What's new
By:
Filters

Nissan Titan 2004-2008... Thoughts?

FUK

Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2020
Member Number
1942
Messages
15
My Silverado was stolen and found stripped a week later. I got the insurance pay out but I’m having a hard time finding a replacement.

Looking to buy another truck for house projects and the occasional weekend tow duty (5,000lb boat). Nothing crazy.

Seems like first gen titans have not sky rocketed in pricing like all other truck models.

Pros/Cons?

Thanks!
 
Diffs, axles, ect were trash in them early on. Avoid the first few years and they've basically just got small issues, but so does every other truck of that age.
 
The people I've known with them weren't happy long term, not necessarily anything in particular, just Chrysler quality and Toyota parts costs, it seems well enough known that it's reflecting in their pricing
 
Motorcharge said:
Diffs, axles, ect were trash in them early on. Avoid the first few years and they've basically just got small issues, but so does every other truck of that age.
Click to expand...

If they've made it this long, they're probably not going to be a problem.

I had an '06 with 230k on the clock before I traded it in.

Only slightly "major" issue I had was the driver's side manifold liked to crack. It was only a few hour job in the driveway to replace, but I used the cheap pacesetter and it cracked again in a year....and again in a year when I used the same one again. :shaking:

Other than that, random sensors started popping up, but they were all fairly cheap and just about everything is available aftermarket now. They were basically the same from '04 to '15 with some very minor changes the the interior and body.
 
I see a lot of those years Titan/Armada/NV van with a shit ton of miles, usually a good sign when shopping for a budget ride.
 
I have a 2010 that I've had since it was new, now at ~150k miles. It's been a very solid truck with no issues other than regular maintenance. It's starting to show it's age with little issues- drivers seat controls not working properly, temp control can be touchy, etc. Drives and tows great. I haven't towed anything heavy, but have regularly pulled a 5X8 cargo trailer with ease all over the mountains of CO. As others pointed out, look for 08+; Nissan improved the rear diff, larger brakes, and a few other things that I don't remember.
 
Biggest complaint I've seen consistently is the fuel mileage. Other than that, standard stuff for a vehicle with age.
 
I have a 04 first year they were made, I bought it really cheap three years ago with serval lack of maintenance issues all fixed easily and fairly cheap. The biggest complaint as said above is the differentials, I rebuilt the rear in my driveway last summer due to blown pinion bearings, my front now has a nice pinion whine, looking at eBay and I can get a junkyard front for under $600, it is easy to swap in a few hours, will be springtime project. I have read that the 08 and newer have been greatly improved on the axle department. Gas usage is not an issue with me so I don't care that it gets maybe 15MPG. Overall it has been a really good truck that does everything I ask of it, stay away from the Cummins I have not read many good things about it, look at a 08 or new try to find an XD with the gas engine.
 
CNCJerry said:
I have a 04 first year they were made, I bought it really cheap three years ago with serval lack of maintenance issues all fixed easily and fairly cheap. The biggest complaint as said above is the differentials, I rebuilt the rear in my driveway last summer due to blown pinion bearings, my front now has a nice pinion whine, looking at eBay and I can get a junkyard front for under $600, it is easy to swap in a few hours, will be springtime project. I have read that the 08 and newer have been greatly improved on the axle department. Gas usage is not an issue with me so I don't care that it gets maybe 15MPG. Overall it has been a really good truck that does everything I ask of it, stay away from the Cummins I have not read many good things about it, look at a 08 or new try to find an XD with the gas engine.
Click to expand...

Can confirm. I traded my '06 in for a '16 with the Cummins. 1 out of 10. Would not recommend.
 
Thanks guys! Not worried about gas mileage as the majority of its life it will sit in the driveway.

My price range is $5-10k. So it looks like just buy the newest I can and check all the normal things.

I’ll add checking the manifold to that list.

Thank you!
 
Nissans are junk with expensive parts. Not as bad as VW but close. Don't buy a Nissan anything unless you just have to nurse an old sports car through it's twilight years.
 
Bought a 05 new, drove it 90,000 miles until 2018. Many miles were pulling my 24' enclosed. It was never in the shop. I now have a 2017 gas XD with no issues.
 
evernoob said:
Nissans are junk with expensive parts. Not as bad as VW but close. Don't buy a Nissan anything unless you just have to nurse an old sports car through it's twilight years.
Click to expand...

bullshit.

That is all. I've owned over a dozen Nissans. Very minimal issues with any of them. Just avoid the cars with CVTs.
 
evernoob said:
Nissans are junk with expensive parts. Not as bad as VW but close. Don't buy a Nissan anything unless you just have to nurse an old sports car through it's twilight years.
Click to expand...

I've probably had 10 different nissan trucks that I've put a decent amount of miles on over the years. I dont ever recall any "expensive parts" or anything out of the ordinary. Just your basic truck that's halfway simple to work on and doesnt do any one thing great or horrible.
 
2big bronco said:
I've probably had 10 different nissan trucks that I've put a decent amount of miles on over the years. I dont ever recall any "expensive parts" or anything out of the ordinary. Just your basic truck that's halfway simple to work on and doesnt do any one thing great or horrible.
Click to expand...

Since sometime in the early 2000s nissans have been some of the worst cars and trucks to work on or get parts for. I used to love nissans, had a 96 Maxima SE and an older Nissan truck. After working on them a lot for the past 15 years owning a repair shop I probably will never own one again.
 
That era Titan is fine. The 5.6 is a good engine. The diffs are a little weak for a fullsize truck but if you don't beat the fuck out of it it'll survive. The Gen 1 Titans are actually a pretty decent truck with a few quirks that all Nissan's seem to have.

As far as reliability and quality of Nissan's... Hit and miss. I have an '09 Frontier. Lot of mods, not treated nicely in the woods, 178k hard miles on the clutch, still lumping along nicely. Other guys with similar trucks have had transmission problems (auto), clutch problems and all manner of little nanny issues. Only left me on the side of the road once when the alternator packed up shop in the middle of the night.

EDIT: I forgot to add... You better get a 2008. I think, don't quote me, but I think the Titan suffered the same 2 spider gear rear axle issues as the Frontier from 2004/2005 - 2007. That was fixed for the 2008+.
 
Last edited:
My brother in law has one. Manifolds crack then it ruins the cats. $2300 fix. I got it from here: https://www.cajunbpipes.com/ comes with Tuning. Truck runs good. Is still a gas hog. Not easy if you live in the rust belt. Unbolt the engine and raise it up 3 inches. That will save you about 3 hours. I had to replace all the manifold studs and nuts. $80 there. Door handle cables break. Front wheel bearings/ball joints bad at 140k. Rear bushings in the leaf springs blown out. Put 400 pounds of weight in the bed and you better plan to be home before dark! Then there was this little fun item on Monday. Honestly unless you are just a nissan person I'd get another GM.

arm.JPG
 
  • Like
Reactions: DMG
arse_sidewards said:
The glass half full way of saying that is "like a Tundra but without the stupid price"
Click to expand...

Probably.

I just looked up my fuel log for my old one. Several 3k+ mile road trips....all averaged right around 15.5 mpg.
 
I daily a 2004 Titan. Early year diff vents like to rust shut which leads to leaking all the oil out the axle seals and grenading the diff. Also, the radiators have an integrated trans cooler that can leak internally and send coolant into the trans. It's easy to bypass and add an external cooler (what I did).
I think in '08 they fixed most of the problems with the earlier years, so definitely look for '08+.
 
I spent a few hours driving that era of titan back when I owned my 03 Tundra so I can make some comparisons.

Nissan had far more power but didn't ride as nice as the Tundra. That is to be expected considering how light duty the 1st gen Tundras were for a full size truck. The Nissan also felt much wider than the Tundra. I wouldn't mind having one.
 
Does that era titan have the same radiator/transmission cooler issues that the frontiers have?
 
Jackie Treehorn said:
Does that era titan have the same radiator/transmission cooler issues that the frontiers have?
Click to expand...

No. I don't think the strawberry milkshake was very common with the Titans/Armadas like it was with the Xterras and Fontiers.

One of the problems with the coolers, at least on the earlier ones, is that the rubber lines were made out of something resembling playdough. They'd eventually split and puke all the fluid all over the road. Easy enough to just replace them to new rubber hose though.

My radiator also cracked at one point and almost left me stranded. Luckily a bottle of leak stop kept me rolling until I manged to source a nice aluminum replacement.
 
My 2010 Frontier is holding up great, I'll probably keep it around another 10 years.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Back Refresh