Truck rant. And don't know what to do.

[N80]

Renault saved Nissan from bankruptcy and stirred up the totally inefficient corporate culture of Nissan, this was such a insult that they probably framed CEO Goshen a few years ago.

But the ridiculous Japanese conservatism may destroy the brand, they where EV pioneers but let the lead they had slipped away, produced a endless stream very uninspiring cars, so in the last year's when they returned to the old ways before Goshen they are loosing big money again.

He may have saved them from bankruptcy. But that is when the cars became uninspiring and mediocre. And the CVT was why in many cases.

Goshn did not need framing.

He was an out and out criminal. No one doubts that now.

But kind of silly to claim that "Japanese conservatism" would destroy the brand. Many things might destroy Nissan but Nissan has hardly been conservative in its model and design risks. Many of of them truly awful....but anything but conservative. Like the Pulsar with a pick up bed. Some of them world beaters in every sense of the word such as the GT-R line or even the 300Z.

And if this special "Japanese conservatism" does bring them down....they'll still never likely get as low as the US automakers in the 70's that opened the door to the US markets for Japanese cars. Some of us are old enough to remember. I cannot count the number of times I had to hitchhike or knock on a stranger's door when my '76 Jeep Cherokee left me stranded or long weekend days of lost vacation spent at a gas station in the middle of nowhere waiting for a water pump or alternator to arrive to fix the Ford station wagon of Plymouth Fury. Yep, ancient history. But it leaves an impression. What also leaves an impression is when you take that first ride in a new early 80s Japanese vehicle and compare it to the American vehicle that couldn't manage 70k miles....every one of which was fraught with broken parts, leaks and breakdowns.

That's way I've owned one American vehicle since 1984. And that one was nothing to write home about. Although I still have it and love it because it is a farm beater.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

???
Every F150 from 2015 on has had the 36 gallon gas tank as an option. I have it on my 2016 and I love it. For example, with 357 miles on the odometer since the last fill-up I still have 438 miles of driving range left. That's important, out here where gas stations are few and far between.
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Let me correct; it has to do with new transmissions and engines. If you ordered a 2004 F150 you couldn't get a 36 gallon tank because new engines were introduced. 2005 and on you could. If you ordered a 2011 F150 with the new eco-boost and six-speed trans, you couldn't get a 36 gallon tank, but you could in 2012. If you ordered a 2018 F150 with the newly redesign 3.5L engine, then you couldn't get a 36-gallon tank, but in 2019 you could.

Any model year with a new engine or transmission gets eps tested and that's when Ford has historically withheld the larger fuel tank as an option. That said there are exceptions if you're ordering a bunch of fleet vehicles I was told by my dealer.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Many things might destroy Nissan but Nissan has hardly been conservative in its model and design risks.

Mostly their transmissions. Nissan's old 3.5L and 5-speed was good but the CVTs and (evereyone's) automated manuals don't cut the quality mustard.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I looked at some stickers and it doesn’t seem as clear as it once was. The picture below clearly states it has the tow package. It would have the rating you want. I looked at another truck, it listed the hitch and trailer brake controller but did it have a tow package?? I know the 3.5 eco boost stopped putting external transmission coolers on, it’s built into the transmission. Are they all this way? I’d say I agree with you, it’s less clear than when I bought my truck 5 years ago.


View attachment 731571

The towing brochure will tell you the rating. Standard for this window sticker is 11,300 with Max tow package it jumps up to 13,900.

FWIW, I'd skip the locking diff, and install an Eaton True-Track differential carrier. Instant lock anytime a rear tire slips without any clunking, banging, or weird shuttering that makes people thing that the vehicle is destroying itself. The Eaton also works with all the standard nannies that make being stupid or unlucky more survivable.

 

[Agvg]

Nissan have had moments but the ordinary models have not been to good, in the nineties they had the Primera with a excellent chassis, that was replaced with a new that was a simpel and bad design, it was not conservative but with a very ordinary chassi. The Micra was a hit until they tryed to selle a world car design in India...

Today this is the only Nissan that sell any volum in europe, in 2021 it seems to have gone so bad that Volvo is outselling them if my quick Google search is right.

But in Europe Japanese manufacturers except Toyota are struggling, but of course Europe is a much more brutal place if you don't are on the top of the game, you meet all the European brands and the low end models of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz is also in the game here.

 

[nknelsen]

Background: I have been a Nissan guy since 1984. Brand loyal all the way. And I've had great cars and trucks along the way. Then, in 2003 it was clear that I needed a full sized 4 door 4wd pick up. Nissan did not make one at that time so I bought a new Ford F150 Super Crew. I was never real happy with it. Steers like a yacht. Bounces and wobbles like a '75 Cadillac Fleetwood. Braking is always questionable. Rear window leaked from the get go. AC went out, to the tune of $1000, with only about 50k miles on it. Fit and trim in the interior is a joke. I still have it. It is my farm truck. Beat to heck but still running and I love it for that.

I replaced it about 4 years ago with a 2015 Nissan Titan 4 door Pro-4x model that I bought used with low miles. It has been an absolute turd. I love how it tows and it has great torque. Steers well. Brakes okay. But, transmission had to be replaced because it would roll away in 'Park' and would frequently not allow the truck to start because it 'thought' it wasn't in 'Park'. Entire head unit/nav had to be replaced because the volume and several other switches quit working. Its got a cacophony of squeaks and rattles. I mean bad. The interior trim is garbage. The five speed tranny always up shifts waaay to soon and downshifts waaaay to late. "Tow Mode" does not help with that. The heater switch failed which I fixed myself. The rear diff is leaking. The ride is terrible on anything but smooth interstate. The trim on the driver side window doesn't fit and there is constant wind noise in my left ear. Now the blend doors for the heat and AC have gone bad and my wife and I just rode home from dinner in an expensive truck freezing because of no heat. Because of the nav/head unit being in the way the entire dash has to be removed to replace the little electric motor and lever that moves the blend doors. This has been a known issue with these trucks since 2005 and still is on a 2015.....kind of like leaky rear windows in Fords. The cost of repair? $1000.

So this was the last straw. I have to get rid of this thing....and I usually keep cars until they die or get killed. Am I bashing Nissan? Yes, I think so. But, I've been a loyal customer since 1984....I've owned 10 of them and still have an Infiniti coupe that I love. My track car is an old 350Z. So maybe I have the right? Did I just get a lemon? Maybe. Doesn't matter. I've lost my faith in them.

I know that asking what brand of pickup to buy is probably worse than bringing up politics or religion but at this point I don't even have any idea where to look. Maybe I need to subscribe to Consumer Reports but in years past they did a lousy job of evaluating trucks because they always compared them to cars.

I will buy used. I need 4 doors, 4wd, minimum towing capacity of 8000 pounds. Toyota has always had the quality reputation but also the price tag to go along with it. I'm interested in brand neutral advice. And I know someone is going to tell me they have a Titan that has 600,000 miles on it, gets 40 miles to the gallon and still has that new car smell. I guess that's unavoidable.

I will certainly look at Ford and I did when I was looking to replace my F150. Two things turned me off from the Ford 1) I'm not interested....at all...in the V6 Eco-Boost. 2) It was almost impossible without a VIN to tell the exact towing and gearing specs and trim levels on Fords at that time and even then it was questionable. So I gave up.

Anyway, open to sage advice. And thanks for listening to the rant. I feel better already........but that might be the bourbon.

Sorry about your misfortune with ford. I'll confess that I am a Ford nut before continuing. All companies have their lemons from time to time. My last 3 trucks have been Ford supercabs, 2010, 2014 and my current 2018. The first 2 went 285-295000 kilometers in about 4 years due to the nature of my work. The 2010 went that far needing absolutely nothing other then tires and breaks and regular maintenance. It was one of those trucks that you hear about from time to time for being a mythical unicorn that rarely exists. This truck had the 4.6 V8, not overpowering but very sufficient. I sold this truck to a Neighbor cheap.

My 2014 had the 5.0 V8. Nice power, nothing over the top but the truck towed trailers very very well and it came from the factory with fords MaxTow package. I loved this truck as well but I did have a few issues with it during its time with me, first was the water pump. At 105000 kms the water pump started leaking. Now I need to admit that my trucks usually have an extensive amount of idling and in the extreme heat or cold it quite often runs all day since it is also my office and lunchroom and break room etc.

After the water pump I had both bearings go before 150000km.

This was the last of my troubles with this truck and I sold it to another neighbor when I bought the 2018 ecobeast.

When I bought the 2018 I had no intention of buying an EcoBoost. I am a Ford nut, but I really thought Ford was stupid for putting their fortune behind a double turbocharged V6, especially in a truck offering the MAXTOW feature. So in very early 2019 I decided it was time for a new truck, but the only 2018 supercab with the options I wanted was a beautiful Lead Foot grey Sport edition with the 3.5 EcoBoost, MaxTow and the center console with shifter that I wanted.

I did some reading and learned that this 2018 had the 2nd Gen EcoBoost installed and that this Generation addressed the failures of the 1st Gen EcoBoost, according to Ford of course.

Not sure about Nissan or Toyota but Ford is also the only Domestic manufacturer that offers a center console mounted shifter. What can I say? I like the sportiness of the shifter in the center like a sports car and not have it on the column.

Well I now have 130000km on it, covid has definitely slowed the accumulation of kilometers on this truck so my timeliness have been stretched and ill be keeping this truck a little longer before I get to 275000km when I normally choose to sell. The only problem that I've had are the rear shocks. I had a leaking shock replaced at 50000km under warranty and they only replaced the one that was leaking. The other started to leak just after the warranty ran out. It was upsetting at the time when they only replaced one instead of both. I believe suspension pieces need to be replaced in Pairs. But new Monroe gas shocks were less then 100 and took me an hour to change and I did the work myself.

I need to confess that with this EcoBoost I have doubled up on the factory oil change schedule. On my past 2 trucks I've followed the computer oil change schedule religiously, which sometimes ran me as much as 16000 km before changes. With this truck I change the oil when it's at 55% or below but never getting below 50% except once that I was away for work and I hate using quicklube places so it got to about 35% before I was able to change it.

All of my trucks have had synthetic oil changes from new. I'm not particular about brand of oil, just that it be 100% synthetic and that it be a brand name, although I have accepted Kirkland brand synthetic oil from Costco as brand name. Internet says its good oil and we all know the internet don't lie! Lol

Anyway, I have come to absolutely LOVE the Ecobeast. It is good on fuel. It is really really powerful. It tows bigger trailers better then the 5.0 I had that I loved and it does it effortlessly. Something like 90% of the torque is on tap at 2600 rpm. At roughly 130000km the motor is running beautifully, just like the first 2 engines. The new 10 speed transmission is good. I need to add that I change the tranny fluid and filter every 80 to 100000km and have simply never had a transmission problem in a Ford. Is it the fluid and filter saving Me? I have no idea but it makes me feel good to do the extras. I also change the transfer case oil and the rear axle oil at the same time as the transmission. It's cheap and it's easy to do. I have a hoist that makes this work very very easy for Me to do.

I've definitely heard of Fords (and other makes too) that are duds, I've just personally never owned one or even had real first hand knowledge of. Regardless of make, I believe at least a small number of those duds had to do with owners that failed to conduct at least the minimum servicing. And instead wanted to trash something that couldn't live up to their negligence.

So I'm hoping my Ecobeast continues to be trouble free. And I have to say that while I loved the first 2 trucks, I love this one a lot more. This one is the best so far. Normally at 4 years I'm eager for something new and flashy. But with this one being an aluminum body it won't be rusting. I've harbored thoughts of keeping it beyond 300000km. My employer pays me a lump sum every month to pay for my truck so it's essentially free for me to upgrade every 4 years. But I'm thinking about just driving it until it becomes unreliable.

I still love getting into it and driving. It's sporty and fast. Stereo is great although I helped it along with the addition of sound deadening, new Kicker speakers and a custom designed plug and play amplifier and DSP from a Guy that sells these on Ebay.

I hope my experience helps you make a decision.

 

[herm0016]

From the research I have gathered (googled, U tube, etc). It has to do with tolerances for all makes engines not being what they once were. Loose tolerances =less friction = better gas mileage as per the mandate.

total BS. engine tolerances are impressively tight. loose tolerances do not lead to less friction in most cases. a perfect tolerance is designed to have just the right amount of oil film to run at a very low coefficient of friction. my uncle retired from a GM engine plant. He managed the machining process and QC. also, tolerance is the measure of how far you are from the perfect dimension as designed, has nothing to do with the design of how far away a part is from another part.

if you want real and vast reliability data, go look at truedelta. I have been a member reporting there for a decade.

I want storage and cup holders in my console. console shifters are a waste of space in a truck. sports car? sure ill take a stick any day.

 

[Agvg]

On my small van the first oil hange was at 50000km, then every 40000km, it's a small diesel engine, today's engines are incredibly much better made, had a few Nissan 720 and D21 gas and it was something all the time, they had pointers, bad carburetors etc so the world moves forward and nostalgia is a bad habit

I change once a year as I do not drive so much any more so the interval is between 20 - 25000km.

 

[deserteagle71]

Anyway, I have come to absolutely LOVE the Ecobeast. It is good on fuel. It is really really powerful. It tows bigger trailers better then the 5.0 I had that I loved and it does it effortlessly. Something like 90% of the torque is on tap at 2600 rpm. At roughly 130000km the motor is running beautifully, just like the first 2 engines.

So I'm hoping my Ecobeast continues to be trouble free.

I feel the same way about my 2016 "Ecobeast". Coming up on 6 years of ownership now and it has never been in the shop for any reason.

 

[N80]

Sorry about your misfortune with ford.

Well, my Ford is not the lemon. The Nissan is the one shaping up to be a lemon. The Ford is a 2003 F150 crew cab 4x4. It was not a bad truck per se, I just felt it was a bit lackluster. Other than the air conditioning it was pretty reliable when it was my regular daily vehicle. There have been a few problems lately but that is because it is a farm truck which in my case means it is neglected and abused.

But that is also why I love it now. I don't care how crappy the interior is. I clean the interior with a leaf blower. I don't care about paint and body work. I drive it right into the dang woods if I need to. Rub up against a tree...no big deal. The 95 pound Lab is wet and muddy, let him jump right in, no problem, ....except that it smells distinctly of wet Lab and mouse nests now.

Recently it broke down........miles away from my property (of course) on one of its very rare trips away from the place. Fuel pump. AAA brought it back no charge with our membership.

I'm pretty handy but I'm no mechanic. At the same time I was not going to pay anyone to do the work. And it was going to be a one man job. For a one man team that fuel pump could not have been put in a worse place....in the 5 foot long fuel tank, under the cab. It was not required to remove the bed but I did. Lifted it off with the tractor. That made it so much easier to get to all the crap attached to the fuel tank. Then lowered the fuel tank from underneath. There was only 1/4 tank of gas in it but for me it was still heavy and it was like wrestling an alligator with the fuel sloshing back and forth. Anyway, did it all myself right there in the yard and it was good to go.

All of which is to say it is easy to like a truck that you don't have to baby, that still earns its keep and that you have personally kept running......no matter how mediocre it was when it was new.