I drove out to the Piney Woods of East Texas and back (234 miles)
My thoughts: Pros: Smooth running engine with a lot of torque. In fact; on one hill out there I could maintain speed without pressing any further on the gas peddle like I had to on my 2001 Dakota with the 4.7 Liter V8, and in my wife's 2015 CRV, it downshifts in order to maintain speed.
Lots of room for storage in the back seat of the crew cab.
Good radio and good sound. (But not quite as good as my 2001 Dakota SLT when it was new.)
Excellent visability. . . just one blind spot the I can remedy with a wide angle mirror on the outside mirror.
SV package truck bed is great.
Quiet ride even at 75 mph. (legal limit on I-30 out there.)
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Cons: No fuel door release . . . WTH?. I didn't know they made them like that anymore.
Seats are very hard. My bottom was hurting only after 75 miles. Where as it usually started hurting after 300 miles in the Dakota, and no problem at all in the Honda CRV (touring).
Turning into my street requires a slightly greater than 90 degree turn, which requires many turns on the steering wheel. I didn't measure it yet, but it feels like it.
It's a decent trip vehicle. Have you adjusted the tone controls on the radio yet? Good thing you didn't get the crew cab long bed, you might not be able to turn on to your street. For sure get blind spot mirrors, I have a 3in. round one on both outside mirrors. These come in handy for blind spots and for backing into a space.
You have some "current mods" I want right away; including the 3" round blind spot mirrors, OEM body side molding, and step rails. A few of your things, I have no idea what they are. Plus a real good seat cushion, and an after market trip computer.(I just want the capability of monitoring miles per gallon, and average mpg for the recent tankful.)
For your MPG calculations, I found the "My Firestone" app works good. You enter your information at each fill up and it calculates it all for you. Plus, you can log all of your own maintenance records.
I've already put 25,000 on my 2015 after just a year. I eliminated some blind spots by taking out the rear seat headrests. The seats are a little hard, but I regularly drive in 500mi shots (how I got so many miles on my truck so fast), I haven't had any issues with comfort, in fact, I can go longer in the truck than I can in my M5, for some reason, maybe everyone's different.
few complaints I've had:
The seats are low quality, if I'm on a rough road, I can see the passenger seat flopping around like it's cardboard.
Also, the cloth seats tend to discolor and stain from almost nothing.
Not enough cubbies and storage areas around the cab.
No one can hear me over the bluetooth
The radio and AC buttons aren't sensitive enough, I tend to have to push everything twice
I did notice that the steering ratio kinda sucks. More or less, if I turn left, then immediate right (slalom style), the PS system can't keep up, I need all the strength in both arms.
I had this problem when I first got my Frontier. I found that this was solved by turning off the climate control while using the Bluetooth. The mic seems to be very sensitive to the sound of the air coming out of the vents for some reason.
My 2015 Desert Runner CC seats feel fine to me. I'm 6' 1" 195 lbs. so I don't think I'm not straining the seat's capacity. I find the 8-way manual adjustable driver's seat with manual lumbar support adequate. Just wished it could go back just a little more.
Noise is a complain to me. It's not very quite @ 75 MPH. Lots of wind noise... Gets worse when I'm north of 90. She still rides smooth north of 100 (going straight of course). My other complaint is she turns like the "Queen Mary".. Gas Mileage... I knew what I was getting when I bought her so I can't complain about that.. Other than that I'm very happy with her...
I have around 1500 miles on my new frontier CC. I really like the truck. I don't really have a complaint but the spot mirrors aren't a bad idea! Funny reading it here in these posts about the steering. I had noticed that it doesn't turn as tight as I expected it would, just hadn't given it a lot of thought. But the first week I drove it I had to back up a couple times pulling in between cars at stores. Can't say I ever had to do that before with bigger trucks, but I think I was expecting this to turn sharper than it does. I wonder if the steering stops can be adjusted or if this is all we get?
As for seats, I feel like these are pretty comfortable, my truck is an SV model with cloth seats, not electric. Only wish they could drop a little closer to the floor. It is OK where it is, but lower would be better for me, I am 6' tall and nearly hit my head getting in and out.
One thing I don't like is when I start it cold it revs up right away to around 2000 rpm or so. Seems a little bit much on a cold startup.
Something I noticed when I first started driving it was that on the highway it seemed like I have to steer all the time, like it wasn't centering itself. I don't seem to notice is so much now that I have driven it a while but I do plan to ask the dealer when I take it in for the first service to see if they can check the alignment to be sure it is right. Anyone else notice this? Just seems like it doesn't want to go straight , always needs a little nudge left or right? My truck isn't pulling or anything, it is just slight. I have had plenty of worn out trucks and never had one that did this, maybe its a new truck thing? lol
My Frontier is straight as an arrow on the highway. It's actually one of my favorite aspects of owning it. It is smooth as can be and takes very little steering input on the highway.
My truck is very quiet on the highway, and I also love that about it. Had plenty of loud vehicles and I enjoy this one.
As for steering, I have to constantly fiddle with it. I will get it to the dealer in the next week or two. I am taking a 1000 miles one way trip the first week of June, I'd rather get it looked at before that. If other trucks drive true, this must have an issue. I suspected it did anyhow, hearing that from you just ads to my concern! Thank you
Have you checked your tire pressures? I find that a lot of vehicles have tire pressures all over the place when driven off the dealers lots. This isn't just something specific to Frontiers either.
Good point, no I have not! I will check that today. I would feel like an idiot to take it to dealer and have them tell me I had a low tire! lol Sometimes we overlook the simple things!
I checked my tire pressure. I had 1 rear tire at 38 psi and the other 3 tires at 45/46 psi. I dropped the 3 down so all 4 are 38 now. I will see if that does anything.
The tires say 51 psi is max pressure, door label says 35 psi for all 4. I will see how this works. I am not 100% sure the gauge is totally accurate. If it improves how it drives I will dig out my heavy duty gauge that should be right on. This one should be as it is fairly new but I haven't used it much and I haven't compared it to my calibrated gauge.
No reason to have them at 45/46 PSI. You can run them at 35 with no issue. I have a feeling it will probably run better down the road at the proper tire pressure.
Very true! Unless you are hauling or towing, air down to 35. I find that even at 35 I'm getting more wear in the center of the tire, therefore, I dropped down to 34.
On my last truck, a 2001 Dakota 4.7 SLT, I had to step on the gas in order to start it. This 2016 Frontier is just the opposite. If I even faintly touch the accelerator, it revs up above 2000 rpm. I'm trying to see if it doesn't happen as bad if my foot is nowhere near the peddle. (I'm just over 600 miles now.) BTW: I bought a seat cushion. It makes the seat much more comfortable. I also just installed an after market trip computer. It will take me a couple of tankfuls to calibrate it. Right now, with careful highway driving, it tells me I am getting 25.5 mpg peak while on the highway. I'm at a 1/4 tank now with 340 miles. That's probably 22.5 mpg with about 80 city miles driven.
After getting my tires all the same pressure I have driven around quite a bit. It made no difference in how it drives.
I am taking a long trip in a couple weeks. I am taking it to the dealer for an alignment check. Right out of the dealers yard it didn't seem quite right to me.
I was thinking as it was new and everything tight , plus me not use to it that it might be fine. It seems like maybe something isn't up to snuff. Best to have it checked out.
I'm coming up on 20,000 on my 2015 frontier. The gas mileage is finally up to an average of 21.8 the last 2 fill-ups.
I'm starting to hear the transmission growl. I'll have that checked out Tuesday. The heat was still a problem last winter. This summer the AC is barely adequate on a 87 degree day. I was told to just use Max Cool.
Just took a long trip with my new Frontier. I've been getting around 19.5-20 mpg. I got a little better running north(1000 miles). I got just about 22 on one tank of gas.
On the trip back I pulled a 6X12 Uhaul cargo trailer full of household stuff. So right off, there was a problem. No clearance lights on trailer. My trailer plug has no power for the lights. Everything else worked, (blinkers,brake lights). I took it to a dealer up north and for an oil change and asked them to look at light problem. When they were done, they told me they couldn't find a ground and to get some test plug at walmart. Idiots! It was a Saturday, and I assume they didn't want to deal with it. So I checked what I could, fuses, harness. I looked for info in manual but didn't find much help there. So I had to improvise. I didn't want to mess with my truck wiring being it is new, and the hitch/wiring is dealer installed so I want the dealer I bought the truck at to fix it. So I went to walmart, bought a cigarette lighter plug, a roll of wire and a wire connector kit. I ran a wire from inside the cab, out back door, ran along frame to the rear, and I connected it to clearance light wire on trailer harness, and connected it with a wire connector. Then I could plug in plug in cab and tail lights came on. Worked good. Got me home with lights working!
Now I need to get it to dealer now that I am home and have them deal with it. I assume the dealer put the hitch on, unless it came from factory that way? It was on it when i bought it.
I would! I was 1000 miles from home when I was at a Uhaul location picking up a cargo trailer and found about my light plug not working.
I had blinker and brake lights, no clearance/tail lights. I was surprized the uhaul guy let me go with it, he knew I was travelling a long distance.
My little cob job worked good without compromising anything on the truck. Nice that the truck has extra 12v ports as we had phone chargers and gps plugged into 2 of them. I used the one in the armrest to run my temporary light harness.
I own a 2007 NISMO Frontier Majestic Blue(de-badged). When i first got i also had to get used to the turning radius, backing in and out a few times to "get it in". Now i know exactly what I'm doing and can slide it right in. I have 170K on my truck, it wasn't loud enough for me so i installed a Flowmaster muffler and a Volant CAI, along with the Cortex programmer this ***** screams. I firmed up the already stiff ride with Bilstein 5100's, leveled the front and installed a Helwig sway bar in back. This has been a very reliable truck. i think the reason it runs so well is because i drive it like i stole it, doesn't puff a whiff of smoke out the back even at WOT. I've been using Castrol full Syntec with Lucas Oil stabilizer since my first oil change. Haven't done ANY work done on the engine, except Nissan changed the timing chains at about 35K (under warranty) because they thought they heard some noise coming from it. I know I've redlined the engine a few times but smog guy says she runs cleaner than a new truck, i live in So.California. I believe the oil combo I use is the reason she still purrs like a kitten. Been thinking about having a Stillen installed, WTF. MORE POWER.
Dang this sounds like my trucks twin just a 2007 instead of a 2006 and your's has 30k more miles and looks a crap ton better paint wise, I have a 6spd you didn't mention. Mine hasn't had the timing chain whine either.
They sure aren't the old rack-and-pinion steering of old, I'm not a fan of my truck when it comes to a tight parking space.
I'd check the inflation on the tires if it's not tracking correctly, you might have a low tire somewhere. (I'm also not a fan of the TPMS, which goes off for no reason at all).
I hope to purchase a Frontier this fall/winter. When looking at the specs , the Frontier does have a larger turn radius than Toyota or GM twins. When I took a Frontier for a test drive, I found the turning to be not so bad. Maybe because I have been driving a Ram 1500 for 8 years. I thought the turn radius was going to be a problem, but I really didn't mind it.
Long after the fact, due to my putting it off, I brought the truck back to the dealer for the 2nd oil change and had them check out the truck. They fixed my trailer light plug. They also found that the truck needed a front end alignment. It must have been off since it was brand new. Drives much better now than it did.
I now have 10,000 miles on the truck. I still enjoy it.
One thing i don't care for is how the brakes work. They seem kind of weak to me. Dealer says they are all good but I don't care for how poorly they seem to work. I am thinking of buying a set of pads for all 4 wheels, maybe something more aggressive. Anyone else notice issues with their brakes feeling soft? Mine has been like this the whole time. I have had bigger trucks that stopped better. Otherwise a great truck!
People have brought up the soft brakes many times. I feel it's personal preference and I don't really mind it. The brakes grip enough for me to do a standing burnout and kick in the ABS when I brake hard enough, I feel they're strong enough to stop my truck when I need them to. Granted, I use trailer brakes whenever possible.
IMO, it's a small truck, it's not going to stop like a car, and it might not stop as well as a bigger truck (with bigger tires and brakes) either. IMO, if you upgrade the brakes, you're then limited by the tires. The only time you're really going to need beefier brakes is if you plan to run your brakes hot, like mountain regions with a trailer or on a race course.
The brakes are nothing to write home about, for sure. I just had mine loaded with max weight and 33" tires - now that is a test of planning your stops in advance.
I find the turning radius to be ok now that I am use to it. I have had a few ford x-cab rangers, mid 90's vintage, they turned much tighter than my frontier. I have also have several full size trucks over the years. I think the frontier turning radius is close to a full size truck radius. I think I just expected it to be able to turn tighter than it does. However, as I said now that I am use to it there is no problem.
As for the brakes, I feel they aren't very good at all. I think I am going to try a set of more aggressive pads all around and see if it helps.
I drive in traffic a lot, the brakes just don't do it for me. I think the truck should stop a lot better than it does.
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