Nissan Frontier

[tiger862]

I got a message from Nissan that they had Frontier on special so since I will be looking for a nice used truck with no idea which brand. They wanted to evaluate my Van and give me a total. I know the game. Destination fee, taxes license fee, guard protection, tire disposal fee, and of course wheel locks. They advertised with discounts 32k and with 10k for van it came out to 30k Lol.
Things I like. Looks, instrument cluster, and power. Road like a truck.
Now the rest.
Internal water pump, Direct Injection, Cramped cab for Crew Cab however for 2 people the King Cab would work and that was what I looked at cause it was higher tow rating.

Now that I drove it I can save up for a used one as it is just a truck that seems to be reliable according to owners. You couldn't have it as a primary vehicle if you have kids, however a truck with the ability to tow and haul light to medium loads to and from HomeDepot, it just works.
It reminds me of my 97 Tacoma and that's not a bad thing.

 

[Kira]

they had Frontier on special

What year was it?

A guy I know loves his. He's looking for a "suped up" version.
I found the plainness of his Frontier refreshing.

 

[Chris142]

I been looking at those. Kinda tired of my jeep and need a small truck to haul stuff with as the jeep is useless for that.

Tacomas are out of the question but I didn't know about the internal water pump.

 

[tiger862]

What year was it?

A guy I know loves his. He's looking for a "suped up" version.
I found the plainness of his Frontier refreshing.

It was 2025.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

The internal water pump is kinda a bummer and Nissan made it a bit more difficult to service on the 3.8. For the 3.8, it's an entire timing job. The 4.0 had an access panel where you could change it without pulling the whole timing cover.

With that said, if things weren't so bleak right now, I'd have one in my driveway. They seem to be the most reasonable truck in the midsize segment ... still the oldes platform , which isa good thing.

 

[tiger862]

I been looking at those. Kinda tired of my jeep and need a small truck to haul stuff with as the jeep is useless for that.

Tacomas are out of the question but I didn't know about the internal water pump.

They all have there deficiency. I am actually looking at a 2020 right now to save money. 49k is nothing on these. I like the body style better and no nannies.

 

[JTK]

Car car nut really blew the whole "internal water pump" think out of proportion IMO. Nissan has been doing this with the VQ engines for 25yrs? I don't know that I've ever read of one failing. I know I haven't seen it and I've had family members with high mileage VQs. 150K+ miles.

I've only got about 50K miles on my 2022 Frontier S-model CC 4x4, but it's been flawless. If you're into DIY maintenance, T-case, front and rear diff fluid changes are a breeze on them. Engine oil changes are easy. Search the u-toobs if you're interested on how the new Nissan 9AT is serviced. Look up Mercedes Benz 9G-tronic service. The Nissan unit is Jatco copy of the 9G-tronic.

 

[dippschtick]

.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I like the new Frontier.

However if I were buying today I would try to get my hands on the previous gen with the VQ40.

Back seat is fine for kids on trips < an hour or so. We all still pile in mine for around town - but my girls are small. If everyone was 6 foot, then no not going to work.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Car car nut really blew the whole "internal water pump" think out of proportion IMO. Nissan has been doing this with the VQ engines for 25yrs? I don't know that I've ever read of one failing. I know I haven't seen it and I've had family members with high mileage VQs. 150K+ miles.

I've only got about 50K miles on my 2022 Frontier S-model CC 4x4, but it's been flawless. If you're into DIY maintenance, T-case, front and rear diff fluid changes are a breeze on them. Engine oil changes are easy. Search the u-toobs if you're interested on how the new Nissan 9AT is serviced. Look up Mercedes Benz 9G-tronic service. The Nissan unit is Jatco copy of the 9G-tronic.

The internal pumps seldom fail. My internal VQ40 now has 240K. In all my years on Nissan boards I believe I have seen one water pump start leaking.

 

[tiger862]

Car car nut really blew the whole "internal water pump" think out of proportion IMO. Nissan has been doing this with the VQ engines for 25yrs? I don't know that I've ever read of one failing. I know I haven't seen it and I've had family members with high mileage VQs. 150K+ miles.

I've only got about 50K miles on my 2022 Frontier S-model CC 4x4, but it's been flawless. If you're into DIY maintenance, T-case, front and rear diff fluid changes are a breeze on them. Engine oil changes are easy. Search the u-toobs if you're interested on how the new Nissan 9AT is serviced. Look up Mercedes Benz 9G-tronic service. The Nissan unit is Jatco copy of the 9G-tronic.

And he never talks about Toyota water pumps that you have to disassemble the front end of engine.

 

[_Will_]

I was looking at a Frontier, so I rented one last year for a week when I had some work being done on my Infiniti; I liked it until I drove a Titan. I've never seen a Frontier and wish I'd gotten that over my Titan (23 Pro 4x) after 8 months of ownership. They're both good vehicles, I had an 07 Frontier with the 4.0 and 6spd manual, loved that truck and the linear engine power; but if you can swing it the Titan is worthwhile. It is great on road trips, does truck stuff without question, handles better over bad pavement (my Frontier rental the rear hopped readily if you were going through a poorly paved corner with any urgency), feels immensely more spacious, and importantly my wife enjoys riding in it more. The big seller for me was lurking on the frontier forums and they were busy doing mods to make it more like the Titan, my logic is skip all the work and just get the Titan.

 

[JTK]

I don't have any direct experience with the Titan, but I am sure it's a night/day difference from the Frontier in terms of size and comfort, cargo capacity, etc. I had two Ram 1500 classics prior to my 2022 Frontier. A 2017 and 2019. One with the Pentastar, the other with a hemi and crew cab. The Rams rode like a Cadillac in comparison and were close in terms of fuel economy for my usage. A smaller truck is nice for parking lots and other space concerns. They're easier to hand wash and remove snow and ice from. The Frontier is nice from a price point. That's where the pluses end with them IMO.

Maybe they're outstanding, but the latest generation Nissan GDI 5.6L V8 scares me a bit. Check the complexity of the valvetrain on them now. There is also some videos online with severely sludged up GDI 5.6's to the point of engine destruction. They are an extremely expensive engine and major engine components and not easily available aside from OEM short/long blocks which are crazy expensive. At least the VQ38DD is still a fairly basic VQ style with bucket valve actuation, etc.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I was looking at a Frontier, so I rented one last year for a week when I had some work being done on my Infiniti; I liked it until I drove a Titan. I've never seen a Frontier and wish I'd gotten that over my Titan (23 Pro 4x) after 8 months of ownership. They're both good vehicles, I had an 07 Frontier with the 4.0 and 6spd manual, loved that truck and the linear engine power; but if you can swing it the Titan is worthwhile. It is great on road trips, does truck stuff without question, handles better over bad pavement (my Frontier rental the rear hopped readily if you were going through a poorly paved corner with any urgency), feels immensely more spacious, and importantly my wife enjoys riding in it more. The big seller for me was lurking on the frontier forums and they were busy doing mods to make it more like the Titan, my logic is skip all the work and just get the Titan.

You jumped the shark. You can't buy a Titan this year. When you could they started at $15K more, and went up much more quickly. Not to mention it won't fit in my garage or a parking spot downtown. I have no interest in a full size truck. Maybe the OP does, but most people I know drive mid size for very specific reasons.

The people stuffing Titan control arms under their Frontier has nothing to do with making it more like a Titan - its a low cost bolt in long travel kit, because the Titan and Fronty share the same frame - or they did. So you end up with more suspension travel in a package thats still small enough to get through a tight trail - Titan is too wide and too long for any serious off road. Fronty really is too but its better. Xterra is perfect

I am not knocking a Titan, there just a completely different beast.

 

[Chris142]

They all have there deficiency. I am actually looking at a 2020 right now to save money. 49k is nothing on these. I like the body style better and no nannies.

The 24 4x4 frontier the dealer had was $32. I don't need all that fancy electronics stuff I don't know how to use anyway.

 

[tiger862]

I traded Caravan in on 2020 Nissan Frontier. Did get as much as I wanted however after weighing everything it was not bad. Reason for trading Caravan with 42k was paint and suspension. Caravan needed a repaint and Dodge wouldn't stand behind it. Struts and shocks, along with transmission flare between 4-5 were also problems. Hate it cause van just worked.

 

[D1dad]

Dang! What year? I found that Nissans coolant it pretty sufficient in being able to go at least 100k. I gotta believe that would make a VQ go a long ways.

The internal pumps seldom fail. My internal VQ40 now has 240K. In all my years on Nissan boards I believe I have seen one water pump start leaking.

ways.

 

[dogememe]

These don't wear well. We use these at work (I'm guessing we have one of the biggest fleets of these in the country) and while they typically don't have major mechanical issue they are constantly having little stuff go wrong and the interiors just don't hold up to real work truck wear and tear. Plus even the newest ones drive like 20 year old trucks. Fuel economy is awful regardless of engine option. I would never buy one of these! Maverick, Canyon, Ranger are all better options depending on what you're trying to do with it.

 

[JTK]

I traded Caravan in on 2020 Nissan Frontier. Did get as much as I wanted however after weighing everything it was not bad. Reason for trading Caravan with 42k was paint and suspension. Caravan needed a repaint and Dodge wouldn't stand behind it. Struts and shocks, along with transmission flare between 4-5 were also problems. Hate it cause van just worked.

Nice! So you got the old body style, but the new 3.8L and 9AT. Is it a crew or king cab? Short or long bed?

 

[tiger862]

Nice! So you got the old body style, but the new 3.8L and 9AT. Is it a crew or king cab? Short or long bed?

Nice! So you got the old body style, but the new 3.8L and 9AT. Is it a crew or king cab? Short or long bed?

So for so good. Only negative is tires. Less than 2 year old LT tires are noisy and I tried to get them to replace but wouldn't. I have to go back for spray in bed liner and I guess you call this the S model.