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Random Quote: Keep the water under you, not over you!!
I've been a bit of a deadbeat in not posting the year end/season end reviews for the boat and truck. First the truck:
I'm just passing 12,000 miles now. Overall I give the truck an 9 out of 10. There are a few areas that could use improving that I will cover below.
Exterior Fit and Finish: I'd give at least my truck a 10 out of 10 here. I'm very pleased with the fact that the paint doesn't chip and that all chromed parts have held up well.
I've really come across nothing in terms of imperfections on the outside and this is after another wax job just a few days ago. I have noticed a slight dinge in the bedliner. Some have had problems with the liner in warmer climates. Whether or not this is a prelude to it or just the result of the near-ocean climate I live in I don't know yet.
Interior Fit and Finish: I'd give the Titan an 8.5 out of 10 here. It's an extremely large and quiet cabin. The seats are very comfortable and everything works as it should. In an effort though to make the truck construction worker friendly (they literally wanted the user to be able to operate everything with gloves on) I find that some things are not as intuitive as one might think. For instance I knew I had outside mirror heaters but it took me a month to find them on the dash. The feature is hidden on the control knob for the vents rather than having it's own button. One minor problem on the inside, the on wheel audio controls are gray plastic. Well, my left control is black plastic as I managed to scrape off the gray coating. It's being replaced on the next service call, but it's obviously something that shouldn't have failed. Otherwise, everything on the inside has been great. I did add the XM radio. Sound quality is outstanding but it does fade at least up here in Boston on some roads. I'm told it's losing signal through the leaves. Not sure if all satellite radios are like this, if they are I don't see the point of them. Some folks wouldn't be able to use them at all.
Engine and Transmission: 10 out of 10. No problems at all and this thing easily pulled the 24 foot Vector fully loaded with fuel and gear up and down hills, over bridges and on highways. There were a couple of 100+ mile tow jobs thrown in including the last tow with failed brakes (semi-locked) on the trailer and blown seals greatly increasing resistance. I managed to pull the trailer free of it's chock blocks a couple of times without noticing until the thud on the backside. When Nissan said they designed the motor to deliver torgue under 2k rpms it's no lie, the thing has a ton of pulling power. I almost never used the 4 x 4 mode aside of at low tide on a wet ramp. Even then it was rarely needed. I found the 4 x 4 low procedure a little tricky and others have complained about it. It's clear in the manual though and once I read it, I never had another problem. My truck was rated for 9000+ pounds with the tow mode enabled via button. All it does is lengthen the gears so there is less shifting and more downshifting downhill. Again, even when I forgot to flip the switch I noticed almost no difference. The truck is easily able to maintain speed up and down steep grades at highway speed. It's fast enough from a dead stop that it's easy to leave rubber with the trailer attached and it took some time to get a feel for fast acceleration versus peeling out. Fuel economy while towing is low as is expected, 11-12mpg tops. Without the trailer the truck flies. Car and Drive rated the SE Crew Cab at 6.9 seconds to 60mph. I believe with the 4x4 it's slightly slower due to wait but it's still reported to be in the low 7's to 60. I find with the higher octane fuels it's especially fast but either way it's as fast as many sports sedans. The engine is exceedingly quiet at highway speeds but it does have a pronounced and deliberate groan at acceleration. This was by design, I'm indifferent to be honest. My average fuel economy continues to climb and is now about 16mpg with city and highway mixed. The transmission is very smooth, so smooth it's not even noticeable without the trailer. With the trailer you can "hear" the shifts via motor noise prior to shifting but it's still no big deal.
Braking, Suspension and Steering: 8 out of 10. This is the only area where I've had a few beefs. I'd heard about brake problems and I think they are largely overstated but at least in the first models shipped they are "sensitive". At about 3k miles the dealer made some adjustments without my asking during an oil change. Apparently from the factory some nuts were overtightened which could warp the rotors. I had begun to notice some shudder while braking and that was eliminated with the repairs at 3k. When trying to free a stuck brake actuator on the trailer I was stomping on the brakes of the truck just a few weeks back at 10k miles. Well, I did free the actuator but managed to warp the rotors again. It's probably my fault, I had been in stop and go traffic for an hour, came back and quickly hooked up the trailer and proceeded to stomp on the brakes at 60mph a half dozen times. Regardless it shouldn't have happened and apparently Nissan is aware of the issues. Just shy of 12k miles the truck is having a new set of rotors and pads put on for free. I believe these are drilled to improve cooling which was the cause of the problem in the first place. Minus the shudder the brakes are great. I'm confident once the rotors are swapped all will be fine. New models of the truck do not have this problem. Steering is good, but it's different than I'm used to on Nissans. Frankly it drives like a Ford which is again by design. The steering is a little light for my tastes, I like to feel the road like I did with the Maxima and G35. The steering is accurate though, no drift or fade and it's easy getting in and out of parking spots. The suspension is great, I DID NOT get the off-road package which can make the ride stiff as heck. This was a personal preference as I knew my offroading would be limited or non-existent. The Titan LE rides like a Cadilliac, it's the smoothest, quietest vehicle I've ever owned. It's darn quiet too, but I hear not quite as quiet as the coffin quiet F150. The suspension handled the boat with ease, no bouncing, no swaying or push from the trailer. This is with just the normal hitch and a regular tongue installed.
Comfort and Convenience: The thing is massive on the inside. My wife is astounded by how much room there is on the inside to carry groceries, work stuff, babies and more. The captains chairs are like recliners, the heated seats work like a charm. I find the premium radio to be great. Heating is blow torch like which requires getting used to the control. AC was adequate, I understand in the 05's they upped the cooling a bit. Window controls are the safe type for kids, ie, they cannot close on a kid that steps on them by mistake, they must be lifted to raise the window unlike some domestic models (apparently this is changing though due to consumer groups this year and next). Using a car seat is a snap, and having all that free space under the rear seats is great for storing baby and kid stuff. I found the left rear well storage compartment to be very useful. I'd store the safety chains and straps there, along with wd40 etc, teflon for the ball hitch and anything else I needed but didn't want in the cabin. It stays dry, is locked, and out of the way. One minor issue for some, the rear bed gate is HEAVY. This is by design so you can use the bed extender and carry a long, heavy load, but it's a chore for my wife to close it. I can see this being an issue for some.
REPAIRS and Problems: Really no repairs, certainly nothing that left me hanging or cost me time on the water. Cosmetically the only minor issue was the left audio control losing it's paint. Mechanically the brakes have had a few issues that have been resolved. Again, nothing serious or that I felt was a cause for concern. They were willing to fix it at about 7k miles, I figured I might as well wait until the 12k cutoff under warranty. There has been one recall related to the upper left head restraint/air bag. I'm not exactly sure what it is, I believe the card said it may not deploy. I've had it in for a few oil changes etc, each time it's about 25 bucks up here, no big deal.
Winter Driving: Well, this was a bit different than I'm used to with front wheel or all wheel drive vehicles. We've already had one good snow up here in Boston last week and I got stuck in it coming home from the office. In 4 x 2 mode I felt the truck had the potential to kick out a bit, in 4 x 4 high it was easy going. It still feels quite a bit different than the AWD I had in the last Infiniti and in the current Subaru. With those vehicles you didn't notice it working, with the 4 x 4 it's a more noticeable type thing. No problems, but I just found myself going slower than I did in the Outback. This may just be a function of a higher center of gravity as well in this vehicle versus the others. Rain is no match for the truck and I've had no trouble in any other type of weather.
OVERALL: For a first year truck and one of the first models rolled out I'm thrilled. I figured this would be the secondary vehicle to the Outback for normal trips when it's become the preferred vehicle for both of us even in the offseason. With the large cab it's really a full family vehicle. Economy is okay, comfort is great, and problems have been minimal. I'd highly recommend it.
2004 Nisan Titan LE
Heavy Tow but no Offroad package
10,000 everything the same as your post, the only problems were (1) THE BRAKES, Nissan PUT OUT A RECALL on that, and it was taken care of, (2) a safety issue with D rings, that there is a recall for and I am taking care of next week. Overall, I love it. Great review,
Agree with all that has been said,I am just passing my first service point and have been EXTREMELY happy with my 4wd LE , Big Tow, Offroad package. I can't wait until we get a really heavy snow to find out what this truck is really capable of.
I'll second everthing you said Scott...I'll add my one complante ..It's the location
of the power seat adjust !! If I'm not seated fully in the seat and let my leg hang out side (backing the boat in the stall)
the open door I'll engage the seat back knob and will have the seat laid fully back in seconds!!!
I have right at 9k miles or so and love it ...
I was very shocked at the oil filter size!!!!
Also only use the 4X4 on the ramp but I'll give mine a 9.2 of 10 !!!!
kids love the room !!!!
also Jim I think my sticker was 33K but I leased and it does not matter to me what the sticker is then !!!!
John
Nissan has had a diesel in their trucks for years now, just not this side of the pond. To what I've read, it's a steller of an engine to boot.
arctekmarine,
This side of the ditch, the top dog will cost yah 55 and change. IMO that is to much money for a truck with no box. But then again 55k is to much money for any truck. Crips in 10-15 years they'll be selling for $75,000.00.
Hi all, the sticker on mine was I think about 36k, I paid just about 32k and that was back in May, so no doubt they are less now. That was for the 4x4 LE model, loaded with leather, heated seats, premium radio, roll cage bed extender etc. The only thing I could have added was the nav, I had that in my Infiniti and although I liked it I decided I'd use the Garmin 276c as the nav system and have it double as the boat backup. I didn't get the rear dvd, for me I figured I can get a notebook computer of portable DVD for less than the 2k they wanted to have it from the factory. FULLY loaded it tops at 40k or just under.
I did not know they had formalized the brake fix, it wasn't a huge deal to me, annoying yes, but I've been around Nissan a lot of years and they just about always get the problems resolved quickly.
2004 Nissan Titan Review @12,000 miles 
I'd trade over in a heart beat. 
hi scott, what is average sticker price on the titan..?? thanks...jim 
