I sold my old Frontier with over 200,000 on it, it was a good truck, had its issues though. Well, I decided I would buy the 2020 midnight and hold on to as much of the old as possible. Big mistake so far. The transmission in this truck leaves little to be desired. Many times it can't seem to figure out what gear to be in. 1st and 2nd gear, so close and just slammy. Get a clunk at that forty miles per hour mark when adding some power. For the life of me , I can't figure why they went with this Daimler 9g tronic transmission. I mean, these are 4 wheel drive vehicles, Plastic transmission oil pan? Really. Don't even ask about changing the oil on it. Its PHD stuff with proprietary tools. You have to change the whole thing out by the way and its not too cheap either and then it has to be reset, dealer only option.
Not very happy with the 2020
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Your report just adds to the others who single out the tranny as the weak point. Some go as far to say that you will never see the extra horses because of it.
They used the MB transmission because Nissan does not have the money to engineer their own transmission. A plastic transmissioin oil pan for a truck designed for wheeling? Poor thinking here.
They used the MB transmission because Nissan does not have the money to engineer their own transmission. A plastic transmissioin oil pan for a truck designed for wheeling? Poor thinking here.
I wish they would of just made a seven speed automatic, I feel like that would of been the perfect amount for the majority of people.
i have my doubts about that many speeds too, it's just too many and would drive me crazy always hunting around because i don't have a light foot. if they would have at least added a manual mode so you could control the shifting maybe it wouldn't be as annoying (maybe it already does have that i dont know) I'm sure with time you'll get used to it though. maybe. I sold a car once partly because i hated how the auto tranny always hunted around. I really wanted a new Ranger but a 10 speed... cmon. at least it has the manual mode so i could shift it myself but i feel that would even get tiring since they're so close together.
i feel 6 speeds is perfect honestly. the 5 speed could use one more because it doesnt have a lot of power and revs a bit high at top gear. either that or it just needs regearing - a taller top gear and shorter 1st in my opinion. The crazy thing is the more power you have, the less gears you need, So going up 4 more gears yet having 50 more horses makes no sense to me, but it's all because of fuel economy, it's the only thing that matters to our government any more - same reason why they all recommend to use water thin oils, to eek out that 1 more mpg to make the feds happy...
i feel 6 speeds is perfect honestly. the 5 speed could use one more because it doesnt have a lot of power and revs a bit high at top gear. either that or it just needs regearing - a taller top gear and shorter 1st in my opinion. The crazy thing is the more power you have, the less gears you need, So going up 4 more gears yet having 50 more horses makes no sense to me, but it's all because of fuel economy, it's the only thing that matters to our government any more - same reason why they all recommend to use water thin oils, to eek out that 1 more mpg to make the feds happy...
Well, it does have a manual mode option, but it is very poor implement and has a very strange feel to it. I don't think Nissan mated this well to the gearing in the differential. This is a Mercedes transmission and those vehicles are geared totally different, with many different driving mode options and paddle shifters...
Common, doesn't make it good and those ten speeds, come on now...
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I still wish they had 3 speed autos.
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Sorry to hear your issues - that’s the main reason a lot of buyers with older gen2’s went out and bought 2018/2019’s ASAP to replace their trusty steed with a proven platform before they were gone. I hope that there’s some sort of remedy for your situation - maybe some sort of recall, etc? Not sure.
best of luck my friend
best of luck my friend
2019 Frontier SV 4X4 CC A/T 3" lift - Radflos, SPC ca, ADO +3leaf +shackles, Shrockworks skids
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I wonder if you can get it tuned and change the odd shift points. There are automatic transmission shift point tuners out there, but I haven't looked into it for your truck yet. It may be worth investigating.
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my 2020 nine speed works very well but I only have 350 miles on it, how many miles before your troubles started? I traded my silverado on this partly because that six speed was a clunker lol
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My Uncle has a 2020 Frontier V6. I’ve driven it several times. I don’t like the 1st to 2nd gear shift (feels like the truck lunges forward as it shifts), but other than that, it shifts very smoothly and doesn’t hunt for gears. Maybe get yours checked? Might be a software update for it or low trans fluid.
The 2020 drives noticeably quieter on the highway than my 2019 - a welcome improvement.
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Wow. Really feeling good about my 2019 P4X purchase. Thank you for a real user review on this new Trans. Does not sound good. Probably why people still pay big bucks for the Japanese made 4 runner with the same old old 4 liter and 5 speed auto. Old school is best.
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178 Posts
Seriously the only decent multigear trans is the ZF 8 speed. Full stop. BMW, dodge trucks and many others use it. All other modern multi gear trans are trash.
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I bought a 2020 SV Midnight on New Years Eve, and the first thousand miles the 1-2 up and downshifts were really jarring. Honestly, the more I drive it, the better it seems to get. it's smoother and smoother every 100 miles that passes. Taking it on a 3,000 mile roadtrip tomorrow morning so I'll let you know how that goes.
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Nowadays, most transmissions are "adaptive", and gradually adjust their shifting characteristics as they "learn" your driving style.
So, the way they shift during that first test drive (or the first few weeks of ownership) isn't necessarily the same as the way they shift later on.
If you're really concerned about the plastic transmission pan, there will be aluminum replacements available in the aftermarket.
So, the way they shift during that first test drive (or the first few weeks of ownership) isn't necessarily the same as the way they shift later on.
If you're really concerned about the plastic transmission pan, there will be aluminum replacements available in the aftermarket.
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To that point, I have a VW with an 8 speed Aisin transmission. The shift between 1st and 2nd were rough for 1k - 2k miles. Now it’s smooth as butter. Maybe the Frontier 9 speed has to learn your driving habits?
If we are just wishing about things, I wish they would have just kept the old power train. The minimal gas mileage improvement isn’t worth the maintenance of the direct injection and the complexity of the transmission.
If we are just wishing about things, I wish they would have just kept the old power train. The minimal gas mileage improvement isn’t worth the maintenance of the direct injection and the complexity of the transmission.
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Nissan had a 7spd they could have gone with. It was in the 2nd gen Titan. From what ive heard from many, it was a good trans. But the press idiots think more is better. So nissan chased the clickbaity headliners like TFLTruck to get good reviews.
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