Deeply Regret Buying Titan

ngc1514 · 11-19-2004, 08:19 AM

I've gone from a lot of joy to deep regret over my Titan experience.

After spending several months mulling over truck specifications, I decided to buy a 2004 Titan Crew Cab in order to pull our travel trailer. The trailer is well under towing limits for the Big Tow package and weighs right at 5000 pounds loaded for camping.

Bought the truck on 9/29 and drove it to Washington, DC the week after and had a great time. Unfortunately, the problems started the first time I towed the trailer. Was taking the trailer about 350 miles from Atlanta to Chiefland, Florida. Got about 345 miles into the trip when I noticed the tranny gauge showing high temps and the truck started making a whining sound. Pulled over and let everything cool down and continued to the camp site. This was on Saturday, 11/6.

On Sunday I tried driving the truck and the transmission seemed ok, but the whining sound was still there as the truck was accelerated and cruising. It sounded exactly like my wife's old Jeep Grand Cherokee when the rear end was dying.

On Monday, 11/8 I took the truck to Gainesville (Fl.) Nissan and it was diagnosed as a defective rear end. They were not able to give a satisfactory answer as to why the tranny temp gauge showed high, but said the rear would be changed under warranty. Was told on Tuesday that a differential would have to be shipped in from California(?!?) and it should be at the dealer on Friday. Friday came and no differential. I had to get the trailer back to Atlanta over the weekend, so bought a ticket to fly into town, drove my old 1996 Dodge Ram 2500 conversion van back to Chiefland and took the trailer home.

Called on Monday, 11/15 and no differential. Called on Tuesday, same story and, finally, today, Friday, 11/19 was told that the rear end should be delivered today and the truck might be ready late this afternoon or Monday. Unfortunately I have to work this weekend and will be unable to pick up the truck until next Friday when I'll fly back to Gainesville and spend another 6 hours driving back to Atlanta.

This whole experience has left a very bad taste in my mouth about Nissan trucks and their ability to supply quick service. Find it hard to believe that their supply chain is so inefficient they can't get a part in! There is no reason why it has taken 10 business days to get a differential to a dealer in Florida nor was there a lot of concern shown over my needs to get the thing fixed and back on the road.

In their favor they did rent me a mini-van on Monday, 11/8, that provided a means of getting around, but I was not allowed to drive it to Atlanta to pick up my own van because Enterprise was charging a $1000 drop off fee and Nissan would not cover that. I was left with paying $390 for roundtrip air fare Gainesville to Atlanta. I've flown to Paris for less money!

The next time I need to pull the trailer is an 800 mile trip to the Keys in February and I'm not sure I have the confidence in the Titan to make the trip. All my friends who pull trailers said to buy a 3/4 ton American truck and to not buy something as new as the Titan. I kinda wish I'd followed that advice.

*joekrz* · 11-19-2004, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ngc1514

I've gone from a lot of joy to deep regret over my Titan experience.

After spending several months mulling over truck specifications, I decided to buy a 2004 Titan Crew Cab in order to pull our travel trailer. The trailer is well under towing limits for the Big Tow package and weighs right at 5000 pounds loaded for camping.

Bought the truck on 9/29 and drove it to Washington, DC the week after and had a great time. Unfortunately, the problems started the first time I towed the trailer. Was taking the trailer about 350 miles from Atlanta to Chiefland, Florida. Got about 345 miles into the trip when I noticed the tranny gauge showing high temps and the truck started making a whining sound. Pulled over and let everything cool down and continued to the camp site. This was on Saturday, 11/6.

On Sunday I tried driving the truck and the transmission seemed ok, but the whining sound was still there as the truck was accelerated and cruising. It sounded exactly like my wife's old Jeep Grand Cherokee when the rear end was dying.

On Monday, 11/8 I took the truck to Gainesville (Fl.) Nissan and it was diagnosed as a defective rear end. They were not able to give a satisfactory answer as to why the tranny temp gauge showed high, but said the rear would be changed under warranty. Was told on Tuesday that a differential would have to be shipped in from California(?!?) and it should be at the dealer on Friday. Friday came and no differential. I had to get the trailer back to Atlanta over the weekend, so bought a ticket to fly into town, drove my old 1996 Dodge Ram 2500 conversion van back to Chiefland and took the trailer home.

Called on Monday, 11/15 and no differential. Called on Tuesday, same story and, finally, today, Friday, 11/19 was told that the rear end should be delivered today and the truck might be ready late this afternoon or Monday. Unfortunately I have to work this weekend and will be unable to pick up the truck until next Friday when I'll fly back to Gainesville and spend another 6 hours driving back to Atlanta.

This whole experience has left a very bad taste in my mouth about Nissan trucks and their ability to supply quick service. Find it hard to believe that their supply chain is so inefficient they can't get a part in! There is no reason why it has taken 10 business days to get a differential to a dealer in Florida nor was there a lot of concern shown over my needs to get the thing fixed and back on the road.

In their favor they did rent me a mini-van on Monday, 11/8, that provided a means of getting around, but I was not allowed to drive it to Atlanta to pick up my own van because Enterprise was charging a $1000 drop off fee and Nissan would not cover that. I was left with paying $390 for roundtrip air fare Gainesville to Atlanta. I've flown to Paris for less money!

The next time I need to pull the trailer is an 800 mile trip to the Keys in February and I'm not sure I have the confidence in the Titan to make the trip. All my friends who pull trailers said to buy a 3/4 ton American truck and to not buy something as new as the Titan. I kinda wish I'd followed that advice.

Did you use the tow mode or down shift accordingly while driving?

azxr · 11-19-2004, 08:27 AM

How many miles were on it before you started towing?

hershman3 · 11-19-2004, 08:28 AM

Good thing I live in California!

*jhromy* · 11-19-2004, 08:31 AM

i had a problem with my rear differrential on my explorer and it took ford a whole month to get it in...now what were you saying about nissan taking 2 weeks? I know your mad about what happened but American isn't always better, I went through hell with my 2 fords i bought...i'm very happy with my titan...maybe you can call NissanUSA to get them to reimburse you the plane fare

ngc1514 · 11-19-2004, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joekrz

Did you use the tow mode or down shift accordingly while driving?

Of course. I've been pulling trailers for years and have to turn off the O/D in the Dodge. Always do so and had the Titan in tow mode. If you are familiar with Florida, the roads are pretty flat and most people don't worry about tow mode or shifting out of O/D on those roads. However, I always do so and had done so with the Titan.

Just for comparison, the old van is a 3/4 ton with 5.2 liter and 3:55 rear end. On paper the Titan should be a better tow vehicle. I expect it's just "infant mortality" of the rear end and will probably work fine. However, it's difficult to restore confidence in a vehicle after something like this and I have no confidence in Nissan to supply major parts and quick service.

DFisher · 11-19-2004, 08:34 AM

What he said...

And, did you check your diff fulid before towing?

ngc1514 · 11-19-2004, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azxr

How many miles were on it before you started towing?

I started the trip with about 6600 miles on the truck. It was sold as a dealer demo with just over 5K when I bought it in September. It did come with a new truck warranty.

CoachBoone · 11-19-2004, 08:36 AM

I towed my 7000 lb. trailer up and down the Rockies from Orygun and while it did bake the oil....since fixed by switching to synthetic, I've had no problems with it towing. Sorry to hear about your experience, I tend to believe you're right about Nissan's supply line and their general approach to customer service. They should have been better prepared to handle situations like yours.

ngc1514 · 11-19-2004, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhromy

i had a problem with my rear differrential on my explorer and it took ford a whole month to get it in...now what were you saying about nissan taking 2 weeks? I know your mad about what happened but American isn't always better, I went through hell with my 2 fords i bought...i'm very happy with my titan...maybe you can call NissanUSA to get them to reimburse you the plane fare

As I mentioned, the wife's Jeep lost a rear end (actually 2 of them!) and she was in and out of the shop (CarMax) in 24 hours in both cases with a new differential. Stuff is airfreighted around the country all the time and the same could have been done with the part. I would have gladly paid the freight to have the part air shipped, but the dealer told me "We never air ship parts."

Believe me, I'm still composing my letter to NissanUSA! I'll send it after the truck is back in my hands.

SupraTitan · 11-19-2004, 08:45 AM

Parts being on back order are common with all makes these days. My buddy had to wait nearly a month when his expedition(explosion as he likes to call it) waited for a new rear end. Your problem was that you never changed your diff fluid, obviously its not your fault but after all the miles of abuse being a "dealer demo" than long distance towing on the horrible factory diff. fill did it in. Relax, run the factory fill in the new diff for 500 miles than drain and fill with redline diff. fluid and never worry about the rear end again. The only thing I regret with my titan purchase was wasting my time driving other trucks before choosing the titan.

ngc1514 · 11-19-2004, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFisher

What he said...

And, did you check your diff fulid before towing?

Of course not and neither do any of the other people I know who pull trailers. That's why we take vehicles into the shop on a regular basis for maintenance. Also, there was nothing wrong with the fluid level in the differential when it was opened for inspection. I've not yet heard what exactly was wrong with the differential, but will try to find out next week when I pick up the truck.

rrumaner · 11-19-2004, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ngc1514

I started the trip with about 6600 miles on the truck. It was sold as a dealer demo with just over 5K when I bought it in September. It did come with a new truck warranty.

So you have no idea what was done to it in those first 5K miles? Do you know if they checked / changed the oil at 1K and 3750 miles? Did they check the tranny fluids before you bought it? You have no idea what type of person drove it prior to your buying it which could account for the tranny being hosed. Maybe they drove around in 4-LO just to play around. That would definately start the tranny on it's way to destruction.

You yourself said it was a dealer demo. Do you have any idea what people do to demos? Unless you bought the truck with no miles on it, you have no idea what was done to the truck prior to your purchase.

SupraTitan · 11-19-2004, 08:57 AM

I'll tell you what was wrong, if the fluid was never changed there would have been so many metal particles in the fluid, it doesn't take long for the magnet to be overwhelmed with debris, the rest of the particles have no where to go but be suspended in the fluid. This in turn causes more friction, more wear, more heat and eventual failure. These diffs. break in very dirty and need and early drain or two before the excess metal is removed from the diff.

ngc1514 · 11-19-2004, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rrumaner

So you have no idea what was done to it in those first 5K miles? Do you know if they checked / changed the oil at 1K and 3750 miles? Did they check the tranny fluids before you bought it? You have no idea what type of person drove it prior to your buying it which could account for the tranny being hosed. Maybe they drove around in 4-LO just to play around. That would definately start the tranny on it's way to destruction.

You yourself said it was a dealer demo. Do you have any idea what people do to demos? Unless you bought the truck with no miles on it, you have no idea what was done to the truck prior to your purchase.

According to the service records, all required service was performed on the truck when scheduled. Since I don't stand around watching every service being performed, I have to rely on these records just as I will when I take the truck back in for service. I've also been buying vehicles for more than 40 years and have not had this much hassle with one.

The truck was being driven by the sales manager at the dealer where I bought the truck.