Considering a Titan

1764 Views 19 Replies 14 Participants Last post by Brad1, Jun 22, 2016

Roddy77

Discussion Starter · Jun 10, 2016

Our family has been looking for a vehicle to use a a daily driver (8 mile round trip) that can also tow our 3,500 lb. boat the 2-3 times a yar we pull our travel trailer to a campground on a lake. We originally were looking at a crossover SUV. However, most did not have the tow capacity we wanted. three weeks ago my wife and daughter test drove a toyota tundra at a used car lot and loved it, However, it sold before we could purchase it. Today we cam across a 2005 titan with 136,000 miles on it. We test drove it and could not believe how much more power it had than the tundra. The truck was also very sharp looking. My wife wants to pull the trigger on it and I am inclined to do so also. I have not had time to do a lot of research on these vehicle and am hoping I can get some help here.

What can we expect for gas mileage? I am guessing it will not do as well as the Tundra but am guessing that has to do with the extra horse power.

One reason I was interested in the Tundra is the number of Tundras I see with 300,000+ miles. Can the Titans compete with this?

The vehicle we are looking at is having the front ball joints replaced and seems to have an exhaust leak as it has the ticking sound when the vehicle is cold. are these common problems with Titans, or would this raise any red flags??

Any other issues I should be aware of or looking for with this truck?

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LaxDfns15

· #2 · Jun 10, 2016

Gas mileage, anywhere from 11-14 not towing, 6-10 towing. MPG on our trucks can vary drastically among our trucks.

Ticking when cold is most likely manifolds are cracked, which means they need to be replaced. Some guys have repaired them, but replacing with headers is the best option as manifolds will just crack again.

300k is not uncommon on these trucks if they're taken care of. The engines and transmissions are built to last, you just have to keep up with all the other small shyte that breaks along the way.

I'd also suggest venting the rear axle if it isn't already. Those get clogged, especially if you're dropping a boat in the water multiple times.

Doneuald

· #3 · Jun 10, 2016

Run away, run away!
I bought brand new 2015 Titan pro 4 x, I'm on my 5th rear axle and it whines to
Other than rear axles it's ok

danman

· #4 · Jun 10, 2016

Doneuald said:
Run away, run away!
I bought brand new 2015 Titan pro 4 x, I'm on my 5th rear axle and it whines to
Other than rear axles it's ok

Booo! If the price is right, you can't go wrong

Roddy77

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jun 10, 2016

LaxDfns15 said:
Gas mileage, anywhere from 11-14 not towing, 6-10 towing. MPG on our trucks can vary drastically among our trucks.

Ticking when cold is most likely manifolds are cracked, which means they need to be replaced. Some guys have repaired them, but replacing with headers is the best option as manifolds will just crack again.

300k is not uncommon on these trucks if they're taken care of. The engines and transmissions are built to last, you just have to keep up with all the other small shyte that breaks along the way.

I'd also suggest venting the rear axle if it isn't already. Those get clogged, especially if you're dropping a boat in the water multiple times.

14 mpg is the best I can expect on the highway? Ouch!

Walrus

· #6 · Jun 10, 2016

Roddy77 said:
14 mpg is the best I can expect on the highway? Ouch!

18 if you know how to drive.

SwedeTitan

· #7 · Jun 10, 2016

14-15 mpg at 70 mph, 18-19 mpg at 50 mph. That's my personal observations, at steady speed on dry paved roads. It takes a lot of energy to push a full size pickup truck through the air at high speeds.

LaxDfns15

· #8 · Jun 10, 2016

I've gotten 15.5 before. I have a 4WD big tow and run at 75-80 though. I guess if you want to drive 60-65 yeah you'll get better gas mileage. Don't lift it, don't put heavier tires on it, only run 100% gas, etc.

Side note my CAI dropped my MPG by 1-2 and I'm just too lazy to try to test other ones.

TheLaSwamp

· #9 · Jun 10, 2016

Doneuald said:
Run away, run away!
I bought brand new 2015 Titan pro 4 x, I'm on my 5th rear axle and it whines to
Other than rear axles it's ok

The axle you just had installed has started acting up? I thought this one was quiet.

mattsmash

· #10 · Jun 10, 2016

Id say got for it I have 185xxx on my 2011 4x4 do Cajun stage one an uprev for the manifold fix it will tow great an give the motor an new breath of fresh air check for the real seals leaking on rear diff if not do the air breather mod an your golden. These are really solid trucks if you keep fresh oil an fed with gas. Mileage will never be great but you'll be double digits which is good imho.

Roddy77

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jun 10, 2016

LaxDfns15 said:
I've gotten 15.5 before. I have a 4WD big tow and run at 75-80 though. I guess if you want to drive 60-65 yeah you'll get better gas mileage. Don't lift it, don't put heavier tires on it, only run 100% gas, etc.

Side note my CAI dropped my MPG by 1-2 and I'm just too lazy to try to test other ones.

The one I'm looking at has 285's on it. Is that gonna kill the highway mpg?

SwedeTitan

· #12 · Jun 10, 2016

It's more a matter of thread pattern. Aggressive offroad tires have more rolling resistance than smooth highway tires.

Strife4Life

· #13 · Jun 10, 2016

I'm on my second titan now and love 'em! first was a '12 King cab SV 4x4 and my new one is a '15 crew SV 4x4. It's got a 6" lift on 35" tires and no issues with the rear end (of course it's only got like 2100mi. on it). My 12 had 33" tires and I ran it hard at times on the street and never ended up with rear end issues. The common stuff I see on here is going to be your tranny mount,exhaust manifold cracks, and some brake issues on older models (can't recall specifics,warped rotors maybe?). As far as MPG's go I encourage you to run the math on titans MPG numbers and any other full size truck with a V8 to compare say 100 Gal of gas at $X.XX price. I think you'll find that there isn't enough of a financial difference to put you off from the Titan if it's something you like. The Titan does drive uniquely compared to other trucks. It's power numbers aren't that impressive compared to more current models from the big three and Toyota, but there's just something about the Titan drivetrain that makes them feel more sporty and powerful. Good luck on your search and if it's a Titan you end up with you're in the right place for any questions down the line. Lots of knowledge on here!

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Doneuald

· #14 · Jun 11, 2016

Drove it on the highway yesterday and it whines on slight acceleration at 63 mph and also on deceleration from 65 to 58 mph
But they told me this rear ended is staying in til I've run it 10000 kilometres so if it's whining now it should be real loud when I hook up to my travel trailer in August
I spoke to the dealers manager he seems to want it fixed and told me to let him know if there are any problems, we shall see
I don't think it will get better

FishnAlaska

· #15 · Jun 11, 2016

Doneuald said:
and it whines to

Maybe that's just because its Canadian.....JK

jd96

· #16 · Jun 11, 2016

There are more than a few 400k+ plus mile titans on the titantalk fb group. Saw one with 890 or 900 something. pushing one million anyway.

BuckWallace

· #17 · Jun 11, 2016

Roddy77 said:
14 mpg is the best I can expect on the highway? Ouch!

I had an 04 Titan and now have an 05. My last road trip in my 04 with two people and a bed full of gear I got about 17 mpg on the highway. I don't know about all these lead foots on here, but you should be able to do better than 14 when you're not towing.

FishnAlaska

· #18 · Jun 11, 2016

I'm slightly lifted, running heavier tires, and 4wd, typically get about 15-16 on the highway, 12 around town, 2wd will get better mpg's.

Nissan-MasterTech

· #19 · Jun 20, 2016

Don't do it !

Brad1

· #20 · Jun 22, 2016

My nephew's a mechanic at the local Nissan dealership. He's been there several years. He was an Infinity mechanic before that, but the Infiniti dealership moved to the other side of town. Anyway, he's a pretty darn good mechanic. He wouldn't BS me either. According to him, except for the rearend, the drive trains on these titans go along time. Engines, tranny's, and transfer case go alot of miles. Weak links are the exhaust manifolds and rear ends. Those both went on my '05 and I only have 39k miles on mine. Both my front hubs went as well. I bought my Titan to tow a 7,000 lb boat (that's the total towed weight, not just the boat). Got rid of the boat back in '09, but kept my Titan. I have no regrets as far as purchasing my Titan goes. I regret selling the boat though. Lol.

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