2000 Nissan Frontier flat towing question???
Anyone towing the Nissan Frontier std 2 wheel drive? Owners manual seem to say it's o.k. speed and distance is of concern in the manual. Any key elements you could share would be greatly appreciated.
Forum Discussion
5 Replies
- :h
I'm easily confused - how does the trans have enough lubrication to be towed for 7 or 8 hours, but then need to be re-lubricated by idling the engine in neutral for a few minutes... then away we go again... ? - One short paragraph and it's not in "Towing." As Bumpy mentioned, we can't confuse "breakdown towing" with "recreational towing" and in my manual it's called "Flat Towing" under "Customer Technical Information." One short paragraph. In our case they say 500 miles then run engine in Neutral two minutes but no towing speed limit. I'd go with the "300 miles/55MPH" limits some have. We can't run much more than 300 without needing to stop for fuel or something, and rarely run much more than 55.
- Thanks guys for the info... I feel a lot better about towing my frontier.
- Went through this when we bought our 2009 Frontier. It's the base model. XE, 2WD, 4-cyl, 5-speed manual. I can get the owner's manual in awhile, but it sounds like yours is like ours. Tow in Neutral, stop every few hours and run engine in neutral. I don't recall a towing speed limitation. We looked at Frontier, Tacoma, and Ranger. Frontier had a distance rule to stop and run the engine, Ranger had that AND a towed speed limitation (which wasn't all that limiting), and Tacoma didn't recommend towing.
If I had to guess, the Frontier's transmission, and proably others, maybe Ranger, don't lube the transmission when being towed. Or at least not well, but the lubricant stays in place well enough to run a few hunred miles then re-lube by driving the truck or running engine in neutral.
I actually liked Frontier first, Ranger second, and Tacoma third. I'd expected Tacoma to be the best all around. Two problems with Frontier. Wide turning circle, and heavier than expected. Ranger was cute, tight turning, freezing cold A/C, but uncomfortable seats, hard ride and complex option choices to get what I wanted. I'm a Toyota fan, but Tacoma didn't impress me and the towing exclusion cut it out anyhow. I wasn't sorry. Frontier has a great ride and it's quiet. - are recommendations for speed/distance reasonable? not the emergency tow at less than 30 mph for 30 miles?
and what does "seem" mean? does it say how to do it?
bumpy
