Mc2guy

No question, it is a luxury vehicle in the higher trim levels, but pricing is very reasonable when comparing content to other similar vehicles.  My Platinum w/701 package comes with more technology, more options, more gizmos than my in-laws E-class Mercedes.

Lane keeping assist, 360 cameras, self-parking, adaptive radar cruise control, panoramic roof, LED ambient programable lighting, heated and cooled front and heated rear seats, etc.  It's plush, no question.

To boot, I had 15,000 documented miles in my NV and I got a lifetime of 12.3 MPG. http://www.fuelly.com/car/nissan/nv3500/2014/mc2guy/320257 

So far (small sample size) I'm getting 17.1MPG in the Ecoboost.  While the engine in the Ford is more advanced, most of that is likely from the fact that the NV was 6700lbs empty and the F-150 is 4700 lbs empty.  Also, 0-60 in the F-150 is sub-6 seconds.  I don't drive like that normally, but it really scoots when asked.

You cant get anywhere near that tow rating on a passenger Transit.  We looked long and hard at them prior to the NV due to dealer network and spoke to several dealerships about it.  The rating just isnt there.  The top of the line model with the biggest motor (that V6 turbo) was still under 5000# if you added the numbers up with passengers and cargo.  

 

With the CARGO Transit you can get up there but you arent going to be carrying anybody but a passenger.

 

I dont know why Ford shot themselves with that rating and capacity.  They can build their HD F150 to tow 10,000 lbs plus then put that motor in a week chassis for the van.  

 

==============

 

To the OP = Psyched - if you could get by with just 8 passengers I would look at the new Nissan Armada when it comes out.  It's based off the Nissan Patrol which is Nissans answer to the Toyota Landcruiser for the world.  Truck chassis, big motor (the new 5.6 with way more power than the current model), better transmission and factory 4x4.  

You're correct.  I rechecked my research and the rating I saw was limited to the cargo versions...

My new F150 3.5 ecoboost 4x4 w/Max Tow package is rated for 11,900 lbs towing with a 3.55 rear end with electronic locker (FX4 package).  You'd think Ford would see the market and uprate the Transit, then again maybe they view the "big family that needs more than 8 seats and ALSO wants to tow" market as too small to justify the incremental engineering.  I have to figure it's a pretty small market demand that requires all of that?

Thanks for your insights Mc2guy, sorry to hear about your hassles. I'm open to any vehicle, what I'm really looking for is:

 

- reliability, 10+ passengers, 4x4, convenient passenger access. It would be nice if it has a towing capacity >6500 lbs and a comfortable, quiet ride.

 

Any suggestions? We love the utility of the sprinter but not the reliability and no 4x4. Love the 4x4 of a suburban but not the passenger convenience. I'd really love a safari-version Toyota Landcruiser, but that can not be imported to the USA. So from my research I think the NV is the best compromise.

Seems like you are pretty limited given your needs.  The NV is probably as good as any option and it seems I am a rarity in terms of reliability.  That said, I'd look long and hard at a Transit 350 with the ecoboost engine.  Apparently Quigley is converting them now and that is a vastly more advanced motor/drivetrain than the Nissan.  The dealer network alone is probably worth the premium you would pay over the NV (subjectively for me it is at least).  So far the 3.5 ecoboost has shown very strong reliability (lots on the road and very limited problems other than some well documented moisture in the air intake box on some early F150s).

The tow capacity of the Transit is lower due to the pseudo unit body construction, however, if you study the GVWR and options list, you can get to 5000 fairly easy in a single rear wheel, and 7500 in the DRW. 

http://www.quigley4x4.com/portals/0/docs/ford/pricing/2016%20ford%20transit%20retail%20pricelist%20rev1.0.pdf

Good luck.

Ford certainly has the dealer network. You see at least 1 Transit on the lot no matter how small the town/dealership.

 

Let us know how it compares after you have driven it awhile and if the dealer network is up to supporting it.

 

I don't doubt your report that the "emergency" dealer did not do what was necessary to get your NV on the road, but did you try contacting NV Commercial or rep to get the dealer to respond.

 

My one experience was not serious, as in did not strand us or drain our bank account. The service manager pointed out our 36k warranty had expired and was not interested in the fact that it was on on going, documented issue. I paid to get it back on the road and delt with NV commercial later. They paid for the repair.

 

In your case, you had the longer warranty and any NV dealer should have done the work. Why wouldn't they? Not every NV is going to be driven within a 30 mile radius. This certainly is true for NVPs.

 

Before you leave completely, give us the names of the 2 dealers and we will avoid them.

The initial dealers wouldn't touch it because they were not "Commercial" vehicle authorized.  In other words, despite the fact that it's a Nissan with the same basic systems as a Titan, they could not touch it for warranty work.  Both repairs were covered, however, I am dealing with Nissan commercial now attempting to get my "dealer to dealer" tow covered... that's right Nissan wouldn't even pay to tow my vehicle to the other dealer... I had to pay up front and "file a claim".  Again, my fault for not checking with each local dealer before I had AAA tow it there.  Sheehy Nissan in Manassas, VA is certified and has been "okay" to work with.  A bit of a standoffish group but efficient.  Sheehy Nissan in Springfield, VA is not certified and were PITAs.  Younger Nissan in Frederick, MD were AWESOME to deal with on my first repair.  

Surprisingly, I didn't go with a Transit... I've just come to terms with the fact that I don't really "need" the extra passenger seats like I thought I did.  I was nice to have when my family was in town but we really only used it once.  Also, my Grandmother passed and doesn't live/travel with us anymore.  As such, I went with a new F-150 Platinum with the 3.5 ecoboost.  A hard toneau cover is all I need since the back seat in that thing is so damn enormous.  Anyway... I don't hate the Van, but I don't trust it am ready to move on.

The Ford Transit rear seat recline in certain trim options, however, I'm not sure of aftermarket 4x4 conversion support.

The Nissan is certainly more reliable than the Sprinter on average, however, not infallible.  Mine has left my family stranded twice in the last 6 months.  Both were warranty claims paid by Nissan.  The first, issue (crankshaft sensor) was a $6000 repair that I thankfully didn't have to pay for.  Also consider your proximity to a Nissan dealership certified to work on the NV.  Both times I've broken down, I have had issues with the local dealership (near my breakdown) not being able to perform any work on the vehicle, requiring a second tow.  One reason I'm getting rid of the Nissan is that I drive cross country with my family every year and if I had a breakdown on the road, there are large swaths of the U.S. that lack Nissan Commercial Vehicle support (similar to Sprinter).  Having experienced the hassle, I'm not willing to take that risk.

Not trying to steer you away from the NV, it sounds like it is a good option for you to consider, but go in with an informed position.

This is the second time it died. What did they discover the first time it died? That's what I would be looking at.

 

Rick

Two totally separate and "apparently" rare issues.  First was crank shaft sensor failure, which I posted about separately.  Second time was a fused relay to ECU.  Somehow it "failed" (not sure how a fuse just fails, but it did).  I'm done with this vehicle.  Traded it on a Ford yesterday.  Giving up the seating capacity in favor of 21st century engineering and a dealer network that can actually support the vehicle when problems come up.  

PM me the specs and desired price for your van, I may know someone interested, if you really decide to sell.

After I get it repaired and back home I'll decide what and how I will be disposing of it.  I will definitely let you know if I decide to sell privately.  Passenger 3500 SL V8 Blue w/tech and tow package.  Love the van when it's running.

I'd have to say the first place I'd look would be the power supply to the IPDM , ( the fuse block behind the battery . ). But without a wiring diagram in front of me , all I can add is look at the pos. battery terminal , big lead goes to starter , and the smaller ones feed the subsystems.

 And check the always overlooked ground points and connectors  ...

Good luck , 

Glenn

 I suspect either the ECU is shot or isn't getting sufficient ground.  All fuses are intact, and connecting points that I can see/feel are in good shape, so hard to say. Up to Nissan to figure out now.

That stinks. To myself vehicles are an emotion tugging point of pride, not just an appliance to get from A to B. And once they let you down, or twice, it's hard to get that trust and pride back, so I understand.

 

PM me the specs and desired price for your van, I may know someone interested, if you really decide to sell.

Likewise. I take pride in my vehicles, maintain them very well, and expect them to be reliable.  One time I can forgive, twice and I'm sufficiently burned.  I drive cross country with my family every year and there is no way I would undertake that trip in this vehicle right now.  Just can't trust it won't leave me stranded again.

On TOP of that, I have now had to deal with a POS service manager at Sheehy Springfield, VA, who AFTER they said tow it in tell me they can ONLY do oil changes and tire rotation on my van.  On TOP OF THAT, he tells me it is my responsibility to have the vehicle towed to another certified dealership, and they will not pay (until later when the warranty claim clears of course).  

I'm done with Nissan... build better cars and train your people better or I'll never own another.

Our NV left me and my family stranded on the side of the road for the second time in six months tonight.  Could be fried ECU, not sure... totally dead.  Wouldn't start, no electricity to ANYTHING.  No lights, no radio, no ignition, nothing.  Wouldn't even lock/unlock the doors.  Battery is fine, plenty of voltage and power.

I know I'm apparently an anomaly, I purchased based on the supposed reliability, but I will be selling for whatever loss I need to take.  I can't trust this vehicle to move my family around anymore.  24 years of driving nearly 15 different vehicles; this is the first to leave me stranded, and now its the second as well.  

Don't know where this got off track...

ASD: never said a word about not driving it... only expressed lack of confidence in its reliability.  Nissan made me whole as I expected and as I stated, but don't for a minute think that means I won't be thinking about this issue when driving across the country this summer.  (And don't pretend you wouldn't worry about it if you had been stranded on the side of busy interstate with your family).

Statistically, this appears to be a relatively reliable vehicle, but that doesn't mean my confidence hasn't been shaken. I usually get new vehicles every 4-5 years, so probably not an issue for me overall since I will likely sell it before the warranty expires, but disappointing none-the-less.

FWIW, I do have a Bluetooth ODBII reader.  The vehicle did NOT throw a fault code.  Again, there were no codes after any of the three stalls, including the last one where the vehicle went into limp move before stalling.  I confirmed this with the dealer.  They had to attempt to start and run the engine to get a diagnostic.

Unfortunately, I have to report a fairly major breakdown on my 2014 3500 SL.  While driving on the interstate on the way to my wife's grandmother's funeral, the van stalled three times consecutively, the third time going into limp mode and leaving us stranded along the interstate in MD.  Fortunately for us, we were about 4 miles from a Nissan dealership and it was early enough in teh day that we were able to get towed, check the vehicle in, and find an open rental car agency to continue our trip to lay my wife's grandmother to rest.

The long and short of it is the crankshaft sensor failed, which cascaded resulted in a brain-dead ECM throwing too much fuel into the engine and destroying the catalytic converters in the process.  I suspect th problem started a few weeks earlier, but I had chalked up a bit of a rough idle to the rain and having recently filled up at a suspect gas station. Had I gone directly to the dealer at that time, I could have avoided the damage to the cats (maybe), but honestly, it was running well enough that it just didn't occur to me that it could be anything serious.  The cost to replace the sensor and cats came to $4873 and it took two weeks for them to get it diagnosed and the parts to come in.

Now, that said, I have a '14 with the 5yr/100k bumper to bumper and Nissan did me right.  No haggling, no charges, and they paid for my rental car directly (no reimbursement), and the dealership even arranged to have the rental agency pick up my rental so I could just leave it at the dealership.  All told, Nissan just spent about $5500 for a problem caused by a $20 part. It will take a while for me to have the confidence in this vehicle that I once did.  This is the only car I've owned in 25 years of driving and ~ 13 cars to have left me stranded.  Worse yet, with my family two hours from home.  

The service manager, (Doug at Younger Nissan in Fredrick MD) was awesome to work with and like I said, Nissan fixed the problem to my satisfaction.  He said he had only seen this 3 times this this vehicle was launched and mine was the first he had seen on the 5.6L V8 (the other two were on the V6).  He tried to reassure me that in his opinion, the NV was the most reliable vehicle that Nissan sold and they he rarely saw any problems with any of the fleet he services, so that was nice to hear. 

I definitely view it as a good thing.  There are plenty of NVs on the road.  I see 10 every day on my commute alone... more than or at least equivalent to the sprinters.  Mostly commercial vans, but they are out there none the less.

1) It is not a cult vehicle (generally associated with, unreliable, foreign, or in some way funky, i.e. VW eurovans), and

2) It is not unreliable.

If these things had more problems, more people would be searching out the forums looking for solace on their experiences and how to fix the issues.  The fact that so few people show up complaining really goes to show you that not too many folks are finding reason to complain.

No reason you can't use car seats rear facing, just make sure they are properly installed, use latch when appropriate and pay attention to weight restrictions/recommendations.  I have my smallest in a Britax Marathon facing rearward so he can see his brothers.  His position is safer in a collision than if he were front facing. (That's why astronauts sit in rear facing seats in reentry capsules...in a collision, your head and neck are pressed into the seat limiting skeletal-muscular damage).

I had done this in my van previously as well.  It works for the rear most position on the front seat, but not the forward position as the bracket on the seat will not fit longitudinally in the foremost position.  Additionally, the front seats have to be scooted forward to make it work, so not that practical.

I have mine rear facing with the third row in the limo position which give plenty of legroom for even adults to sit across from one another.

With paddle board on rack

Call me crazy, but can't you just crack a window?  I use these: http://theskeeterbeater.com/#sthash.0S8U4TMi.dpbsand they work great for much less cost, hassle, and trouble you are going through.

FWIW, any form of hole under your vehicle will collect road spray, debris, and potentially exhaust fumes.  I would NOT trust a velcroed flap...

Yep, landing pad #1, Control-towers (not Q-towers), bars.  I already had the towers and bars and accessories from my previous vehicle... so it was an easy conversion.  I don't have one handy, but I'll try and get a picture of it for you.  Three kayaks would be easy mounted on their side.  I have 84" crossbars on mine and they stick out maybe 2" on each side.

The only real challenge is that you need a step stool/ladder to get everything tied down since you're working at 8'.

Just wrapped up a long weekend in Upstate NY.  900 miles round trip with my Yakima rack and 11' paddleboard on the roof.  Mostly interstate driving at 65-75mph.  Was very surprised to see 16MPG on the way up and nearly 15MPG on the way back (with a lot of stop and go interstate back-ups).  Seem's like the engine is breaking in and starting to loosen up for me.

FWIW I'm at around 9,000 miles and average about 12.3 mpg around town.  I was definitely getting over 400 miles per tank, which is great as far as I'm concerned.  

3500 SL V8

In fairness, no one pays MSRP for the Armada.  It is an "also ran" compared to the other large SUVs (Expedition, Suburban/Yukon, Sequoia).  You can pick one up for Mid-$40k pretty loaded.  So more expensive, but not THAT much more expensive...

it's been 2 weeks since i tried contacting them and left a message that they never returned. finally i got a hold of them 3 business days later after several attempts to reach them. after discussing my concerns and issues i'm waiting on, they have not called me back now going on 10 days. so today i got the same run around with leaving a message and they will call back the next business day. we'll see if they actually follow up on my message tomorrow, 

 

The selling dealer was suppose to follow up with me too, still holding my breath.

between the nav unit, bluetooth, seat belt that doesn't latch properly and the passenger side warning light stays lit most of the day and last but certainly not the least is the lousy gas mileage. filled up today and 179 miles using 24.59 gallons that averages a mere 7.28 mpg.

 

i have yet to break 200 miles on a tank of gas. you guys with 30'  travel trailers loaded to 8000# are  getting 2x the mileage i get with no trailer in tow,  the dealer said they never heard of such poor mileage and was going to check into it. along with upgrading to a current nav sd card and making the bluetooth actually work properly. 

 

2702 miles on the van and it's been a very costly experience so far. 

 

Am i the only 1 with this lousy mileage? 

 

Rick.

I STOMP on my throttle to and from work in 12 miles of stop and go highway traffic (half stopped, half at 60 mph), and I have never seen less than 11MPG.  I average 12.1 over the 7500 miles I've had mine.  I get over 10 hauling my 5000# boat.  Either you have a hole in your fuel tank, or maybe the MAF is off.  I'd think though that you would be getting check engine lights from your O2 sensor if your MAF was off... IDK.  Do you do a lot of idling for work?  

I see three or four cargo's a day, usually 2 to 1 high top vs. low top.  I see an NVP maybe once every couple of weeks, but there are 4 or 5 in my immediate community that I see.

You have started new threads to complain, and I'm very aware of your issues.  I have an SL with the nav feature you complain about.  But, unlike you, I researched what I was buying and knew full well the capabilities and limitations of what I was purchasing.  You have every right to complain until you are blue in the face, but how about containing it to relevant threads?  Again, if you want to participate in this thread, name the dealership you have issue with.  It's not hard.  

You've asked for "help" but I don't' know what you expect to get from a forum.  I don't run Nissan, and frankly, no one here is going to fix your issue for you, not matter how many threads you pollute, or how often you whine about it.  Others have suggested you replace your NAV with a unit that suits your needs, but apparently you didn't like that suggestion.  You've made your dissatisfaction known, so go bark up another tree.  OR, you could choose be a contributing member of the community and tell us how you fixed your own problem instead of looking for someone to fix it for you. Your choice.

Rick,

The topic is "positive" service experiences so others have a frame a reference on where NV owners have had good experiences.  To stay with the theme of the thread, you need to name the service dealers you suggest avoiding and suggest an alternative.  Otherwise this is just another bitching thread, and that was not what the OP intended.

FWIW, we are all painfully aware of your "less-than-stellar" opinion of your NV and associated experiences with Nissan, and that is fine.  It is an open forum and of course you are free to post here just like the rest of us.  However, I would caution you that you should try to stay factual, tempered, and on point with your posts.  You lose a lot of credibility when you act like a seagull in every thread (fly in, squawk loudly at everyone, and then crap on everything).

Best,

Mc2guy

Sheehy Nissan of Manassas.  Add to the good list.  First service today.  I have their "VIP Service" package, which is effectively a prepaid 6 year service plan (they practically threw it in when I purchased my NV) that includes oil, filters, tire rotation, fluids, etc.

Dealership called to remind me of appointment the day ahead.  They were ready for me when I arrived and put my at the head of the line.  They have ~ 6 bays that look like they can handle an NV, and my big blue went to the first open bay immediately.  Tech looked to know what he was doing on the NV as well.  Immediately rotated the tires and reset the TPMS with no hassle and set me to 51 and 82 PSI front and rear.  Next was the oil/filter, and off we went. Service rep came to hand me the keys and $0.00 paperwork in 51min. Out the door in under an hour.  Not bad.