Faults:

Let me start by saying I bought a 2004 Nissan Frontier in 2004. I owned that truck for 65,000 miles and 8 1/2 years. Based on that experience, when I decided to replace it in October 2012, I went out to buy a new Nissan Frontier. I did not consider any other option. I bought my new Frontier in November 2012.

At first I was very pleased with my purchase. The truck is roomy, powerful, comfortable and has features I find important or at least handy.

Then things started to happen. Spring of 2014 with 12k miles on the vehicle the brakes started squeaking. They got so bad I had to have them repaired. Though better, this is still an ongoing issue after 25k miles.

At 22k miles I noticed oil spots on my newly paved driveway. The rear differential was leaking oil. This was fixed by the local dealer under warranty. This was not a good sign.

During this period the truck has developed a series of winter and summer squeaks and rattles. This is not driven off road and has low, street driven mileage.

Now it gets better. In January 2016, I had the truck for almost 38 months (22,100 miles) and the paint started flaking off the left front fender. This is NOT the result of damage, misuse or a lack of care. This is the result of the improper preparation and/or improper application of the paint at the factory.

I informed Nissan of the problem and they had me take the truck to the local Nissan dealer for inspection and an estimate of the cost to make the repairs.

After not hearing from Nissan for a week I contacted them. They told me they would not do anything about this issue and it was my problem to deal with.

They estimated $785 for the repair. Now I am trying to get an 'out of pocket' quote from one of the local body shops to fix this problem.

Am I confident paint will not start flaking off on some other part of the body in the near future? No.

Am I confident I will not have some other costly problem that Nissan will not cover? No.

I was hoping to keep this truck at least 8 years like the 2004, but now I am considering getting rid of it this summer. Based on the fact that because of what this truck has been like for the last 3 years, I do not have any level of confidence in this vehicle giving me at least 5 more years of trouble free service.

In conclusion, based on what has happened over the last 3 years and Nissan's refusal to support its product, I cannot in good conscience recommend the Nissan Frontier.

Faults:

It's brand-new, but I will say this is one of the first brand-new vehicles we have purchased in recent years that did not immediately have something wrong with it in the first 100 miles.

General Comments:

Like I said above, this truck is brand-new, so time will tell on reliability, but thus far we are very happy with it and the package we got from the dealer. The build quality of this truck is very good, with the doors closing easily and with a quiet "thunk", and a very solid ride with no body shudder.

We traded a 2005 F-150 XLT that we bought brand-new, and drove from 100 miles to 136,000 miles with no trouble at all, but our needs are different now, and the F-150 was becoming a hassle to park, put fuel in, and those rear-hinged back doors were getting more annoying by the day!

This Frontier has all of the benefits of an SUV with four "real" doors, but you still have the useful bed (which is low enough to actually reach without using a stepladder, as was necessary with the F-150). The Frontier also drives almost like a sports sedan, albeit with a truck-like ride, but it's a truck so no surprise there. What I like is it will be especially easy to AVOID accidents on the 40-mile (each way) daily commute in this truck versus the F-150, which was ultimately secure for a large truck, but its size made it naturally cumbersome.

Since ours is an SL, it has all kinds of toys we've never been treated to in any other truck, especially for under $30k. We have perforated leather upholstery on the seats and steering wheel, BOTH seats are power-adjustable and heated, the floor mats are a much more durable Berber carpet versus the "plush" mats in a lot of other trucks, and the sound system is a very nice 10-speaker Rockford Fosgate deal with a powered subwoofer under the back seat.

We also have Bluetooth, XM radio, Homelink, fog lights, 18" alloy wheels (even the spare is a matching 18" alloy), electronic stability control, active limited-slip differential, step bars, roof rack, spray-on bedliner, adjustable bed rails with removable tie-down clamps, a bed extender, and heated exterior mirrors.

Best of all, the truck came with a back seat full of boxes filled with attachments that you get nickel-and-dimed for elsewhere, such as a front license plate bracket that they offered to install for free if you want it (nice to have the choice). There is even a first aid kit in the console, and a USB drive. The truck has wheel locks already installed, but they were thoughtful enough to include the original wheel bolts in one of those boxes on the back seat, along with the lock key, in case you ever decide you do not want the wheel locks on.

It's the little things like this that make a big difference, especially after years of having other dealers (cough cough, Toyota and Ford, cough cough) wanting to hide floor mats away at delivery, and try to charge separately for those items which should d*mn well be included!

Faults:

No problems at all thus far.

General Comments:

This truck is SWEET! I purchased the Frontier SV 4WD crew cab with automatic transmission and 4.0 liter V6.

It handles great and has plenty of power. The 4.0 liter V6 engine is also great. It tows great and is very comfortable.

I traded in my 2006 F-150 Super Crew Lariat 4wd for this truck, and am very glad I did. The Ford got horrible gas mileage. This Nissan Frontier is getting about 5 - 6 MPG better in the city than the Ford. I checked it, and it is getting 16.5 MPG city.

I love the styling of the Nissan, and it's just fun to drive. I don't have many miles at all yet on this truck, but as soon as I get some more miles underway, I will update!