2023 Nissan Titan

The Titan is pointless anyway, it may as well be dead. The Tundra is more reliable. The domestic offerings from Ford, GM, and Ram are worlds better overall, especially when it coems to fuel economy. They simply put far more R & D into their trucks alone than Nissan puts into their entire product lineup.

Nissan as a whole only sells vehicles because they are CHEAP. Nobody buys a Nissan because they want a Nissan. They buy a Nissan because if you sort by lowest price in any category, you find a Nissan! Honestly I'm irritated the company I work for is still buying Frontiers - they should be buying Mavericks.

We have a mixed fleet of Nissans and Fords across our 5K+ US locations. Nissan Frontier, Nissan Versa Note, Nissan Kicks, Nissan NV200, Ford Transit Connect, Ford Ranger. All the drivers hate the Nissans - they are just pure garbage. Fords aren't perfect, but I've asked our hub route drivers whether they prefer the NV200 or Transit Connects and every single one will tell you the Ford drives better, is more comfortable, and is less likely to leave you stranded. We had an NV200 lose its CVT in our parking lot last year.

And before you tell me how reliable Frontiers are - they are just as bad as the other Nissans - I've worked at four different stores and at each one we have at least one Frontier with a failed airbag clockspring - that means no horn!! Super irritating. And no matter hard I try, parts are not available! been out of stock/back ordered for YEARS! On what I would consider an important safety item. The fact we drive them like that is a different topic and honestly not something I appreciate, but I don't have the power to do anything about it at my level besides roll my eyes and avoid taking those defective vehicles on the rare occasion I drive a company car.

Back to the Titan - think about a big portion of the market for full-size trucks: high-end family vehicles. That is a very competitive market. Not only do boring things like reliability and fuel economy matter, as well as fun stuff like features and accessories - but even if we throw all that out, people spending $70K on a truck want something that people know cost money and even if the Titan was competitive in a single way (it's not) it could never compete with the "status symbol" of a top-trim F-150 or Sierra or whatever.

Let's look at another market that full-size trucks belong to - fleet and commercial duty. When was the last time you saw any big company with a Titan? LOL. Look at rental truck fleets, construction company fleets, city and county fleets, everywhere you look, you see Ford, GM, Ram. Never Nissan, despite Nissan being "cheap" because over the long term they simple are not competitive financially.

The only people buying Titans are the ones who can't afford any other full-size truck. End of story. All of six people on this planet will care that the Titan is discontinued. There are many people on here who say how great of a truck it is but very few of them actually own or have real world experience with half the vehicles they talk about.
I can buy any truck I want. I bought my 13 Titan because I wanted it. It’s been a great truck for the 8 years I’ve had it. It tows almost every wknd. 110,000 miles and no issues worth mentioning. Plenty of power. Plenty of room and comfort. Drives as well as anything new.
 
I can buy any truck I want. I bought my 13 Titan because I wanted it. It’s been a great truck for the 8 years I’ve had it. It tows almost every wknd. 110,000 miles and no issues worth mentioning. Plenty of power. Plenty of room and comfort. Drives as well as anything new.

Same here, I can go buy a new truck whenever I feel like it.

The domestic and other Japanese NA trucks aren't really that much better if at all and my 04 is pretty nice and still gets it done.

Fastlane truck guys like them as well and feature them stomping all over chevy 5.3's.
 
And a better engine that that Hemi. With the Nissan you can idle it all you want without having to worry about seizing lifters like the Hemi. Also no silly active fuel management to worry about.
Tell me more about how you know nothing about the HEMI and GM AFM lifter failures.

BTW, you don't have direct injection, which is what I was remarking on with that comment. Yours is port injected, like the HEMI. There's no track record for this new DI variant as of yet.
 
I had a 2004 Titan and I would hope they are better now. The VK56DE was amazing, and I would say the transmission was better than average. The rest of the truck was junk.

Literally the brake rotors were warped after 1300 miles from new, they were replacing them under warranty, but there was a long waiting list to get seen at the dealer. I replaced them in my driveway with aftermarket because I got tired of waiting, no issues after that.

They put the Dana 44 in a truck that could tow between 7200 and 9000 lbs, and people's rear ends were failing on the highway. I was afraid to tow with mine.

It was feathering the front tires after around 15K despite rotating them. I wouldn't think a year old pickup with 15K would need suspension work but who knows.

Squeaks and rattled abounded.

The truck would also wind up the drivetrain when starting and stopping, supposedly there was a fix, but I don't know what it was.

I traded it in with only 24K. The gas mileage wasn't bad for a full size truck but when gas went over $3 a gallon it was killing me getting 14 around town which is where I did most of my driving. I could get as high as 20 on the highway if I drove 65-70 but it wasn't enough to keep it. Combined with all the other issues it was a pretty easy decision to dump it.
 
I had a 2004 Titan and I would hope they are better now. The VK56DE was amazing, and I would say the transmission was better than average. The rest of the truck was junk.

Literally the brake rotors were warped after 1300 miles from new, they were replacing them under warranty, but there was a long waiting list to get seen at the dealer. I replaced them in my driveway with aftermarket because I got tired of waiting, no issues after that.

They put the Dana 44 in a truck that could tow between 7200 and 9000 lbs, and people's rear ends were failing on the highway. I was afraid to tow with mine.

It was feathering the front tires after around 15K despite rotating them. I wouldn't think a year old pickup with 15K would need suspension work but who knows.

Squeaks and rattled abounded.

The truck would also wind up the drivetrain when starting and stopping, supposedly there was a fix, but I don't know what it was.

I traded it in with only 24K. The gas mileage wasn't bad for a full size truck but when gas went over $3 a gallon it was killing me getting 14 around town which is where I did most of my driving. I could get as high as 20 on the highway if I drove 65-70 but it wasn't enough to keep it. Combined with all the other issues it was a pretty easy decision to dump it.

Never had a truck that didnt warp the rotors, but nissan didnt get the pad rotor combo right in 04.
I replace all my trucks brakes and upgrade to SS lines - that part was normal for me.

Turns out the dana 44 was underfilled from the factory, this was corrected and extra cooling and capacity was added - I put a stillen cover on mine no problems with about 90 of 110K towing 5-10K.

Weird tire wear? Ok... doesn't happen to me.

I've got a few sqeaks and rattles at 19 years, but so far Its just as good as any of my domestics.

I got the highest end one and its still pretty nice even today - low end stripper trucks were pretty lame inside I'd agree.

The bed is still one of the most usable Ive owned with a great tie down system.

On mileage it was the first 5 speed and was a vast improvement over what anything els that could tow 9500LB in its day, but the new 7,8, and 10 speed trucks handily beat it. Runs fine on 87.

It doenst blow plugs out the heads, lose transmissions, or have phaser issues like my friends f150's.
Its frame doesn't rust out or have cam tower leaks and general consumption like some toyotas.
I dont really know about the hemi tick issue, but know of zero valve train issues on titans.
The chevys suffer AFM issues all the time.

04 titan made 379 ft lb/ 04 hemi made 375 higher in the curve.

In my opinion its biggest weakness is the "catafold" which if you live in cali is a very expensive fix, anywhere else it's a pretty cheap problem to solve.

Running a boat shop for a decade (until 2019) Ive been in about every half ton made towing a boat to a lake with a client, and outside the 3.5, and the chevy 6.2 they just aren't that much better than the old VK56.
 
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Regardless of what's happening to the Titan, it's a **** good truck. If I was in the market right now and needed a pickup that's probably the one I'd buy

I'm not suggesting it's a poor truck because it isn't, but its problem is that it's not a competitive truck. Whatever it does, other trucks do better and then some. If reliability is the only thing that matters to you, there's the Tundra. Everything else you might want in a truck is better packaged in the big 3.

They may have been better off aiming for the value segment. Entry level trucks that still look nice on the outside but with low frills and even lower prices. Because the truck isn't competitive right now, but the price doesn't reflect that.
 
Tell me more about how you know nothing about the HEMI and GM AFM lifter failures.

BTW, you don't have direct injection, which is what I was remarking on with that comment. Yours is port injected, like the HEMI. There's no track record for this new DI variant as of yet.
I KNOW what I drive. The DI version is heavily based on the port injected DE motor and has been around since 2011 on the Infiniti side. The Titan has had the DI 5.6 since 2017.

I definitely understand the AFM issues. Hemis have somewhat of a oiling issue. Lots of idling can lead to those crappy roller lifters seizing up. Yes unrelated to the DOD.

You still have to worry about the DOD lifters collapsing as well. Hemis drive nice but nothing overly impressive about them today.
 
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I had a 2004 Titan and I would hope they are better now. The VK56DE was amazing, and I would say the transmission was better than average. The rest of the truck was junk.

Literally the brake rotors were warped after 1300 miles from new, they were replacing them under warranty, but there was a long waiting list to get seen at the dealer. I replaced them in my driveway with aftermarket because I got tired of waiting, no issues after that.

They put the Dana 44 in a truck that could tow between 7200 and 9000 lbs, and people's rear ends were failing on the highway. I was afraid to tow with mine.

It was feathering the front tires after around 15K despite rotating them. I wouldn't think a year old pickup with 15K would need suspension work but who knows.

Squeaks and rattled abounded.

The truck would also wind up the drivetrain when starting and stopping, supposedly there was a fix, but I don't know what it was.

I traded it in with only 24K. The gas mileage wasn't bad for a full size truck but when gas went over $3 a gallon it was killing me getting 14 around town which is where I did most of my driving. I could get as high as 20 on the highway if I drove 65-70 but it wasn't enough to keep it. Combined with all the other issues it was a pretty easy decision to dump it.
The early Dana 44 was a 2 spider design and factory filled with 80w90 conventional lube. Not sure who made those decisions but they were addressed later with a 4 spider design and 75w140 lube.

I tow frequently and fairly heavy and mine is doing great at 110k. The whole truck it solid. 04 was a hit or miss year though. 05 and 06 too. New plant with new workers and new products. Way too many windows for failure. I wish they could
have launched the truck from the Smyrna Tennessee plant.
 
It's not as cut and dried on towing and performance, or interior.

In FLT tests titan often beats competitors up the same hill even though it has a lower or identical tow rating.

The high end interior packages are nice on all the trucks, once you slide the version they dull out really quick.

The titan may not have the highest tow rating especially today, but there a re a LOT of asterisks on those rating and few america trucks carry the max rating- drop the rear end to anything below a 3:73 and the rating dives.

It presents an entirely different cabin experience from an american pushrod truck under sustained high RPM load.

Here's an interesting breakdown of 10 year old trucks from a 3rd party.

Screenshot 2023-01-09 at 4.09.55 PM.png


 
I believe the 2023 model has upped the horsepower and tow rating .

The XD is up there..and pretty beefy parts as well. Pretty sure it has largest rotor diameter.

Does any other 1/2 have a recirculating ball steering or are they all rack and pinion?
 
It's not as cut and dried on towing and performance, or interior.

In FLT tests titan often beats competitors up the same hill even though it has a lower or identical tow rating.

The high end interior packages are nice on all the trucks, once you slide the version they dull out really quick.

The titan may not have the highest tow rating especially today, but there a re a LOT of asterisks on those rating and few america trucks carry the max rating- drop the rear end to anything below a 3:73 and the rating dives.

It presents an entirely different cabin experience from an american pushrod truck under sustained high RPM load.

Here's an interesting breakdown of 10 year old trucks from a 3rd party.

View attachment 134825

Interesting.
 
I KNOW what I drive. The DI version is heavily based on the port injected DE motor and has been around since 2011 on the Infiniti side. The Titan has had the DI 5.6 since 2017.
Fantastic! I wasn't questioning what you drove, I was pointing out that yours isn't direct injected, which you are clearly aware. DI has a separate suite of issues (fuel dilution, IVD's) from PI engines. As I said, my comments were in the context of the fact that they added DI to get up to 400HP (on premium). It wasn't a dig at the quality of the engine, just a bit surprised that they didn't get more out of it with DI, compared to the HEMI, which is still PI.
I definitely understand the AFM issues. Hemis have somewhat of a oiling issue. Lots of idling can lead to those crappy roller lifters seizing up. Yes unrelated to the DOD.
No, HEMI's don't have an oiling issue. HEMI's have a lifter materials quality issue, as does GM. They've revised the lifters like 7 times at this point. Improper heat treatment of the pin or roller results in soft spots that are eventually breached and the roller starts to "catch". Eventually, the needles stop moving around and one starts spinning in the soft spot, creating a little "ditch" and then they all pile up, the lifter stops rolling and this is followed by rapid wear of the lifter and lobe.

Because it's a time-based phenomenon, if you've got a defective one in there, it's going to fail eventually. If you have a vehicle that idles a lot, the mileage doesn't accurately capture the hours and that's why it gets blamed on idling. These engines have lots of oil pressure at idle; they are moving lots of oil and the lifter bores are pressure lubed, there's lots of oil there, that isn't the problem. FCA has claimed to have "fixed" it several times now with lifter revisions and I understand the rate of occurrence dropped.

This isn't restricted to engines with MDS. Hellcat engines and older HEMI's with a stick shift that didn't have MDS have also experienced it, and these aren't vehicles that regularly experience extended idling.
You still have to worry about the DOD lifters collapsing as well. Hemis drive nice but nothing overly impressive about them today.
That's an exclusively GM problem. They not only have the same materials quality issue as the HEMI with their lifters, but they also have the lifter collapse issue (hence AFM delete kits). In comparison, as long as you don't have one of the (statistically rare) defective lifters, MDS tends to be problem-free.
 
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Fantastic! I wasn't questioning what you drove, I was pointing out that yours isn't direct injected, which you are clearly aware. DI has a separate suite of issues (fuel dilution, IVD's) from PI engines. As I said, my comments were in the context of the fact that they added DI to get up to 400HP (on premium). It wasn't a dig at the quality of the engine, just a bit surprised that they didn't get more out of it with DI, compared to the HEMI, which is still PI.

No, HEMI's don't have an oiling issue. HEMI's have a lifter materials quality issue, as does GM. They've revised the lifters like 7 times at this point. Improper heat treatment of the pin or roller results in soft spots that are eventually breached and the roller starts to "catch". Eventually, the needles stop moving around and one starts spinning, creating a little "ditch" and then they all pile up, the lifter stops rolling and this is followed by rapid wear of the lifter and lobe.

Because it's a time-based phenomenon, if you've got a defective one in there, it's going to fail eventually. If you have a vehicle that idles a lot, the mileage doesn't accurately capture the hours and that's why it gets blamed on idling. These engines have lots of oil pressure at idle; they are moving lots of oil and the lifter bores are pressure lubed, there's lots of oil there, that isn't the problem. FCA has claimed to have "fixed" it several times now with lifter revisions and I understand the rate of occurrence dropped.

This isn't restricted to engines with MDS. Hellcat engines and older HEMI's with a stick shift that didn't have MDS have also experienced it, and these aren't vehicles that regularly experience extended idling.

That's an exclusively GM problem. They not only have the same materials quality issue as the HEMI with their lifters, but they also have the lifter collapse issue (hence AFM delete kits). In comparison, as long as you don't have one of the (statistically rare) defective lifters, MDS tends to be problem-free.
The Titan will likely have less issues than any of those DOD motors even with its DI. They could have gotten 400 HP without the DI. The DI was a fuel efficiency move.

They are rated 21 MPG hwy which I know is nothing special but it falls in line with most of the current N/A gas V8 1/2 ton offerings available right now.
 
The Titan will likely have less issues than any of those DOD motors even with its DI. They could have gotten 400 HP without the DI. The DI was a fuel efficiency move.

They are rated 21 MPG hwy which I know is nothing special but it falls in line with most of the current N/A gas V8 1/2 ton offerings available right now.
Could be, GM certainly hasn't improved their situation. They also switched to DI and didn't solve the issues with AFM, instead, opting to make it even more complicated and apparently, markedly worse. The HEMI is pretty basic, if they've solved the lifter problem (finally, just before discontinuing the engine, which is apparently happening, it's being replaced by a DI turbo I6) it's a very boring engine to own. We have several in our fleet of 8x 1500's at work that are over 200,000 miles and have been mostly problem-free with the biggest issue being exhaust manifold stud replacement, which every single one of the DS trucks has needed once it got up into the higher miles.

I am not super confident that the new TGDI I6 is going to be as painless to own as the HEMI tends to be.

My understanding is that the Titan was a solid truck, it just never sold all that well.
 
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