We’ve been giving older diesel trucks a lot of love lately, and for good reason. The Cummins 5.9 12-valve, the Ford Power Stroke 7.3, and the Duramax LBZ were all engines so legendary that truck fans are still happy to fork over tens of thousands of their hard-earned dollars to get their hands on one. However, not all diesels were made equal. Nissan once partnered with Cummins to deliver a diesel version of the Nissan Titan XD. The idea was a truck that was somewhere between half-ton and three-quarter-ton, but in reality, the truck somehow delivered lower capacity ratings than a half-ton gas truck. Even worse, despite having Cummins emblazoned on it, the engine has been documented to be less than bulletproof.
Welcome to a new series we’re experimenting with here on The Autopian! For a long time, I’ve been showing you the rare, forgotten, or otherwise weird examples of often common cars. Holy Grails celebrates the coolest or best versions of cars and motorcycles sold throughout history. However, not every oddball offering is legendary. Sometimes, an automaker develops a vehicle that has all of the right ingredients, but the resulting dish misses the mark. These are Unholy Fails – the rare, forgotten, and weird examples of vehicles that didn’t capture lightning in a bottle.
An Unholy Fail is a failed attempt at creating a Holy Grail.
To kick off this series, let’s take a look at a diesel truck that sounded amazing on paper. The Nissan Titan XD tried to bridge the gap between light-duty and heavy-duty. Here was a pickup with a 2,003-pound payload rating, a 12,314-pound towing capacity, Cummins power, and the stability of a heavy-duty pickup, but with some of the drivability of a light-duty pickup. But in practice, Nissan built a truck that may not have lived up to the promise.
Nissan’s Full-Size Truck Experiment
If the story of the Nissan Titan XD sounds sad enough, it’s only a chapter in the series of unfortunate events that have befallen the Titan itself. Last year, Nissan announced that it was pulling the plug on its full-size pickup. Two decades of Nissan selling more slowly than domestic trucks and Toyota’s Tundra will come to an end this summer. The plant that currently builds the Titan will then shift to EVs.
So it’s worth looking into how Nissan got here. Nissan has a long history of selling trucks in America. The company claims that in 1957, the Datsun 220 wasn’t just the first compact pickup to be sold in America, but also the first Datsun to be sold in America. Today, Nissan is known for its CVT-equipped crossovers, but it planted roots in America by selling affordable pickup trucks and the Datsun 210 small-car. Nissan says its little pickup got its foot in the door in America and the 220 sedan made Datsun a known entity for American buyers.
Since then, Nissan says, it has always sold some sort of truck in America. Nissan’s history is full of sweet rugged trucks like the Hardbody, too. Nissan’s own noted highlights include the first half-ton compact pickup in 1969, the first long-bed compact pickup in 1975, first American-built import truck in 1983, and the first four-door compact pickup in 1999. Despite those claimed wins, Nissan didn’t challenge the American pickup truck establishment by building a full-size rig.
As DrivingLine writes, in the late 1990s, Nissan started looking into the untapped market of big American trucks. Research had shown that up to 40 percent of truck buyers were willing to switch brands. That was good enough justification for Nissan to give the full-size pickup a go. Nissan greenlit its full-size pickup truck project in 1999. The automaker committed $1.4 billion to build a new plant in Canton, Mississippi, to assemble this American pickup-killer.
In 2001, Nissan’s project bore fruit in the form of the Nissan alpha-T Concept. This futuristic truck concept made its debut at the Detroit Auto Show and showcased what Nissan’s engineers and designers were capable of. The alpha-T Concept had a power sliding bed tray, a power rear window, rear-hinged rear doors, a toolbox integrated into the tailgate, and practically miles of brushed aluminum trim.
Back then, Carlos Ghosn was at the helm of Nissan, and he made some big promises. From Nissan:
‘Our message to the public is that Nissan is serious about entering the full-size truck market in a big way – both in size and impact.’
‘As a design exercise, the alpha-T Concept can only hint at the aggressive performance targets we’re developing for our production full-size pickup,’ said Mr. Ghosn. ‘We are committed that the truck’s performance will meet or exceed that of both current domestic and import branded trucks. Following our strong heritage in the compact truck market, when it comes to the new big Nissan truck we will not be content to follow the crowd.’
In 2003, Nissan rolled the Titan out onto the stage in Detroit, proving it could make a beastly truck. The Titan didn’t look anything like the concept truck, but a few ideas made it over. The 180-degree rear doors of the concept made it over, as did an industry-first bedside storage compartment (below). Now, it should be noted that the Chevy Avalanche had bed-based storage lockers before the Titan, but maybe Nissan didn’t consider the Avalanche to be a full-size truck. Anyway, look at the locker:
Nissan also gave you a bedliner right from the factory. You didn’t get a nifty powered tray, but you did get a bed track system to attach cargo.
In terms of design, if you squint hard enough at the production model below, you can sort of see the concept (below) in there. Otherwise, Nissan made the truck look like it was bulging with muscles. Giovanny Arroba is given credit for this design and Diane Allen was Nissan’s senior design manager for various models, including the 350Z, Titan, and Armada.
Under that bodywork was Nissan’s F-Alpha platform, which was also used on its full-size SUVs like the Armada. The truck’s frame was said to have a large cross-section and fully boxed longitudinal side members. Since trucks are also off-road vehicles, Nissan placed the Titan’s suspension mounting points high up for good off-road clearances. Its platform was also complemented with thick steel control arms up front and dual-stage leaf springs in the rear.
Yet, Nissan also realized that truck buyers use their vehicles as family vehicles, and made sure to tune a soft suspension, and the designers were generous with cab interior space, giving the seating area a flat floor. Car and Driver found that the Titan’s rear seat passengers had about the same legroom as those sitting up front.
This would be powered by a Nissan Endurance 5.6-liter V8 pumping out 305 HP and 379 lb-ft of torque. This was just slightly better than Ford’s 5.4 Triton V8 of the day. Initially, Nissan decided not to bother with regular cabs, work trucks, and long beds since most people were buying four-door short-bed trucks, anyway. Period reviews suggest that Nissan delivered a truck with a powerful engine, a quiet cabin, and a good ride. It seemed like Nissan built a solid truck, but Nissan still failed to dethrone any of the Big Three.
Nissan sold 85,000 Titans in the 2004 launch model year. Sales peaked at 86,945 units in 2005, then tumbled down from there. By 2009, just 19,042 Nissan Titans went to a new home. These numbers wouldn’t be particularly great for any mass-market vehicle, but America is a nation where Ford can move well over 600,000 F-Series trucks in a year alone, so Nissan probably wasn’t making the Big Three quake in their boots.
There are guesses as to why the Titan didn’t catch on. Perhaps it was the fact that the V8 was the only option or that there weren’t many bed and cab choices. Nissan also failed to sell these trucks at a variety of price points, which could have also hurt it. Sales never really recovered, instead blipping back up to about 23,000 units before falling into the teens again.
Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that Nissan let the first-generation stay in production from 2003 to 2015 with only minimal updates. Later model-years got some visual changes, and the engine got upgraded to 317 HP and 385 lb-ft of torque, but a 2014 Titan is largely similar to an earlier model. Things did get a little weird in 2008 when it was reported that Nissan’s next-generation full-size truck was more or less going to be a Dodge Ram with Nissan bodywork.
That didn’t happen and instead, a new generation of Titan was released in 2015.
Take Two
Nissan didn’t give up on the Titan, and in 2015, the 2016 Nissan Titan made its debut. The big news about the second-generation Titan was the flagship XD and its collaboration with Cummins, but we’ll get to that in a moment.
Once again, Diane Allen led the design of the new truck, and Car and Driver interviewed her to get the scoop on the new looks. Allen says the goal was to give the Titan “more of a power feel” and “make it look like a true work truck.” Continuing, Allen notes that the Titan was always a play truck, but now it needed a design befitting the optional diesel power under the hood.
As for the design team’s inspiration, Allen explained that too:
We’re a small design team, so the interior and exterior design teams got together to brainstorm, “What is Titan?” All of a sudden you started seeing things on the sketch wall: Gladiators, scenes from 300, warriors. We started to think, “We are titans.” That stylized “T” logo is designed after a warrior’s mask. We’re not cowboys, we’re warriors, and this whole front end is inspired by a warrior mask. There’s a huge muscle going down the body side, and biceps and leg muscles over the wheels. That’s the fighter in the Titan. The domestics do a more architectural design style. We’re more anatomical.
When the second-generation Titan launched in 2015, the truck was available in a variety of trim levels. Nissan also introduced a regular cab configuration for the first time. The base engine was a 5.6-liter V8 making 390 HP and 401 lb-ft of torque.
Nissan gave its flagship the most attention. The top of the 2016 Nissan Titan lineup was the XD, a truck designed to create a new niche. See, your common F-150s, Silverado 1500s, and Ram 1500s are light-duty half-ton trucks. But, you as a truck buyer may require more truck. Ford will sell you a three-quarter-ton F-250 Super Duty, Chevy a Silverado 2500, Ram a 2500, and so on. But, what if you want more truck, but don’t want to step up to a three-quarter ton?
Nissan believed there was a niche of truck buyers who wanted a rig that sat between the humble half-ton and the heavier-duty three-quarter-ton. This Nissan XD was designed to be that truck, with some capability borrowed from three-quarter-tons and some characteristics from half-tons. Said another way, Nissan wanted to build a half-ton with a little extra.
Fred Diaz, Nissan North America Trucks and Light Commercial Vehicles vice president and general manager said that the Titan XD was supposed to have it all, from heavier-duty capacities and decent fuel economy to excellent ride and comfort. Nissan found that half of half-ton truck buyers tow more than ten times a year, and those truck owners also like hauling tools, so the Titan XD was designed specifically around hauling things.
I’ll let Nissan hold the mic:
Nissan TITAN XD models are built on a unique frame and chassis to handle the Cummins diesel and Endurance® V8 gas engines, as well as the truck’s expanded towing and payload potential. Starting with a durable, proven chassis design from Nissan Commercial Vehicles, the new fully boxed, full-length ladder frame is extensively reinforced and strengthened for use with the TITAN XD with added stiffness, vertical and lateral bending, and torsional rigidity. It also features an extended 151.6-inch wheelbase – about 20 inches longer than non-XD TITAN models.
To maximize stability, handling and ride comfort, TITAN XD uses a new heavy-duty, highly stable suspension design. The double-wishbone with stabilizer bar front suspension is reinforced and tuned for hard use and the rigid rear axle suspension utilizes hefty leaf springs and leaf bushings, along with twin-tube shock absorbers. The axle is a large purpose-built American Axle Manufacturing design. The rear differential measures 9.84 inches with 3.5-inch axle tubes, while the front differential (4×4 models) measures 9.25 inches. Both are manufactured by American Axle. Also available is an Electronic Locking Rear Differential.
Hydraulic cab-mounts help isolate occupants from the advanced TITAN XD chassis. The new TITAN XD rides on 17-inch, 18-inch or 20-inch aluminum-alloy wheels with LT245/75R17, LT275/65R18 or LT265/60R20 tires for strong all-weather/all surface traction. TITAN XD has a maximum payload of 2,594 pounds (gas engine, when properly equipped) and a maximum towing rating of 12,314 pounds (diesel engine, when properly equipped).
Nissan stacked the deck with features. You could get your Titan XD with heated and cooled seats, wood trim, a Rockford Fosgate 12-speaker, stereo, and more. Nissan also pointed out the truck’s six cupholders plus 8 more places to store water bottles. Like other Nissan models from this time, the Titan was also sold with Nissan’s Zero Gravity seats, which are said to be fatigue-free thrones developed in a weightless environment.
Opting for the Titan XD PRO-4X got your sort of bigger-than-half-ton truck with a skid plate, all-terrain tires, Bilstein off-road shock absorbers, an electronic rear locker, unique aluminum wheels, and Hill Descent Control.
Cummins Power
While the base engine of the Titan XD was the aforementioned V8, the engine Nissan couldn’t stop talking about was its V8 engine developed with Cummins. This was a really big deal because, until the launch of the Titan XD, the only pickups with Cummins diesel power came from FCA. [Ed Note: I was an Advanced Engineering Mechanical Development intern at Cummins in 2012; I remember seeing a mountain of 5.0-liter V8 engine blocks stacked up at the plant. “We were supposed to have a partnership with Chrysler [i.e. Ram],” I recall being told, “But then they went through all the bankruptcy stuff.” -DT].
Cummins says the 5.0-liter V8 powering the Titan XD featured over 70 percent parts commonality with the Cummins ISV5.0 V8 diesel engine that was already found in many commercial vehicles. Both companies say the engine was the result of a partnership that started in 2007. Like the Titan XD the Cummins engine was lowered into, the engine was a middle-of-the-road engine that was bigger than the compact diesels used in half-tons but smaller than the larger diesels used in three-quarter-ton trucks. Both companies say they’ve been collaborating on the Cummins 5.0L V8 Turbo Diesel since the formation of their partnership in 2007 and the engine was finally ready to show to the public in 2015 after hot and cold test cell hours and over a million test miles.
I’ll pass the mic to Cummins to tell you all about it:
The 5.0L V8 Turbo Diesel brings together a compacted graphite iron (CGI) cylinder block, forged steel crankshaft, high-strength aluminum alloy heads, and composite valve covers to offer maximum durability in a lightweight package. These features, along with dual overhead camshafts, also contribute to the excellent noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) characteristics achieved by the 5.0L V8 turbo diesel. The Cummins M²™ Two-Stage Turbocharger is configured to work well at both low and high engine speeds. The series sequential turbocharging system, involving two differently sized turbochargers, effectively provides a small turbocharger for low air flow requirements and a large turbo for high air flow. The small turbo provides the advantage of good transient response due to its low inertia and the large turbo maintains power at higher engine speeds. This helps eliminates turbo lag, providing a continuous delivery of peak torque through the RPM range.
In order to control the air flow between the two turbo chargers, the new M² system from Cummins Turbo Technologies uses a patented rotary valve to open ports that perform the bypass or waste-gate functionality and provide exhaust after-treatment thermal management. High injection pressures from the latest Bosch® High Pressure Common Rail (HPCR) fuel system and piezo fuel injectors provide precise fuel control for optimized in-cylinder combustion, leading to better fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. With multiple injection events driven by integrated electronic controls, the HPCR fuel system, along with Cummins M2™ Two-Stage Turbocharger, contributes to a very impressive peak torque of 555 lb-ft and 310 horsepower.
In cold weather, the advanced ceramic glow plug system significantly reduces start time and electrical current draw, reducing vehicle charging system requirements. The ceramic glow plugs are designed to last the life of the engine, with no maintenance. A two-stage fuel filter system for the 5.0L V8 Turbo Diesel features the latest NanoNet™ media from Cummins Filtration, to ensure that the HPCR fuel system is fully protected against fuel contamination. NanoNet’s unique construction provides lower fuel-flow restriction, and traps greater than 99 percent of all particles as small as 4 microns.
Perhaps the most interesting part about this engine is the fact that Cummins advertises this engine as a “Near-Zero Emissions” mill:
Proven air handling and emissions control technology draws upon Cummins extensive emissions technology expertise. Cummins M2™ Two-Stage Turbocharger, cooled Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) and Cummins Emission Solutions Aftertreatment System, featuring a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR), result in near-zero oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions while delivering better performance and fuel economy.
Alright, so we’ve arrived back to the premise of the beginning of this piece. The Nissan Titan XD Cummins had all of the right ingredients. This was a truck that competed with half-tons, but offered a bit more truck. In theory, that meant you got the ride comfort of a half-ton, but the extra capability means you can haul your stuff without worrying about if you’re bumping up against limits.
Yet, when you look at sales data, things still look pretty sad. Nissan sold 52,924 units in 2017, which was a great bump, and then sales went right back down after. Reportedly, one in eight Nissan Titans sold had a diesel engine before pulling the plug in the 2020 model year. To put that into perspective, Nissan sold 31,514 Titans in 2019. About 3,900 of those were diesels. Sales like that are bad for any vehicle, let alone a diesel truck.
Yet, slow sales weren’t the only thing these trucks had to fight against.
What Failed
The first possible problem with the Nissan Titan XD Cummins is that, on paper, it wasn’t that much better than the establishment. [Ed Note: I’m going to argue it was the hideous styling, too. -DT].
Take the king of pickups today, the Ford F-150. In 2016, a Ford F-150 with the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 could tow 12,200 pounds. Ok, fine, that was for the regular cab, but Ford still said the F-150 SuperCrew was able to tow up to 11,900 pounds. Likewise, the Ford eclipsed the Titan XD in payload numbers. A regular cab 4×2 F-150 EcoBoost also had up to 3,240 pounds of payload while a SuperCrew 4×4 had 2,060 pounds of payload or more depending on configuration.
Compare that to the Titan XD. The 5.0-liter Cummins was good for 310 HP and 555 lb-ft of twist. At launch, the tow rating went as high as 12,314 pounds and payload was 2,003 pounds. Again, on paper, it wasn’t a ton better than the half-ton establishment. That 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 made 365 HP and 420 lb-ft of torque. One thing the Nissan Titan XD Cummins had going for it was its $40,290 starting price. The cheapest F-150 XL SuperCrew with a 3.5 EcoBoost in 2016 was $33,055 and that was before adding the necessary $1,695 package to get the higher payload. And mind you, that F-150 XL would be a stripper work truck strapped to a gas engine. The Nissan gave you more features and a diesel plant.
Still, these numbers suggest that Nissan maybe didn’t completely hit its target of a creating new class of pickup. While this truck was marketed as something between a half-ton and a three-quarter-ton, the only part that stood out was diesel power. Later, Nissan did bump towing capacity up to 12,830 pounds, then Ford surpassed the Titan XD anyway with a refreshed Ford F-150 with a 13,200-pound towing capacity. So, you got the bulk of a bigger truck, but not many of the benefits.
To be fair to the Titan XD, perhaps prospective buyers didn’t understand the benefits of a diesel engine. In my experience, diesel engines give you easy pulling power and far better fuel economy than a gas engine. So, it’s not entirely spec sheets.
Worse for the Titan XD’s image was the disaster experienced by the folks of Car and Driver. Most publications got to test the Titan XD over a period of a couple of months. Car and Driver lived with one for 40,000 miles. I’ll just hand things over to their long-term review:
There’s no easy way to say this: Our long-term Nissan Titan XD Diesel was one of the most disappointing new vehicles we have evaluated in recent memory, a distinction highlighted by our truck’s serious mechanical issues and grounded in its general inability to endear when it was healthy.
[…]
Some niggles cropped up, too, including concerns about a numb and heavy helm that continued to groan at low speeds even after we discovered the power-steering system’s fluid was low and topped it off. A recalcitrant tailgate-release handle also plagued the Titan for much of its term, despite the dealer replacing a faulty electronic lock actuator at no charge.
[…]
The Wookiee under the hood also had a voracious thirst for diesel exhaust fluid—a urea-based solution injected into the XD’s exhaust system to limit nitrogen-oxide emissions. With our truck’s laborious duty cycle (DEF consumption is relative to engine load) and the XD’s small, 4.5-gallon DEF tank, the 44 gallons we fed the Nissan over 40,000 miles, at roughly $6 per, came in many small doses. The DEF monitor in the Titan’s info display also occasionally asked for refills when the tank was nearly full and flashed service alerts that quickly disappeared.
The engine woes continued and even managed to include the transmission for some extra fun:
Other logbook entries expressed wonderment at Nissan’s approval of the XD’s uncouth Aisin six-speed automatic. Even after two computer reflashes under warranty, the Titan’s transmission lurched through its ratios under acceleration and, with equal abruptness, clunked into gear at slower speeds. “It’s hard to believe someone could sign off on this transmission calibration,” noted assistant technical editor David Beard.
[…]
Basic maintenance for the diesel Titan was substantial. Nissan’s service schedule calls for regular checkups every 10,000 miles unless the oil-life monitor in the cluster asks for it sooner, as our hardworking truck’s did. We spent $1634 on four routine stops, plus a fifth and final $298 visit for new brake and transmission fluids that should have been changed by two separate dealers as part of the Nissan’s 20K- and 40K-mile jobs.
The XD’s logbook reached peak negativity when the Cummins engine started acting up around 27,000 miles, ultimately stranding us several times. While en route from Ann Arbor to Santa Barbara, California, to retrieve C/D’s flame-painted Mitsubishi Eclipse “GT-R”, the XD limped into an Iowa dealership down on power and illuminating a check-engine light for low coolant levels. The service desk, determining nothing serious was amiss, replaced the coolant and erased the codes before clearing us to carry on in the now seemingly healthy truck.
I recommend giving the Car and Driver review a read. To sum it up, the truck left the publication’s writers and editors limping to dealerships several times. Car and Driver‘s issues didn’t appear to be a fluke, either. Motor Trend recorded some, but not all, of the same bugs. Motor Trend’s review conclusion had this line:
Although the Titan XD is targeted at the slim market segment of consumers needing something in between a half-ton and a three-quarter-ton, we would likely opt for a modern half-ton pickup if we needed to haul more than 1,600 pounds regularly, or a modern three-quarter-ton pickup if we needed to tow more than six tons on a regular basis.
Reported issues on forums include failed EGRs, failures to rev, and more. Others are concerned about future repairs now that Nissan is no longer supporting the engine. Of course, people often come to forums just to complain, so that’s not really data. A common recommendation on the Titan XD forum is to avoid the above issues by deleting emissions equipment. Other reviews, such as one from Autoweek, complained about the truck’s 53.8-foot turning circle, throttle response from the Cummins engine, and rough suspension.
On the other hand, it does seem like the people who did buy these trucks do love them. Some swear by its ability to tow better than any light-duty truck, so maybe, if some things went differently, the Titan XD diesel could have been a grail. If you want one, I have good news. There are literally hundreds of these trucks for sale right now, so many of them with well under 100,000 miles. I’m seeing prices between $25,000 and $43,000 or so depending on trim level and mileage.
Either way, the Nissan Titan XD diesel was killed off after four years, sooner than the Titan itself is expected to be sent to a farm upstate. That is a shame, because, in concept, Nissan had a good idea. Sell a truck that offered more capability than your common half-ton, but still drove like a half-ton. Unfortunately, Nissan appeared to miss the mark on creating what could have been the Holy Grail of half-ton-ish pickups.
I towed over 600 miles with an XD diesel for a review in 2019. Mercedes is correct with the “on paper” it didn’t perform better. The XD was heavier and more stable than any half-ton truck on the market. Even with lower tow ratings than an F-150 in its highest rated configuration, the XD would provide for a more confident and safer feel. On the other hand fuel mileage was no better than the gas powered 5.6-L Endurance V8. I really liked the Titan XD, but it was maybe too niche.
If I recall, this engine was initially developed for the Ram 1500, but they went with the VM 3.0L instead. Cummins got all pissy and shopped this one to Nissan.
As someone who is 1) a diesel tech, and 2) a truck guy, I shopped long and hard on the XD.
The two issues I couldn’t get past in my research is that the Cummins is PLAUGED with issues. From aftertreatment to turbos to lack of parts availability, the Cummins 5.0 is a disaster in search of a victim.
OK, fine. I’ll take the MPG hit and go V8. Well shit, the V8 had an issue with dropping cylinders. And by dropping cylinders I mean straight up losing compressions and knocking. I could never get a read on whether they actually fixed that issue so I steered clear.
I owned a 2018 3.5 ecoboost. While not perfect, all the issues were known and none of them required replacing the entire shortblock to fix the issue.
So the Titan suffered poor marketing and adoption, and the 2nd ownership I’d say suffered from the QC on the trucks being AWFUL.
The salt in the wound aspect of this is that the VK56 is an excellent engine with heaps of tuning potential. I mean look at what Hartley Engines does with them!
And, in stock form, consumes significant and seemingly endless volumes of fuel.
It’s a shame about the Titan as there was so much (wasted) potential. Nissan was “late to the party”,as far as entering the full size truck market goes. Seeing a lot of Titan XD Cummins powered trucks on the used market,dealers can’t give them away. Meanwhile,the Endurance V8 models are getting snatched up,some with 100K miles on the odometer(or higher). The only major issue with those aside from rust in some spots is the well known cracking exhaust manifolds, can be replaced by going aftermarket (which will last longer than the Nissan replacements anyway).
If I was to get one ,it would be the Endurance engine,King Cab longbed 4WD
Man this article so clearly explains why Nissan failed but without realizing it or understanding it. Not in any particular order…
1. That earlier Transformer design would appeal to 6 year Olds. Unfortunately 6 year Olds don’t buy a lot of trucks.
2. The designer trying to design future trucks, truck buyers of that age are more resistant to change than space ship pick up.
3. Rolling out a 2007 Diesel truck to compete in 2017? Stupid.
4. If you are none competitive in the Market don’t shoot for the moon in a solar system you aren’t in. CREATE a competitive design in the acceptable design market not outside the market. Really you want to compete in the USA pickup truck market don’t create the 70s Era cyber truck. Shoot for similar but 1 thing outstanding.
5. The woman in charge and the Asian team had no idea what the market wanted. In that day and age too creative was ooh aren’t you NYC?
Disagree with DT on the Titan’s styling. Was and is fine. It’s just not over styled, with the gaping large mouth bass look that is permeating all brands.
and a note to Mercedes. The car that put Datsun on the map was the 510.
I think Nissan’s biggest failings with the Titan (in both generations) were going too hard on the “Tough American truck” aspect.
One of the big marketing points of the Gen 1 Titan was its “tough” American Dana rear axle. Except the axle turned out to be an unmitigated disaster and countless Titans have had multiple rear axle replacements.
The 2nd Gen Titan was much of the same. “Heavy Duty AAM Axle”, “Cummins Engine”, “Aisin Transmission (of RAM fame). It’s just so bizarre, since Nissan themselves makes all that stuff. But instead they opted for “American” components, and they all just seem to repeatedly cause them massive amounts of trouble.
IMO, they should not have even bothered with the whole “Titan XD” thing. The heavy duty frame, 8-lug axles, etc..all crammed into 1/2ton GVWR ended up just crippling the truck. They should have put the engineering resources into making the “regular” Titan the best truck it could be. Shoot, they could have still offered the Cummins 5.0 as an option.
I very much agree with this assessment.
The problem is the diesel is about 400lbs heavier than the gas v8. Maybe more including the extra transmission weight. In a half-ton chassis, that puts the actual payload in the 1000-1400lb range. In practice, it’d tow half of what the 5.6L gas version can.
I know Nissan and Cummins spent a lot of dough in development of these. Back in the day there was a fleet of test trucks that I’d see all over the place in central Indiana. They had DOT numbers stenciled on the side so it was easy to tell.
This motor incorporated a lot of new emission control features that hadn’t been fully developed. Add in another element to the powertrain (Aisin) for the transmission and you get more integration issues that apparently weren’t sorted at initial production.
Learning about swings and misses is instructive. Something with all right ingredients but still failed. In Nissan’s case the Tundra ate a lot of potential market for non big 3 plus reviews always showed the Titan as second best. FWIW diesel half ton trucks never took off here. Ford and Ram both discontinued diesels after slow sales. I know people who had Ram 1500 diesels and liked them. I would have bought one but it’s money I don’t have. Instead I drive an old truck. What I lose in fuel economy and capacity I make up by not having payments or high insurance. My truck’s 1200 lb payload is miserable but most of what I haul is bulky not heavy and I get a soft ride so I can live with it.
I bought a 2015 Ram 2500 diesel. When these came out, I regretted not waiting a bit to get one instead of the Ram. A heavy half with a Cummins sounded like a great combo. I tow a 9k# trailer with a 1k# tongue weight and most 1/2 tons don’t have much cargo capacity left after that tongue weight, certainly not enough to put a motorcycle in the bed with 4 passengers.
Turns out I made the right choice with the 3/4 ton and the 6.7 Cummins. That 5.0 was a steaming pile of an engine when it came out. Cummins probably would have fixed it given enough time/volume but they never got a chance.
You also would have been in trouble on that tongue weight, turns out. The diesel eats enough of the extra in the xd that it apparently ends up around 1400-1500lbs.
It looked like a Wish.com F-150 and was targeted seemingly at the generation of trucks from competition that were all quite a few years old by then. If it wasn’t for Nissan being willing to finance everyone with a pulse they probably wouldn’t have sold half of what they did sell.
A colossal waste of money from a company that had nearly an entire lineup of cars that were all much more in need of it.
I’m excited for this new series! Pushes the prices down and adds new vehicles to my shopping list.
I still maintain my belief that there are no truly bad vehicles in 2024 anymore if you’re willing to invest a bit of research and wrenching.
There is a solution for everything and you can look it up for free on the internet, then apply it yourself.
It can’t be worse than a 6.0 Powerstroke, can it?
It actually can! Because they made so few of these, there is ZERO parts support for them. The 6.0 Powerstroke was made in the hundreds of thousands, and there are entire businesses that just support them.
I was going to say…I’ve heard that at least the 6.0 can be bulletproofed, even if it’s labor-intensive. If anything, an ambulance driver friend tells me that 6.4l that followed it was even worse.
After those two engines back to back, Ford pulled the plug on working with International.
I currently daily drive a 2008 four door, long box Titan. It’s my second.
It’s a muscular and incredibly useful truck, I’ve ecu tuned it with both tow and performance programming options – the gas V8 is a riot and sounds wonderful. I’ve added the big brake kit, so over factory sized discs so I can slow this thing down with the same effectiveness as me making it go forward faster.
(My 5 year old just went for a rip with me to do doughnuts in a parking lot since we have fresh snow).
It’s the perfect truck for me, on paper. I can chuck a futon in the bed and under the canopy, pull up to any campsite and pop the rear open to watch the stars and satellites buzzing around; I can load with drywall or full size plywood if working on the house.
I can comfortably hang out on the rear bench-like seat propped on a pillow well waiting for the ferry.
But I’m on my third rear end at 200000 km and they’re rare as hen’s teeth, something about the fact that it’s more profitable to pull these and ship to Africa so every junk yard pallets them up and off they go,
Glass rear end, transmission that has failed twice for me, my maintenance cost has been about $5k – $8k a year to keep road worthy. That’s sports car territory.
I think the new ones look like shit, so I’m out on that but I’m such a sucker for that V8 that I wouldn’t be surprised if I get another after this one (I really feel like a truck should hit 300000 as a rule, so I’m committed until then).
My Titans have been like any high maintenance partner, glorious and beautiful, expensive and fast, but they sting in the end.
Great and very informative article as always, Mercedes, thanks for this.
I’ve never driven one, but I cannot imagine that a Nissan Titan is significantly better to drive than the competition, especially not enough to justify continually repairing such an unreliable turd.
I have a friend who drives a 1997 7.3 Powerstroke that’s lifted and fancy and hotrodded to 450hp, and it’s an unreliable POS that costs him $5k-$8k a year in maintenance costs, which is extremely exorbitant imo and far more than it’s worth. But I can promise it’s more capable and more interesting to drive than a Titan.
Those are insane maintenance costs for a gas pickup truck! You’ve got some kinda weird Stockholm Syndrome!
I have a 1 year newer Toyota with 200k miles and don’t think i’ve spent $5,000 on it total in its entire lifetime including tires.
Yeah, I have an ’06 GMC Sierra with 179k miles on it, which I bought new, and I definitely haven’t spent $5000 on it in it’s life. That thing has never stuck me with a repair bill north of $600.
I honestly think Titan guy is either in Canada with a exchange rate making it seem worse and/or he has some shop lying to him about what is broken.
Waxing poetic about some old worn out Nissan full size is ridiculous.
Both could be true.
I mean, I’m glad he loves his truck, but dayum!
You’re not making much of a case in favor of the Titan. Hopefully, sales ain’t your day job!
So…… Heavy half ton is an existing term. Although if the whole frame is unique for the Titan XD, then it’s not really a heavy half, it’s just a bad 3/4 ton.
I think it’s hilarious that Car and Driver complained about the frequency of filling the DEF tank. They put 44 gallons in the 4.5 gallon tank, in 40k miles. So they filled it 10 times in 40k miles, or once an oil change?
“trucks are also off-road vehicles” This is a common misconception, but is totally not the case.
What Failed
“OK, number one your honor, just look at him.”
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/a3e6dbde-277d-47ba-8db2-dffe9b15a748
As someone who’s mostly driven Nissan pickups and also appreciates Dear Spouse’s F250, this is my music. I wanted the Titan to be a good 5/8T pickup the way Nissan built good 1/4T pickups, but it ended up being both too much and not enough.
I was watching the XD pretty closely at the time. A “5/8-ton” would’ve been right up my alley, I tow/haul enough I could justify a 3/4-ton but would prefer the size and price of the 1/2-ton for most daily driving. And the Cummins Diesel drew my attention. I wanted it to be that sweet spot. If it would’ve dropped a few years earlier I think the specs would’ve been more impressive but they were a few years too late to the party performance (and design) wise and the Big 3 were already there.
Then they dropped and real world performance was no better than the halfsies and the issues I read about in the mags matched the experience of the handful of guys I knew had with theirs. When they were towing they had non-stop issues with overheating and going into limp mode.
Was a real let down.
Two quick things.
There was an even earlier truck with a bed side compartment from factory, the early 60s to late 70s fords with the camper special package had one in front of the rear axle.
And second, I’m totally with DT on the styling, to me they looked like somebody crashed the clay model square into a low wall and just hoped the boss wouldn’t notice.
Both Ford and Chevy offered the little bedside compartment in the late 60’s/early 70’s. It was a very rare option. I’ve seen exactly one of the Chevys that had it.
I was going to point out the same thing. I’ve seen a mid-70s Ford truck with the bedside storage compartment.
When these were about to come out, Nissan set up a couple of courses to do dealer training at a facility near my house. They opened it up to the public. I got to beat the absolute snot out of both a regular gas, and a diesel XD Titan. I came away impressed by them. But I also knew I’d never buy one, because sales would surely stink, and parts availability long term would be an issue.
I was right about sales and parts availability.
It’s a shame the Titan didn’t do better. Better quality than the shit Detroit coughs up, yet less expensive than a Toyota.
The first serious competition from a foreign nameplate to the domestic full-size pickup market (the Tundra still wasn’t full-size yet at the time).
Nissan made a mistake by not offering a regular cab or V6 from the beginning (the regular cab was only available for a few years in the second gen)
Also, why didn’t they put that diesel into the NV vans? That would’ve helped sales as well.
Detroit has some iffy products but trucks are most certainly not one of them. GMT800 which was the competition to the Titan when it launched is considered one of the best vehicles GM ever produced. It’s like peak LS engine pickup era. Dodge launched the HEMI 5.7 ram around that time. The F-150 during that time was great.
There’s some folks who own recent Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra models that have a different point of view. It seems some of them are waiting to get replacement 2.7 turbo 4 cylinder long blocks!
https://gmauthority.com/blog/2024/02/gm-to-replace-2023-chevy-silverado-turbo-2-7l-engines-produced-with-cracked-blocks/amp/
that kind of thing happens to every single vehicle ever. GM replacing all engines with the defect. Non story.
Not every vehicle. They’ve also had stop sales because of the roofs splitting and now more recently,an issue with the lift gates. The only manufacturer I can think of that doesn’t have serious issues with any of its products is Mazda. Even Toyota and Honda are having quality control issues with their products.
Better quality? Did you read the Car and Driver excerpt where they said it was an unreliable pile?
The Tundra has always been fullsize, not sure what you’re talking about.
First gen Tundra was 7/8 sized.
So they’re a little narrow, 75″ compared to the usual fullsize 80″. But they also have an optional 8′ bed, optional crew cab, and V8 power, all of which are hallmarks of fullsize pickups and notably not midsize or small pickups. The bed and interior dimensions are sure fullsize pickup dimensions. Can we call it a 15/16 sized pickup?
No, we can’t. Another hallmark of full size trucks is you sit up in a seat, with your knees bent. 1st gen Tundra you sit on the floor, with your legs out. While mid-size crew cabs weren’t sold in the US, they were sold in the rest of the world.
Not sure where you got that idea, I sit closer to the floor in my f150 than in many Rangers and my Nissan, let alone my jeeps. H point height relative to the floor is a remarkably poor determinant of fullsizeness.
I remember the magazines saying about the earlier Tundras “still not a full-size”
Theoretically I’m in the target market for a truck like this (although I wouldn’t get the diesel). My ideal truck would carry just a bit more weight than the average half ton without being an “HD” truck with HD parts and HD maintenance, and I don’t like buying American vehicles. But as appealing as the idea of the Titan is, Nissan execution usually seems to be disappointing.
GMC used to make a “Heavy Half” for just this situation. Half ton frame with heavier suspension. This was back when Ford still sold an F-100 and the F-150 was the equivalent I think. Dodge may have had the same. I recall seeing these as a kid in ’80s. I think some had big “Heavy Half” decals.
GM did both the “heavy half” and the “light duty” 3/4 ton over the years. I had a 1991 2500 light duty, which gave me six lug hubs, the semi-floater 14-bolt, and heavier springs – exactly what came with the heavy half years earlier. A decade later they had the 2500HD and 2500LD trucks, which had a lot more differences, including different frames.
> six lug hubs
I miss subtlety in higher trims and models.
GM also had a 1500HD model for the GMT-800 trucks, which had 8-lug wheels and the 6 liter engine.
I had a light duty 88 F-150, which had a Dana 44 front axle with leaf springs (F-150 had a 5 lug Dana 44 with coils,) a semi-floating Sterling rear end and 8 lug axles, and a GVWR right around 6500.
All manufacturers did and do still make heavy half tons.
The 1998 f250 actually is a heavy half ton.
I believe they had 2 F-250s that year, the light based on the F-150 chassis, and the heavy based on the Super Duty chassis.
The Super Duty came out for 1999 model year. For the 1998 model year, there was only the heavy half one, with no real f250, no f350, no dually or diesel options.
I do believe that they kept making the 1997 model year f250 and f350 kinda long, and so I think they sold Aeronose 1997 f250s side by side with the 1998 heavy half f250.
Emission laws had at lot to do with the Heavy Half and F-150. Both had GVWRs of over 6000 lbs, which allowed them to run leaded gas into the late 70s. I think 79 was the first year they were mandated to use unleaded across the board. I had a 78 F-150, GVWR was 6050, and stick on the 400 engine said non-emissions and it took (were it available) leaded gas.
If you can find one for sale somehow Chevy makes the Max Trailering package with a bigger axle that bumps payload up a bit. Ford’s Heavy Duty Payload Package pushes payloads nearly to 3/4-ton territory, but it seems to be even rarer. Sadly the Tundra doesn’t seem to have an equivalent.
I seem to remember seeing Ford F series from the ’70s when I was a kid with bedside storage bins on them – think they may have been Camper Specials?
Correct! Since it was expected that you’d have a camper on the truck, the spare tire was moved to behind that hatch. Maybe Nissan figured that compartment didn’t count?
Never realized the spare tire was in there. Always thought it was a place for a toolbox, jumper cables, etc… that you always needed with those old cars. I doubt I’ve seen one since I was 10. A neighbor had one in the early-mid ’80s.
I always thought they were a fantastic idea, and I never knew that the spare tire went there either. I have heard that they were prone to rust, though. Like my high school music teacher used to say: “Great idea. Poor execution.”
Which actually applies to the truck that is the subject of this article, now that I think about it.
When my 78 F-150 bed rusted apart, I went to my local junkyard and they had 2 to choose from, one was the camper special, the other normal. I initially wanted the camper special one, but it was far more rusty, so I took the other.
Some are toolboxes, some are spare carriers. Both are right.
It wasn’t moved there because of access. The “Super Camper Special” F-350 trucks had the rear axle moved rearward in the truck to extend the wheelbase and center the load better for weight distribution/handling. Since they didn’t make the truck any longer, there wasn’t any room between the rear axle and rear bumper for a spare tire anymore, necessitating the new location.
Separate from that special F-350 model, normal F-250 Camper Specials got bedside toolboxes on the passenger side of both the bump side and dent side generations:
I have also seen a ’68 Chevy with that same bedside compartment. Must have been super rare, because I’ve only seen that once. It’s kicking around Villa Park. The owner is super cool. He laughed when I asked about that compartment. At the time at least, he’d never opened it, because he didn’t have the key, and hadn’t bothered to break in.
I love the concept of this article!
How are you going to keep it from being all Nissans?
LOL!
Well, The Bishop recommended a full history on Oldsmobile’s diesels as a future entry.
The xj diesel probably belongs here too.
Well, Jason has his “Glorious Garbage” series that has had a strong Big 3 focus to date. BTW, I miss Mercury Monday.
Always had a soft spot for the 1st gen Nissan Titan and I was surprised by the bias to the domestic 3 when it came to full size trucks but brand loyalty is huge in that segment of the market. I have this image of a son/daughter not being able to date a certain person because their families drove different brands of trucks.
Suggestion for the next Unholy Fails: Nissan Murano Crosscabriolet
The bias towards the Big Three for fullsize pickups may have something to do with Ford, Chevy, and Dodge having at least 80 years of making impressively dependable, hardworking, and quality pickups, compared to Nissans 20 years of making a dad pickup with iffy reliability and looks really dumb.
What didn’t impress me about they was they used a Dana 44 rear end, which was the front end of my Ford truck, and had a smaller ring and pinion than my Isuzu P’up minitruck.