[Trouper]

Hello everyone, name is Joe from central NY. I bought my 2014 CC sb new in Nov 2014. Until recently I didn't hate my truck but I've never been excited about it like I have past vehicles. The seat fabric is horrible and makes them uncomfortable. The steering feels weird, handles corners like crap, and you better be ready if you hit a bump without any weight in the rear! Be careful doing an oil change cause that skid plate is mighty sharp and there's not much room to get a hand and arm in there for the filter. I have owned 3 Ford Rangers, a F-150, and a Ram 1500. All of those where better handling and felt better driving. Now don't get me wrong, the truck has some good attributes as well! There's no lack of power! The utilitrac system is great.

In the last month my feelings have turned to hatred. I had the battery light and brake lights come on together and the battery gauge reads low. This has happened several times, usually after going through a car wash but also in the morning after a heavy dew. First time it happened I drove 18 miles straight to a dealership, they told me nothing was wrong, the battery just needed a charge. I was furious with the way the dealership treated me. Then it happened again, the dealership wanted me to bring it in so they could look at it but couldn't offer me a loaner vehicle. What is the point of buying a new vehicle if under the factory warranty it has issues and you can't get a loaner vehicle? The lights pretty much stay on as long as the truck is running, if you've driven it about 10 miles or so and shut it off, they won't be on when you start it up again. After my frustration I decided to try another dealership when the light came on again. This time my pregnant wife took it and was going to wait because again, no loaner vehicle unless the repair will take more than 2 days. They took a quick look and told her there was going to be a $100 charge because there is an electric brake controller that was not installed by them and that was the problem (without any diagnosis)I told her to leave! I installed the controller without splicing any wires, the truck came with a towing package and all wiring was there and I bought the plug to go from the controller to the factory harness. The controller is mounted inside the truck, but the lights only come on when the truck gets wet. Even if it's a problem with the wiring going to the trailer plug that's all factory and if it wasn't designed to be used it shouldn't have been put there. I think the problem is either the alternator or possibly a tensioner as the power steering also sounds funny when the lights are on. I've done some digging around and I'm definitely not the only one this has happened to and it's not just a Frontier problem, many Nissan owners have had the same issue and it turned out to be the alternator. My concern is that my truck has just over 30k miles on it and by the time the problem is constant the warranty will be up and I will be stuck with the bill.

 

[R00]

Pretty easy to test an alternator. Get a voltage meter and measure the output.

 

[The other Sean]

So, it rides and drives like a truck and after 2 years, you have a bad battery or corroded terminals? yup, pure junk....

 

[R00]

So, it rides and drives like a truck and after 2 years, you have a bad battery or corroded terminals? yup, pure junk....

The headlight thing totally sounds like a ground issue...

 

[Blue Devil]

First post, not a positive one that's for sure, SMH. All vehicles are going to need some maintenance here and there besides PM. I'm totally with Shizzy. You didn't say how you left a map light on by mistake or something like that. It's just a battery that needs a good complete charge, or maybe it has a bad cell (that happens from time to time) replace the battery and see what happens.

On second thought just get a Taco.

 

[RikRong]

So, you didn't sit in the seats before you bought the truck? Did you notice you can reach the oil filter through the wheel well? Trust me, there are far worse filter placements out there, look at the SR20...Did you try checking your tire air pressures? Often times they come over-inflated from the dealer. This will seriously affect your handling

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[raine]

 

[Trouper]

1. It's not from leaving a light on, it only happens when the truck gets wet and it has happened multiple times in the last month.
2. There's a lot more to testing an alternator than checking voltage, amperage has a lot to do with it and I have no way to test that much less to do it while everything is wet.
3. No it doesn't drive like a truck, it drives like a POS. Everyone of the 6 other trucks I've owned have handled and driven better.
4. Tires are at 32psi, but let's not get started on that because the stock tires are horrible and will be replaced before winter if the truck isn't replaced.
5. Yes I sat in the seats, but when you go from a 2006 car to anything brand new it's going to feel better.
6. Sorry to hurt all your feelings about your beloved Frontiers but I'm not impressed. If Ford still had a Ranger I never would have given Nissan a thought.

 

[TAGS]

Why not just buy a brand new ford F-TINCAN.

 

[Trouper]

I would if I had $45k to spare! If they still had the Explorer Sport Trac I would have bought one of those too.

 

[TAGS]

https://media4.giphy.com/media/85KzP2fzJi3KM/giphy.gif

 

[R00]

#shitforgrounds

 

[Blue Devil]

So you came from a 10yr old car, and say the seats feel so much better than that?

What 6 trucks have you owned that handled and drove much better than a 2014 Frontier? Please list them for my curiosity.

Those late 1990's Ford Rangers sucked [email protected]@ I drove a couple of my friends talk about slow and carppy.

 

[R00]

What's funny is the Frontier generally gets better marks in handling than other midsize trucks in its class. It's why we have such a hard time lifting them without CBC and control arm issues. Also why they have the turning radius of a greyhound bus.

 

[R00]

Also, your "battery gauge" isn't really measuring your battery voltage (well, ignition on, engine off, it is) it's measuring voltage *at* your battery. If your "battery gauge" is "reading low" while the truck is running, that means your alternator is putting out insufficient voltage to the battery. It could also be a voltage regulator, but I am unsure if the regulator is internal on our alternators.

Also, good to note is that after 2008 or so, the needle gauges in Frontiers and Xterra don't read true. There's only "low" "normal" and "OH **** TURN IT OFF!!!"

Pull the alt and take it to a shop and have them bench test it. Chances are it's on its way out. Not unheard of.

Of course, if that's the issue, we will probably never hear from you again, lol

 

[raine]

1. It's not from leaving a light on, it only happens when the truck gets wet and it has happened multiple times in the last month.
2. There's a lot more to testing an alternator than checking voltage, amperage has a lot to do with it and I have no way to test that much less to do it while everything is wet.
3. No it doesn't drive like a truck, it drives like a POS. Everyone of the 6 other trucks I've owned have handled and driven better.
4. Tires are at 32psi, but let's not get started on that because the stock tires are horrible and will be replaced before winter if the truck isn't replaced.
5. Yes I sat in the seats, but when you go from a 2006 car to anything brand new it's going to feel better.
6. Sorry to hurt all your feelings about your beloved Frontiers but I'm not impressed. If Ford still had a Ranger I never would have given Nissan a thought.

I'm sorry if you've had bad luck with your particular vehicle and whatever dealership you went to... maybe find another dealership that will help?

GLHF That said - no apology needed, you're welcome.

 

[Trouper]

I've owned a 1981 F-150, rode and drove like ****, it was 16 years old at the time. 1986 Chevy 1/2 ton 4x4, also junk these wherefiret couple vehicles as a teen. 1995 Ranger, 1997 Ranger-best vehicle I've ever owned, 2000 Ranger- was a turd but rode decent was reliable and made me a lot of money, 2002 Ram 1500 4x4-good truck with bad wiring, 2004 F-150-awesome truck that handled the curves and bumps like a champ and would pull anything I wanted, and a 2007 Explorer Sport Trac- gas hog but otherwise good vehicle. I've also driven several different trucks for work plowing snow. I'm not new to trucks! Not new to vehicles! I've also been to school for Engine machining and know how to turn a wrench. Ultimately this issue has been a failure on TWO separate Nissan dealerships that don't want to support the vehicles they sell. As I said I wasn't impressed before this but it wasn't the hatred I have now. My truck gets compliments, it looks good and it has pulled well over it's 6000 lb rating. But when a vehicle with less than 30k miles on it has been to the dealership more than once for the same problem and they don't want to know anything about it. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. When I bought the truck I was in a bad place financially and the dealer worked with me to get it, so I went from a 2006 Subaru Impreza with seats not made for a bigger guy to this Nissan. The seats obviously felt great at the time. I'm not the only one complaining about them. My whole family hates them and I'm not the only one on here to complain about them either!

Maybe I came off with a bad attitude but damn people, I was hoping for more insight on the problem at hand. A few people actually have seen that and offered up bits and pieces. I do feel the alternator is on its way out. But when my truck is under warranty why should I have to pull it and pay for it? On top of that Nissan had to be stupid and put it down low where it's difficult to get at.

 

[R00]

In my experiences with dealerships (and for this truck, there wont be any more, my service contract ran out 5k ago) you have to specifically tell them what you want addressed, or they'll do the diagnostic runaround and it'll take forever. Walk in, tell them the alternator isn't putting out sufficient voltage (again, verify this with a voltage meter, reference my comment on Nissan dummy gauges) and that you want it bench tested. Pretty simple. As long as you know what you are talking about, you'll win any debate the service mgr. throws out at you.

If they do anything else, a) you're not on the hook for it, since you didn't ask for that and B) now you can forward your complaint up the line and get something done.

Nissan dealerships are dealerships, not Nissan corporate. One does not necessarily look out for the other.

 

[mtyler11]

First off, you have some $hitty dealers in your area. But considering my experiences in central NY, you'll want to go Upstate or (more likely) out of state. Really, they're just shitty dealers. No dealer in their right mind that WANTS to keep you as a customer would tell you that your problem is due to a trailer brake controller. As for the loaner, diagnostic should be under an hour, and for that I have never seen a dealer give a loaner. There's a Hyundia dealer that I love, took care of so much under "warranty" (several of the items shouldn't have qualified, but they 'made' them qualify) and unless they KNEW they would need the car for the day, I had to wait for the diagnostic. Once the diag was done, key in hand for the next filming of Days Of Thunder. Even when I had an intake manifold failure and it had NO power and could barely idle, they had to verify it wasn't something quick & stupid. Took them 30 min to verify. So your biggest issue is dealer.

As to the actual problems with the truck (electrical). It happens. I had a few minor issues with the truck when I took delivery. Mostly with things the dealer was supposed to do when it arrived off the delivery truck. To test the amperage of the altenator all you need is a clamp ammeter. safe & easy. can do it wet or dry. you can get one from Harbor Freight for $12. Or just ask the friendly Autozone guys to test your battery & altenator. And while the rear can be a little jumpy when its empty, thats because its an empty truck. Every truck I've had has done that. My father's 2008 F150 does it and that sucker is long & heavy. It also handles worse than my Fronty. He even thinks so. BUT he is a Ford man and needs to tow a 32' travel trailer.
If the fabric of the seats is an issue, a cover will fix that. I tried both Nissan & Toyota and fabric-wise they were both the same (I drove the Toy to the Nissan dealer and had them side by side... lol... watching the 2 salesmen... AWKWARD!!!!) But I didn't like the seating position of the Toy. Or their attitude of "we sell out every month, we don't have to dicker on price" Almost as bad as "its a Jeep thing" Plus, if all you did was go from your old worn out seats to the Frontier and called it good, thats on you. I spent several months looking at prices & options, then several months test driving multiple brands & models.
Oil filter is not that difficult. And you're not supposed to reach up through the access port, thats for the oil to come out of. You flank it from the side... in a sneak attack! (no seriously, you reach in from the side)
Tires: everyone knows (including Nissan, which is why they started offering Hankook) the BFG LongFails are bad. But, they are cheap (for them in bulk), and get good mpg which is what nissan needed them to do.

I hope you find a good dealer or mechanic (an independant can do warranty work also, AND get paid by the mfr. They just have to be willing to do it. Most won't because its a hassle. The dealer does it because they are forced to). I felt the handling was 'wierd' too at first; I was coming from a small car - that's why. The bulk of your handling issues will be corrected by tires & shocks. Even the Pro4X stock shocks will be a noticeable improvement, but if you do that, may as well get hte Bilstein silver bodies (5100) BUT a Good dealer may give you a set of yellow Bilstein (stock P4X) for labor. Particularly if you are telling them of the issues you have and are looking to replace your tires but can't swing shocks... this would come after they have fixed the electrical (because now you have begun a 'relationship' with them and they want to earn business)

 

[mtyler11]

Maybe I came off with a bad attitude but damn people, I was hoping for more insight on the problem at hand. A few people actually have seen that and offered up bits and pieces. I do feel the alternator is on its way out. But when my truck is under warranty why should I have to pull it and pay for it? On top of that Nissan had to be stupid and put it down low where it's difficult to get at.

mfr & dealer are independent entities that are actually at odds with eachother. The mfrs would actually rather sell direct to buyers. They'd make more, we'd spend less.
SHOULD you have to fight with the dealer? no. But that is the problem with dealers. If they feel they have a monopoly and don't have to earn your business, they won't. If you go to other service cntrs or independents and discuss your issue, they may be willing to fight the fight for you. dealer service centers from competing lines often will work harder to win your business and trust in hopes you'll dump your old vehicle for one of theirs.