Pick a Nissan V8 4x4 family hauler.

SC Maintenance said:
1) I don't think the SMOD Nissan Radiator class action affected the Armada - but I would double check. It did go to 2010. So long as it doesn't have it when you buy it - easy fix - either just bypass the radiator cooler or replace the rad.

My understanding is virtually all VK56 exhaust manifolds are disposed to crack. There not a big deal to fix, but are integrated with the catalytic converter so there very expensive - is my understanding. Never owned one - so you might want to do some more research on that part.

There otherwise very reliable, if not hard on fuel - is my understanding.
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1) Your understanding is correct
2) A lot of other competitors manifolds are also prone to cracking. Virtually all V8s designed in that timeframe have thinner manifolds as a way to heat up the engine /cat combo quicker for Emissions:
https://www.tundrasolutions.com/threads/cracked-exhaust-manifold.77228/
https://www.benzworld.org/threads/exhaust-manifold-cracked-twice.1640318/
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/ex...y-potential-damage-how-urgent-to-fix.1285045/
3) As reliable as the sun it takes an extrenal event to damage or wear them like inhaling catalytic converter particles from a broken cat with an ignored SES emisisons light. Even neglecting oilchanges unless extreme is well tolerated.
Every single Nissan V8, I ever owned (I owned 5 since the 90s, not counting my current VK56VD that is near new) made it past 180,000 miles at zero oil use, perfect compression.
If the toyota fanboy serial owners were honest and they had as many as I have they would not be able to make that same statement.
Excessive Oil consumptions tells me there is imperfect compression and not all the advertised HP will be prsent in an aged motor.
There are even entire threads on oil usage on the Tundra forums and Lexus forums.
There are no such oil use threads on the Nissan forums, because none are needed: :D

https://www.tundras.com/threads/oil...thing is perfect and,and watch the oil level.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-4th-gen-2007-2017/978305-burning-oil.html
 
CKN said:
N0-they are not be we can disagree here.
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Care to elaborate - or you just being adversarial?

Ever owned one? Ever worked on one extensively? VQ / VK Nissan Engines are some of the best made in modern times. My VQ40 burns zero oil and has great power at 395,000 miles. And I am far from unique. In this generation of Nissan truck there attached to a Jatco RE5R05A transmission, also extremely reliable, and used in a lot of vehicles, not just Nissan.

So care to tell me where I am wrong?

https://usa.nissannews.com/en-US/re...r-that-delivered-a-million-miles-and-counting
 
BISCUT said:
Not sure how you can disagree when you assumed incorrectly what the issue was with the transmission. I did not claim the fluid was the issue, I used the correct fluid and mentioned Nissan's can be sensitive to the correct fluid in the trans. It's been a while but if I recall it was the 505R or 5R05 transmission. It was not the well-known cooler line it was the gearbox grinding and going to :poop: which is another known issue with these Armada's. Mine is a sample of 1 so rather insignificant.

Well, Nissan is not the Nissan that established their reputation and maybe that has something to do with the pricing of them in the aftermarket. Not a leap to state overall Sequoia & Expedition is often a more reliable vehicle than the Armada which will demand a higher price at resale.
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The transmission in your rig is the Jatco RE5R05A. Nissan used them in about every "truck" based thing of that era - Titan, Armada, Frontier, Xterra. I have one with 395,000 miles - no issues. Drain and fill every 30K. Yours unfortunately sounds like it was built first thing Monday morning because they generally give no issues. Unfortunate.

I know the feeling - I had a 2002 Grand Marquis I bought with 35K on it - not quite 2 years old - and it was utter junk. Yes, I got the one lemon I guess.
 
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Not sure why I didn't think of this earlier, but forum member @macarose has a service that tracks such things. His research says the Armada is pretty good. He also breaks it down further by year and it seems 2010 is in the 96th percentile for quality.

https://www.dashboard-light.com/vehicles/Nissan_Armada.html

1706361164167.png
 
dogememe said:
GMT800 Suburban would be a better choice IMO. Repairs will be easier and parts will be cheaper and more available.
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You haven’t worked on a V8 Nissan rig have you. Definitely not harder to work on in fact they make a lot of things easier. For starters the diffs, trans and radiator all have easily accessible drain plugs. The GMT has no drain plugs.
 
dogememe said:
GMT800 Suburban would be a better choice IMO. Repairs will be easier and parts will be cheaper and more available.
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You haven’t worked on a V8 Nissan rig have you. Definitely not harder to work on in fact they make a lot of things easier. For starters the diffs, trans and radiator all have easily accessible drain plugs. The GMT has no drain plugs.
 
CKN said:
He should know Armadas are not trouble free vehicles....FYI. He WILL HAVE problems with the millage on the listed Armadas.

Pathfinder with the narrow rear door opening smallish backseat - IS NOT A GREAT FAMILY VEHICLE.

None are great choices-just because they are conventional frames with a V8 doesn't make them a wise choice.
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They are a great choice and no more prone to issues than any other truck from the 2010ish era. The trans and engine in those are both excellent units.
 
Anthony said:
They are a great choice and no more prone to issues than any other truck from the 2010ish era. The trans and engine in those are both excellent units.
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They are not A GREAT CHOICE IF YOU ARE SO BUDGET MINDED YOU HAVE LESS THAN $10,000 TO SPEND. They get like what maybe 14mpg in the city?
 
IDK did person buy Armada or not. But I will just give my $0.02 based on my people hauling experience with that particular vehicle.

At one point when I arrived to US, I was coach for university team. We rented vehicles to haul teams, minivans, small, midsize, large SUV's, big vans like E350 etc.

I rented Armada A LOT, hauling usually 6-7 people and gear. Let me tell you, from the get-go, ANY, ABSOLUTELY ANY, minivan is a MUCH better choice. They will fit far more stuff than any big SUV like the Armada; maybe the Suburban will match it.

Next thing is gas consumption. If they like to think they have CFM56 from Boing under the hood, go for it. But they don't, and consumption is right there with CFM56.

I found consumption-wise, and people/gear towing-wise, Suburban to be a much better choice if a big SUV is a must. But in my opinion, that should be a must only if off-roading, rough terrain is planned. If a family is going to stay on the road, 6 people? A minivan is by far THE best option.
 
Nissan 5.6's get the mileage 5 liter+ v8's get in its era- no worse than another brand with a similar gearing.
 
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