# New to forum/test drove a frontier. comments/questions...



## RSXninpo (Jul 24, 2005)

Hello everyone,

I am new to nissanforums.com. I test drove an 05 frontier today. I drove the nismo kc 4x4 and the 4x4 LE model. 
I like the stiffer suspension and the higher ride on the Nismo model. The LE felt a lot like a car than a truck, both are great models. The shifting was smooth for both cars. Both were automatics.

I noticed that there was a rattle in the back seat somewhere as i test drove both trucks. I was a little dissappointed with the plastic interior and i suspect there was something plastic rattling in the back cabin. (Edit: i was especially dissappointed with the cheap plastic platform that you place the back seat cushion down onto. I am not comfortable placing some of my bigger buddies in the back seat.) The nismo felt sensitive to curvatures and bumps on the road (probably due to stiffer shocks than the LE model), and I decided to drive a little more seriously with both hands on the wheel---nothing i couldnt handle though.

Both trucks retailed at 24,895 (with hitch) and 24810 (w/o hitch). Both have extended bed package and nismo upgraded sound system/sirius satellite and alarm. Funny thing in my city is that all dealerships are owned by the same company and so sticker price is non-negotiable. The company even lists its' inventory and the prices of each frontier for all dealerships in the city. It is not like i can go across town and haggle for a better deal than the one I just went to. All dealerships do know what the price is at another dealership.
-->>do you think either of the two deals is a good price?
-->>should I go to another city?

Can you guys tell me any problems with your 05 frontier before I commit to buying one? The other truck i was looking at is a Honda Ridgeline.


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

First off, welcome to the forum! Now to address some of your questions...

Well, to start with you'll pay about $5000 more for the Ridgeline, and IMO it's not a real truck! After all, how many real trucks have their engines tranversely mounted? NONE! 

The rattle you're hearing is probably the box of tie downs for the Utilitrack system or the class III tow hitch parts, both were in the back seat area of my NISMO. 

The plastic thing under the back jump seat has nothing to do with support, it swings out and acts as a seat extender when you fit a car seat in that position! 

The only complaint I have is the back jump seat that sometimes let's itself down. But, I was looking at it today and it appears there is a torx head bolt that may be able to be tightened and fix that, I'm going to try that tomorrow. 

The price sounds about right as well, I paid $26,799.00 for miy NISMO KC 4X4, and it had every option offered on the NISMO, the Audio Upgrade, Utilitrack bed, side air bags, traction package and tow package. I had them throw in the sliding bed extender to seal the deal! So far, it's been the best truck I've owned!


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## RSXninpo (Jul 24, 2005)

the ridgline is a great truck--it is just expensive for a truck, which is the only reason i am leaning away from it. 

your definition of a real truck as having a longitudinal, as opposed to transverse, engine is absurd. im sure people from other sites are saying contrary things, and if they look at what you just said, imo it is not a humble nor professional thing to say. Im not sure how old the average age is for people in this forum but, like most forums ive been to, i know im going to run into a lot of smartass remarks. gotta love the internet.

on another note, thank you for your problem solving issues regarding the rattle and your price input. Overall, other than a cheap plastic interior and some fixable rattles, i still have high regards for this truck, regardless of whether the engine is transverse or longitudinal. as long as it performs well, is reliable, and has good quality craftmanship, then imo it is an excellent truck. Im going to continue looking for a better deal in nearby cities before I commit to getting a nismo kc frontier. For the other members: have you run into any other problems with your 05' frontier. I have already done a search, but I would sincerely like people to speak out and let me know about their experiences with the frontier.


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## Reverendbiker (Jan 29, 2005)

RSXninpo said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I am new to nissanforums.com. I test drove an 05 frontier today. I drove the nismo kc 4x4 and the 4x4 LE model.
> I like the stiffer suspension and the higher ride on the Nismo model. The LE felt a lot like a car than a truck, both are great models. The shifting was smooth for both cars. Both were automatics.
> ...


I can't throw any rocks at the Ridgeline--the specs look good, and Honda generally makes a quality product. The styling is hideous, IMHO, but it may be pure art to you. I have an LE k/c and absoultely love it. THe engine is incredible and the fuel economy is exceptional for a truck (I get 17/22, but the LE 4x2 has a very high final drive ratio). The rear seat in the k/c should support your larger friends nicely, but don't even think about putting them back there if you with to keep them as friends; that space is not really suitable for passengers other than pets or very small children. The only issues I've experienced are the notorious engine rattle and an annoying squeak from the leaf springs, both fixed under warranty. Not huge issues for a new model--
Dealers all over the country are making good deals on the 2005 Frontier now, so if your local Nissan store won't play ball it's probably worth your time to drive to another town. THe Nissan site has a neat search feature that will let you build your truck to spec then use a dealer locator to tell you the closest place to find it; I used that feature and drove past 2 dealerships to shop at a third. You should be able to get the truck at or near invoice price. Good luck in your shopping, and God bless.


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

RSXninpo said:


> your definition of a real truck as having a longitudinal, as opposed to transverse, engine is absurd. im sure people from other sites are saying contrary things, and if they look at what you just said, imo it is not a humble nor professional thing to say. Im not sure how old the average age is for people in this forum but, like most forums ive been to, i know im going to run into a lot of smartass remarks. gotta love the internet.


 :lame: 

Sorry I offended you, that was not my intent! Maybe I should have said the Ridgeline is not a Traditional Truck, in the sense is has a transverse engine (It's currently the only one on the market set up this way), unit body construction (cab is attached to the bed), and 4 wheel independent suspension. Because of this the Ridgeline has an excellent "car like" ride, but even you mentioned you liked the stiffer suspension of the NISMO. As stated in my original post, this is my opinion (Re: IMO). I was not trying to be a Smart a$$, I was just providing my comment, which you requested, and answers to some of your questions. 

You come to a Nissan Frontier Forum and ask for comments, that's what you're going to get, and most comments are based on personal opinion. And most folks here own Frontiers! The humble and professional thing to do is respect other people's opinion, not attack them. 

Having said that, I wish you all the luck in the world in your search for the truck that's right for you, regardless of what make or model! Afterall, it's you're purchase, you're who has to be happy with it, and quite honestly, your's is the only opinion that should count! Good luck in your search... BTW, I'm 47, not 16!


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## abmobil (Nov 22, 2004)

Honda makes great products but seeing how that drivtrain was pulled from existing products such as the odessey minivan that have had quite a few transmission problems im not not sure it would be up to the task of truck duty.


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## sighter (Jul 12, 2005)

I have not driven the Ridgeline but firmly believe that you are on the right track to try several models first to see how they suit you. In some ways I think it is like home audio, you can read all you want, but believe your own ears on what pleases you and that may differ greatly than the opinion of others.

You have your own priorities: Power, quality, quiteness, ride, price, value, ergonomics, dependability etc. Consumer Reports gives a pretty good write up as to where your candidate trucks line up while leaving out the emotional side of the "mine is better" arguement.

I test drove the Tacoma, F-150, Dodge Ram and Titan. I liked them all, new trucks are so much better than they used to be! The Frontier was an afterthought after finding out it was totally re-designed in '05 and shared a lot of technology with the Titan. A small edge in fuel mileage and 265 horsepower was also nice.

My .02? I love my '05 Frontier Crew Cab. No rattles and I think it handles great for a truck with it's towing / payload capabilitites.

Good luck to you on your search!


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## RSXninpo (Jul 24, 2005)

if the humble and professional thing to do is to respect other people's opinion, then i am confused as to why my opinion is being called "lame." yes, i am asking for other people's opinion, and yes i expect to get negative and positive feedback. as a matter of fact, there are posts in this thread which have positive and negative thoughts on the ridgline, and I have no problem with those comments. however, there seems to be a misunderstanding about what you have called being "traditional." later you cleared that up and i thank you for doing so. i agree that my opinion is what matters in my purchase; however, i did state in the thread that I am looking for feedback on people's experience with the 05 frontier...and this is important in helping assess the quality of the truck. so, i thank you (nismo 4x4) again, and i thank the others in this thread who have spoken up about their personal experience with the frontier.


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## thx1158 (Apr 30, 2005)

Ask yourself what you want to do with a truck. Are you going to take it off road...or are you more interested in hauling stuff from home depot? I cant compare the two directly, but thats my definition of what a truck is and what I want it to do. I have owned Honda products and they build a fine vehicles. The Ridgeline is built from the Pilot/MDX platform so to me it's more SUV with a bed than a pure truck. The styling....well it is what it is and I think folks will have a love it or hate it reaction. 

I have had zero problems with my 05 Frontier. I love the power, the smooth Automatic transmission and the ride for a truck. The fuel economy isn't great...but I wanted a truck. I hate the seat belt design and the belts tend to flap when you have the windows down. The stock radio sucks and the first mod I will do is replace the head unit and speakers with aftermarket units. I like the 4wd system and love the traction control. 

I have included a link for you if want to explore the ridgeline any further. I don't know what the Avergage age of forum members may run but like 05 NISMO 4X4 I'm 47 as well. 

http://www.4x4review.com/vehicles/honda/06-Ridgeline.asp 

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=19&article_id=9144&page_number=1


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## brain (Jun 29, 2005)

'05 LE Crew Cab 4x4. No problems at all! Love it!!


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## Docwells2000 (Jul 26, 2005)

*05 SE 4X4 Crew cab, 6 spd manual tranny, 4.0 V6*

I bought my 4X4 Frontier recently (4k miles since May) and I love it. With the manual tranny I'm getting 19-20 in the city and mid 20's on the highway...as long as I keep my foot out of it. I put a SnugTop camper on the back and I expect the mileage to improve a bit more with less drag.

The power is excellent. I had the same rattle behind the seat and it was the shackles for the lock down system...which is a nice feature also.

I am looking to lift my truck at least 3" and go to some more aggressive tires (33"X12.5 Dunlop Mud Rovers) before hunting season starts here in Texas. I'm waiting on the CalMini kit but if anyone is aware of another one that is available and comes with all the parts to maintain the proper steering geometry I'd be interested in a reply. I have 8-10" of mud to claw through to get to our normal staging area where we hunt.

I have two boys, 4 and 13, and the 13 year old is all legs and he liked the backseat of the Nissan more than the GM Colorado/Canyon (no horsepower). Said it gave him more room.

The manual trannies are hard to find. It took McKinney Nissan a few days to find one in Arkansas and few more days to get it back to Texas. I don't commute so stop and go traffic is not an issue for me, hence, another reason the stick was preferable...and the ability to squeeze the mileage and the horsepower as needed.

Best of luck...and I'd appreciate some feedback on the available lift kits...NOT body lifts...suspension only.

(EDIT: My SE stickered for 21,750...AC, AMFM/CD, NO POWER OPTIONS, Manual tranny, 4.0 V6), bed liner. I added side rails and a front air deflector.)


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## Lurk (Jul 27, 2005)

Ridgeline never appealed to me. Canyon/Colorado seemed to be missing a cylinder, and Tacoma came close, but in the end I went with the HP, ride, and styling of the Frontier. Admittedly, I'm a bit biased since my first vehicle was an ‘83 Nissan pickup (which I sunk in the bayou and was driving again the next week, but that's another post).

I was patient, and got an awesome deal on my new ride last week. I got the utility bed, 6 CD changer, and bed extender. My _only_ gripe is that damn passenger side jumpseat that flips down on a short stop. The cheap leg extender makes it top heavy. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t have the goofy jumpseats anyway. If I wanted a people-mover I would have bought the quad cab.


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## boogyman (Jan 24, 2005)

If you want to get the best deal, go to edmunds.com and get quotes from area dealers. I managed to get the list price, not the msrp on my pathfinder le. I didn't even have to negotiate the price down. There are other websites that will do this also. I'm just not sure what they are off hand.


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## Lurk (Jul 27, 2005)

boogyman said:


> If you want to get the best deal, go to edmunds.com and get quotes from area dealers. I managed to get the list price, not the msrp on my pathfinder le. I didn't even have to negotiate the price down. There are other websites that will do this also. I'm just not sure what they are off hand.


that's a good start. I used www.fightingchance.com and spent 35 bucks for an awesome stack of information, including invoice pricing for all configurations/options, recent market data on nissan and frontier, and last but not least, the "Fax Attack" strategy. I have a copy of the dealer's invoice for my new ride, and I paid $1400 less than he did for it (invoice minus 400, minus 1000 customer cashback which the dealer fronted).

Also, the Fighting Chance guys are available during business hours to call and consult. Well worth the 35 bucks.


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## gregnlynn1 (Jul 28, 2005)

Got my LE 4X4 this past weekend. I've been looking since Jan, and finally got an excellent price, thanks to GM's employee pricing! The local Nissan dealer had a one weekend only employee pricing sale. Got my LE, stickered at $27,900, for $24,500. No complaints on the truck yet. Excellent gas mileage at an average of 19.9.


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## Lurk (Jul 27, 2005)

gregnlynn1 said:


> Got my LE 4X4 this past weekend. I've been looking since Jan, and finally got an excellent price, thanks to GM's employee pricing! The local Nissan dealer had a one weekend only employee pricing sale. Got my LE, stickered at $27,900, for $24,500. No complaints on the truck yet. Excellent gas mileage at an average of 19.9.


I'm assuming the majority of your miles aren't in city. My 4x4 is getting a whopping 14.5 in town.


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## brain (Jun 29, 2005)

Lurk said:


> I'm assuming the majority of your miles aren't in city. My 4x4 is getting a whopping 14.5 in town.


I have a 4x4 LE CC, and my drive to work is about 1.5 miles. With the AC on most of the time, I have been getting an astonishing 13.3! I have been up around 19 - 20 on the highway with the windows down though.


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## Docwells2000 (Jul 26, 2005)

*Mileage Figures...2005 XE CC with Snugtop, Manual tranny*

Gents,

I have been getting 18 plus mpg in the city, and 19-20+ on the highway.

My truck is equipped with a 4.0 V6, manual tranny and living in Plano, Texas I run the A/C constantly. I do have to constantly keep my foot out of the accelerator and it seems this is the case for many new owners of this truck. While the power is great, you've got to constantly show moderation in starts and stops and top speed....when I approach 70-80 mph on the highway the mileage drops substantially. When the top speed is maintained between 60-65 mph the mileage raises to 20 mpg and I just reached 5000 miles on the odometer. Again, this is with the A/C on every day.

Regards,

David


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## gregnlynn1 (Jul 28, 2005)

Lurk said:


> I'm assuming the majority of your miles aren't in city. My 4x4 is getting a whopping 14.5 in town.


Yeah, I drive about 10 miles into town on two lane highway. I put about another 10 miles on in-town traffic. I was getting about 16 MPG with my F150, so I'm really please with the Frontier. I'm really taking it easy on the gas pedal during the break-in period. Heard that the break-in is crutial to future fuel mileage. I reset the MPG computer on my trip into town, and registered 23.5 with the cruise set on double nickles!


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## brain (Jun 29, 2005)

Docwells2000 said:


> I have been getting 18 plus mpg in the city, and 19-20+ on the highway.


That's what that manual trany is doing for you. Enjoy it!


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## Reverendbiker (Jan 29, 2005)

brain said:


> That's what that manual trany is doing for you. Enjoy it!


With an automatic transmission, I get 17-18 combined and 21-22 highway. Probably a result of my king cab 4x2's lower weight and the LE's high final drive ratio (2.937:1).


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## hotshtsr20 (Feb 1, 2003)

I too have been looking at "compact" trucks (anyone notice that all the compact pickups are now 1/2 ton or more now?) and I will likely get the Frontier. The Tacoma's styling was disgusting (looks like a riced out pickup) and it's entirely too long. The Ridgeline's styling is even worse and I don't want or need AWD traction (gotta love SoCal) and its associated mileage penalty and increased buy in.

The Frontier won me over with its styling, power, and apparent ease at towing a 5000lb load (consumerreports.com got to 60 in 17.5 seconds with a 5000lb trailer, a little heavier than my racecar/trailer combo). I think I will get a 6 speed because of greater reliability for towing (overheat the clutch, and you may need a new clutch, overheat a torque converter and you may buy a new tranny as well), fuel mileage and fun. The 6 speed with its heavier flywheel, relatively short 1st gear and torquey engine makes it really easy to drive.


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## 98sr20ve (Oct 6, 2002)

hotshtsr20 said:


> I too have been looking at "compact" trucks (anyone notice that all the compact pickups are now 1/2 ton or more now?) and I will likely get the Frontier.


We should both buy Frontiers.....Two Steve's, both with Frontiers. :hal: It would be cool. :cheers:  

I want a White 4X4, Nismo, King Cab. 

Seriously, I thought you were leaning towards a V8, Full Size truck of some sort, Even perhaps a Diesel.


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## hotshtsr20 (Feb 1, 2003)

98sr20ve said:


> We should both buy Frontiers.....Two Steve's, both with Frontiers. :hal: It would be cool. :cheers:
> 
> I want a White 4X4, Nismo, King Cab.
> 
> Seriously, I thought you were leaning towards a V8, Full Size truck of some sort, Even perhaps a Diesel.


I was, but I really don't need all that. I may still end up getting one later, I change my mind a lot... 

I may just end up fixing the A/C in old faithful and rebuild the motor if it dies. Continue to drive the P10 and maybe get the Frontier at a later date.


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