[LittleSparrow]

Good evening everyone! For quite a while now I have been really interested in getting a full size truck. I currently drive an Infiniti G37, and I am planning to give it to my mom because her older car has finally broken down. I originally was looking into the FX37 or a Dodge Challenger because I am into the "muscle car/SUV" scene. I decided to stay away from the Challenger RT because of reliability issues. I read on multiple forums about the problems people are having with the car and I just do not want to deal with it. The FX would be a good choice, but I cannot find one in my price range and I read on multiple forums it consumes gas just like a V8. I decided why not a Titan because the 5.6 has a good exhaust note (muscle car tone), and I am familiar with Nissan products. I service my G37 in a Nissan dealership and the Titan is a handsome truck. I just have a few questions that I hope some of you owners would answer. I talked to some salesmen, and they naturally had everything nice to say about the truck. I am looking for real world honest input.

1) How reliable are these trucks? I am purchasing used and I saw a 2009 Titan 4x2 with 70k miles for 16k I believe. I am planning on keeping the truck for quite a while and I want to know if there are common issues.

2) How much does it cost to maintain? I am familiar with my Nissan dealership and been servicing my G37 there. Lately paid a good amount for Transmission fluid drain and brake fluid. Does the Titan have expensive intervals?

3) What is your gas mileage? I know it is a V8 and wont sip gas like a Prius, but I am curious. My G37 gets about 16 -17 mpg. Mostly city driving with hard acceleration. I enjoy driving my car hard and the VQ V6 just drinks gas lol. I think I also have bad gas mileage due to short trips. The car does not fully warm up because work is close to home.

4) Do you enjoy your Titan? I never owned a full size truck, but most people seem to enjoy it. I am not planning on lifting it or towing anything, but it is nice to have a bed when I need to transport furniture lol. Also how well does the engine hold up with hard driving? Always enjoy the occasional full throttle free way merging lol.

Thank you for your time everyone! I hope to learn more from this forums!

 

[jdmartin]

1. I think they're very reliable. There are a few people on this forum that are over 400k miles on the original engine & transmission. Common weak points: radiator over time, weepy rear axle seals, rear differentials on E-lockers, cracked exhaust manifolds (this one will get everyone eventually, it is a design flaw). The earlier models are a little harder on brakes because they were smaller than they should have been, but it's not a big deal or keeps the truck from stopping. The engine & transmission on the Titan is a beast.

2. Pretty cheap overall. I am up to 150k miles on mine and I've never had a repair, just normal maintenance stuff. Oil changes take 7 quarts so there's that. You use more coolant on changes, and there's 8 spark plugs. Nothing major or unusual.

3. City driving with a 2004 4WD Crew Cab I get about 14 MPG. Interstate I get about 17-18. I live in the mountains so I do a little worse than if I was in the flat lands, as I've done 20 MPG in the flat lands, but this is pretty typical MPG if you look on the forums.

4. I love mine. I am on my second one. I put 75k miles on the first before my lease was up and I'm up to 150k miles on this one. The engine is the shining star of this vehicle. I have owned a lot of vehicles, old and new, classic and beaters, musclecar and econo-box, and this is my favorite drive train of any I've had. My wife says I think I'm in a NASCAR vehicle the way the thing will accelerate. I wouldn't worry 5 seconds about the health of the engine at high throttle, this engine was rated at 305 HP and I think it was under-rated.

 

[paggums]

I have had my 2007 titan for a couple months and can answer a couple of these questions

1. it has been very reliable and is a smooth ride, however I would really recommend getting one that has 4x4 ability.

2. havent done much maintenance so cost is still TBD. i did invest in a K&N air filter so hopefully that will save in the long term

3. mileage is what you would expect of a v8 i get maybe 12mpg steets and close to maybe 20 on straight freeway. mixed driving you can get about 300-350 miles on a single tank.

4.I love my Titan so far. wife and i use to have a 2001 tacoma, was a great truck then sold it to get a family friendly Rogue. we then realized how dumb we were to sell the truck and not have the ability to haul large items. we got the Rogue and crammed a ton of camping gear and a dog (in a large open cage) in the trailer and was worth it that first trip. but again invest a little more and get one with four wheel drive.

 

[wanderMT]

caution you to extensively test drive - going from G37 to Titan is big change - might even test drive a Frontier

drive a Titan v-8 hard and you will be well below 15 mpg - v8 on open highway isn't bad but short trips, warm up time, spirited driving will burn lots fuel

if live in snow country, also suggest 4x4 or if you plan on moving to snow country. I'm in MT and there is no market for 4X2 here

 

[LittleSparrow]

Hey guys. Thanks for the information and advices. I actually test drove a Nissan Frontier and to be quite honest it is an amazing truck. I love the sound but prefer the sound of the Titan. I loved the throttle response of the Frontier and the downshifting was much better than my G37. I am planning to buy a king cab and 4x2 because I live in California. We never get snow and I have no plans of taking it to the Dunes. The only thing I am concerned about it the gas mileage. I do have a heavy foot and I blame my short commute and mostly city driving. For my G37 I get about less than 300 miles a tank. It is a 20 gallon tank and I can imagine the Titan will use much more fuel. I spend about $50 on gas every week and a half on the G. I know this may sound silly but is there a way to make the Titan a bit more efficient? I have no plans of lifting it or putting off road tires. Maybe smaller tires may help?

 

[Curbow]

If you don't mind buying in the 2015+ range look at the PRO-4X versions. I had a 2015 Frontier PRO-4X and was always the first off of the line at red lights and was usually 3-4 car lengths ahead of everyone else, always had to keep the traction control on. In December the dealership lured me in with a sale on the 2017 Titans, I test drove the SV, then had them bring a PRO-4X in to test drive. Needless to say I now drive a Titan PRO-4X, it's not a slouch off of the line but due to the weight/HP/Torque ratio I think the Frontier was more powerful. I needed more room for family vacations, I love my Titan, it's like riding around in your favorite recliner. I'm over 50, but I drive it like I'm 20, and I get 15-17 mpg on average in the city, and have saw 19-20 in the interstate.

 

[LittleSparrow]

The Frontier is a great truck but it just does not appeal to me as the Titan. Also, some of my relatives own Frontiers and want something different. Anyway, thank you all for replying but I expected more responses because I heard this is one of the most active forums. If someone else will read this post how is the safety and the AC of the Titan? I live in California and a good AC is a must. Good safety rating is also needed because CA has the dumbest and rudest drivers. Too many accidents and you cant be too safe lol.

 

[LittleSparrow]

I was taking a look at this Titan.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inven...efined&filtersModified=true#listing=180056110

 

[golf.tango]

I was taking a look at this Titan.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inven...efined&filtersModified=true#listing=180056110

It's nice. And, I concur with everyone's responses too, regarding power & reliability. I have a 2010 LE Crew 4wd w/ leather, nav, etc. and 35K miles. What do you think of getting a '13 or '14 w/ a few more perks for the same price. Power windows and door locks may make things easier for you down the road, as well as resale value. My resale value has held up well.

 

[FishnAlaska]

Just did a 2k mile trip in mine, 14.7 average. Speed limit was 80 most of the way. I typically get about 11.5 city, I can get 15-16 highway if I keep it in the 70 mph range. Nothing you can really do to improve the MPG (except drive like a granny), its a thirsty V8. You can add a tuner or CAI, but typically these will only increase the need to push down on the skinny pedal once you unleash more power. Titans have a 28 gallon tank on shortbeds, low fuel light will typically go on when you have 21-22 gallons gone. Safety wise, I know some people that have been in bad accidents in these, but have come out fine, as far as AC goes, mine is still blowing ice cold after 7 years. Engines on these are strong, you will have issues with other things (manifolds are known to crack, rear seals are known to leak, vent mod will fix that) way before the engine. Just like any other full sized truck out there, it can have its issues. Maintenance isn't any worse than others, better if you DIY. I have 78k on mine, only thing I have had to fix is a torn boot on a CV axle (probably my fault). I will say, best damn truck I have ever owned and I've had multiple Fords and a couple Chevy's. I'm keeping this sucker till one of us dies.

 

[TurboDA6]

1) Mine has been extremely reliable. It was born 11/2006, has 63K miles and has needed: thermostat housing, blower motor resistor. I pre-emptively upgraded the brakes to 2008+ and it now needs rear wheel seals and the exh manifold is getting a little noisy.

2) My Nissan dealer regularly emails me to-good-to-pass oil change deals. All other work I do myself as I used to be ASE certified tech, parts are priced fairly (I use OEM) but I'll have a driveline shop service my rear wheel seals.

3) 11-12 in city. I am 4WD 3.36 gears with sticky, heavy winter rated tires, crew cab and 300 pound canopy and drive somewhat aggressively. She will do 18 on highway though. The 2WD will do much better with it's lighter weight, less drivetrain losses and 2.73 gear.

4) I LOVE my Titan. I am a guy who goes through cars like crazy. With cars, I have owned dozens. This is the only truck I ever bought, and I NEVER think to trade it out.It is so useful, it is like a reliable friend. I currently own a tuned 2016 GTI DSG. The GTI is a little demon, but trust me, switching between the GTI and my Titan doesn't leave me missing the GTI when I drive the Titan. Titan, like any modern truck, still has more oomph than most cars in average traffic, has the BEST shifting automatic I have ever driven. Not as fast as your G37 or my GTI, but a big truck still drives nice and satisfyingly anyway. These trucks calm you down because they are too big to hoon in, so you develop a different approach.

BTW, I drive new trucks all day for my job, like the '17 Ford EB and Powerstrokes. The Titan is still a better overall package to me, especially considering value and reliability. New trucks are nice, but have too much crap you don't need and are not as reliable as a Titan.

 

[TurboDA6]

The Frontier is a great truck but it just does not appeal to me as the Titan. Also, some of my relatives own Frontiers and want something different. Anyway, thank you all for replying but I expected more responses because I heard this is one of the most active forums. If someone else will read this post how is the safety and the AC of the Titan? I live in California and a good AC is a must. Good safety rating is also needed because CA has the dumbest and rudest drivers. Too many accidents and you cant be too safe lol.

The forums have died down a bit. What I have heard is people are on FB now? Also, PB killed a lot of the useful pics on here.

RE AC, the AC is good. I use my Titan in CA, AZ, UT, and NV in summer. I used to live in AZ. Titan AC is great.

Safety. Heres the thing about safety. I will compare my GTI to my Titan. GTI gets PERFECT crash test scores, but Gen 1 Titan does NOT. GTI only weighs 3000 pounds, so the body of the car only needs to cope with 3000 pounds when tested into a fixed barrier. This is fine, in the GTI, you would be safer against a solid, fixed object than in the Titan, this is a fact.

The Titan, in 4x4, needs to manage 5600 pounds into the same fixed barrier as my GTI. Titan isn't terrible for a 2004 design, but newer trucks and cars do better on these fixed barrier tests.

BUT, in REAL life, where most drunk drivers drive clapped-out Navigators and 3/4 or 1 ton trucks which all weigh 6000+ pounds, I would much rather be in the Titan. Why? Because head-on, rear-end by one of those drunks you have a similar weight as they do. If my stout little GTI gets hit by a drunk in a 6000+ pound vehicle, my body will have to absorb double the inertia/whiplash as if I was in the Titan.
When I take the family out and there is a risk of a drunk or high driver crashing into us, we take the Titan. It will protect you better than the smaller car against a drunk in a big truck. Doesn't it seem most drunks drive big vehicles?
So, I try to not hit fixed, immovable objects with my Titan. But take crash tests with a grain of salt, because most just test what happens when a vehicle hits a fixed barrier. Hitting a vehicle bigger than you is much worse than a fixed barrier.

Driver survived, had a medical incident and minor injuries from the crash. This was on these forums a few years ago when it happened, originally a news story.

 

[jdmartin]

AC is great on these trucks. Mine will freeze you out when it is working. I have a leak somewhere and didn't get it fixed, so I am 55 and 4 windows right now. Nothing you will really do to improve mileage, but you are only getting 15 in the GTI so you will be about the same.