Hi all,

I have been an owner since 4/04. I have had every problem metioned in this forum.My problems started day 1. I currently only have 16,200 miles on my armada. It's been in the shop total of 54 days in one year. Poor response from Nissan Corp. I go to arbitration on 5/9/05. I have spent evening reading so many threads and I'm tried. After, reading some many I have relived a year of nightmares dealing with my armada. Brakes 9 times to dealer, sunroof 2 times, metallic coating peeling on steering wheel, sunvisor seams open, oil leaks in new driveway, other fluids leaking, rattling doors and DVD Console, clunking when shifting gears, can't exit rear door from inside,weird noises coming from steering area when turned off, loose headliner,slip light staying on, fuel gauge staying on empty with a fuel tank of gas ($70.00 91 fill up), key stuck in ignition for three days (nissan roadside service came out had no clue how to fix), engine sounds loud and like junk!,bad black brake dust on front tires (have to clean daily), I spent $46K on this fully loaded LE,
over every bump in the road my trunk sound like a musical junk yard ( I see why they put a sensor to increase the vol. of your radio when you accelerate) so you won't hear the noise. :pullout: :thumbdown

Why I am I in this toxic relationship with my armada that kept my holding on for one year?
1. My truck looks great. Smoke with dark tint on all windows, chrome grille and rims.
2. I get lots of complements on the way it looks and how I look in it. :ugogirl:
3. I love the power it has.
4. Has great functional features.

Well, wish me luck in arbitration. I hope Nissan will make my a Happy Camper! or do I see Class Action in the near future? :boxing:

I'm in the arbitration process right now. Nissan will make it right- you've got an early build and they're well aware of the problems with those. I got mine in February of '04 and have had many issues. Finally got most of my rattles fixed. I've had the shifter replaced, countless rattles worked on (or not), the brakes fixed 6 times, the roof boom TSB, replaced a seat, fixed a non-working door, the rear gate latch replaced, etc.

We early adopters were definitely the guinea pigs for the new employees to learn how to assemble these things. I've driven a few '05's and they are night and day better than the early '04s.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

How do we start the arb process? I've got an March/04 build and problems are growing as we speak. Can the early build owners ban together and file as one, or do we have to do it case by case?

I took delivery on Dec 30/04 and the sales manager tells me my truck is worth twenty grand less today that 4 months ago. That is directly because of the build quality issues and nothing else. In any other industry we would be able to get a replacement without any hassle. We as consumers should not have to deal with these types of issues.

Maybe Nissan and all manufactures should adopt a policy to buyback the cars refurb them and sell them as such. I can't think of too many industries where the consumer must tolerate quality problems, for often months at a time, before we get a solution to our problems. So why should we let the auto manufactures treat us this way? :mad: :confused:

Arbitration happens (at least in my state- yours may differ) once you meet the qualifications for a lemon law claim and file it officially with the state. Texas' requirements are any one or more of the following:

1: 30 days in the shop (doesn't matter if they're not in a row)
2. Dealer attempts to fix the same problem 3 times with no resolution
3. The problem causes the vehicle to be unsafe to drive

I'm paraphrasing these, and make sure to check your state's law.

Honestly if I did it again I would attempt to go through the BBB first. Less hassle and the requirements are a little less stringent. Also I've read of many people who have had great results, including buybacks of the entire purchase price minus a mileage fee.

My dealer has sucked service wise, but I have no issues with Nissan. The arbitrator has been fair and informative.