Learn me Nissan Frontier

At some point I'll be allowed to work again and assuming my patients all come back I'd like to grab a small, quad cab pick up truck for house use.  I don't need to tow a car with it, so tow rating isn't much of a concern.  I don't want a "small, ie: huge" 1/2 ton from the big 3.  Just need something I can toss the kids/dog in, use to haul small stuff in the bed like gravel, lawnmowers/snowblowers, mtn bikes, etc.  My daughter is about to get her permit and I'd like her to learn on something I don't care about before I try and find her something a bit nicer.

A toyota tacoma would be awesome but their resale value is insanely good and I don't want to spend a ton on a truck that'll mostly sit in front of my house waiting for when I need to take the lawnmower in for service.  So that made me think of the Nissan Frontier, which seems really similar to the Tacoma but for way cheaper.  I can find them now for ~$5000 near me, although I think that'll go down because of all the stuff that's happening right now.

So what do I need to know about these?  Seems like Nissan has been making them for a really, really long time.  Any important updates that I need to know about?  Reliability and specific issues to look into? 

I think depending on the year, they had an issue with coolant getting into the trans fluid, which was very bad. Mine also Valdez-ed oil from the valve covers (and everywhere else), which are not trivial to replace. It was loud, slow, terrible mpg (14-15mpg bone stock), burned a quart of oil every 1,000 miles, frame and body were OK, but rust ate suspension and brake components constantly, engine never seem to run "smooth".

But it wasnt unreliable, just crappy. 

I would suggest a 1/2 ton from any of the big 3 before going back to nissan. 

Also, if your looking for one dont forget to check when the timing belt was changed. That is kinda important. 

I can't help with the Nissan other than to say a friend has one that just klicked over 145k. He's been happy with it.

You might also look at the Colorado. I've got two of them as service trucks that have been pretty flawless overall. Both well over 250k at the moment and still on the road every day. 

Got a approximate year or body stile your looking at? Pre 2005 they had he vg33 v6 or the ka24. 2005 was the complete redesign and new motors. Thats when the trans cooler could laak with the radiator causing bad things to happen. 
 

i have a 2000 4cyl and a 2012 pro4x crew cab. I like them. They arent perfect but they do truck things well at a good price. 

08 and newer should be fine for the trans cooler issue. but most now should of had the recall for said radiator done.

In reply to TJL :

I want the 4 door crew cab version.  I'm not quite sure what year to look at but sounds like I should target 2008+. 

My budget really is around ~$5000 for a truck, I really doubt I can get a decent Colorado for that.  Even finding something from the Big 3 for that much is really hard.  I live in Denver and this is truck country, with a truck tax on anything 4x4/quad cab...

I've had a couple of these for rentals, and the only bad thing I can say about them is they seem to drink fuel at the rate of a full-size truck.  They should do everything you want just fine, the only "feature" they have is that they are relatively compact compared to the full-sizers so it will fit in a garage, you don't need a step ladder to get in and out of it, and you can park it in town.

EDIT: You can even get things out of the bed without the aid of a forklift, so it's got that going for it.  I swear I don't know how people unload new full-size trucks without mechanical assistance, especially 4x4's and HD's

This guy drove one a million miles delivering packages in Chicago.  It was at the Chicago Auto Show last month.  It had some rust on the bed that I found funny  

Why did it last? Rear wheel drive, 2 wheel drive, stick shift, 4-cylinder basic truck.  

Basically today's B210.
 

docwyte said:

In reply to TJL :

I want the 4 door crew cab version.  I'm not quite sure what year to look at but sounds like I should target 2008+. 

My budget really is around ~$5000 for a truck, I really doubt I can get a decent Colorado for that.  Even finding something from the Big 3 for that much is really hard.  I live in Denver and this is truck country, with a truck tax on anything 4x4/quad cab...

Fly and drive. I've done this to sell Subaru's at a higher price. 

Given the long production run and therefore what should be a huge depth in parts availability,  this seems like a great choice for a post apocalyptic world.

I've had my 2011 for about 5 years and 60ish thousand miles.  Quad cab with the Pro-4X package(v6 auto 4x4).  Only issue I have is an occasional check engine light for small evap leak, clear the code and it's gone for months.  I had towed my trailer (7x16 double axle enclosed) with about 4.5K of cargo, little slow on big hills.  If I keep the speed under 75 I get about 17.5mpg. 

Would go back and buy it again.

2.0dohc said:

Would go back and buy it again.

Actually,  you probably can since new models are likely still on dealer lots. 

The 4.0 is a solid engine.  Had some early year timing chain rattle issues, which aren't the end of the world to repair. The Trans/radiator issue was early years,  fixed around 09 IIRC.  Any of the older vehicles have probably had the radiator replaced either proactively or had the trans and radiator replaced by now.  That engine does not use a timing belt, it's a chain.  Manual trans are an option  with both engines.  Fuel economy is as others mentioned, not great.  I had a Xterra (basically a frontier)  which i really enjoyed. Leaf springs in the rear could be stronger, lots of guys replace those as they tend to sag with any load. Rear axle bearings tend to wear and leak gear lube on the parking brake.  It's another repair that's hyped on the internet but pretty easy to fix in your garage.

It's a good no frills truck, If you want that size, it's a solid choice. 

We have had the Xterra which is basically the same for 5 years with no issues at all really. Just put an external transmission cooler on it just to be safe and drive the thing. 

The gas mileage is a bit crap. Mine hangs out in the 16mpg range. But mine replaced a 1994 nissan 4x4 truck with the 3.0 v6, it got me like 13-14 mpg so its kinda better, especially with the huge power increase of the vq. 
 

mine has about 70k miles on it and the only issue really has been a solenoid in the transmission was apparently flaking out, throwing a code and leaving me in limp mode. I threw a set of solenoids at it for cheap and so far,  no more issue. 
 

yes, id buy it again. It will be paid off this year and still books at somewhere around 10k$

My parents have an 05 xterra that they have had since new. it has like 110k on it now. It has needed a fuel level sensor, a stop light switch and recently the o2 sensors went which killed all 4 cats(yes 4), and we are still chasing an emissions related check engine light even after all o2 sensors, all 4 cats and the maf have been replaced . It has the timing chain rattle somewhat bad but its been like that for  3 years now, it also recently needed a cam position sensor.  It gets maybe 16mpg combined.

I have some limited experience with a fleet of these. They largely idle and the front wheel well liners literally disintegrate with heat. A few heater cores have gone into those trucks too. Mechanically they seem fine otherwise. 

The interior is... really bad. Plastic. Everywhere. 
It's a truck so I guess that's fine but even in a fleet vehicle I found it difficult to get over. 

My brother-in-law has had one for about 5 years and loves it. He's not a car guy, but he uses it as a truck and it's worked well for him. I've ridden in it a few times and like it, it's a great size, can fit his two kids in the back seat, and is still very functional.

My a father-in-law has a Tacoma that's around the same age, and It hasn't blown me away the times I've been in it or driven it. I think I'd take the Frontier, especially given the price differential.

Same chassis and unchanged since 2005 roughly. One of the only stick shift 2wd 4 cylinder basic trucks you can get out there. I'd drive one if they weren't so much a fuel guzzler. 

dxman92 said:

Same chassis and unchanged since 2005 roughly. One of the only stick shift 2wd 4 cylinder basic trucks you can get out there. I'd drive one if they weren't so much a fuel guzzler. 

Funny you give them credit for still offering a 4cyl 5 speed. Guess what they got rid of for the new model? 4cyl and ALL manual trans. Now you can only get a v6 auto. yay. 

+1 for the recommendations. We owned an Xterra for a couple years and it was a very solid vehicle, the 4.0 is really a gem of an engine.  We traded up to a 2008 V8 Pathfinder for the extra room and V8 rumbly noises, I do miss the simplicity of the Xterra sometimes, but not the ride quality.   The longer wheel base Frontier I'm sure rides better.

As others mentioned MPG is not great, but who cares? 

The coolant issue is certainly worth checking: if it's pre 2010-ish check the coolant and if it looks like it has any trans fluid in it, walk away.  If its OK, and the radiator has not been replaced, you can loop the lines and add an external trans cooler.

This is the mid size truck to own if you don't want to pay the Tacoma Tax; made for nearly 15 years straight without any major changes (parts availability), cheap cost of entry, very solid mechanically, and pretty decent aftermarket options.

For Pro4X /OffRoad they came with fancy stickers, bilstein shocks, and electronic locking rear diff, and that's about it.  The Bilsteins you can get a full set on Rockauto for well under $500.

I put 100k miles on one before trading it for a Hemi.  Great truck that punches well into the 1/2 ton category with payload and towing capacity.  As mentioned, the early years had issues with transmission fluid and coolant mixing when the transmission cooler running through the radiator rusts through.  The radiator can be safely bypassed since all trucks (at least all v6) include a standalone transmission (and oil) cooler.  Timing chain tensioners were known to be a problem on the earlier models as well, very obvious when you hear it running.  Mine was a 2011 and had neither issue after 115k miles.  Paint in the roof rain gutters tends to chip and peel away.

Check coolant and transmission fluids and run away from any that have mixed, and I would also run away from anything with brand new fluids in both since the transmissions are not cheap to replace and someone could just be trying to unload a time bomb.  YouTube has plenty of examples of what it sounds like when timing chain tensioners are worn out, and it will be blatently obvious when you start it up.  Not the end of the world and reasonable cost to repair in your driveway, but it did look like a fairly labor intensive process.

Things I didn't like about it:

- Invasive traction control.  Sometimes you just want to let the wheels slip a bit on wet roads so you can get moving, mine would kill all power at the slightest slip.

- Rough idle.  There was a TSB to fix it by raising the idle RPMs, I never did it but probably should have.  Not a big deal but it can be annoying at times

- Turning radius is really bad.  My crew cab 6ft bed Ram turns almost as sharp as my old king cab 6ft bed Frontier, on paper.  In real world it feels like the Ram has a better turning radius despite being longer.

- Crappy paint.  Started peeling in the roof rain gutters, and then about year and half ago peeled on both driver and passenger front fenders. 

They are great trucks that will do 90% of what 1/2 tons will do while getting 2-3mpg better gas mileage.  They also handle much, much better than a full size; stiffer, more composed, and with less body roll.  I really liked my Frontier, and only got rid of it so I could make v8 sounds and have more interior room.  To solve the v8 problem I seriously considered dropping in the Titan v8 and that would have been a hoot.

Be sure to recognize that there were two bed lengths offered on the Frontier Crew Cab. 

I think the beds are 6ft and 4.5ft

In reply to TJL :

I just read an article confirming those two going away. Ah well, they had a good run.