40,000 mile report

5223 Views 24 Replies 11 Participants Last post by 10935, Jan 4, 2018

Frontier14

Discussion Starter · Dec 4, 2016 (Edited)

My 2014 Nissan Frontier has now crossed the 40,000 mile mark since purchasing new in August of 2014 with 33 original miles on it. It is still completely stock. I wanted to give a report on it for anyone interested. I can't cover every detail here, but a few things are on my mind I do want to mention.

I have read a lot on the stock tires, BF Goodrich Radial Long Trails, both good and bad. My experience has been good, but my truck nearly never sees any off roading. I have enough wear left in them for at least another 5000 or more miles and if they hold up until next summer then I will be content to say I got the wear from them they were capable of. The rear tires did wear in the center more than on the edges, even though I don't haul loads often at all, or tow anything besides a 4x8 Harbor Freight trailer with a 8' plastic boat on it. I attributed this wear to the recommended 35 psi of each tire and have since dropped my pressure to the 32 psi that I always kept tires at before. That was last year, or maybe 10,000 miles ago, and have not had any further issues. I also rotated the tires once, front to back, at that time and the same has not happened to the new rears yet, but again, it's only been 10,000 miles. I'll have a new set by time it would repeat. As far as I can see my alignment is still dead on with even wear on front tire edges.

Otherwise, my truck is running fine and doing everything I want it to and seems to have no performance issues at all.

I do admit I have not performed maintenance as recommended, not even oil changes at 5000 miles. I did the first two changes on schedule. The last three oil changes went about 10,000 miles between, which resulted in the truck using about a quart of oil each time. So it's had five of the eight changes it should have had. I know this is my fault, and I should not have done this. Life and weather got in the way a few times but I know I could have found time to do it and will in the future. I use full synthetic 5w-30 Pennzoil. I hope I have not done damage, but the truck seems to run strong, same as always. I changed it yesterday and will stay on top of it from now on. Also, I believe the transmission and rear end lubricants are due for a change as well, based on things I have read on this site. Correct? These are things I have never done on any vehicle ever, so I don't know what to expect, but I am interested in doing it myself if it's not hard.

I also noticed that the battery posts tend to build up corrosion, a bluish white chalky powder. I have twice removed the connections and scrubbed this away, the second time just yesterday. This time I got some corrosion preventative and coated the terminals. They're now a pretty red and nice and clean. Hopefully this will solve that. The truck had never even hesitated to start, however, even in bitter cold. But I know a corroded battery will start to fail eventually, not to mention dissolve my connections to nothing.

I welcome any comments and suggestions, and would appreciate any offered, even if it is a stern scolding for my lack of oil changes or other things.

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smj999smj

· #4 · Dec 4, 2016

If you are using full-synthetic, you are probably fine at 10,000 miles. I use Walmart's SuperTech Full-synthetic 5W30 in my 06 Pathy and had Blackstone Labs do an oil analysis of it with 7,500 miles on the oil (150,000 on the truck). They said all looked great and they said I could extend the interval to 9,200 miles. I still change the oil and filter at 7,500 mile (which is the factory recommended service interval for that vehicle), but I'm glad to know that I have some leeway. Also, keep in mind that their interval is based on conventional oil, not synthetic.
FYI, Nissan is always changing their oil change intervals. For a long time, it was 3750 miles. Then, it went to 7500 miles, back to 3750 and now it's at 5000 miles. If you ever want to be sure of how your oil is doing, have an analysis performed.

Blackstone Labs

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smj999smj

· #6 · Dec 5, 2016

Used motor oil takes up the same volume as new oil, so, the answer to your last question is "no." If you are saying you lost a quart of oil over 10,000 miles, I wouldn't be overly concerned about it. Nissan would tell you that's "normal." If you were losing it every 5,000 miles, I'd be a little more concerned, but Nissan would still likely tell you that's "normal" consumption, although, many owners would disagree because they don't lose that much over that span. You might want to check you capacity spec; my R51 V6's take 5-1/4 quart during an oil change. It may be only 5 qt. on a later model Frontier, but worth double-checking.

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smj999smj

· #12 · Dec 31, 2017

I had to get two tires installed at a Walmart and noticed when I picked them up that they static balanced them. I asked for them to dynamic balance the wheels and after watching the installer balance the wheel twice, I realized he had no clue on how to properly balance wheels other than to static balance them. Meanwhile, a $6000 Coats 1250 wheel balancer sits in the middle of the shop, wasting space.. I ended up taking the wheels to a local GMC dealer to have them properly balanced; they just got a $17,000 Hunter Road-force wheel balancer and the $12/wheel cost to balance was only $3 more per wheel than what Walmart charges.

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smj999smj

· #18 · Jan 3, 2018

Frontier14 said:
How many quarts does it take to refill it and what kind do you use? Mine is automatic.

There really is no serviceable filter in the auto trans; Jatco transmissions use a screen with the thinking that if there is enough debris in the fluid to clog the screen, then a trans overhaul is needed, not a service. Warm up the vehicle prior to servicing the trans fluid and park on a level surface (you really don't even need to jack it up). Just remove the 19MM drain plug and drain the fluid. Replace the drain plug gasket (P/N 11026-01M02...the same as the engine oil pan drain plug gasket...which you can get in bags in multiples of five on Ebay for relatively cheap). Reinstall the drain plug and torque to 26 ft/lbs. Remove the 10mm head bolt holding the dipstick in and install a funnel. Start with 3.5 quarts of appropriate auto trans fluid, such as NissanMatic "J" or "S," Castrol Transmax Multi-import ATF or, what I use, Valvoline Maxlife Full-synthetic ATF, for example. I get the Maxlife in a 1-gallon jug @ Walmart for about $18. Start the engine, cycle the transmission through the gears, put in "park" and re-check the trans fluid level. Add more trans fluid as needed; I usually use exactly 1-gallon or just a little less during a drain-and-fill. When done, reinstall the dipstick and bolt.

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