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3rd Gen - Drivetrain Discussions
Plenty of info and repeat info on this very topic. ✌

Welcome to the club. "Search Community" is your friend here

 

What is this search you speak of? I don’t like to do research on my own, I let peasants do the work for me.

 

Take it to the dealer.

 

Sell it.

 

You didn't notice this during a test drive?

 

Why test drive the truck? It’s not like it’s a big investment.

 

I searched and don't see posts specifically in regards to 9spd harsh downshifting, but I'm not that bright.

 

Thank you for checking for me .I do have a service appointment with the dealership next week .I know on the 22 model they reprogrammed the transmissions but I don't see anything on the 23

 

This is normal. I had the same issue. After about 7,000 miles+ it starts to REALLY smooth out. I was SERIOUSLY concered when I first purchased the truck because of this. The explanation a mechanic told me is that the lower gears in our truck are true work horse gears. Our Frontiers are great work trucks. And because those first few gears are true towing grears whenever they shift into them they can shift hard at times. Especially if the truck is new, OR if you purchased it NEW AND in the winter. These trucks for whatever reason don't like to be cold.

 

Yeah you are right I let mine warm up before taking off I really love the truck the ride the gas mileage is better than the sticker says. I drove to Atlanta and got 25 mpg and going back to Nashville I got 24.4 and it's rated at 17 and 22 my truck is a 4 door SV 4 wheel drive .yes I bought it new in October 22 what you said makes a lot of sense .I have always loved the frontiers my dad owned 2 of them and had great service out of both of them .thank you for helping me make sense of this issue or shall I say non issues

 

Congrats on the new Frontier, @Nashville Mike! Debbie Downer says verify your fuel economy w/ a calculator since the dash display is more often than not +2 MPGs optimistic. YMMV, get it? 😇

 

I was wondering how accurate the dash display was

 

I look at tech drawings and info like that and my brain locks up blue screen style like and old windows PC.

One thing I have noticed with my 9spd is, you can't tell when the torque converter locks/unlocks. It seems like it stays locked more than any AT I've owned, which is kind of nice.

 

Overall, don't stress it. Honestly, I believe with all my heart these new Frontiers are going to be considered the pinnacle of Mid-size trucks looking back 30+ years from now. Just my opinion. Obviously no vehicle is truly perfect, but considering how much everyone loves the Tacoma and how revered they are, the Frontier is literally a Tacoma but done better in practically every single aspect. Right down to the frame. The Tacoma's have a C-Channel style frame and our Frontiers are a solid rectangular piece so they don't twist over time like the Tacoma's do.

Only complaint I have with my Frontier realistically is the gas mileage. It basically gets the gas mileage of a full size truck. But considering we have 310HP from the factory, its a price I'm willing to pay. Our 9 speed transmission makes it easier for those of us that drive in the city. For me, I barely touch the gas and I'm in 6th gear by the time I hit 30mph just cruisin' along around 1200 rpm's.

I absolutely love mine. I was truly terrified of the transmission at first. My Frontier was a special gift/partnership from my folks and is something I wanted to last a very long time for the memories of us getting it together. Potentially even pass this down to my son when the time comes. When I first purchased mine it was in the middle of a harsh Pacific Northwest winter. The transmission would shift so hard into those Planetary gears and before I knew better I was genuinely concerned. I thought for sure the transmission would be the weak point and there was no way the vehicle would last 100,000 miles.

Fast forward to about 5,000 miles I noticed the transmission was smoothed out quite a bit. By the time I got to 10,000 miles its like butter. However, like we said, those first few gears are geared super low, so if the vehicle feels the need to downshift from 6th to 3rd (which 3rd is a planetary gear) it will shift a litter harder than normal. But not as hard as if you first purchased the vehicle with 0 miles in the dead of a freezing winter hard. Just have to learn to tell your mind its okay. Its designed that way.

 

Overall, don't stress it. Honestly, I believe with all my heart these new Frontiers are going to be considered the pinnacle of Mid-size trucks looking back 30+ years from now. Just my opinion. Obviously no vehicle is truly perfect, but considering how much everyone loves the Tacoma and how revered they are, the Frontier is literally a Tacoma but done better in practically every single aspect. Right down to the frame. The Tacoma's have a C-Channel style frame and our Frontiers are a solid rectangular piece so they don't twist over time like the Tacoma's do.

Only complaint I have with my Frontier realistically is the gas mileage. It basically gets the gas mileage of a full size truck. But considering we have 310HP from the factory, its a price I'm willing to pay. Our 9 speed transmission makes it easier for those of us that drive in the city. For me, I barely touch the gas and I'm in 6th gear by the time I hit 30mph just cruisin' along around 1200 rpm's.

I absolutely love mine. I was truly terrified of the transmission at first. My Frontier was a special gift/partnership from my folks and is something I wanted to last a very long time for the memories of us getting it together. Potentially even pass this down to my son when the time comes. When I first purchased mine it was in the middle of a harsh Pacific Northwest winter. The transmission would shift so hard into those Planetary gears and before I knew better I was genuinely concerned. I thought for sure the transmission would be the weak point and there was no way the vehicle would last 100,000 miles.

Fast forward to about 5,000 miles I noticed the transmission was smoothed out quite a bit. By the time I got to 10,000 miles its like butter. However, like we said, those first few gears are geared super low, so if the vehicle feels the need to downshift from 6th to 3rd (which 3rd is a planetary gear) it will shift a litter harder than normal. But not as hard as if you first purchased the vehicle with 0 miles in the dead of a freezing winter hard. Just have to learn to tell your mind its okay. Its designed that way.
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I agree this is probably the best frontier yet .the rear under seat storage is great the ride and handling is excellent the steering is stiffer compared to some trucks but I like that at 75 mph it's extremely quiet the interior is well put together.i agree with you I feel like this is a better built truck than the Tacoma the interior of the Toyota feels cheap and the seats aren't comfortable I'm six ft six and the frontier has lots of room my gas mileage is pretty good for a big V6 engine my truck is a 4wheel drive my dad has 21 Ridgeline and he gets 24 mpg maybe and that truck has 265 hp the frontier is fast I still see a few early Nissan pick ups on the road that says a lot for Nissan

 

Yeah the interiors of competitors just don't hold up to the Frontier. I've looked at every interior from the Ranger, Colorado, GMC, Silverado, F-150, F-250, in my opinion, all of the interiors in the mentioned vehicles looked terrible. Thrown together with a bunch of random lines to look "future-istic". However when I compare the interiors to the Frontiers, I notice the Frontier is well thought out. No extra non-sense and beautifully laid out.

My Fathers F-150 just looks so busy on the inside. Nothing really makes sense.

 

I have a 2020 (same engine / trans, older body style), and it does have the sensation of pulling as you come to a stop because the initial gears are so tall. It does get better over time and driving it. These 9 speed transmissions are way different than the older automatics. Its a livable quirk considering how they provide such excellent low and top end gearing in one unit.

 

Same here! I commute in mine (4x2) and I rack up miles quickly. Already at 22K. It was fine until about 500 miles ago and I started noticing the same thing. The other day it stuttered twice as I was accelerating. Felt like a bad “miss”. Gonna talk to the dealership, just so I can listen to the wind blow. lol

 

Did I read somewhere that these transmissions are used in Amazon or sprinter vans?

 

looks like it...

https://www.waltersmercedesbenzsprinter.com/2022-sprinter-cargo-van-transmission-options/

 

Is there a way to display what gear it's in while driving? I found that interesting on my F150s but haven't found a setting for it on the Frontier.

 

Don’t think so

 

I’d like that as well. Also had F150 with that feature. I’m new to 9 speed and it’s behaviors are a bit different so actually seeing the gear selection decisions it makes would be interesting.

 

Mine will hard shift and buck the drivetrain if I decelerate and then give it gas at slower speeds.
‘22 SV 4X4 crew cab

 

2023 sv 4x4 bought in Dec 2022 6 miles on it currently has 18.5k sometimes shifts like butter especially on the bypass. When in the city in stop and go traffic it bucks really hard back and forth. Lately been noticing in hunting/slipping(?) at 40-50 mph when I first start driving it for the day or after it had sat for awhile. You can also hear a gear when coming to a stop like the 1st or 2nd not sure. Brought it to the dealer about all of that and they told me it was sadly normal behavior since the transmisson is so (busy). Yeah I have no clue what to think of it. Not sure if I'm ocd hyperfocusing on it or if I need to trade it in for something else. Dealership experience is exhausting. Would want to try and lemon it but if the dealer(s) are saying it's fine and it's not throwing any codes may just trade it?? Coming from a silverado 2014.

 

Any updates? I have a '23 Pro 4X (bought new, now has 3,600 miles) and it shifts exactly like you described. It's great on the highway, but can be herky-jerky in stop and go city traffic.

 

Mine was doing this if I drive slow around 30mph I got a tcm update an that fixed that issue. But now my transmission is slipping if I don't get the truck idle for 10 minutes then it go's away. Truck has no codes I took it back to the dealership they said there's no fix for it they sent videos to nissan an nissan gave the dealership the go ahead to replace my whole transmission my truck is 2023 frontier s king cab 4x4 22k miles on it