CarComplaints.com Notes: In a very limited selection on small pickup trucks, the Frontier is one of the best options except -- and I cannot emphasize this enough -- for one problem that makes it an avoid-at-all-costs pain in you know what: the radiator ruptures and leaks coolant into the transmission, killing it. Such a buzzkill.
The last two months have been an endless series of meetings with the dealer, and finally my local mechanic explained the issue and why we had to spend 6k to resolve. When the engine light came on for the evap system, the dealer took the plug and chug approach, and started with the fuel pump and charcoal can. The light came back on, and they said it was the filler neck assembly. My local mechanic looked at the filler neck (see picture) and said it should have been replaced when they took the tank out.
I asked the dealer to replace the filler neck for no labor, but they at first said no. I had my local mechanic replace the filler neck and clean/replace all the evap lines, and now we are at a 5k repair. But the light is still on, so we now have to replace the tank. After asking around, the Nissan Frontier (or Suzuki Equator) has a faulty design gas tank, and over time the lack of correct pressure leads to the need to replace just about all the system component parts, always starting with the Check Engine light. Since the truck has 150k miles, this has been a repair that costs more than the resale value, so it has been a nightmare.
So this is a design flaw the Nissan has never owned up to, and so will be my last Nissan purchase.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
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The last two months have been an endless series of meetings with the dealer, and finally my local mechanic explained the issue and why we had to spend 6k to resolve. When the engine light came on for the evap system, the dealer took the plug and chug approach, and started with the fuel pump and charcoal can. The light came back on, and they said it was the filler neck assembly. My local mechanic looked at the filler neck (see picture) and said it should have been replaced when they took the tank out.
I asked the dealer to replace the filler neck for no labor, but they at first said no. I had my local mechanic replace the filler neck and clean/replace all the evap lines, and now we are at a 5k repair. But the light is still on, so we now have to replace the tank. After asking around, the Nissan Frontier (or Suzuki Equator) has a faulty design gas tank, and over time the lack of correct pressure leads to the need to replace just about all the system component parts, always starting with the Check Engine light. Since the truck has 150k miles, this has been a repair that costs more than the resale value, so it has been a nightmare.
So this is a design flaw the Nissan has never owned up to, and so will be my last Nissan purchase.
- Keith K., Raleigh, US