2004 Nissan Frontier LE from North America - Comments

Original tires were bad.

Rear differential leaked in first week.

Both power windows malfunctioned.

Had to replace all belts at 75,000 miles.

I bought the Frontier instead of a Toyota Tacoma to save money. I thought it would be comparable. It has been a disappointment. Not finished well. Gas mileage is awful and way worse than Chevy S-10. Nice looking though. Dealer could never get vibration out of car at about 70 MPH. Stopped when I bought Michelin tires. Both power windows work poorly, and although replaced under warranty, the new ones work poorly too. Not any power. But does feel reliable. Not the quality I was expecting. Bed liner rattles and is annoying. Manual transmission is smooth.

I have been working as a mechanic for a Nissan dealership for almost 25 years. Nissan Frontier (any year) is the best truck on the market. Currently, Iam the owner of 1995 Fronty (4 Cylinder) and its by far the best truck than my previous 2005 Chevy Silverado, 2006 Ford F150, 2002 Ram 1500 etc. I know what Iam talking about. I traded my Chevy for 1995 Frontier straight up and I am REALLY happy that I ve done so. I am still paying for this truck, but I am lucky that I didn't have to put any money down. I towed about 14-15 K LbS on this baby and It showed itself great.

I had only minor issues with my baby-truck. I blew my engine at 277000 miles. This was my fault though. I was having a diarea and I was floring my baby to get home and let my demon out on my lovely toilet. So engine blew, I didn't make it home and I dumped inside the truck. That's the second issue. My Fronty still smells like DOODOO. Oh well. I might take it to the car wash and get it detailed some day. Right now as Iam writing this message I am thinking about installing the NOS on my truck. In my opinion, it'll increase the speed and torque.

With love from Alaska.

Haha! Wow, brutal honesty... I'll take note never to buy a used Frontier in Alaska. Thanks.

Boy if the first poster wants to go back to Chevy I say good luck. The S10 or Colorado maybe getting better gas mileage but when you compare that to items that you WILL be replacing then looks like your good gas mileage will go out the window. I had the 99 S10 4x4 and here are some of the parts that you will replace on all S10, blazers, & jimmy's.

4x4 (accuator, push button, inductor motor, any or all)

Water Pump

Alternator

Idler Arm

Ball Joints

Bearings

Oil Seals

Numerous Alignments.

I had less than 90,000 miles on my and the 4x4 2nd time pushed me over the edge.

I purchased the 2003 Nissan Frontier LB. Failure of any of these parts on the frontier are rare (4x4 is on the floor). There is one major service item to repair @ 100,000 miles and that is the timing belt. By far Nissan wiped the floor with frontier and it's the best recommended truck out there. Consumer Reports rates it a best buy and quality is top notch.

If you really want an S10 check out and read up on all the repairs that you WILL be doing before buying.

The downside on the Frontier is lack of power at the high RPM and gas mileage. However, with a CC LB you have more truck to haul around and really you are only talking about 1mpg - 2mpg better than S10.

However, the Frontier mpg and HP can be improved with the NISMO add on products, a grounding kit, & super light-weight wheels by NISMO. These trucks are just fun to drive.