[JanMan13]

Hello everyone, I am considering purchasing an 05 Armada but I'm hearing alot about the problems that several of you are mentioning. The brake problems, steering wheel vibs at highway speeds, squeeks and rattles. Are they that bad. I am really anal about buying a vehicle (especially this price) with even minor problems like this that would drive me crazy. I got burned on an Isuzu (Isucku) a few years ago and don't want to make the same mistake. I drove one last weekend at the local dealer and it had the shimmy right off the lot with 27 miles on it. THen I drove one today with no problem like the first. Is this going to be a hit or miss affair. I am thinking about waiting until the 06's come out this coming winter to see how the problems are handled by Niss and if they fix them on later models. Any help would be priceless to me.

 

[m4ck]

Welcome to the site. So that you know the brake problems should have a permanant fix in a month or two. Some have already received this fix. Every auto forum sees problems. There are problems with every make and model out there. The thing is it doesnt take but a few to make it look like its everyone. If you buy an 05 you are more likely to not have these issues you have read about. Im not saying you may not have a problem if you buy an 05. I myself have a Titan same set up as Armada basically except a truck. I have a problem with my brakes now after 7 months owning it. Its still the most awesome truck I have owned yet. THis makes #4 truck I have owned all brand new Chevy, Ford, Dodge. If you ask most of the people here they would not trade it in for anything else out there right now. Even with a problem or two. Nissan is pretty good about service from what I have seen. I will let you know a little more after I go to the dealership in the morning to see about my brakes.
Hope you find some good info here and good luck on your decision.
M4ck

 

[adjmcloon]

Great vehicle

I think you'd be fine with an '05. I have the permanent brake fix installed on my Armada and the brakes are as smooth as glass. The powertrain is worth every penny in my opinion. After going through plenty of 1st year issues with mine, I've decided to keep it. There's just nothing out that compares with the power, comfort, and overall ability of the Armada.

Take your time on the test drive, and most importantly, make sure the service department is a good one! From what I've been reading the newest brakes are supposed to be released today (Feb 15th). Just make sure the one you pick has all the latest and greatest.

 

[Thinker62]

All vehicles have problems. That is why they have service departments. In a discussion forum, of course you are going to hear about all the problems. People just don't take the time to start a thread to talk about how much they like the air conditioning, the brakes, the seats, etc. They only talk about the occassional problems. When I started researching the Armada, I expected to find a hell of a lot more problems with the first year model. '05 is the second year, so many of the little bugs should be worked out. You know that they are going to fix the brake issue, and they would be crazy not to fix the other little things. My Armada is still new, so I haven't had any problems yet. However, if I have a problem with rattles, brakes, or seats, I intend to print all the comments from this board so that I don't have to deal with all that "this is the first we have heard of it" crap that service departments tell everyone. I will tell them that I know there is a fix for the brakes and I want the permanent replacement.

 

[JanMan13]

Thanks for the input everyone. I needed a reality check. I know what your saying and I knew to take what I was reading with a grain of salt knowing that the number of member's here only represent a small number of the total Armada owners out there. It's just a flash back of the Isucku Rodeo days for me and it makes me very causious. I am still very serious about buying an Armada but have some reservations about the hole rattling, vibration and braking problems. Hopefully the ride I go see tomorrow (05 Red Braun SE 4x4) will be the one that pairs up with me for sometime to come. I'll let you know if it goes good. Wish me luck!

 

[Cillyone]

Look at the Choices!! Come On!!

Hello everyone, I am considering purchasing an 05 Armada but I'm hearing alot about the problems that several of you are mentioning. The brake problems, steering wheel vibs at highway speeds, squeeks and rattles. Are they that bad. I am really anal about buying a vehicle (especially this price) with even minor problems like this that would drive me crazy. I got burned on an Isuzu (Isucku) a few years ago and don't want to make the same mistake. I drove one last weekend at the local dealer and it had the shimmy right off the lot with 27 miles on it. THen I drove one today with no problem like the first. Is this going to be a hit or miss affair. I am thinking about waiting until the 06's come out this coming winter to see how the problems are handled by Niss and if they fix them on later models. Any help would be priceless to me.

If the Armada’s nagging little problems like squeaks and rattles scare you. I suppose you could always buy a Durango and have exciting things happen like wheel assemblies falling off or even maybe a seized engine from over heated oil sludge at 60k miles. Then there always the Expedition blowing out spark plugs from the 5 threads holding them in the heads, I hear that’s fun to watch. Why not a Tahoe and enjoy the rhythm of loud piston slap every morning to wake up by. I suppose you could drive a Sequoia and be thrilled by it comparatively sluggish performance and still have brake problems.

If you tow and want a reliable truck that fits in your garage with full size interior room, there is ONLY one game in town.

 

[adjmcloon]

It's true

It's true, as much as I hate to admit it. Of course I've got a very early model (bought it in Feb of last year). There's nothing out that will tow, haul ass, and keep you in comfort as well as the Armada.

I've driven a couple of '05's and they've been sweet. Take a good test drive and you'll be ok.

 

[redzed]

Hello everyone, I am considering purchasing an 05 Armada but I'm hearing alot about the problems that several of you are mentioning. The brake problems, steering wheel vibs at highway speeds, squeeks and rattles. Are they that bad. I am really anal about buying a vehicle (especially this price) with even minor problems like this that would drive me crazy. I got burned on an Isuzu (Isucku) a few years ago and don't want to make the same mistake. I drove one last weekend at the local dealer and it had the shimmy right off the lot with 27 miles on it. THen I drove one today with no problem like the first. Is this going to be a hit or miss affair. I am thinking about waiting until the 06's come out this coming winter to see how the problems are handled by Niss and if they fix them on later models. Any help would be priceless to me.

The only way you can wrong is if you buy an early production 2004 with a sunroof. Between the windnoise and leaks, the sunroof was about the closest thing to the "source of all evil." Any problems were sorted out by the middle of the first year when Nissan's CEO personally got involved at the Canton, Missippi plant and put his foot down. Carlos Ghosn is very effective.

My nearly 10,000 miles of Armada experience has been entirely perfect except for a faulty wheel sensor early on. Of course, my Armada doesn't have a sunroof.:lol: I don't have any braking problem or squeaks 'n rattles. And my fuel economy has been hovering between 16-18mpg instead of the 13mpg figure I'd originally budgeted for. I'm downright ecstatic.

I can't comment about the 27 mile vehicle with the "shimmy," but I wonder if it had been sitting in one place for a very, very long time. Modern tires will still develop flatspots, but it's mostly a problem with high-performance rubber. If the shimmy didn't disappear after a few miles, then we're not talking about a temporary flatspots.

Anyway, there's plenty of Armadas out there.

(I'm sorry about you Isuzu experience. Isuzu was just about the "least well regarded" make ever to come out of Japan, which is precisely why Isuzu stopped building passenger cars in '91 and currently only offers a rebadged GMC Envoy in the U.S.A. Don't think of Isuzu like other Japanese brands, but as GM's horrible Japanese subsidiary.)

 

[ctarmada]

ctarmada

I don't know if you bought the Armada but I purchased a 2004 le and have nothing but problems. Major rattles, a dvd player that doesn't work, a back windshield wiper that needs to be replaced for the second time, a fuel gauge that always reads "full." Hopefully everything will work itself out but next time I will buy another Expedition. I find Ford treats their customers a lot better anyway.

 

[andy]

I don't know if you bought the Armada but I purchased a 2004 le and have nothing but problems. Major rattles, a dvd player that doesn't work, a back windshield wiper that needs to be replaced for the second time, a fuel gauge that always reads "full." Hopefully everything will work itself out but next time I will buy another Expedition. I find Ford treats their customers a lot better anyway.

My sister bought a 2004 Ford Expedition on the same day I bought my Armada. It does ride nice except it's pretty heavy and slow. But no window rattles. But before you get too much wood for the Expedition, check out:
http://www.expeditionforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=17

The Expedition has far worse issues then the Armada does. Here's a sample:
- misfire
- transmission failure
- electrical shorted out
- front end cluck and noises
- rear diff whine
- limited slip failures
- piston slap
- 4wd not engaging
- coolant leak
- oil leak
- maser cylinder leak
- etc

I'll take the Armada rattles and brake issue anyday over these.

 

[teufelhund]

I am new here as well. Like all other boards, (and I've been on a ton of them), what you hear about is problems. I have an 04 Armada that I got last June. Yes, it has some squeaks and rattles. Yes, the brakes sucked until I got the fix. Yes, there are some other little nagging problems that I am sure are to come. But, let me say this. I bought my Armada LS fully loaded, meaning every possible option, including sunroof. I walked out of the dealer with a fair price and have never been happier with a vehicle. Dollar for dollar, no SUV can touch the Armada for what you get in power, towing, HP, bells and whistles, etc... There is so much good about it. Of course, some guys end up with a lemon. That happens with every company. Hence the lemon laws.

I have plenty of vehicle experience to compare my Armada to, including a Range Rover HSE (talk about a POS, especially for the coin), a Porsche Cayenne Turbo (Fast, but spent more time in the garage than under my a$$), a Corvette Z06 (super fast and in the shop at least 6 times in the first year, including three tow ins). I could go on. The point is that I have spent a lot of coin on "cool" vehicles that turned out to be service nightmares. Believe me when I say that you get a lot more pissed off with rattles and service calls with a 90k vehicle (which you would expect to be nearly perfect) than with a 40+K vehicle.

In short, get the Armada and know that you just drove off with the best bang for the buck out there, and enjoy it.