Hi all.....

Since I bought my Titan I’ve been kind of lurking around to see what everyone thinks of these bad boys.

I’m a gearhead and built streetrods as well as restoring motorcycles. Right now I’m finishing my Harley, ’76 FLH from the ground up to better than new. I’m also building a ’55 Chevy Nomad the only way I know how, gasser style.

I’ve been involved in a marina with my parents and also worked as service manager in a Chevy / Pontiac dealership for 12 years, so I have a pretty good idea about how manufacturers work and do things.

I’ve always been a GM guy. When my wife and I relocated from the central part of lower Michigan to St. Louis MO, I bought a new Chevy crewcab S-10 4x4. I loved that truck but at 42K miles I decided that I’d give something else a try. My wife had purchased a new Murano and we like it and the dealer was great. So after the new local Chevy salesman blew me out the door I went to the Nissan dealer looking at an ’04 Frontier but really didn’t like the looks much. So the obvious step was to go with the Titan.

I bought a crewcab LE with the trailer and cargo packages. I really didn’t want that but it was on it..... so I had to have it.

Right from the very beginning with the Titan I felt that the frontend was a bit loose. Not loose in the way of warn parts, but with tons of feedback that you wouldn’t expect on a brand new truck. I hit minor potholes and the steering wheel would bounce back and forth with the bump. My S-10 would just got straight through without any feedback to the steering, at least any I could feel. On the Titan it really seemed like it needed a steering stabilizer cross shock, or something to dampen it down a bit.

At about 6,000 miles the dealer rotated the tires and I picked up a slight vibration in the front. He rebalanced the tires but it was still there most of the time. Different road surfaces would feel different, but not totally correct it. Then at about 8,000 miles I started to pick up a very slight pulsation as I was coming to a very slow coasting stop with just a bit of brakes applied. Now at 15,000 miles I have the full blown judder that has been described in other threads. I understand and can appreciate the repair thing through the dealers, etc. But have any of you experienced the feedback that I described? Without the judder, my Titan feels like a used truck with about 80,000 miles on it.

I’ll keep this short,,,,,,,,, tooooo late I guess for that.

One other item, gas mileage. I remember reading here about different mileage etc but the best I’ve ever gotten is 13.8 @ constant 70 mph on the freeway. I’m turning 2,000 rpms @ 70 mph, which is probably about right for the 4:10 rear gears. I love the performance and hear people say that the mileage isn’t a problem when they feel all that power, but my boss has his new 315 hp Vette and it gets 26 mpg and he’s into it ALL the time. I know performance can be achieved without the cost of fuel mileage, or at least better than 13.8.

My last streetrod in ’01 was a ’40 Willys coupe with a blown 392 hemi and 654 hp. At 70 mph on the freeway I got 13.2 with that and believe me I had a bit more power than my Titan can put out.

Okay, enough of the whining.

If I could just get some feedback on the on the steering feedback over the bumps, that would help me set my mind to ease.

Great site and I plan on being around a bit. I’m warning you that I do tend to ramble a bit so I’ll try to keep it to the point.

Thanks for the help in advance.

:) :) :)

Right from the very beginning with the Titan I felt that the frontend was a bit loose.

At about 6,000 miles the dealer rotated the tires and I picked up a slight vibration in the front. He rebalanced the tires but it was still there most of the time. Different road surfaces would feel different, but not totally correct it. Then at about 8,000 miles I started to pick up a very slight pulsation as I was coming to a very slow coasting stop with just a bit of brakes applied. Now at 15,000 miles I have the full blown judder that has been described in other threads. Without the judder, my Titan feels like a used truck with about 80,000 miles on it.

One other item, gas mileage. I remember reading here about different mileage etc but the best I’ve ever gotten is 13.8 @ constant 70 mph on the freeway. I’m turning 2,000 rpms @ 70 mph, which is probably about right for the 4:10 rear gears. I love the performance and hear people say that the mileage isn’t a problem when they feel all that power, but my boss has his new 315 hp Vette and it gets 26 mpg and he’s into it ALL the time. I know performance can be achieved without the cost of fuel mileage, or at least better than 13.8.

My last streetrod in ’01 was a ’40 Willys coupe with a blown 392 hemi and 654 hp. At 70 mph on the freeway I got 13.2 with that and believe me I had a bit more power than my Titan can put out.


I had a S-10 as well some time ago (it was a 94 model) and if anything it felt a lot more loose than the titan I have now, honestly. As far as the wheel jerking, I'm not sure if mine does that or not. If it does, I don't notice.
I don't have vibration of any kind in my truck, either. Perhaps you have a bad tire that balancing isn't going to fix. How's the alignment? Sounds like with the jerking wheel and potholes you drive through it might need some tweaking.
I have the brake judder as well at 16k miles. I'm trying to decide whether or not to get that fixed at the dealer or upgrade to an aftermarket brake package.
Again, compared the the S-10 I had, my titan definitely feels and drives new. That s-10 was loose as a goose at only 40k miles, made a lot more noise, and leaked in places.
You have 3.36 rear gears unless you changed them. A vette and any other car does have to pull the weight or push an object with the areodynamics of a brick. I'm sure that vette also has a lower rear gear as well. Not a good comparison. I'm not sure why you only get that kind of MPG. I get 16 MPG or better at the same cruising speeds.
In general, it sounds like you aren't very happy with your truck, especially if you think it feels that worn out with so few miles (maybe it does, but mine doesn't). Is it worth considering selling off and landing you into another vehicle?

Welcome to the club.

First off welcome to the club.

Nissan seems to have went a little soft with the front springs and what we are finding right now is the PRG Leveling kit helps with the front ride alot. It raises the front of a 4X4 2 inch and a 4X2 2 1/2 inch. If you look you are bottoming out alot. This levels the truck and get's rid of the rake.

Gas milage has been a thorn in alot of peoples back. I don't have the lower gears and I always get about 15-16 mpg. But most, especially with the big tow or off road all seem to get 14 or lower.

You can do several mods to get some of this to come up such as the TBS, new air intake/or intake mod, and free flowing exhaust.

Thanks for the reply.

Don't get me wrong, I like the Titan very much. It sits great, the stereo is kick butt and the truck looks great. The performance goes without saying.....

It's just that from just about brand new I felt any small bumps or small potholes back through the steering wheel. It's kind of like the caster is too low and the steering is a bit aggressive.

My S-10 was an '02 4x4 crewcab which is quite a bit different than the model you had, but that being said it was a nice drving truck. It was just that it had 42k miles on it and the fuelpump was crapping out and if I kept it longer I'd be losing more than I was keeping so trade time was here.

I live on the west side of the Missouri River in St. Charles county and drive 28 miles one way to work everyday. It's all freeway driving and the Titan will be 1 year old in June. I've never run it in 4-wheel drive for more than a block to get out of my sub-division with some ice on the road. It has the trailer package and has 4:10 gears front and rear.

I just thought with running at only 2,000 rpms at 70 mph it would get a bit better than 13.8 mpg.

I can live with the mileage, but I was really looking for input about the steering from new Titans to high mileage Titans.

Any comments on the "leather" interior not being leather in the rear? Does this hit anyone as misleading in brochures and at the dealership level?

Okay, back down from my soapbox.

Thanks again for the reply.

:) :) :)

Howdy Dan --
I don't seem to have the same front end loose feedback problem that you do, but I do sometimes feel/sense road imperfections. I attribute this to the tires or it could be the shocks . . . I don't know . . . but it sure doesn't have the loose feel of an older vehicle.

Gas mileage varies, mine is anywhere from 13.5 to 16.5 mpg, usually around 14.5. It seems gets better with age.

Yea, I think Nissan did mislead us on leather seats package. I can't understand why they didn't at least put leather on the top surfaces of the back seats. I know my other car has leather on the parts that you sat on and the back and sides are vinyl. Oh well, I really only got the so call leather seats because I live in a muddy area and haul around my dogs. It's just easier for me to keep them clean. On a side note, I also thought the cloth seats looked a little cheesy.

Welcome to the site!! Kinda neat to see another person with dealership experiance here! -sorry I have nothing to add about anything else though..Just wanted to say hello.

I think this is your confusion on the gearing:
From the Nissanusa.com site under specs for the Titan

Final gear ratio (2.94); similar to a four-speed
automatic 3.73 ratio
Lower final gear ratio (3.357:1); similar to a four-speed automatic 4.10:1 ratio

The actual rear ratio on the towing or off-road package is a 3.36:1 as shown above. It is similar (whatever that means) to a 4.10:1 gear.

The_Head, I stand corrected. I remember reading in the brochure the 4:10 ratio and that stuck in my mind. But you're right, the website clearly states it's like a rear gear of 4:10-1.

I guess we've pretty much hashed this discussion to death.

Thanks all for the comments.

:) :) :)

The steering difference you are feeling may be due to the fact that the Titan has rack and pinion steering. Probably all the other trucks you have owned did not have rack and pinion steering, which does tend to give much more road feedback than the typical recirculating ball steering sector.

Welcome to ct Dan. My head hurts from reading your long post. I now need a nap. :D

Is 2000 rpm at 70 mph what everyone else here sees with the 3:36 gearing? I have the 2:94 gearing and at 2000 rpm, I'm doing 80mph. I didn't think there was a 10mph split between the two at that rpm, but I could be wrong. I'm just wondering if your tranny is not fully locking up when cruising??

That sounds about right. At 70 MPH my truck is turning about 1800 RPMs. 4x2 without the big tow package.

Welcome and good to hear from a true gearhead, your 13mpg is pretty bad a swell as 2000 at 70 , at 75 Im at aout 1800-1900 80 is about 2K right on the money amd Ive never got less than 14 and travelling the turnpike usuallt average right around 17...maybe its the air intake i dunno, but it seemes like all of our trucksa rent the same, now I don't do alot of towing abut I do help on the weekends with getting shale mulch furniture etc...maybe its a 04 vs 05 thing?

KY Titan, sorry about the long post. I hang out mainly on Chevy Talk, 1955/1957 Modified, Prostreet & Show (http://www.chevytalk.org/threads/ubbthreads.php). All the guys there seem to have gotten used to my lengthy threads. I think everytime they see a post from me they think, Oh no, not Dan again. :lol: :lol:

SCR38, I think you hit the nail right on the head with that reply. That makes sense to me now. I don't remember who said it, but I do get a bounce when I back out of my driveway and the frontend comes off the slight curb at the end. It does seem that the front shocks have a slight valving issue.

If you haven't taken the time yet to browse my albums, you may want to do that. A lot of the pictures will be right up your alley.

LinkNuc, I flew into Baltimore and had meetings in York a week ago Thursday. I used to fly out there a lot but flew into Harrisburg instead. I always wanted to make it to Hershey for a day or two. I've been invited to go to Carlisle a few times, but never made it during any of the events. A good friend of mine in York is big in streetrods and I always wanted to attend Nat's East the first weekend in June, but I've only been able to make it to the kickoff party at Apple Chevy once. Work just doesn't seem to cooperate.

And to all, if I were to do the cat-back exhaust and the Volant air box system, what do you think I'd gain in mileage? I know the sound would be more towards my liking too.

Any further comments on the "Leather" interior?

Thanks again everyone for the welcome and the comments.

Sorry, I've run on again with this. See how I am........ :oops: :oops: :oops:

One last comment, do the rest of you find it hard to navigate within the black on black windows? I can't seem to see boxes that are supposed to be clicked or filled in, it's just ALL black.

Sorry again.... :( :( :(

:) :) :) :)

KY Titan,

LinkNuc, I flew into Baltimore and had meetings in York a week ago Thursday. I used to fly out there a lot but flew into Harrisburg instead. I always wanted to make it to Hershey for a day or two. I've been invited to go to Carlisle a few times, but never made it during any of the events. A good friend of mine in York is big in streetrods and I always wanted to attend Nat's East the first weekend in June, but I've only been able to make it to the kickoff party at Apple Chevy once. Work just doesn't seem to cooperate.

And to all, if I were to do the cat-back exhaust and the Volant air box system, what do you think I'd gain in mileage? I know the sound would be more towards my liking too.


)

Hershey is a nice small quaint town, the park is fun for a day, spend a weekend see the park, chocolate factory, and don't forget the antique car mueseum!and we get some good concerts, I'm oringinally from out towards Pittsburgh, moved to NJ (ugh!) and now back in PA which is nice. 0


If you're rver in the area shoot me a PM or email!

ANd check out

http://www.aacamuseum.org/home.php


Oh and yes I would gurantee about 1 mpg better in normal coditions possibly up to 2

Hi Dan, and welcome to out Titan Fan(atic) club,
Gas milage: Bet the Willys didn't weigh within 1000 lbs of the Titan (unless it was a lead sled) .
I feel you should be getting better mileage than you are. I have the Big Tow and offroad, so that while I have the mileage robbing gearing, it's cancelled out by the 33" tires. My summer highway mileage is about 17.5, and my highest recorded MPG was 18.25 (!!)
The mpg's improved after break-in, and is way better in summer than winter.
It also does better on premium, and nowadays the price differential isn't so great - 93 is still only 20 cents more than 87 - that's now only 10%!
Try the mileage-improving mods; intake, tb spacer, and exhaust, and report your findings!
T rex