Apr 7, 2004)

*Great News for Patti!*



Patti said:


> Finally, my Titan purrs, it was the driveshaft or at least I believe it was, it has been 2 weeks and it hasn't made that grinding noise once since they replaced the driveshaft. I am thinking that Nissans bedside manner leaves a bit to be desired. I wasn't given a loaner car while the part was on backorder, I am just a bit disgusted with my dealer. Anyway, I still love Nissan, I just dont like Las Vegas Nissan dealers
> I do have one question. Is anyone having any problems with the windows not going up right away. Sometimes I push the button on the drivers side and it takes a few tries before it responds.
> I suppose it doesnt matter until the winter, not many people in a las vegas summer with the windows down anyway LOL
> Take Care all
> Patti :fluffy:


Patti,

Thats great news about your driveshaft. So glad to hear its fixed. Hopefully you wont have anymore major problems with it.


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## Seepage (May 12, 2004)

*Quality issues, too*

Dagger: 

I also really like the vehicle, overall. But the "user interface" bugs really affect my new truck experience. Here's my list. 

Poor FM reception. It seems much worse than another Titan I drove. Dealer said Nissan's working it. Some bullpucky about the roof pillar interfering with reception. By the way, another Titan seemed to have much better reception.

The driver's side seat seems lower under my left cheek than my right cheek. Dealer said it felt same as others. 

Steering. It wanders, and seems to have disproportionate response to the steering wheel. That is, the first bit of rotation (maybe 10 degrees) has very little effect. The next half degree of rotation causes significant effect. I test drove another Titan with the same tires -- it seemed much better, but still noticeable. I've been in 4 times. On On the third visit, they actually put it on the alignment rack. One parameter was barely out of spec. They adjusted so all parameters were right in the center of acceptance range. It felt better, but not right. 

Brakes feel weird, sort of spongy but grabby just before complete stop. You know how you can let off the brake just before the vehicle completely stops, and eliminate that "jerking" stop? The symptom makes it very difficult to do this. The dealer said it seemed just like other Titans. I drove and compared, and I think other Titans are better than mine.

Check engine light came on for a couple hundred miles, at about 1500 mi and 3000 mi. Maybe this is an oil change reminder. 

Rattle in the windshield mirror. Of course it went away when the service tech drove it.

Other comments:
What kind of gas mileage are you Titansters getting? 13.8 mpg is my best so far. Less than 9 mpg towing a 5000 lb camper trailer. 

The throttle is very touchy. It seems like a combination of a very weak spring on the pedal, and digital mapping. 

The windshield mirror is way too low, and obstructs the driver's view (not to mention the A pillars). Or maybe the seat is too high. I'm 6' 4" and my view looking straight ahead is through the tinting at the windshield's top edge, unless I slump or recline.

I love that you can turn the AC compressor on and off in any mode. The cruise control works in all gear positions. The load light can be turned on at any speed, and stays on until you turn it off. The windshield wiper delay can be adjusted from about 2 seconds to 1 minute, and its speed-sensitive. It has a very tight turning radius. The bed is wider. The utility bed option, at about $600, is great, well worth it. The spray-in bedliner alone is worth over $400 

I bought a Tundra and a T-100 in their first years ... No problems.


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## jadcock (Nov 22, 2002)

Seepage said:


> I love that you can turn the AC compressor on and off in any mode.


Not to sidetrack the thread, but I find it interesting that most domestics still don't have this capability -- at least the ones which still use manual HVAC controls. This seems to be an import design (having the separate A/C toggle button), and I think it's great. I think Nissan's had it on their trucks at least way back to 1986, maybe earlier. Toyota also has the same deal. Even on the econoboxes. Our new Ford truck at work has the same ol' rotary dial that Ford has always used, with just one position for A/C (and it's face vents only). I like using the bi-level (face and floor), but that doesn't run the A/C on Fords. Is it so hard to just have a simple switch (like our Nissan trucks have)?


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

See my comments below: 



Seepage said:


> Dagger:
> 
> I also really like the vehicle, overall. But the "user interface" bugs really affect my new truck experience. Here's my list.
> 
> ...


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## nolan (Apr 25, 2004)

*Same vibration on Pathfinders also*

I have a similar vibration on my Pathfinder. Dealer unable to do anything until Nissan provides a service bulliten. Dealer noted that other new Pathfinders do the same thing so condition must be normal. Nissan customer relations indicated that I was the only one reporting the problem. My feeling is that so many of these vehicles have this problem that they are forced to ignore it. Good luck.


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

Well - Nissan America has agreed to pay for a rental car up to 4 days. I take it in on Tuesday with the primary issue the vibration. I'll take your good luck offer! Thanks.


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## chief joseph (May 8, 2004)

may i inquire what the titan is actually being sold for? i see a couple of referances here for 35K, is that what the average price actually being paid for titans are? just curious.


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## Vetteldy76 (Apr 7, 2004)

chief joseph said:


> may i inquire what the titan is actually being sold for? i see a couple of referances here for 35K, is that what the average price actually being paid for titans are? just curious.



Chief,

I bought a Titan King Cab 4x4 LE (extras were: carpet mats, bed extender, fog lights). The MSRP was 33,040. I ended up paying 31,000


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## PhantomTitian (Feb 22, 2004)

We paid 26,000 for a SE 2 wheel drive. 
Like Dagger we had a dent "appear" in the hood left of center. Only problem was drifting to the left dealer said it was tire pressure. LOL it is still doing it. 

We got the extended warrenty due to it being a first year truck and motor. That and we keep our vehicles a long time.

Wish I could give more details but it is my wife's truck and she just loves it.


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## Phly Physher (May 18, 2004)

I bought the LE Crew Cab 4x4 w/tow pkg, off road pkg (including locking rear differential), side air bags, mud flaps, and mats. MSRP=$37,260. Paid $33,929, which is $300 over invoice. Also, NMAC financing was 3.99%. Also, got hood deflector and Poly Shield treatment at no cost. 

Be sure to check invoice price before going to the dealership. When you're ready to buy, start at the invoice price - not MSRP. The dealer is also making around $900-1000 per truck on holdback.


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## chief joseph (May 8, 2004)

maybe it's just me but the titan seems way overpriced to me. for 34K i could get a dodge ram 2500 lariat 600 turbo diesel. mileage of 20-22 highway and 16-17 city driving with 600 ft lbs torque and 325 hp, an expected life of at least 250,000-300,000 miles and typically much cheaper fuel. i paid 27K for my rig with 0% over 60 months, it had a sticker of 32K. when i bought my 97 nissan p/u, nissan was the most economical. when i was looking for my minivan i went with the 2002 quest because they offered me 4500K off of sticker. but from the local adds, nissan doesn't come off much from the sticker price on trucks. dodge and ford will come down alot. you can get a 2500 hemi SLT for 25K right now. and i've seen adds for even less. chevy also doesn't come down enough for me on sticker, although i saw in saturdays adds a couple of crew cab silverado 2500 duramax diesel with the allison transmission for 34,999. 10K off of sticker. if i could do it all over again, i would have waited a year for the new body style to reach the 3/4 tons with the new quiet diesels and gone that route, and made my money back in a few years with the better mileage.


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## jadcock (Nov 22, 2002)

chief joseph said:


> maybe it's just me but the titan seems way overpriced to me. for 34K i could get a dodge ram 2500 lariat 600 turbo diesel.


That's great. Hope you like your Dodge. Hate to break it to you, but you overpaid yourself -- you bought it new.


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## onefisher (Apr 20, 2004)

I have a buddy that figured this out himself & got the dealer to fix it...(PROPS need to go to him) His truck had a bad vibration between 20-40MPH like others have said. My truck has not done this but felt & heard his doing it. He found that the hood latch was not properly locking & the dealer can fix it in a few minutes time. If you have had this problem shut your hood & then put your hand on it & push up & down on it. You can hear it rattle badly then. When you get to driving, this causes a bad vibration & slight noise which can be heard at 20-40MPH. After 40mph it seems to go away possibly by wind pushing down on the hood. This is just a guess but his is fixed now & everyone with the same problem should check the hood!!! I hope this helps some people...

Now if someone can tell me how to fix this fading radio (FM Mode with SSV off I would appreciate it very much!!! 

ONEFISHER


dagger said:


> Have 3 weeks now on my Titan Crew Cab LE. Only options were mud flaps and carpets - just what I wanted. I'm a Ford truck man for many years and had just finished test driving the new 2004's. On a whim from some bits of positive press I heard about the new Nissan, I passed a dealer on the way home and decided to pull in and check them out.
> 
> Very impressed with the looks and many of the features. The Ford wins in some of the interior areas (I liked some of the materials/design choices as well as HMI control implementations), the Titan uses a bit too much chrome in the front end but other than that I gave the nod to Nissan for the overall looks/exterior design. What won me over was the driving experience - they both on paper have similar engines (300 vs 305 hp) but the Nissan blew the Ford away. Punched the Titan on an on-ramp and it effortlessly revved to 6K rpm. It felt much faster/responsive than the Ford and the ride was a bit better (though the 2004 F-150 is very close). I had to have this engine/truck.
> 
> ...


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## chief joseph (May 8, 2004)

jadcock said:


> That's great. Hope you like your Dodge. Hate to break it to you, but you overpaid yourself -- you bought it new.



AMEN! i'm cursed with that. since 1990 i've only bought new. although, when the time comes, i'll probably go with a used diesel.


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

onefisher - that's pretty wild with the loose hood latch. I'm pretty sure mine is secure but I'll check when I get it back. The service department has it right now - today is day 2. I'll call tomorrow for a status check.

Hey - here's an interesting piece of info. While waiting for my rental car I was hanging out by the service writer. On one of her phone calls, she told the Nissan owner (not sure which vehicle - I think it was a car) that the poor idle/performance issue was caused by them using an aftermarket air filter that didn't fit properly and was letting in dirt. $75 for a Nissan air filter and intake system cleaning (she incorrectly said there was a couple of centimeters size difference which she must have meant millimeters). I nicely inquired about the problem and she said there is actually a TSB by Nissan on the aftermarket airfilters for this car with them being too short and allowing dirty air into the MAF sensor/intake system. I guess it must be a real issue with the factory TSB on it - so Nissan car owners beware. That's all the detail I have (no specific filter brand nor specific car model/year).


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## redsoxfan (May 20, 2004)

jadcock said:


> Again, I stand by my statement that your local dealership has a LOT to do with your experiences with a vehicle. Personally, I'd ask around A LOT before I ever bought a new Nissan because from experiences on this board, most Nissan dealers are borderline criminals. Again, I recognize that most here are naturally reporting problems rather than good things (few come here to brag), but Nissan's dealer reputation (on this board alone) is enough to make me think twice about it.


jadcock, I couldn't agree more. My experience with my local dealership has been ugly, they just plain suck, I posted a thread in the General Discussion forum detailing what I've been through. 1800NISSAN hasn't been much help, either.

dagger, like many of us Titan owners, I've been following this thread closely. I hope we hear some good news from you soon.......


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## Armadaof1 (May 17, 2004)

dagger said:


> ...the poor idle/performance issue was caused by them using an aftermarket air filter that didn't fit properly and was letting in dirt. ...she said there is actually a TSB by Nissan on the aftermarket airfilters for this car with them being too short and allowing dirty air into the MAF sensor/intake system. I guess it must be a real issue with the factory TSB on it - so Nissan car owners beware. That's all the detail I have (no specific filter brand nor specific car model/year).


If you go to K&N's website, they have some pretty strongly worded company statements that their filters will not adversely impact your car's warranty. I'd raise the BS flag on this one and ask for the specific TSB.


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

A bit more info as I was at the dealership Friday (truck not ready - they didn't call me in time - already returned rental car - had to go back and rent again until Monday!).

I asked which aftermarket air filter brand(s) and which vehicle(s). She said it is not a specific TSB but rather a Service Bulletin. It is for ANY Nissan vehicle that has a fouled air sensor/intake system that the technician is to check the air filter. Supposedly they have found a number of scenarios where this has happened due to aftermarket air filters and incomplete seals. If dirt blowby is detected with an aftermarket air filter in place, it will not be covered by Nissan warantee. She said they have seen it happen the most on Maxima's and a couple of Altima's at their shop.


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## redsoxfan (May 20, 2004)

dagger said:


> I'd normally be with you black knight with this one, but I'm at a loss here. And, there is no shopping cart that could hit where I'm talking about. I've had my share of door dings and shopping cart dents. Virtually all had some degree of paint residue and/or scratches (ranging from minor surface/wax depth to more deeper ones requiring touch up paint) and/or "smudging" of the dirt/dust layer on the surface of the body panel at the impact point. As well these were all done on the sides of the vehicles where car doors and shopping carts can make contact. There were none of these side affects on my truck. I've been parking my other trucks in the same locations for years now - never had any issues.
> 
> Considerable expansion would require higher temps. But don't forget that metal based hoods with dark colored paint store heat. Even though the ambient air temp is only 90*, the surface temp can (and will) be much higher. I've seen many dents in many different vehicles that exhibit no visible signs of paint stress (especially with today's base coat/clear coat urethanes. Now the older laquer based paints would show stress issues like hairline cracks, etc). My wife's 2000 explorer has 3 parking lot dents and one child with a broom dent. All have visible bends/shifts in the metal base but no paint stress artifacts. I'm all prepared for the inevitable results of vehicle ownership - especially a truck's life! But that's with "normal" scenarios, not the unexplained/unexpected.
> 
> ...


Hey dagger, I have some good news, you're not crazy! I came across another thread in another forum that describes the hood problem. I'm new to this forum, so I hope it's cool to point to other sites? We're all trying to help each other out here, after all....at titantalk.com in the general discussion forum look for "Question--hood strength", I think you'll find it interesting, as will other Titan owners. It sounds like it might be a design defect brought on by closing the hood roughly (I'm not kidding).


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## jadcock (Nov 22, 2002)

Armadaof1 said:


> If you go to K&N's website, they have some pretty strongly worded company statements that their filters will not adversely impact your car's warranty. I'd raise the BS flag on this one and ask for the specific TSB.


The K&N filter won't void the warranty unless it's found to be the cause of a particular problem that the dealer is expected to fix, under warranty. It's like putting on wheels with 0" backspacing, and then bringing your vehicle in for bad wheel bearings, and expecting the dealer to replace them under warranty.

I agree that in most cases, a low-filtration filter like a K&N won't cause problems, but in some vehicles, they don't work quite like the marketing team would like you to believe. MAF sensors are very sensitive to changes in airflow, and any change in that airflow has the potential to throw a MAF's reading off. Not to say that it happens every time, or that it even happens more times than not...just that the potential is there. I would also like to look at Nissan's documentation if my vehicle were affected, but I don't blame the dealership or Nissan Corp. at all for protecting their interests when it comes to warranty work.


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

redsoxfan said:


> Hey dagger, I have some good news, you're not crazy! I came across another thread in another forum that describes the hood problem. I'm new to this forum, so I hope it's cool to point to other sites? We're all trying to help each other out here, after all....at titantalk.com in the general discussion forum look for "Question--hood strength", I think you'll find it interesting, as will other Titan owners. It sounds like it might be a design defect brought on by closing the hood roughly (I'm not kidding).



[email protected] redsoxfan, you solved my problem! Seems like a number of people are getting hood dents just like mine - answer is do not close the hood with your hands on it at implact. Let drop the last few inches on its own. Can't wait to see what the dealer will do about this!

Thanks very much!

Update on the other problems: The dealer had the truck for 5 days. 
- Worked with Nissan tech to try to diagnose the vibration issue. No luck. They are waiting on call back from Nissan tech for next steps.
- Service rep and svc. manager see seat foam collapsing at left edge on drivers seat. Waiting to see what NissanUSA wants to do about it.
- Rattle in overhead area. They found the overhead console had a crack in it at one of the attachment screws go which is located inside the sunglass storage door. Mine is not the first! Either over torquing here or design flaw. Suggest you guys check yours out.

The fun continues in Titan land,
dagger


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## redsoxfan (May 20, 2004)

dagger said:


> [email protected] redsoxfan, you solved my problem! Seems like a number of people are getting hood dents just like mine - answer is do not close the hood with your hands on it at implact. Let drop the last few inches on its own. Can't wait to see what the dealer will do about this!
> 
> Thanks very much!
> 
> ...


Glad I could help, I've learned a lot from your thread. I hope your hood problem wasn't the result of one of your service visits, they'll probably never own up to it! Good luck.

And yes, it's sounding like the overhead console problem is very common, I keep forgetting to check mine but I'll be doing so tomorrow.


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## Mildewy (Jun 4, 2004)

Mine is cracked too, but it doesn't rattle. My problem is trying to figure out how the h*ll to get the tray guide out of the floor channel in the bed without taking the tailgate off.



Edit: To the person who said they had no problems with their first year Tundra...all of the Tundras that I know of had too short of an oil dipstick...1.5 extra quarts of oil is good for an engine right?


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## fury3 (Jun 5, 2004)

*LIKE my titan*

i previously owned an 03 dodge ram diesel and i loved that truck. no problems 
and 18 mpg, all creature comforts. stopped by nissan dealer to visit my wife
and drove home in my titan. 3:00 the next am woke up sweating "what have i done". after driving my titan a few weeks i have no complaints (except mpg)
and am starting to really like my truck. it is loaded to the hilt with creature comforts and i havent had ANY problems yet. your titan is designed, engineered and built in the good ol USA. engine in tenn. truck in miss.


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## fury3 (Jun 5, 2004)

jadcock said:


> Not to sidetrack the thread, but I find it interesting that most domestics still don't have this capability -- at least the ones which still use manual HVAC controls. This seems to be an import design (having the separate A/C toggle button), and I think it's great. I think Nissan's had it on their trucks at least way back to 1986, maybe earlier. Toyota also has the same deal. Even on the econoboxes. Our new Ford truck at work has the same ol' rotary dial that Ford has always used, with just one position for A/C (and it's face vents only). I like using the bi-level (face and floor), but that doesn't run the A/C on Fords. Is it so hard to just have a simple switch (like our Nissan trucks have)?



dodge trucks have a seperate a/c switch to use at any vent


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## bajamike (Jun 10, 2004)

*Big Pressure*



dagger said:


> I know there is a risk with first year vehicles - I didn't want to do this, but they got so many things right that I was seduced. Still, their advertising literature talks up the amount of planning and testing and redesigning and compairing they did, and I believe them. Unlike Toyota and their Tacoma full size introduction - it took them a couple of retries to get competitive. The Titan is very competitive day one.
> 
> Nissan is obviously putting a lot of effort and pressure on their dealers about quality of purchase and servicing of their vehicles. I get letters, cards and questionaires and the salesmen and service reps all want me to answer Nissan's Q's with nothing but excellent or call them first. I'm going to take them up on this one.
> 
> ...


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

bajamike - great to hear no problems at 900 miles. Supposedly the dealership is not suppose to influence you in any way with the surveys - so they are offering a bribe to up their ratings with Nissan. Of course with a full tank costing well over $40 these it is very tempting, and if you were going to check everything as "excellent" then one might be able to sleep at night.......

Cheers,
dagger


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## PA Titan (Feb 26, 2004)

dagger said:


> bajamike - great to hear no problems at 900 miles. Supposedly the dealership is not suppose to influence you in any way with the surveys - so they are offering a bribe to up their ratings with Nissan. Of course with a full tank costing well over $40 these it is very tempting, and if you were going to check everything as "excellent" then one might be able to sleep at night.......
> 
> Cheers,
> dagger


I haven't had any problems other than something I read about on titantalk.com that the rear differential fluid is sometimes low. The other night I checked it and sure enough it was low. I took it to a dealer to have them fill it up (now there is a paper trail in case of future problems). I couldn't feel any of the fluid when I checked it except when I touched the side of the pumpkin. When I picked it up the dealer told me that this should have been done as a part of the presale checkup and the that it was only low 20 oz. Otherwise 6600 miles and six months with out problems. BTW mpg was 11 when I bought the truck-now is up to 14-15 mpg on my stop and go commute.


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## Rei (Dec 22, 2003)

jadcock said:


> I think Nissan's had it on their trucks at least way back to 1986, maybe earlier.


I owned a 1985 720 pickup, and my brother owned a 1984 sentra. They both had a "secret a/c switch." The lever that you set between 0-1-2-3-4 could also be pulled out or pushed in. Pulling it out or pushing it in would turn the compressor on or off.


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## coolnesss (Dec 23, 2003)

Reading all of these comments reminds me of rule one: Don't make a deal on a car until you have driving the one you're bargaining over - ALOT. Don't let them talk you out of it. They will get stuff fixed for sure in order to make the sale, but give you a hard time later. If the salesman says the power seat doesn't work, you can bet your butt the service department is NOT coming back with "can't duplicate problem"


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## dagger (Mar 11, 2004)

coolnesss - I did test drive the truck before purchase, but I suspect that is like the vast majority of new vehicle owners whereby I drove it over a 3 to 10 mile test loop. Some dealers do let a buyer use it overnight, or even over a weekend (like the Ford sales manager that I knew), but I suspect that is very rare. Even with an extended test drive, many issues are not noticed right away unless they are very obvious problems (excitement of purchase, newness of vehicle - so many things new/different all at once, etc). And, the service department does have to duplicate the error to fix it (unless a TSB is out on it and they can replace a known defective part), or they are not suppose to fix it/won't be reimbursed by the factory. As experienced of a buyer as I thought I was, I missed things I shouldn't have, but others only became obvious after multiple days of driving time.

Cheers


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## jadcock (Nov 22, 2002)

In addition, this all applies only if you buy the truck "off the lot". If you order one, you're really buying your particular truck "sight unseen". Regardless, one would reasonably have an expectation that a vehicle he just traded $30,000 for wouldn't have major problems and annoyances that even the dealer is reluctant to fix. But as I've said before, and will continue to say, the particular dealer you deal with is more important than the actual brand of vehicle you buy, in my opinion. For instance, I wouldn't buy anything from either of my two local Nissan dealerships (Stewart Nissan in Fayetteville or Central Carolina Nissan in Sanford). I don't care if they were selling Chevys, Fords, Nissans, Yugos. They were both sleazy when I've been there, and one basically stole $600 to change an alternator on my brother-in-law's 200SX, which left him stranded on US-421 in the middle of Nowhere, North Carolina.


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## Patti (Apr 19, 2004)

*Desert Nissan Stinks!*

It's been awhile since I have been here. I have a few updates on my truck.
First off it was the driveshaft, no more grinding noises and the truck just flies along now. I have had my antenna stolen 3 times now and have found that my radio reception is much better with this rubber one I got at Pep Boys for $7.99. Ok so now the bad stuff...
When I purchased my truck I wanted a nice truck to tow my sea doos with, the only truck I liked (color) didnt come with a hitch, and after haggling for a few hours we settled on a price but I wanted a hitch installed, which I thought was in the price, it wasn't. The sales idiot said it would be $450.00 more and that I should just take it to UHaul they would do it for $250.00 and they are bonded so they would do a good job for me. I was so tired of fighting with these clowns I just paid them and left. I paid cash for my truck so they didnt make that much and didnt want to work with me anymore. I went to Uhaul but they didnt have any titan Hitches, ok no problem, just order me one, They said they could do that, but they aren't allowed to touch the electrical, only Nissan can touch it. OK so now I'm pissed, I get ahold of the hitch-right people out here and they show me a letter from their office saying they cannot touch a Titan, if they work on it the warranty becomes void if there happens to be an electrical problem. OK so back to Nissan.. I decided that my sea doos are light, I will just put a ball on the bumper and get the adapter (truck is pre-wired) from Nissan. Now get ready for this.... The only way they can get an adapter is to order the entire hitch, the adapters are not sold separately. I tried every auto parts store out here, nothing is available.. Anyway, $256.00 for the hitch and $139.00 for installation, had to go to pepboys for the ball, the reciever, and the 7 prong to 4 adapter. 
Got that all finished, took it to the car wash, and the decorative moulding on the top of the cab on the passengers side snapped off... Keep your eyes on that people, hard to notice but easy to snap off.
I still Love this truck, and it's quieter on long trips on the highway.

Take Care :dumbass: 
Patti


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## blackalti03 (Jan 8, 2004)

Its nice to have a forum to come to and learn things about trucks. I have been on this forum for awhile for the altima but a week ago traded in my frontier for the titan-my wife drives the altima-awesome truck. My wife has had complaints about the seat belts in the back seat due to us having a new baby. She says they tighten and wont loosen also the middle back seat seat-belt gets stuck underneath the seat. Damn, have I had the looks and compliments. My brother just bought a hemi dodge and I am looking forward to a race this weekend when I venture home for a week. I am in Texas and it is everything domestic here but titan looks by far the best. Will post any bad happenings when they happen.

04 Canteen Titan 4x2 LE
03 Altima 3.5 Black


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## Vetteldy76 (Apr 7, 2004)

*Leaking inside on my Titan Truck*

I havent been on here since middle of June but thought I would tell you whats wrong with mine now. We had bad rainstorm on Friday and as I was driving home water started dripping on my left leg. I looked up and the drip was coming from around the plastice handle above drivers side door! Where in the world could water get in??? Anyone have any ideas????

By the way, has anyone heard anymore about the radio problems?


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## charlietubbles (Oct 19, 2004)

dagger said:


> Have 3 weeks now on my Titan Crew Cab LE. Only options were mud flaps and carpets - just what I wanted. I'm a Ford truck man for many years and had just finished test driving the new 2004's. On a whim from some bits of positive press I heard about the new Nissan, I passed a dealer on the way home and decided to pull in and check them out.
> 
> Very impressed with the looks and many of the features. The Ford wins in some of the interior areas (I liked some of the materials/design choices as well as HMI control implementations), the Titan uses a bit too much chrome in the front end but other than that I gave the nod to Nissan for the overall looks/exterior design. What won me over was the driving experience - they both on paper have similar engines (300 vs 305 hp) but the Nissan blew the Ford away. Punched the Titan on an on-ramp and it effortlessly revved to 6K rpm. It felt much faster/responsive than the Ford and the ride was a bit better (though the 2004 F-150 is very close). I had to have this engine/truck.
> 
> ...



Hi Dagger,
New guy on the block here, so "Hi" to all !
I also was a Ford man before purchasing the 2004 Titan. I had a 2002 Ford F-150 which I was perfectly happy with from a 'quality' standpoint, I just needed a little more pulling power than the 4.6 V-8 I was driving. I was in the market for a new truck, test drove the 2004 F-150 FX4 - 5.4 V8 (with Tow Package) and the 2004 Titan SE (with the "Big Tow Package"). What won me over, also, was the obvious 'get up and go' the Nissan had over the Ford F150. Since I was also in the market for a new camper (30' travel trailer - 5600 lbs. dry weight) I went with the more powerful Titan. 
I haven't had as many complaints quantity wise, but felt a transmission complaint was serious enough 'quality-wise' to post. 1st of all, I DON'T feel it was a manufacturing problem, as the truck did fine pulling the 6100 lb. (loaded) camper at first. Keep in mind the Big Tow Package is rated for 9400 Lbs. What happened was:
1) I was just admiring my new Titan's new powerplant after taking it home for a few weeks, when I noticed some liquid had been sprayed along the left side of the engine / battery / hoses / underside of hood, etc. I took the truck in, the dealership said " a transmission coolant line was leaking and they replaced it." 3 weeks later I noticed my transmission was slipping in 1st gear and also in reverse. I took the truck, immediately, by the same dealership and they had to add 3 quarts of transmission fluid ! I am taking the truck back in tomorrow for another transmission fluid 'leak search' and will let you all know what happens.
2) I am getting an annoying 'clicking' sound which is directly responding to acceleration when I have my front windows open. Seems to be coming from the exhaust or maybe something loose that vibrates during acceleration. Have taken to dealership 3 times concerning this problem, but no fix yet.
3) Had to have secondary sun visor (driver's side) replaced due to material seperation in seam.
Performance wise, I am very impressed with the Nissan Titan. I just hope they get this transmission thing figured out.
Craig ( AKA charlietubbles )


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## charlietubbles (Oct 19, 2004)

blackalti03 said:


> " My brother just bought a hemi dodge and I am looking forward to a race this weekend when I venture home for a week. "
> 
> 04 Canteen Titan 4x2 LE
> 03 Altima 3.5 Black


Hi blackalti03, I'm in a similar situation: My brother-in-law just bought a Dodge Ram SLT w/ Hemi. I bought my Titan approximately 2 1/2 months ago and have been waiting for a chance at the Hemi. My chance is coming, although my brother-in-law claims he's waiting to break his in. (guess I don't blame him on a new truck). I've run across one article which states the Titan did .5 seconds quicker 0 - 60 mph. Keep me posted on your results and I'll do the same. 
GOOD LUCK !
Craig ( AKA charlietubbles )


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## jadcock (Nov 22, 2002)

charlietubbles said:


> I just hope they get this transmission thing figured out.


Craig, it sounds like you may have caught it soon enough. Sounds like the line came loose and you lost some fluid. Probably not a big deal. Hard to tell how long it drove like that. Also hard to tell why the line came loose on a new vehicle, but that's water under the bridge I guess. Either way, if the transmission eventually does need replacement, I think they'd have a hard time pinning it on ya. Good luck -- and as long as the leak is fixed now, I suspect you won't have any further problems.


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## CHOPPER (Oct 22, 2004)

dagger said:


> Have 3 weeks now on my Titan Crew Cab LE. Only options were mud flaps and carpets - just what I wanted. I'm a Ford truck man for many years and had just finished test driving the new 2004's. On a whim from some bits of positive press I heard about the new Nissan, I passed a dealer on the way home and decided to pull in and check them out.
> 
> Very impressed with the looks and many of the features. The Ford wins in some of the interior areas (I liked some of the materials/design choices as well as HMI control implementations), the Titan uses a bit too much chrome in the front end but other than that I gave the nod to Nissan for the overall looks/exterior design. What won me over was the driving experience - they both on paper have similar engines (300 vs 305 hp) but the Nissan blew the Ford away. Punched the Titan on an on-ramp and it effortlessly revved to 6K rpm. It felt much faster/responsive than the Ford and the ride was a bit better (though the 2004 F-150 is very close). I had to have this engine/truck.
> 
> ...


I HAVE A LATE 04 TITAN AND HAS NONE OF THE PROBLEMS YOU HAVE MENTIONED.


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## Greg from Mi. (Oct 15, 2004)

*Fellow titan owner.........*

Hello fellow titan owner.
I also have had ford trucks in the past. Sorry to hear about your problems. I have had none of the problems you have ( so far ) I problems I posted about on the bottom og the page on page two of this forum. ( bad gas milage )
I bought my titan for pulling a 6000lbs trailer. It pulls great with lots of power but only get 7.5 to 8.5 MPG when towing. I had a 98 ford 150 and got almost 12 MPG pulling a trailer 1200lbs lighter!!
Also where did you buy your titan? Sorry to say I want to make sure I dont go there. 35K? Should have bought in Michigan! Got mine for 31K with every option on my SE
Hows your gas milage?
Back and forth to work I get any where from 13.6 to 15.2
Greg from Mi.



dagger said:


> Have 3 weeks now on my Titan Crew Cab LE. Only options were mud flaps and carpets - just what I wanted. I'm a Ford truck man for many years and had just finished test driving the new 2004's. On a whim from some bits of positive press I heard about the new Nissan, I passed a dealer on the way home and decided to pull in and check them out.
> 
> Very impressed with the looks and many of the features. The Ford wins in some of the interior areas (I liked some of the materials/design choices as well as HMI control implementations), the Titan uses a bit too much chrome in the front end but other than that I gave the nod to Nissan for the overall looks/exterior design. What won me over was the driving experience - they both on paper have similar engines (300 vs 305 hp) but the Nissan blew the Ford away. Punched the Titan on an on-ramp and it effortlessly revved to 6K rpm. It felt much faster/responsive than the Ford and the ride was a bit better (though the 2004 F-150 is very close). I had to have this engine/truck.
> 
> ...


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## jadcock (Nov 22, 2002)

Greg from Mi. said:


> Also where did you buy your titan? Sorry to say I want to make sure I dont go there. 35K? Should have bought in Michigan! Got mine for 31K with every option on my SE


His is an LE, and I bet that's where a lot of the price difference comes from. Could also be 4x4 vs. 4x2, etc.


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## Greg from Mi. (Oct 15, 2004)

*fellow titan owner*

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello fellow titan owner.
I also have had ford trucks in the past. Sorry to hear about your problems. I have had none of the problems you have ( so far ) I problems I posted about on the bottom og the page on page two of this forum. ( bad gas milage )
I bought my titan for pulling a 6000lbs trailer. It pulls great with lots of power but only get 7.5 to 8.5 MPG when towing. I had a 98 ford 150 and got almost 12 MPG pulling a trailer 1200lbs lighter!!
Also where did you buy your titan? Sorry to say I want to make sure I dont go there. 35K? Should have bought in Michigan! Got mine for 31K with every option on my SE
Hows your gas milage?
Back and forth to work I get any where from 13.6 to 15.2
Greg from Mi.


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## werks2much (Aug 22, 2004)

black_knight said:


> not many of us here have titan's but what you are going through is to be expected on a first year run. specially as soon off the line as yours is. And every car company experiences it. My friend bought one of the new 2003 Accords as soon as they came out and he's had various rattles, and small componentry not working as good as it should and it's a HONDA! The same happened to ford when they came out with that new 6.0 powerstroke... it was plagued with problems big time. Don't worry... some of those things are just things that weren't checked very closely (headlights out of adjustment, etc) I wouldn't worry to bad. Just think of it this way. if it was a domestic car.. the first year hiccups are usually: transmission failure, suspensions coming apart, engines catching on fire... etc. Nissan i'm sure concentrated on the powertrain and structural components that some of the details probably got overlooked... that's what happens when you come out with aroung 10 cars in only 3 years (inc. infiniti). I know my next truck will be a titan but definitely after they work the bugs out!
> 
> Later,


I agree.


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## m4ck (Aug 7, 2004)

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I have had mine since June and have had no issues. Well none till yesterday I noticed a slight plastic on plastic squeaking from the front of the dash up close to the glass. I figure no biggie though I will get it squashed when I have some free time to dissasemble the dash and get some foam up in there. 

By the way you Titan owners should come by and post your pictures of your trucks on our Club Site. www.ClubTitan.org
M4ck


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## 1997XETruck (Mar 11, 2003)

m4ck said:


> Well none till yesterday I noticed a slight plastic on plastic squeaking from the front of the dash up close to the glass. I figure no biggie though I will get it squashed when I have some free time to dissasemble the dash and get some foam up in there.


I'd let the dealership try to address it. Nissan usually does quite a bit to address squeak and rattle issues - plus if they break some dash parts, they get to replace them... not sure what happens if something breaks while you're working on it.

Heath


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## m4ck (Aug 7, 2004)

1997XETruck said:


> I'd let the dealership try to address it. Nissan usually does quite a bit to address squeak and rattle issues - plus if they break some dash parts, they get to replace them... not sure what happens if something breaks while you're working on it.
> 
> Heath


Heath I see you are in Columbia. I'm in Greenville man. We are having a meet for Titan and Armada owners in Mcdonough Ga. You should come visit our site and maybe come to the meet. Even if you don't have a Titan.
M4ck


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## 1997XETruck (Mar 11, 2003)

m4ck said:


> Heath I see you are in Columbia. I'm in Greenville man. We are having a meet for Titan and Armada owners in Mcdonough Ga. You should come visit our site and maybe come to the meet. Even if you don't have a Titan.
> M4ck


Thanks for the invite... when's the meet? I have a neighbor with a Titan that would definately be interested, even if I can't go.

Heath


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## 90LS400Lexus (Feb 7, 2004)

Sorry to hear about your misfortune, but the Frontier (at least my uncles) was the same way. It was a 2003 Frontier Crew Cab 4WD SE supercharged model- so it had already 3 years on that design. The engine developed a knocking sound, there was a vibration that was present since the 500 mile mark. It was in the shop for about 3 months for the less than a year of ownership. They (4 different Nissan dealers) drove it over 5000 miles, trying to find the problem, with no luck. They changed tires, brakes, wheels, rotors, driveshafts, etc. There were also braking problems if I recall. He ended up having an accident in the truck a while back, that totalled it. Luckily, they (he and his daughter) were not hurt. In comparision- my dad has a 1988 Nissan 4WD desert runner that has nearly 260K- in perfect running order- still 100% rattle and squeak free. 

I cannot completely agree with the excuse that it is a "first year" model and they have problems. This is not acceptable on a new car. I have owned several "first year" models and have not had problems. I know someone with a 1981 Mercedes 300SD (first year for major redesign) and it was a very trouble free car. I just sold a 1990 Lexus LS400- which was actually the first year for that car line from Toyota. There were no initial trouble spots with the Lexus in 1990. Even by the late 90s and even today actually, the first generation Lexus (1990 included) are still rated as one of the most reliable cars in the world today. My car had 235K and was still running perfectly. It had the minor trouble spots associated with 14 year old Lexus cars, with over 200K miles, but these were minor annoyances, rather than problems. When the all new Maxima came out in 1989- there were no problems. If a car company really tries- they can make a perfect car on the 1st year run. Before 1998- Honda did this at the beginning of every generation. Sadly, like most other Japanese makes, the quality has declined since the mid 1990s. My aunt has a 2001 Nissan Altima SE that she bought brand new in June of 2001 - can you say "JUNKER"? It has only 29K miles and already has front suspension clunks, steering column clunk over bumps, interior rattles, broken rear seat back covers, broken rear window switch, and the other day- the front driver window came off of the track, and it has barely been used. My dad had to temporarily pull the window up and put a piece of cardboard between the panel and the window to keep the window up.  Some of these were repaired under warranty, but the time frame part of the warranty expired before the mileage. Her 1991 Honda Accord that she bought brand new in December of 1990 had 92K when she traded it in the year 1995. Aside from a broken cassette player - which was repaired under warranty- there were NO other problems whatsoever with this car. It too was still 100% rattle free, just like my old 91 Accord sedan with 205K was. She traded it in on a new 1995 Nissan Quest- which also was a junker. My old 93 Toyota Camry- 217K- still 100% rattle and squeak free- in perfect order. Toyota and Honda are not exempt however, I have read and heard complaints of rattles on the new Accord and Camrys- something that was unheard of on the 80s thru mid 90s Accords and Camrys. 

Now I am/was in the market for a new car and am disappointed in all Japanese makes. I see too much hard plastic in all models and some mis-aligned panels in some. Most recently, I was looking at the new Altimas and Maximas. On the instrument panel on one brand new 05' Maxima- I seen where a panel on top of the dash had popped up higher than the other side. Also, on a 04' Altima- part of the console- where is it jointed- was not snapped together- causing a terrible gap. What was interesting is that it looks like the 05' Mazdas have improved, after having bad years in the 90s. 

About the comment about the troubled 02 Silverado- that is a shame, considering the high prices that these trucks command- even when used. Seems like they have went down in quality. My uncle has a 98' Silverado Off road, with 195K. Still totally trouble free, 100% rattle free. They are 1-owner, highway miles however, which may account for most of it.


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## m4ck (Aug 7, 2004)

1997XETruck said:


> Thanks for the invite... when's the meet? I have a neighbor with a Titan that would definately be interested, even if I can't go.
> 
> Heath


The meet is on Nov 6th not this Sat but the next. Lunchtime we will be cooking out and playing some games and stuff. IF things go right and the sponsors come through we will be having a few give-aways. 
M4ck


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## Victor Kahler (Dec 19, 2005)

*Titan drive shaft vibration*



dagger said:


> Have 3 weeks now on my Titan Crew Cab LE. Only options were mud flaps and carpets - just what I wanted. I'm a Ford truck man for many years and had just finished test driving the new 2004's. On a whim from some bits of positive press I heard about the new Nissan, I passed a dealer on the way home and decided to pull in and check them out.
> 
> Very impressed with the looks and many of the features. The Ford wins in some of the interior areas (I liked some of the materials/design choices as well as HMI control implementations), the Titan uses a bit too much chrome in the front end but other than that I gave the nod to Nissan for the overall looks/exterior design. What won me over was the driving experience - they both on paper have similar engines (300 vs 305 hp) but the Nissan blew the Ford away. Punched the Titan on an on-ramp and it effortlessly revved to 6K rpm. It felt much faster/responsive than the Ford and the ride was a bit better (though the 2004 F-150 is very close). I had to have this engine/truck.
> 
> ...


I have a 2005 crew cab Titan with a vibration between 25-35mph when accellerating, de-accellerating, or just coasting. The dealer says every thing is OK and says there i no vibration there - Bullshit. I put the truck on jacks and removed the tires and the vibration is definitely there. So much for the dealer.
I let you know if I ever get this problem fixed.
Vic


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## Misery-Tom (Oct 16, 2005)

check tranny bolts


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## andrewclark (Mar 24, 2004)

I've switched to a 2005 Titan SE from my 2004 about 6 or 8 months ago and am liking it much better. Fit and finish feels much nicer. Breaks aren't mushy, interior isn't falling apart, etc. I haven't put enough miles on it yet to experience the brake judder but I'm expecting it soon. It happened with my '04. 
(see post: http://www.nissanforums.com/showthread.php?t=88750 )

I traded for the same model, color and option package but '05 has a great backup sonar. I was thinking of getting an after market on the '04 but no need now. Mileage is a tiny bit worse, not sure why.

Speaking of mileage:
Mythbusters on Discovery Channel did some testing with tailgates down vs. up and found up was better. Watertunnel testing on a scale model (like a windtunnel) showed that "tailgate up" creates a vortex behind the back window that helps direct the airflow smoothly over the tailgate. With the tailgate down the vortex wasn't there and the airflow through the bed was very turbulent causing drag. Go figure.


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## UpShift (Jan 9, 2006)

*2006*

I have a 2006 Titan SE Crew Cab with only 2500 miles on it. First time buying a truck, from what i have been doing (mostly city and few highway) drivings, i have experienced alot of cross-winds. While driving, my truck seems to steer off quite a bit due to wind. I guess this is normal for a truck but i didnt know that it could be this bad... felt like i had a really bad alignment while driving or something in that nature.. Also, i experience alot of vibration from the steering wheel and seats. Also... haha.. there is this squeaking nose that is coming from the dashboard.. Have anyone had these problems? I was told that the brakes on the new 06 were fixed or so because i told them about the tsb from the 04 titan's. Besides everything else, i really love this truck, never tested any other truck but from what i've researched, heard, and seen, this truck is one of the best right now... Thanks for any help, comments, replies, questions, please do ask... :loser:


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## Bror Jace (Apr 26, 2003)

Might be helpful to review this thread ... especially the link(s) it contains:

http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=007043


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## barton1014 (Feb 16, 2006)

*Audio Issues*

On another item which someone else brought up (perhaps on the other Titan LE thread) about their amp not "working" with the radio but the CD sound reproduction is great, I have a similar comment. I hear very little bass when listening to the radio, but when I put in a CD, then there's no doubt I have a subwoofer. I decided to turn up the radio a number of clicks higher than normal, and then I could discern output from the sub - however that indicates to me that the low level signal level is too low for the radio mode versus the CD mode.

Cheers,
dagger[/QUOTE]

I have an '03 Altima with an upgraded Bose stereo. I have the same issue of sound quality of radio vs CD. I crank up the bass on the radio then when a pop in a CD it's like hyper bass and I have to adjust it down. Maybe it's an overall design issue across the Nissan line?


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## Victor Kahler (Dec 19, 2005)

*Titan vibration*



dagger said:


> Have 3 weeks now on my Titan Crew Cab LE. Only options were mud flaps and carpets - just what I wanted. I'm a Ford truck man for many years and had just finished test driving the new 2004's. On a whim from some bits of positive press I heard about the new Nissan, I passed a dealer on the way home and decided to pull in and check them out.
> 
> Very impressed with the looks and many of the features. The Ford wins in some of the interior areas (I liked some of the materials/design choices as well as HMI control implementations), the Titan uses a bit too much chrome in the front end but other than that I gave the nod to Nissan for the overall looks/exterior design. What won me over was the driving experience - they both on paper have similar engines (300 vs 305 hp) but the Nissan blew the Ford away. Punched the Titan on an on-ramp and it effortlessly revved to 6K rpm. It felt much faster/responsive than the Ford and the ride was a bit better (though the 2004 F-150 is very close). I had to have this engine/truck.
> 
> ...


Dagger,
I have a new Titan Crew cab with the same vibration. It's coming from the drive shaft between 25 & 30mph whether I accellerate, deaccellerate, or just coast in neutral. The dealer says its not there but I'm convinced Nissan knows about this problem and does not want to recall and rebalance the drive shaft components.
We all ought to complain to Nissan ASAP because we may have a serious safety problem.
Victor


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## Nissan GOD (Feb 8, 2006)

Victor Kahler said:


> Dagger,
> I have a new Titan Crew cab with the same vibration. It's coming from the drive shaft between 25 & 30mph whether I accellerate, deaccellerate, or just coast in neutral. The dealer says its not there but I'm convinced Nissan knows about this problem and does not want to recall and rebalance the drive shaft components.
> We all ought to complain to Nissan ASAP because we may have a serious safety problem.
> Victor



Wrong, their is a TSB out on the steering wheel vibration. Have your dealer pull this TSB. "NTB05-111 2004 TITAN AND ARMADA VIBRATION IN STEERING WHEEL AT 29 OR 58 MPH".
Now this TSB applies to 2004 Titan and Armada. Not sure what year your is but it exactly duplicates your complaint.

Also all the 2006 Models get larger brakes. This does not help you, but they did recognize the the brakes were weak.

As far as the frame rails. If it bothers you that much I would look at maybe putting a screw on rubber bumper to give it something soft to slide into rather than the metal. Try the hardware store.


Nissan GOD


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