Test drove a Frontier tonight

I traded a sweet GMC Sierra 4x4 crew cab for my Tacoma a few weeks ago. It was smoother riding, had alot more creature comforts, and had alot more balls than this truck. BUT, at 65000 miles, it was really starting to come apart. (all highway miles too). I hope to get 200k plus out of this truck. I sure hope I'm not dissapointed!

 

I hope so for you too.

A lot of my complaints with my Tacoma have always been there. I'm just sick of them. But the ridiculously bad feel in the steering and the airbag light is relatively recent.

 

what do you mean by ridiculous? loose?

 

I owned a 2007 4x4 NISMO King Cab for about a year and a half. It was a good truck and had great power and felt pretty solid, being that it's on the titan's fully-boxed frame. Nissan VQ engines are some of the best, that is probably what I miss most now having the Tacoma. I have to say though, I really like my Tacoma

 

It's hard to explain. It feels bad on uneven surfaces particularly. But I notice goofy steering behavior even on smooth pavement.

It just feels terrible.

 

Or a Tacoma with a 5.7

 

Buy a first Gen Manual

 

have you tried getting an alignment? It sounds like your caster is off.

 

There is a fix for that, look under the tbs thread and you will find one that says loose steering. Mine does it to but it turned over 37k and the fix only covers to 36k.

 

I've been to two Toyota dealerships, a tire place, an independent general auto shop, and an independent frame and alignment shop.

Originally I also had a strong pull to the right, along with the loose feeling and everything else. Alignment was the first thing I tried, back in September.

A dealership did an alignment, charged me $50, no effect. I started looking elsewhere, then decided I wanted to double check that alignment. Took it to a second dealership and described the problem. They said they couldn't feel the pull, but did notice a vibration and wanted to balance the tires. But I knew that wasn't the problem, told them not to. They said the alignment was good to go.

Next day I started thinking about it, and called that second dealership up and asked if their tech actually physically checked my alignment, or just looked up the numbers on the computer since I had told them I just had a Toyota dealership do one. Guy goes and talks to the tech, comes back, says he just looked up the numbers.

Took it to a tire place. They said the alignment was barely out, not enough to cause that pull, but they'd try it. So they do an alignment, again, no effect. I start looking at other possibilities again. I go to an independent shop. They can't find anything wrong with joints or linkages, but they say they notice the pull clear as day. They recommend I go to the independent frame shop for an alignment. Said they guy really takes pride in it.

So I go there. The guy does an alignment the old fashioned way, no computers. I stood there talking to him through the whole thing. FINALLY, the pull was gone. The steering felt much better under a lot of circumstances. But, it still feels loose.

ETA: BTW, the guy that finally did a good alignment said the caster on the right side was WAY out.

That's where I'm at now.

 

Yeah, I think you're referring to the intermediate shaft replacement?

I think that will fix part of it, but I really don't think that could be responsible for what I'm experiencing.

I actually tried to do that fix myself just last week. I'm out of warranty, but I bought the replacement shaft on my own. Unfortunately I was not able to remove the old shaft, not without getting really forceful. And being this is my only vehicle and I need it, I didn't want to screw myself. So the part is sitting in the back seat right now.

I called a dealership, they want $140 to install. The part cost $246 or something like that. Being that I honestly don't think that could account for the looseness I'm getting on smooth pavement, I'm not sure I want to spend the bucks on that. I'm tempted to just return the part, or sell it on the forum. Plus after those two experiences with Toyota dealerships, I'm not sure that I trust them to do the work.

 

Man, sounds like you've had a rough time with your tacoma.

 

Yeah, I know others have had worse though.

The shifting thing is very irritating, but if that's the only problem I can work with that. This steering thing is driving me insane though.

I used to really enjoy driving this truck. Now I pretty much hate driving anywhere.

 

I'm not sure I even understand the complaints you cited with your Tacoma, but if you are unhappy with it, you are unhappy with it, so what I think or understand of your complaints is irrelevant.

It would make sense that a brand new Frontier off the lot would feel tighter and smoother than a truck with 55K on it.

I'm afraid you probably aren't going to find a truck that is the same size (or smaller than) a Tacoma that is better than a Tacoma. Having previously owned a Pathifinder, followed by two consecutive Xterras that all crapped out way earlier than they should have, I went with a Tacoma instead of going with another Nissan (Frontier) and am glad I did. My Pathfinder's tranny blew at 120K and first Xterra nickel and dimed me all the way to 100K before I traded it for another Xterra on a 3 year lease. I couldn't wait for that 3 years to expire to try something other than a Nissan. Nissan service was always horrible, no matter what dealership I tried.

I worked at an engineering firm that had Colorados, Sonomas, and Rangers as company field trucks. None of them held up well, even with sub 50K mileage. Except the Rangers. The Rangers were good little trucks. The Colorados were a joke.

Just my opinion.

 

Which one has a better resale value? That's one of the things that sold me on Tacomas.

 

This 2011 Taco TRD Sport is my first truck, although I have driven several. My business partner has a Chevy 2500 Dbl Cab Diesel. Nice, but a BIG vehicle. I wanted a dbl cab, but to stay in the smaller size.

I looked seriously at Chevy Colorado, Ford Exp SportTrac, and Tacoma. The Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon have no personality, and are too utilitarian. Maybe a good pure work truck, but I doubt their longevity.
The Ford was my first choice. The base V6 was adequate, and the possible V8 would be more than enough. But I could not get past the test drive and interior. Still a Ford! Longevity concerns again.

I did look at the Nissan. Decent design, but I cant get past the Nissan badge. I just cannot convince myself that buying a Nissan is a sound purchase. Plus it seems more like a "tuner" truck to me.

The Toyota build, quality, resale, reputation, drive, and buying process, I feel, was an obvious choice.

I hope I stay convinced and am still happy in a few years. AND, thanks to all you forum guys for all the ideas, info, and honesty out here.

 

i drove a high option v6 colorado amongst other mid size trucks when shoppin for the taco. my feeling was it felt a bit tinny, had plenty of power with a smoother quieter ride and plusher interior yet the interior layout wasnt as intuitive next to the toyota as i recall. i also liked the deep and long door pockets on the chevy but overall, i wasnt sold. plus the furry kids dug the taco more for whatever reasons dogs decide on these things. the colorado failed the tail wag test.

as much as i feel i woulda been happy enough in another bow tie truck, i also liked the price of the toyota vs the chevy which i didnt expect but it really came down to reliability and resale. lets face it folks... ya cant beat the taco in these 2 catagories 99.9% of the time. sorry the op isnt havin the same result or maybe its just time for a change. ive been there too.

 

The frontiers,armadas,titans.... any that have the 5 speed automatics, are trouble sooner or later.The radiator tanks leak coolant into tranny and trans fluid into cooling system. This should be a recall-but it is not. if you own or know anyone that you like that owns one have them replace radiator or bypass altogether by running trans cooler lines to an auxillary cooler. About a $5000 fix after the coolant and trans fluid mix.2004 and up-tcm is in the trans oil pan. Have seen MANY come through our shop. Google it and you will see what i am talking about. first sign is a trans shudder, then pepto-bismol looking fluid. my 2 cents.

 

I drive a 2006 Frontier for work, and all I can say is there aren't enough cup holders in it. Tacomas gots alot more then you could shake a stick at.

 

Yeah, I read some things about that. The one I test drove was a 6spd manual though.

As much as the issues with my Tacoma piss me off, driving that Frontier sort of felt like a downgrade. I'd have liked to get on it a little more though, but with the salesman right there I just didn't feel comfortable really trying it out.