New Nissan Titan half ton

[4X4Dodger]

In the July August issue of Truck Trend Magazine is an extended article on the new Nissan half ton Titan. Equipped with a Cummins 5.0L V8 diesel and the Aisin 6 speed transmission this truck will be very interesting.

It's payload and towing numbers are impressive: Payload 2000 lbs and more than 12,000 lbs of towing.

310 Hp at 3200 rpm and 555 lb/ft of torque for the engine.

Suddenly what is towable with a half ton has expanded. And the "buy a one ton" crowd may have to re think their philosophy a bit.

Like it or not this is a very interesting truck.

[Bionic_Man]

goducks10 wrote:

Mike Up wrote:

IdaD wrote:
I had an Xterra for years with no significant issues. It was the old platform, though, which dates back to the old hardbody from the 80s. Those were really reliable trucks. When the new version came out in '05, based on the same platform as the Titan (and Frontier and Pathfinder), I heard there were more issues. My folks and sister collectively put over a quarter million miles on a '96 Maxima and it never hand any substantial issues.

I'd definitely buy a Nissan again. Had the Titan XD Cummins been out, I would have cross shopped it against the Ram I bought. I would lean towards the Ram in that comparison because it's just a bit more truck for probably about the same price, but I definitely would have looked at it.

Had a 2000 Xterra, very good and reliable truck. The reason I stayed with Nissan. Traded for a 2004 Titan. Had every problem in the book, then some. Then add in crappy build quality and it was in the shop more than on the road.

Since I was only towing a pop up, dealer helped me dump the Titan to a 2005 Pathfinder. Unexpectedly, it had many problems as well. I dumped it and went to Ford, FINALLY.

Coworkers Frontier and Xterra (2005) have same paint issues as my Pathfinder. They traded to other brands as well.

Friend had a jacked up AWD car called the Murano and it was nothing but headaches for her.

So I've never heard of anyone having good luck with Nissans except for the very early years as my 2000 Xterra.

Good luck to Nissan but I don't see their new Titan being a game changer as everyone I know would be afraid to own one.

x2. I don't think it looks good enough to be a game changer. It's kinda quirky. I'm a Cummins owner but I don't think that even with the Cummins in the Titan will be enough to make any major sales increase. I suppose time will tell. Maybe Nissan has made some significant changes to the way they build the new Titan and quite possibly over the long run it may turn out to be a worthy opponent to other 1/2 tons. I think it may be hard to shake the reputation the Titan has. Maybe after a few truck comparison tests if it does really well that should help. Too early at this point.

Titan sales are dismal. It will not take much of an increase to show huge % gains.

I hope they are successful. Maybe they hit a sweet spot that is either unserved or underserved.

I think they may be in a no mans land. I don't think that it has the power to "blow away" the other 1500 series trucks, and I think it can't really compete with the bigger 2500 diesels. In addition, due to the size of the engine, I doubt that it will have a dramatic advantage in MPG over the trucks it will compete with.

Time will tell. More options are always better for the consumer.

[Mike_Up]

Majja13 wrote:
A concern of mine is how well the company stand behind the vehicle.

Nissan would not stand behind the Pathfinder at all.

Also, they never had the parts to fix the Titan, it was always a 3 to 4 month wait on the things that they would cover.

Ford has always been great.

I hope Nissan is better but judging by them being on the bottom list of reviewers, it's wishful thinking. The new Titan looks good but I would never trust it.

I think the new 5/8 ton Titan will play to the Nissan Loyalist and anti-Union crowd no matter what the quality is.

[Targa]

The more I look at it, the more it strikes me as a Ford HD copy that they made a bit uglier.

[goducks10]

Mike Up wrote:

IdaD wrote:
I had an Xterra for years with no significant issues. It was the old platform, though, which dates back to the old hardbody from the 80s. Those were really reliable trucks. When the new version came out in '05, based on the same platform as the Titan (and Frontier and Pathfinder), I heard there were more issues. My folks and sister collectively put over a quarter million miles on a '96 Maxima and it never hand any substantial issues.

I'd definitely buy a Nissan again. Had the Titan XD Cummins been out, I would have cross shopped it against the Ram I bought. I would lean towards the Ram in that comparison because it's just a bit more truck for probably about the same price, but I definitely would have looked at it.

Had a 2000 Xterra, very good and reliable truck. The reason I stayed with Nissan. Traded for a 2004 Titan. Had every problem in the book, then some. Then add in crappy build quality and it was in the shop more than on the road.

Since I was only towing a pop up, dealer helped me dump the Titan to a 2005 Pathfinder. Unexpectedly, it had many problems as well. I dumped it and went to Ford, FINALLY.

Coworkers Frontier and Xterra (2005) have same paint issues as my Pathfinder. They traded to other brands as well.

Friend had a jacked up AWD car called the Murano and it was nothing but headaches for her.

So I've never heard of anyone having good luck with Nissans except for the very early years as my 2000 Xterra.

Good luck to Nissan but I don't see their new Titan being a game changer as everyone I know would be afraid to own one.

x2. I don't think it looks good enough to be a game changer. It's kinda quirky. I'm a Cummins owner but I don't think that even with the Cummins in the Titan will be enough to make any major sales increase. I suppose time will tell. Maybe Nissan has made some significant changes to the way they build the new Titan and quite possibly over the long run it may turn out to be a worthy opponent to other 1/2 tons. I think it may be hard to shake the reputation the Titan has. Maybe after a few truck comparison tests if it does really well that should help. Too early at this point.

[AH64ID]

otrfun wrote:

wnjj wrote:
What I see in the pictures are two transmissions built by the same manufacturer but that are not the same model. There are plenty of differences in the cases plus you can't tell what's inside for clutch or shaft sizes.

You could be right, or maybe not.

For the sake of discussion, have you considered the fact it's possible all the differences you see are improvements in the design of the older Ram 3500 Aisin? That the Nissan Aisin, is, in fact, a better tranny?

There's no rule that says Aisin can't make changes to a specific model tranny to accommodate Nissan's design requirements (or make improvements).

Bottom line, neither one of us can prove our point. But, I will say the fact we're even having this debate bodes well for the Nissan Cummins 🙂

Any changes would mean it's not the same transmission as used in the Ram 3500.

FWIW the AS68RC was a C&C transmission and not a pickup transmission. Yes there was a 3500 C&C but.... In essence there was not a older Ram 3500 Aisin, just the current offering.

Yes good conversation to have.

[Majja13]

My in laws had a 2002ish Altima that they traded in with almost 200k and never once was in the shop, no the have a 2013 Rogue and love it. If you want to talk bad paint look at GM in the 90's. But all mfg's have a few lemons here and there. I bet I can find a story about every brand of vehicle that has been a total dog. A concern of mine is how well the company stand behind the vehicle. Seems like Ford hung a bunch of people out to dry for "bad fuel" on some of the early 6.7's, and lets not talk about the 6.0's and 6.4 by ford.

[otrfun]

wnjj wrote:
What I see in the pictures are two transmissions built by the same manufacturer but that are not the same model. There are plenty of differences in the cases plus you can't tell what's inside for clutch or shaft sizes.

You could be right, or maybe not.

For the sake of discussion, have you considered the fact it's possible all the differences you see are improvements in the design of the older Ram 3500 Aisin? That the Nissan Aisin, is, in fact, a better tranny?

There's no rule that says Aisin can't make changes to a specific model tranny to accommodate Nissan's design requirements (or make improvements).

Bottom line, neither one of us can prove our point. But, I will say the fact we're even having this debate bodes well for the Nissan Cummins 🙂

[Mike_Up]

IdaD wrote:
I had an Xterra for years with no significant issues. It was the old platform, though, which dates back to the old hardbody from the 80s. Those were really reliable trucks. When the new version came out in '05, based on the same platform as the Titan (and Frontier and Pathfinder), I heard there were more issues. My folks and sister collectively put over a quarter million miles on a '96 Maxima and it never hand any substantial issues.

I'd definitely buy a Nissan again. Had the Titan XD Cummins been out, I would have cross shopped it against the Ram I bought. I would lean towards the Ram in that comparison because it's just a bit more truck for probably about the same price, but I definitely would have looked at it.

Had a 2000 Xterra, very good and reliable truck. The reason I stayed with Nissan. Traded for a 2004 Titan. Had every problem in the book, then some. Then add in crappy build quality and it was in the shop more than on the road.

Since I was only towing a pop up, dealer helped me dump the Titan to a 2005 Pathfinder. Unexpectedly, it had many problems as well. I dumped it and went to Ford, FINALLY.

Coworkers Frontier and Xterra (2005) have same paint issues as my Pathfinder. They traded to other brands as well.

Friend had a jacked up AWD car called the Murano and it was nothing but headaches for her.

So I've never heard of anyone having good luck with Nissans except for the very early years as my 2000 Xterra.

Good luck to Nissan but I don't see their new Titan being a game changer as everyone I know would be afraid to own one.

[IdaD]

I had an Xterra for years with no significant issues. It was the old platform, though, which dates back to the old hardbody from the 80s. Those were really reliable trucks. When the new version came out in '05, based on the same platform as the Titan (and Frontier and Pathfinder), I heard there were more issues. My folks and sister collectively put over a quarter million miles on a '96 Maxima and it never hand any substantial issues.

I'd definitely buy a Nissan again. Had the Titan XD Cummins been out, I would have cross shopped it against the Ram I bought. I would lean towards the Ram in that comparison because it's just a bit more truck for probably about the same price, but I definitely would have looked at it.

[AH64ID]

wnjj wrote:


What I see in the pictures are two transmissions built by the same manufacturer but that are not the same model. There are plenty of differences in the cases plus you can't tell what's inside for clutch or shaft sizes.

Same. Those are not the same transmission.. very similar thou, but then again same manufacturer.

[wnjj]

otrfun wrote:

AH64ID wrote:

otrfun wrote:

AH64ID wrote:
Just because the transmission is made by Aisin does not mean it's the same one and a simple photo comparison says they are not the same as the Ram.

Aisin also makes the transmission in my 4Runner 🙂

They are a well known transmission company but so far the only place I have seen calling it the same transmission as the Ram is the forums.... Nothing else backs it up to include photos.

Direct quote from the Truck Trend Nissan Titan Diesel article the OP mentioned: "The exclusive transmission is an Aisin-sourced heavy-duty six-speed automatic, the same unit used for the Ram 3500." I've seen the same thing mentioned in nearly every first-look article about the Nissan Titan Diesel I've read for a number of months now.

The article does say that (missed it), but that article also says it will use the same rear axle as the Ram 2500 Power Wagon.

Look at the rear axle pictured and then read the article. The axle in the photo is the AAM 9.5" Semi-Float 14 bolt used by GM. The axle mentioned in the article is a AAM 10.5" full float axle (not the same as the 10.5" 14 bolt full float). The XD is very obviously using a SF axle and there isn't a Ram 2500 available with a SF axle.

So let's get something other than a truck trend writer/editor as evidence.

Here are some Nissan per-production photos.

http://www.nissanusa.com/trucks/2016-titan/

Then google AS69RC and you will see they are not the same transmission.

Then again why would Nissan want the AS69RC as it is BEYOND overkill and not a cheap option on top of the Cummins 6.7.

Ok, I did as you suggested. I'll let these two pics speak for themselves (Ram 3500 Aisin on left, Nissan Titan Cummins Aisin on right). Looks like a big thumbs up for the Nissan Titan Cummins to me . . . ">

What I see in the pictures are two transmissions built by the same manufacturer but that are not the same model. There are plenty of differences in the cases plus you can't tell what's inside for clutch or shaft sizes.

[goducks10]

I had a Nissan Quest mini van, zero issues. Had an 06 Frontier, again zero issues. Son has a Pathfinder, also zero issues. I had more issues with my 2010 F150 than my Ram 2500 and 06 Nissan Frontier combined. I wouldn't put Nissan at the top of any reliability list but would certainly look at the new Titan if I were in the market for a 1/2 ton+ truck. I think you can find issues with any truck. Just cruise truck forums. They all have issues.

[Mike_Up]

They'd have to give them away and even then I don't know if I'd trade my F150 for one. My last Titan was a POS, garage queen, and unsafe (brakes failed and pedal to floor). I only see kids driving them now, with loud mufflers, and aftermarket add ons.

The Nissan Pathfinder I had after it was also a problem vehicle. I know plenty of people unhappy with their Nissans. Surprised they haven't folded yet.

[RobertRyan]

nevadanick wrote:
http://cumminsengines.com/cummins-5l-v8-turbo-diesel Read about it, its also going into commercial and motorhome use of which rumor is Tiffin Breeze will be using it.

That Motorhome use will be the icing on the cake for this engine