Ahhh yes... I remember when I made the switch from a 2.4, It took me about a year before I started doing mods. Valve covers leak and fill the plug hole with oil, mostly passenger side near the firewall for some reason.
I got mine fixed warranty.

I have never had a problem, but I guess air can get trapped in the cooling system and cause heater to not work right.
An intake manifold spacer is a good upgrade. A tuner and exhaust also. None of those things alone are a silver bullet, but working together they really add up. If you want a custom dyno tune, do the mods first.

Throttle body spacer, coolant bypass, screen removal, and a "cold air intake" are generally considered a waste of money and time. The 4.0 has the same air filter set-up as the Titan. If I were to get one, the only one would be the AFE Momentum

 

Leapvaun, the earlier ones had issues with the timing chain drive, that has been resolved in later models.
Not exactly 4.0 related but the early ones also had faulty radiators that eventually mixed the coolant with the transmission fluid when the internal cooler tank seal(s) failed at around 90 to 100k miles, that was around 2005 to 2010, the radiator codes in this mix are well documented here so if you have that one by chance, dump it ASAP and get a new replacement or upgrade to an all-aluminium aftermarket build.
The rear axle vents suck ( specifically because they DON'T suck but only blow LOL ), that applies to ALL years and models so do that mod first, it can be as cheap as under $20.00 and up to maybe $38.00-40.00 if you get more elaborate ( as I did ), & might save your axle from mega-$$$$$ later. Its well documented here on multiple OPs including mine. BTW that was my first mod about 3 weeks after I got the truck, March 2018.

 

It's a solid motor, overall. The VQ-series has been in the US in various displacements and forms since the VQ30DE first appeared in the 1995 Maxima. The VQ40DE has been around since 2005 and really hasn't changed much since then. In 2007, they went from NGK Laser Platinum spark plugs to NGK Laser Iridium plugs. Some 2005-10 engines had upper timing chains that had improperly stamped link plates that would gradually cut through the plastic tensioner faces. Another problem that sometimes occurs is low oil pressure at idle due to failed oil gallery cover plate gaskets on the rear timing cover. They do make new gaskets, however, sometimes the cover plate bolts will not come out and the rear timing cover needs to be replaced. Cam position sensors and crank position sensors sometimes fail. Some people complain about the slightly rough idle. Overall, it's a good engine that has plenty of power for a 4.0L-V6.

 

Thanks for the replies. I heard about the "milk shake" / "coolant-in-engine" problems of 05'-09' models, but that has been corrected, I'm told. Timing chain issues, ditto.

Hopefully, this will last me 300k+ miles. Since this is a 2019, I don't plan on dropping money on another payment for QUITE a good while!

I am one of these cats that just get the dealership to do my work since I suck with doing work myself.

 

Well, to be fair, the engine coolant/ATF cross-contamination issue was the result of a seal failing in the trans cooler inside the radiator, so that had nothing to do with the engine. Also, while the majority of failures have occurred on 2005-10 models, there have been a few 2011 failures and recently a reported 2013 model, so the jury is still out! All of those failed, however, have been on the factory-installed radiators and there haven't been any reported issues with the aftermarket replacements (the CSF all-aluminum radiators have had a number of issues, however, I don't think they've been cooler related).

 

Over the last 35+ years, many of Nissan's V6 engines have been held in the highest regard and even garnered awards for their smoothness and refinement. I'm quite sure our VQ40 is not "world class smooth or refined"...but it is stout. Me & my right foot likey.

 

I know this post was from a while back but it’s the most pertinent thread to what I’m looking for so I hope it’s okay I’m reaching out!

A few months ago I purchased my Grandfather’s 2007 Crew Cab 2WD AT 4.0L V6 (VQ40DE) Frontier with just under 100k miles. My Grandpa bought it in 2012 or 2013 with 57k and from then-2021 only put on the additional miles to where it now sits at the 99k mark. Overall it’s in pretty darn good shape and has been maintained regularly. I am now the 3rd owner and would like to keep it going as long as it can live! I am willing to do anything within reason to keep it in the great shape it is and want to keep its mechanical integrity so it will continue to be a reliable vehicle for my immediate family members.

Now that I’m almost to the 100k mark, do you have a list of specific items I should look at specifically for the 2007 year and engine model? What about any suggested parts/fluids you would recommend I replace as preventative or scheduled maintenance at it’s current mileage? Any input from your experience is greatly welcomed! I appreciate your time in reading and hopefully responding to my post. Have a GREAT remainder of 2021! Thank You - Matt

 

So far I have owned 19 Datsun/Nissan vehicles. My first was the 120Y. Some of the best were the Bluebird, the 260C and the 280C, the 260C hade a straight 6 and 280C an 8. those engines were easy to work on lasted till you got tired of them. The 2006 Frontier LE of which I'm trying to replace its engine has ( I checked it this morning ) 419.000 miles on it. It still runs, no knocks but it smokes like a chimney. When I removed the valve covers the heads look very clean, no carbon so I'm wondering if the problem is just a valve seal problem. The 2016 engine arrived today but after looking at the heads I'm having second thoughts. What say ye?

 

Usually when valve seals fail, oil from the exhaust exits only at start-up and typically goes away once you start driving. If the rings are bad, you'll typically see it when you rev the engine or when you stomp on the gas while driving; worse case scenarios, you'll see oil burning out the exhaust all of the time and you'll see build-up on the spark plug end. To determine if the rings are in good shape, do an engine compression test and a cylinder leak down test. You'll also want to make sure your oil isn't getting diluted with gasoline by some means, so check for a strong odor of gas on the dipstick. That said, with 419,000 miles, it doesn't owe you anything!

 

A coworker of mine has an '06 or so CC SWB, he's well over 200,000 miles on it and it hasn't had any significant mechanical trouble. My guess is this is why Nissan just kept building these trucks, truck buyers are more likely to be concerned with value for cost if something meets their minimum requirements, and if that kind of buyer wants to keep a truck for the long term, features that keep the vehicle serviceable and reliable are more important to plush features that don't wear terribly well. Being inexpensive also helps. In some ways these trucks sit in the truck market in the same place that the '67-76 Dodge Dart did in the passenger car market in its day, they're the same forever and ever, they're reasonably priced, they're reliable.

 

I smiled at your comment because my first car was a 67 Dodge Dart and my current is a 2011 Nissan Frontier. Reliable as hell and nothing fancy.

 

they will last plenty long enough...once any engine gets 150-200k miles on it it's time to get a new truck because the piston rings are worn out by that time and you are burning oil. i mean you can keep driving it to 300-500k miles but you will be adding1/2 quart of oil a month to the engine....so is it really worth it? might as well sell it while you can still get some money out of it and start over with a new one.

that's why when i see tacomas with 150k miles on them for $20k+ for the price i just shake my head and say....what is wrong with people? who in their right mind pays $20k for a truck that's already burning oil because of worn piston rings? lol

 

they will last plenty long enough...once any engine gets 150-200k miles on it it's time to get a new truck because the piston rings are worn out by that time and you are burning oil.

What the heck? 150k and worn rings? Are you playing?

nope...sometimes they go a bit longer to 200k but most cars and trucks start using oil around 150k because of worn rings. if you have to add any oil between oil changes it's worn rings or a blown head gasket or oil leak somewhere.

 

What the heck? 150k and worn rings? Are you playing?

 

Wow, that sounds like a Chevy / dodge thing. Never had it on any bmw or jeep I owned with less than 300k

 

nope it happened on all toyotas, hondas, nissans me and my family has owned....even my 1988 1st gen tacoma before they called them tacomas.

i've never owned a ford, chevy, or dodge in my life. my dad's dodge 1500 started using oil around 150k though.

the old jeep engines would last a good while but new ones will not last as long. they are crap now days since they joined with fiat.

i had a 1988 toyota truck and my brother had a 1984 nissan 300zx. we kept both of them until 300k miles. they started using oil before 200k miles on them. it's just normal for any engine. the rings wear out. they don't last forever. the newer the vehicle the less amount of time they will last too because everything is made cheaply these days. the metal isn't as good or as high of quality like the old days.

my dad has a 1972 chevy c-10 pickup. that thing is almost 50 years old and it would outlast a brand new chevy truck guaranteed.

 

You guys have bad luck than. I had 800k on an 86 bmw 524td, 350k on my 89 325i, over 250k on many jeep 4.0s, and over 300k on a 302 on my 85 f150.

I say Chevy's but I did (covering face in shame) have 800k on an 87 305 in a c1500.

My only previous Nissan was blowing oil out the tail pipe at 150k. It was an 85 300z

 

i never had a bmw and never will. lol none of my family has either. maintenance costs are too high on those. we aren't rich. 800k? must have been a diesel engine? gas engines don't last that long unless all you do is drive on the interstate all of the time. those 1 million mile vehicles you hear about are a joke. that is not reality for most people daily driving in city and highway combined.

yeah like i said the old jeeps were good. the new ones will not last as long. the quality ain't what it used to be.

anyways we aren't talking about how long an engine lasts i'm talking about how long they last before they start to burn oil. there is no way a gas engine will last 800k and not use a drop of oil. if you are saying that you are full of shizz. lol

also the years you posted are all from the 80s. they don't make cars and trucks that good anymore. it's planned obsolescence these days. they only want them to last 150-200k and then blow up so you'll go buy a new one.

but frontiers will last 300-400k if taken care of...they will start using oil way before that mileage though. probably around 150-200k miles.

 

they are all 80s cars and I used to think that manufacturers made their vehicles to die out after a few years but I don't think so anymore. the tolerances are way tighter than they used to be and lubricants are better so stuff actually lasts longer. back in the old days (60s, 70, 80s), if you had 100 to 150k on an engine, you were lucky (except European cars, they always lasted many miles). now, cars make that mileage in the first five years and still run strong for double that amount.

they have been trying new metals and alloys in the blocks that have caused problems in the cylinders and caused recalls, but in general, engines last much longer now than they used to in the past.

 

they are all 80s cars and I used to think that manufacturers made their vehicles to die out after a few years but I don't think so anymore. the tolerances are way tighter than they used to be and lubricants are better so stuff actually lasts longer. back in the old days (60s, 70, 80s), if you had 100 to 150k on an engine, you were lucky (except European cars, they always lasted many miles). now, cars make that mileage in the first five years and still run strong for double that amount.

they have been trying new metals and alloys in the blocks that have caused problems in the cylinders and caused recalls, but in general, engines last much longer now than they used to in the past.

you would think that would be the case but I'm not so sure. hard to know really. if everything is better now then why are the only high mileage cars you see on the road from the 80s and 90s? you don't see 2000s and up with 500k on the odometer anywhere....at least I don't.

I'm not saying it's impossible but seems to be more rare these days. a big problem now isn't so much engines...it's transmissions. they seem to be made out of plastic these days. they go out left and right way before the engine has any issues.

nissan has practically gone bankrupt from using those crappy cvt transmissions that break at 60k miles. I think they newer ones are getting better....maybe they will make it to 100k then break? I dunno but I would never own a car with a cvt transmission. I've always owned manual trannys. They last the longest. It's too bad they pretty much have stopped making them on all cars these days. There's only a few left. They no longer offer it on the frontier. I'm glad i got one of the last ones made on my 2017 pro4x. 2019 was the last year a manual tranny was offered.

I mean the automatics on the frontiers are fine I guess....but dang this whole cvt idea was the worst idea anyone ever had. I would rather have an electric car or truck than one with a cvt on it.

 

Yes, its 28 yrs old but my 92 Grand Prix STE at 187k doesnt use any oil ( Mobil I since 1997, I'm the second owner ). The old 2.8 / 3.1 / 3.4 pushrod / 3400DOHC architecture wasn't very powerful in most iterations ( mine's a bit of an exception at 221WHP ) but they were pretty long-lived. My 1983 2.8L Camaro ( same basic block ) had 317k miles and didnt burn oil. It needed another carb and the valve guide seals were getting tired, so I ended up selling it for $1k in 1998, but I think it would have gone another 100k had I been able to inspect it and keep driving it.

 

Thousands of vehicles are running around with more than 200K on them that don't burn a drop, are you sure you and your family remembered to change oil every few years?? That most likely would have given you better results.

 

we changed the oil every 3000 miles back in those days. every few years? lol more like every few months.

hey we'll see. I plan to keep my frontier until it starts to use oil. I'll let you know what the mileage is when that happens.

I'm just going by my past experience. I've only had one vehicle I kept over 200k miles and it was my 1988 toyota truck. It started using oil around 150-200k. It didn't use a ton of oil but I did have to add some every week or two to top it off....especially if I drove it on the interstate or speeds 55mph or higher. that would make it use more oil.

It did also use a little antifreeze so maybe it just needed a new headgasket? I wouldn't doubt it. geeze that was like 25 years ago so it's been a while. LOL

The last several vehicles I've owned I sold them in the 50-75k range so oil usage was never an issue.

my brother had an accord that used oil and my sister has had a camry and a corolla and both used oil....they all were around 200k or a little less when they did so. I'm just telling you what I've seen personally. They did routine maintenance on their vehicles too. we aren't the type of people to not do oil changes. we do them every 5000 miles just like the owner's manual says to do it.

 

Let’s face it. Nowadays the average American won’t keep their vehicle past 200k miles. And their vehicles are capable of it.

it’s just like cell phones. Every year you trade it in to get the new one. Well that phone you ‘had’ if taken care of could last you a good 5 years.

In our society now it’s almost like we’re taught to upgrade.

 

...I think people would keep their cell phones longer if the batteries would last longer than 2 years before they start going downhill. I have no idea how much they would charge to put a new battery in a phone? probably half the cost of a new phone. it's kinda not worth it if that's the case.

i think most of the upgrading is because after a year or two things change so much so your old phone is "out of date" with newer tech that comes along. everything changes so fast these days.

when i was growing up things stayed the same for like 25 years. nothing ever changed all that much...now everything changes every 25 days it seems lol

 

yup /\

I just got a new phone because my galaxy s6 battery was not staying up the whole day anymore. I wish it had an easily replaceable battery because I would still use that phone because it still runs like brand new.

I read to much bad stuff about cvt transmissions to try one. that's why my wife has a ford escape. its still got a regular transmission with gears in it.

 

CVTs are garbage. The theoretical idea isn't that bad, keeping the engine at its torque peak while allowing the vehicle to accelerate, but implementing it on anything making more than 100HP so far, has been very dicey at best. Subaru Justy I believe was the first in the world and made like 89HP so it really couldn't hurt itself. The newer engines making way more power on equal displacement, just a recipe for premature disaster. Disregarding MoPar, automatics for the most part these days are just as reliable as manuals and sometimes actually shift faster and provide better fuel economy. That said, In my family we have 2 x 4 speed autos, 1 x 5 speed auto and 1 x 5 speed M284 Getrag manual.

 

I have never had a motor fail. Have gotten rid of Ford Rangers due to every part falling off due to rust. 168k 5 speed original clutch, original cold air, 16 y/o, 4.0 burned no oil. Another Ranger was running perfect at 130k, had rust under control, drunk Russian driver killed it.
200k is nothing on these new motors and transmissions if you do regular fluid changes and don’t beat it.

 

We've had several vehicles with well over 150k miles that never used a drop of oil. My dad's '89 S10 had 211k on it and it still ran great, and they have 310k on their '10 Hyundai Elantra and all we've done is replace the timing belt a few times ($80 for parts and a few hours of my time - same for my '08 that had 160k on it when I traded it for the Frontier). They had around 200k on their '00 Dakota, and other than the exhaust studs breaking that was a great truck.

I used to work at an auto auction, and I was always surprised at how well the Nissans ran and drove with 150k+ miles, which is one of the reasons I went with the Frontier. I liked the Tacomas but there were issues with frames cracking on several that I inspected, and they just aren't worth the money for what you get, IMHO. The Frontier has to be the best value for a new truck around!

Personally, I would never own a "high end" vehicle (BMW, Mercedes, Audi, etc.). The repair costs are outrageous and I drove very few that I actually liked. Even those with well under 100k usually had some kind of issue (mostly electronic-related, but some significant mechanical issues). Granted, they were at auction for a reason, but even if the repair costs were on par with Honda, Nissan, and Toyota, the number of issues I saw would be enough to steer me away...

That being said, how well you maintain and how hard you drive plays a big part of how reliable your vehicle will be.

 

dang never heard of a hyundai with that many miles on it...i knew people that had them in the past and they basically fell apart at 100k miles. i have heard they have gotten better over the years though.

really 300k out of any car is a good life. if it will last that long with no major repairs then it's a good vehicle.

 

Isn't that also when you start looking to change the belt in them?

 

i don't think you change the belt in a cvt...it's metal.

i've never owned a cvt and never will. lol manual tranny is all i will drive. hate automatics....and hate cvts even more.

this one lasted to 186k miles. a manual tranny will last 500k or more so it's the safest bet. might have to get a new clutch one time but that isn't that expensive. a new cvt is real expensive.

i mean on a 1.6L 4cyl engine in a versa the cvt may be ok for 200k miles. those engines only have 122hp and the car is light. you start getting bigger engines and bigger vehicles the cvt is a really bad idea.

 

I knew they were metal but I read that they go out because they wear until they put so much metal into the fluid that stuff breaks. So you had to change the belt to get back to normal.

From what I understand, they act like the clutch from a go cart that moves in and out and the belt moves up and down the clutch

 

yeah i never heard of anyone changing out the cvt belt before though unless it breaks....but it usually destroys the transmission when it breaks.

 

Usually an issue develops with the TCM/control valve on the Nissan CVT and causes the steel chain to slip and damage the "sub set," as Nissan calls the two, variable pullies. For what those parts cost, you mind as well replace the CVT with a reman unit.

 

I briefly worked for a Hyundai dealership in 1998 and then worked for a Nissan dealership that had a "sister" Kia dealership. BTW, "Kia" stand for "Kick In the ***!" I remember the valve guides falling out of the cylinder heads on the early Hyundai engines and their Mitsubishi automatic transmissions were always on the work bench! Later, Kia had money issues and started splicing wiring subharness together from different sources, leading to all sorts of electrical problems. Belts would always squeak and Sportages would go through wheel bearings like they were going out of style! Hyundai straightened its act out first, then took over Kia and they got much better. These days they both make pretty good vehicles with long warranties and good bank for the buck. They basically followed the model of Toyota and Nissan when they came to the USA in the 50's. At first, they were terrible! They worked out the bugs and sold cheap, well-built cars to the youth. As these owners got older and started having families, they started building bigger cars and kept expanding their lines as time went by. Unfortunately for Nissan, they've seemed to lost their way a little over the past 25-years. They can build some really good vehicles, but they also build some poor vehicles and they always seem to be a couple of years behind Toyota and Honda...and, well, everybody else! They do things like building a "full size" truck (Titan) that is smaller than their competition and terrible in gas mileage. Or, continueing to build CVT transmissions that aren't very good and have developed a poor reputation. Or, developing the variable compression engine used in some Altimas and Infinitis that has mediocre performance and not so great gas mileage. The list goes on! I would trade in my R51 Pathfinder for a Kia Telluride in a minute if only I could afford it!