2019 Nissan Armada Good? Bad? Towing?

[meep]

Indeed.

 

[Fitz98]

The short wheelbase on your Pathfinder would have made it a terrible tow vehicle.

This was actually a concern for me.
The Armada is in between the Yukon and the Suburban with regards to wheelbase.
121 for the Armada, 130 for the Suburban, 116 for the Yukon, so only 5" longer than the Yukon and 9" shorter than the Suburban. Seems like a good average, but concerned that when comparing to towing with the Suburban, I might not be as satisfied.
Went to dealers today. Crazy interest rates with excellent credit, no dealer is excited to make a deal and vehicles are expensive.
26k pre fees and pretax with 70-80k miles... Nerve wracking and frustrating.
It's been a long time since shopping for a new/used car at a dealer, now I remember why.

 

[CKN]

This was actually a concern for me.
The Armada is in between the Yukon and the Suburban with regards to wheelbase.
121 for the Armada, 130 for the Suburban, 116 for the Yukon, so only 5" longer than the Yukon and 9" shorter than the Suburban. Seems like a good average, but concerned that when comparing to towing with the Suburban, I might not be as satisfied.
Went to dealers today. Crazy interest rates with excellent credit, no dealer is excited to make a deal and vehicles are expensive.
26k pre fees and pretax with 70-80k miles... Nerve wracking and frustrating.
It's been a long time since shopping for a new/used car at a dealer, now I remember why.

Best APR here is 7.39%.

 

[Fitz98]

You have to have the big tow kit for the 8500LB rating and if you do it will do it.

The biggest problem you will have is the "catafold" the hybrid manifold catalytic converter.

It WILL crack and reduce mileage severely. There are a few fixes out there that will end this problem.

This is a brutally expensive part.

If you are looking at it insist on a dead cold startup to see if you can hear a manifold crack and have it inspected either way.


The Vk 56 is a better tow mill than a chevy 5.3 Ive had them both.

Which years did this affect? I was also looking at a 2020.
Either way, I am looking at an extra 85.00 per month (with 100.00 deductible) for a 5 year bumper to bumper warranty....hopefully to cover things like this if they happen.

 

[UncleDave]

Which years did this affect? I was also looking at a 2020.
Either way, I am looking at an extra 85.00 per month (with 100.00 deductible) for a 5 year bumper to bumper warranty....hopefully to cover things like this if they happen.

Pretty sure every Armada and every Titan have this issue.

 

[WeyounDS9]

The Nissan Armadas are not trouble free vehicles.You should not tow more than 5,000-5,500 pounds with an Armada. IMHO.

Huh?
The 2017 and up Armadas are Y62 platform vehicles.
As in Nissan Patrol, that competes globally quite well with the Landcruiser.
Its decontended a bit for the US market (no hydraulic suspension, no rear locker) which makes it quite affordable for what it is.
The Y62 Power train is as relaible as the sun.
There are tons of reviews on this car is Australia comparing it with the landcruiser and it compares well.

To the OP:
If its a 4x4 and you for some reason pass on it, please send me the info I might be interested as I am also in Florida and been itching for Y62.

 

[WeyounDS9]

You have to have the big tow kit for the 8500LB rating and if you do it will do it.

The biggest problem you will have is the "catafold" the hybrid manifold catalytic converter.

It WILL crack and reduce mileage severely. There are a few fixes out there that will end this problem.

This is a brutally expensive part.

If you are looking at it insist on a dead cold startup to see if you can hear a manifold crack and have it inspected either way.


The Vk 56 is a better tow mill than a chevy 5.3 Ive had them both.

Quite a few different V8s designed during that time had a smilar manifold weakness.
This affects the previous generation especially the first few years.

04s-09s mostly.
Not really a concern with the Y62 the OP is asking about.

 

[WeyounDS9]

Not sure if the newer Nissan's of today are as dependable as those from 04.

The 2004 was the first year of the Armada in the US.
It was well recived due to its powerful engine and generally agreeable design but it had quite a few teething issues some of which took a couple of model years to show up.
Generally the '11 and up have the bugs ironed out.

 

[UncleDave]

Quite a few different V8s designed during that time had a smilar manifold weakness.
This affects the previous generation especially the first few years.

04s-09s mostly.
Not really a concern with the Y62 the OP is asking about.

I never meant to insinuate Nissan is alone here, just the thats this is a problem.

Y62 is still a VK56. Never seen a second gen catafold, but the complaints about cracking havent stopped.

 

[Anthony]

I don’t know the armada at all. I did have a 97 pathfinder and did tow with it. I found the the pathfinder was a good passenger suv, or really a lifted station wagon. it was quite comfortable on the highway. Unfortunately, the comfy ride translated to a mediocre tow vehicle. it was rated for 5000 pounds but was sloppy even with 3500 - was way too sloppy. Idk if the armada follows similar build philosophies but if it does, I would cut the comfortable tow rating in half, unless you want to mod springs/bushings/shocks.

Your Pathfinder had a 3.3 V6 with 170HP. It was also unibody. Can’t compare to an Armada in any metric.

 

[Anthony]

ALL 2017 - Current Armadas have a 8500lb capacity. 2wd or 4wd. All trims.

I have yet to hear about the manifolds cracking on the 2nd Gen. Armadas will have no issue towing that weight but of course more thought would need to be put into the length of the trailer.

All 2nd Gen Armadas use a 7 speed trans. Only the Titan got the 9 speed. There are mixed opinions about the 7 speed. If towing heavy I’d just manually shift and it should be fine.

 

[Nicasio]

It was an awesome 14 hour one way drive home when we picked up my Skylark. Washington to California. My brother said it almost felt like driving a normal car lol! We did take a few breaks here and there. Switched seats every few hours or so to catch up on some sleep.

Snohomish, WA

Rocklin, CA